1970 Pontiac Catalina 400

http://lincoln.craigslist.org/cto/5153346221.html

 

Sorry, but that grille is @$$. The '69 grille is very tasteful.

 

I love the 1970 Full-size Pontiacs. Is anyone close to this one?

 

Depends on the Lincoln it's in, at, near.
Curious about the front seat. Could be a nice car aside from the hood defects or bird doo doo.

 

The word "Beatrice" appears in the title of the ad next to the price (and where he has misspelled the word "Pontiac").

Beatrice is about 40 miles south of Lincoln, Nebraska.

 

Beatrice is about 40 miles south of Lincoln, Nebraska.



Thanks......... Nebraska or Illinois came to my mind.
The subdivision looked a lot like those in Lincoln, Illinois where one of our sons lived.

 

I did see Beatrice and linked back to the Craigslist main page and it suggested it was Lincoln Nebraska. I wish I knew someone who could/would take a look at it... $6500 seems like a lot of money for the car in its present condition, although the interior condition makes me think the 26k miles is accurate. The engine and the bay are extremely clean and look like degreaser and a pressure washer had something to do with that... I'd still expect to see some discolouration on the headers, that blue paint looks pristine. Gonna call tomorrow and see what the owner has to say... anyone wants to weigh in on the price vs condition? I'd be more than happy to hear some opinions from forum members.

Also, looks like a Colorado license plate on the car. Will see what the owner has to say...

 

Ummmm...........

This car has the 400 small block. 26,000 original miles>>>

1. Pontiac never made a small block 400:confused:
2. I'd say 126k miles, as wagons were bought to run the family around & on trips.

 

The standard engine in this wagon would have been a 290 horse 400 V8 - basically a slightly enlarged 389.......

 

Looks clean. But my gut feelings are pressure washed engine and rattle can blue. No way the intake and exhaust would look like that with even 26,000 miles on a hot engine.
Carburators drip and exhaust manifolds get warm. Not a bad thing but possibly trying to hide 126,000 miles.

 

Lots of money for a car with 126,000 miles torn up front seat and a smashed rear quarter. No way is it 26,000...

 

Pontiac only had one size block... but, As far as the rattle can paint job, I don't think so. Maybe a rebuild , or maybe just clean and really 26K miles?

 

I'm a little confused here. "Rattle can" is a disparaging comment for painting something with a spray paint can, right? Why is that bad? MANY things get painted with paint from a spray can, and I would think that car engines, which are not large things (compared to a house or even the car it's in) and which thus would not necessarily be worth the trouble to use spray-painting equipment on (no one uses a brush, right?), would be commonly painted with spray can paint.

I mean, even if this guy had taken all of the accessories off the engine or even had taken the engine completely out of the car before painting it, wouldn't he or anyone still likely have used spray can paint?

If I paint engines for a living, then, yes, I probably invest in spray paint guns, compressors, etc. But if I'm the hobbyist who paints two engines in my lifetime, I use spray can paint.












When people say "rattle can" paint job, don't they really mean a "careless" paint job where time was not taken to remove accessories or at least mask them off before spraying the paint?

 

I believe the point that was trying to be made was with 26,000 miles why would you repaint the motor.

 

Presurized spray paint cans.

But my gut feelings are pressure washed engine and rattle can blue.

When I wrote that I felt the engine had been repainted using a rattle can that was all I meant. It takes very little time for the intake manifold and the exhaust manifolds to at least partially burn off and discolor with use. The engine pictured has apparently not been run much since painting the engine.
If in fact the car has only 26,000 miles on it the engine should have been reasonably clean and not needing repainted. Which leads me to believe it has 126,000 miles on it. Still not a bad thing as long as it runs well.

Using rattle cans is exactly the way I've painted many engines and small parts such as inner window garnish trim and other small parts.
The use of masking tape, aluminum foil, small pastic bags, etc to cover accesories can keep them free of paint.
In fact I've painted my last three car dashes and some of the door inner areas with a rattle can. And each time I took care not to get paint on the rubber, trim, or other places not needing rattle can painted. In other words, i was not careless. I was careful.
This in no way degrades or refers using a rattle can....small spray bomb... as a bad thing. It simply is an economical and quick way of painting small parts without too much preparation and almost no clean up after.
I did not disparage, degrade, or attempted to run down the owner or painter of the engine in the photo.
This may well be a 26,000 mile vehicle or a well maintained 126,000 mile vehicle. That is for the buyer to decide.