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1959 Pontiac Catalina Convertable

594 views · Published 23 March 2017 · 4:11 · Indexed 14 November 2026

Channel: Artistry Photography · 2017 · Travel & Events

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The name "Catalina" was first used on the 1950 Chieftain Series 25/27 hardtop, Pontiac's top of the line model at the time, and later added to the Star Chief in 1954. Originally referred to as ""hard-top convertibles", these vehicles offered pillarless design in the door and window areas, along with the top-grade convertible appointments. The advantage this fixed-roof design offered is its sporty, airy feeling without the expense and drawbacks normally associated with convertibles. With the exception of the 1958 Bonneville, all Pontiac hardtops are designated "Catalinas" from 1950 to 1958. Powered by a flathead straight-eight engine at the time of its debut, it would receive Pontiac's new 287 CID OHV V8 four years later. A one-piece windshield was new for 1954.  1959, Pontiac dropped the name "Chieftain" for its entry level model and renamed it "Catalina", 
In the lower-priced Catalina line, Pontiac division advertising placed higher emphasis on the top trimmed two- and four-door hardtops, convertible and Safari station wagons instead of the pillared two- and four-door sedan variants despite the fact that the four-door sedan was the best seller in this line.
The Catalina, though it was the lowest-priced full-sized Pontiac, was still a substantial step up from the Chevrolet Impala in trim and appointments and only a step below the Buick LeSabre and Oldsmobile 88 in trim and appointments but priced about $100 to $200 less. Catalinas also came standard with more amenities than Chevrolet models and included a larger and more powerful V8 engine of 389 cubic inches, compared to the Chevy's six-cylinder or 283 and 348 cubic-inch V8s. Pontiacs also benefited from a much better automatic transmission than their Chevrolet counterparts - the four-speed Hydra-Matic - versus the Chevy's two-speed Powerglide.
The basic Catalina was well equipped with features such as full carpeting, glovebox and trunk lights, dual front ashtrays, cigar lighter, glove compartment snack bar (two cup indents on the glovebox door that could be opened for use at drive-in restaurants), heater-defroster and a choice of cloth and Morrokide vinyl upholstery or expanded Morrokide (all-vinyl trim), Pontiac buyers could add even more trimmings for a few dollars more by ordering the "decor group" which added full wheel covers, deluxe steering wheel, chrome pedal trim plates and more.
The 1959 Pontiacs featured a "split grille", which came about by accident when the styling studio were exploring grille design. Experimentally, a design for a conventional, full width, oval grille, containing horizontal quad headlights, was cut in two and the halves transposed. With the lights remaining at the extremities, this gave the split center, open ended look of the '59 Catalina. Along with the wider body came a 5" wider chassis in which the wheels were moved out towards the fenders. This not only improved the appearance of the car but led to improvements in ride and handling - spawning the term "wide track tigers" which Pontiac would use in its promotional efforts for many years to come.

All Pontiacs were powered by various renditions of the new 389 cubic-inch Tempest V8, which was later renamed from 1961 as the Trophy V-8, which was basically a stroked version to 3.75" of the 370 cubic-inch V8 used in 1958-model Pontiacs and based on the same Pontiac V8 design introduced in 1955. Catalinas came standard with a 235 horsepower (175 kW) version of the 389 with two-barrel carburetor and 8.6 to 1 compression mated to the three-speed manual transmission. When the optional four-speed Hydramatic transmission was ordered, the standard engine was 280 horsepower (210 kW) version of the same engine with higher 10.5 to 1 compression ratio. Available as a no-cost option with the Hydramatic transmission was the 215-horsepower 389 (dubbed the Economy V8) with 8.6 to 1 compression ratio which burned cheaper regular gasoline, instead of the premium and super-premium fuels required for the high-compression engines, and capable of achieving more than 20 MPG on the highway. Optionally available at extra cost were higher-power of the 389 V8 with four-barrel carburetion rated at 283 horsepower (211 kW) with stick shift or 303 with Hydramatic, or "Tri-Power" options with three two-barrel carburetors and horsepower ratings of 318 and 330 4bbl and 345 hp (257 kW) tri power.

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