Rest in peace, Pontiac. GM had to downsize, but the wrong division got cut.

Pontiacs in the 1960s and 1970s were great cars; for a bit more money than a Chevy or Ford, you got a lot more car with beautiful styling, beautiful interiors, and a rock- solid drivetrain. I sure miss those days. The junk on the market today is less than I can even describe.

I had a 69' Bonnie with the 400 - amazing car! I lost a cylinder enroute to Texas from Minnesota - drove it for 3 states on 7 cyls - arrived in Longview TX, pulled the heads and found a broken push rod - the hydraulic lifter had collapsed. All the lifters were pretty well dished out. Replaced them and the push rods, had the head lightly worked at the local Champion auto parts store machine shop. (remember when they did that?) reassembled using a needle torque wrench, and drove it back to Minnesota and for the next few years. what a car! Thanks for this video. Made me want to cry for longing.

I loved Bunkie Knudson’s famous quote about taking over Pontiac. “You can always sell an old man a young man’s car, but you can’t sell a young man an old man’s car.”

In the never ending debates on who is better (chevy, ford, mopar) I've never heard anyone rag on Pontiacs. They were great cars.

In the fall of 1965, my dad brought home a new 1966 Catalina wagon with the 290-horse 389 from Totem Pontiac in Seattle. I was eight years old and thought it was one of the most beautiful cars I'd ever seen. Years later it would be the first car I'd ever drive. Great car and great engine, and I wish I still had it.

I truly miss Pontiac 😢

I was surprised in the 1990s when I saw a Pontiac ad in a 35 year old newspaper, and realized that Wide Track wasn't just a '90s thing!!

A regular customer of the Service Station I worked at drove 1000-2000 miles a week as a traveling salesman .... had his oil and filter changed every 6 weeks , he kept exact records and recorded 19 -24 mpg on a regular basis ! 389 2 bbl high compression ratio . Wow the car had excellent throttle response !

I had a 65 Catalina 2 dr sedan back in the 90's with a 389 2V engine. It was an awesome car, no rust teal turquoise. I drove it coast to coast and it got 17 MPG.

When I was a teen in the 50s I loved Pontiacs. My first Pontiac was my fathers 51 that I bought from the dealer when he traded it, in 54. Straight Eight Sold it when I was drafted in 58. Had a 65 GTO in 67 (gas was 33cents PG) 389 w/tri power. Loved that tri, power. My next car was my first new car, a 70 Fire Bird 350 W/4 barrel. That wasn't too shabby either. Pontiac built great cars.

My heart still beats a little faster when I see a twin snorkel air cleaner.

This and the 283, especially in the trucks was another great motor.

My parents had the 389cid in both their '60 and '66 Bonnevilles. It was yet another factor for their buying Pontiacs for 25+ years, and the 326 in their '66 LeMans. Great engines!

The mid-‘60s Pontiacs were absolutely gorgeous and a fabulous value. Chevy was the sales king those days, but for a few extra dollars the leap in perceived luxury of a Pontiac, particularly the interiors, was worth every penny. Adam, that Catalina of yours might just be my favorite of your collection. It is stunning in every respect.

Thats a real nice car you got there. Those old pontiacs had a unique feel to them i remember as a young kid in late 80s riding/driving in many thanks to my grandpa flipping 50s 60s and 70s cars in the late 80s. I got to drive them around his farm and became a "car guy" at a young age.

We had many Pontiacs with 2 bbls. Great point Adam, Pontiac engineers had a way of getting good performance out of 2 bbls coupled with their V8s

They were still using these in the late 70's Pontiacs. I feel bad for my dad who had to dismantle one in an unheated garage during a bone-chilling winter to fix a bent connecting rod. I have memories of watching him lift the engine from the hood with a crane, and the smell of a kerosene heater being used to keep the space warm.

Thanks for another great video!!! Pontiac made many very good engines and they had a focus on torque more than high horsepower.

I had a '63 Catalina with a 389 and 4-speed hydro from a '64 Star Chief rebuilt with high performance factory parts and bored .040" over. My only complaint about Pontiac's 389 was that they had press in rocker arm studs in the head instead of threaded studs. Ordinarily this wasn't a big problem, but when I put in a Pontiac high performance cam with dual valve springs, it had a nasty habit of pulling out the rocker arm studs. I tried to get away from the problem by putting on a new set of 421 HO heads, with roll pins holding in the studs, pretty much turning it into a SD 389. But over time I found the roll pins were shearing off from the pressure. She was a fast road warrior though!!

yep, I grew up around pontiacs, Father was a mechanic at the pontiace dealership in the 60' thru to the 80's, yep your so right on that 2 barrel, we had respect of those cars, it was not a mockery having a two barrel, some mechanics claimed that they had more torque than 4 barrels, but I suppose they were all just as surprised at their performance as you were. I, just like every one else wish I still had my 67 GTO, and also, yes, very quiet, when i rebuilt the alternator, and new water pump, so as to eliminate pulley noise, quiet as a whisper

It's amazing how you could choose from a dozen different engines!

Nice 389! Very quiet and smooth!

Love Pontiacs

Those were just all-around marvelous cars. Thanks.

They were great engines indeed.

Had a 400 in my 68 'bird....loved it.

Thank you Adam. They were building legendary Pontiacs in the 1960's. They were indeed on a roll.

When the 2nd gen small block LT1 came out. Reverse cooling was one of its trademarks. I didn't know Pontiac had done it so long before

Thanks for remembering the SD 389. Often forgotten next to the 421 and 455.

Kind of piggybacking off of the tightness of the 389. My dad would always comment about how much he loved the 283 and 327...he said those two little engines just wanted to run. You could make the 350 produce power, sure...but the 327 just couldn't wait to go. He's not a mechanic, just his opinion only. Great feature as always!

I owned a 64 + 66 Bonneville and 69 Grand Prix. January of 1982 it was 23 below 0 and my 66 started right up! 153k miles on it.

Another informative engine video, Adam. I especially enjoyed your description of the Rochester 2GC carburetor. And that 389 in your '66 Catalina is very smooth.

When I was three years old in 1963 dad brought home a 61 tempest. We went from Minnesota to Los Angeles to visit aunts and uncles. Got there in four days sightseeing a long the way 😂❤

I had a new Firebird in 1967 with a 326 and sold it last year. Never had the heads off.(however did replace the valve stem seals a few times and installed isky cam and lifters plus timing chain). That was it. Also had a 2 barrel. Bill

Very much agree Adam! We had a 63 Catalina similar color, same engine always in the power band! Nobody got past mom!

Glad you mentioned the timing chain issues . As a mechanic back in the late 60's I bet I did many dozens of them . To the point if I saw a Poncho coming in on the " hook " for a no start they were always jumped chains . From those teflon coated cam sprocket teeth they used to help reduce noise . One year of them paid for my new Harley Sportster . Great engines otherwise .

Everyone that knows anything about old American cars knows that big Poncho's make BIG TORQUE. My neighbor up the street has a green and white '55 Pontiac four door. He has an authentic Class of '56 Varsity jacket in the same green from some school in Pennsylvania and an A&W window food stand, complete with plastic hamburgers and onion rings.... [I always ask him where are the root beer floats?] Now, I was a student at Embry-Riddle in Florida in 1985; Another student in my dorm had a '79 Pontiac Trans Am. On the "shaker" I think it said T/A 6.6. He told me that it was a 403, an engine that Pontiac never built. I saw under the hood one day and I swear I saw gold valve covers, but this was nearly 40 years ago. I highly suspect that this was the Oldsmobile station wagon engine rather than the true Pontiac 400, which had about 40 more horsepower. Nevertheless, it was a cool car. WAY cooler than the '77 VW Rabbit I drove at the time.... Great video!

I was a used car mechanic in 1970-72 at a Ford dealer and I really enjoyed working on cars in the 70's we had room to work under the hood and those 389s were easy to work on, all cars before 1975 needed valve jobs back then at around 75.000 to 100.000 miles and the 389 Pontiac was my favourite to do. Thanks for the video nice memories.

Thank you SO much for this video! I spent these 15 minutes enthralled by memories of the best time of the auto industry, and my personal affection for the cars reviewed and many others. I'm an aficionado of the "50's and '60's American cars. The last car I got excited about was the Dodge Viper. Since then, I'm merely nauseated by the influx of Asian econoboxes with Briggs & Stratton "engines."

How they rated flow differently between the 2-barrel and 4-barrel carburetors would make a great video in itself.

My family had a 65 and 66 Catalina (one wagon and one sedan) both with the 389 2bbl and using premium fuel. Fabulous cars. Only issue with the engine was burned out valves at 80,000 miles. Easy enough to fix and put back together. The we got a 67 Cat with a 400. Maybe gearing was different but it seems a lot faster than the other two. It too was a great car

Overheating used to be a common feature of cars up until the 1970s. The Pontiac V8s had the largest cooling systems which made them best for towing, mountain driving, heavy traffic, and hot weather with A/C. But this was a problem with emissions where engines had to warm up quickly, so it was discontinued.

The 389 was used after 1966. I had a 67 Bonneville with one it. Great car! If it hadn't used a fiber timing gear it would probably still be running today

My first new car was a 1964 Catalina fresh out of high school, first set of rear tires lasted 3000 miles. At 17000 miles new clutch and flywheel great street racer.

Had a '66 GP back in ''74-'87. It was cream yellow with black interior! What a dream of a car. Pick it up from a senior women. It was not running and pick it up for $200! Trans was shot & the A arm bushings also gone!! Worked at a auto shop as a mechanic and rebuild the 400 trans and put bushings & ball joints on it. Sure do miss that car! It had 98,000 miles when I got it and the only time it let me down was the T-chain jumped! Which was very common for most V-8's from that time. I miss that big V-8 big car ride!

My friend once got a '68 Catalina from a copart auction and I was surprised how great the engine was with a 2-barrel carb)) it evoked associations with car chases in the old movies, where cars were loosing their hubcaps, so quick the acceleration was)

1966 Bonneville Station Wagon with 389/325 would BURY it's 120 mph speedometer. Kind of quickly too.

Now that is an engine that literally purrs!

Pontiac had the tight balance of styling, confort, power, and price, with a cool factor that i can’t think of any other US brand had.

First car I drove was my parents’ 1961 Ventura. Dad would encourage me to open up the secondaries on the 4 barrel, because we both loved the way that 389 surged. The wide track was no joke - at 100 indicated it was steady as a rock, tracked straight and true. The bias tires and drum brakes, though…😢

i had a 62 grand prix black on black with the 348 hp 389 with the wide ratio 4 speed and 3.42 rear gears, what a great car.

Okay next do a video on the 1966 Star Chief Executive. The crossover year.

We had two 67 Pontiacs growing up, a Bonneville 4 Dr Hardtop and 4 Dr Catalina 4 Dr Hardtop. The Cat had the 2 barrel Carb high compression and the Bonny had the 4 barrel. The Cat was the quicker car. Both amazing vehicles. I was the proud owner of a 69 GTO w/ a 4 speed. That was quick. The mid sixties were the pinnacle of Pontiac design & performance! Thanks for the video!

Summer of '68, I had a 1963 Star Chief. Beat a GTO off the line despite my 2 extra doors. Miss her.

Purr's like a kitten ❤😍😍

1966 Pontiac Boneville with a 389 . That is my dream car !

In the early 70's my Dad picked up a 67 Tempest that had a GTO front end and a tired, smoking 326. We went to the junk yard and bought a 2bbl 389 out of a Catalina. We got to hear it run. Took it home and put it in that car and gave it a new fark blue paint job. That was a running piece of iron. He kept it for a while then sold it. He was a firefighter so there was always buying and selling of cars and trucks at the fire station. Great days as we always had a new project to work on in the garage. Now I have my own projects going.😅

I had a '66 GTO back in the 80s with a 389 (6.5 Litre) with a 4 barrel. It was a runner, but it actually got pretty good mileage on the freeway at high speeds. Steady 70 mph = 20-21 mpg. I did replace the 2 speed auto Slush-O-Matic with a Turbo-Hydramatic 400 transmission, which probably helped. I even ONCE did a long distance high-speed run in the car cruising at 110 mph and was getting almost 14 mpg at those speeds. Fortunately I didn't meet up with any traffic enforcement, or I might still be in jail. 😁

Decades ago I had a 1966 Ventura with 389, Carter AFB. Good stuff.

The 400 ram air IV was awesome, it was a giant killer

My first car in 1969, my senior year of college, was a 1966 Pontiac Catalina 2 door hardtop, white with a red interior. It had the 389 with 2 bbl carb that you show. It was an excellent performer even as a used car with 33K miles on it. Earlier my dad had a 1962 Bonneville with the 389 4 bbl, and it was the first car I drove as a teenager. That was also a wonderful car to drive. So, thanks for the memories of these great Pontiacs.

Absolutely my favorite. Still have a 66 Catalina 389.

Adam, I would like to know how the 389 compared to the equivalent Oldsmobile engines of the day. 😁

Bought a 1967 firebird convertible with a 326 in 1984 needing alot of work. It was just a 2 barrel carb, but engine turned out to be a 64 389. One lucky add in the Memphis paper and i had a 3 carb intake to put on it when i rebuilt it. Great motor and fun car with that motor in it!!

Had a 69 GTO in 74-76. Lots of tickets Lol ! My favorite was display of horsepower or otherwise known as LONGGGGGG Burnouts ! Loved the blue metallic engine color.

I had a 66 Catalina. I paid $75 for it. It had a tiny battery and my friend told me it would never start. It sat for a year or so. I put the pedal to the floor and let it up to engage the choke and not flood it. I hit the key and it came alive on the second turn of the starter. No smoke. It always ran clean. My brother had a GTO and it ran the same. Cleanest running engine ever.

Very smooth!! Thanks!! 🙂

I gotta agree with everything you said in this video - my dad owned a '65 Catalina with the automatic transmission package (389, 2 bbl, high compression) with the trailer package (stiffer rear suspension). The only problem he had (and I had later with a '66 Tempest Custom with the 326 2bbl) was the Rochester 2 bbl carb - they were known for accelerator pump failure. You'd step on it to pass or accelerate, and there'd be a pause before it "jumped". Fortunately, they were easily accessible to change, but when failed it did make you think before passing on a 2-lane road. Speaking of "passing", when working properly you had to use a different technique - usually, you'd stomp on it, and then go out to pass. But not with these engines! You went out to pass BEFORE you'd stomp on it!

I once bought a 'junker' 79 catalina that someone has at some point swapped in a 389. The seller knew of the swap but thought it was a 350 sbc. I knew it was not, but wasnt sure what it really was until it nedded some work i could not do myself. The mech enlightened me and offered to buy the car, which i eventually did a few years later when the rust issues got serious. It was a beast, and had i known then what i do now idve kept the mill

Had a 72 Catalina sedan with the 400 2bbl wow what a strong performance. Like all pontiacs I’d driven good handling despite its size responsive steering. Wish I’d kept it.

Didn't know Pontiac had reverse flow cooling. Interesting video.

A friend of mine had a 1966 GTO with the 389. It had a 4-speed manual. He modified it of course. We all did back then. He had a Holly 4bbl carb, Posi-traction rear end, Hurst shifter, etc. He also has big tires on the back. It could pull up a steep grade in 4th gear without any problem. The funny thing is that, when I met him, he was no longer really a hot-rodder anymore, but he couldn't get rid of that car. It was too nice. I got into small British sports cars when I bought my first car (and second and third and motorcycle) i the 1970s. We did just as much to those as people did to the American cars. Totally different vide. The engine sizes were 1.1L, 1.275L and 1.8L (0.75L for the bike). All in they didn't displace as much as one of these Pontiac V8s (all in 1.4L less). Of course, they were all convertibles. The women loved convertibles. It was great fun working on all of them, the British and American. In fact, I learned on my parents' cars which were all GM V8s.

I wish I had the 63 Catalina 389 4bbl spread-bore Q-Jet, 2dr. Such a smooth quiet ride. What a luxury that car was. In 83 my 1st wife wanted it and I felt she needed it, so that was that.

Adam, I was at a car show today and saw a '57 Nash Ambassador. If you ever get a chance, find someone who owns these old cars and do a video about it. These are strange and weird and the "Quirks and Features" would be interesting to see.

I miss Pontiac so much.

My second car I’ve ever owned was a 66 Pontiac 2+2 with a 421 tri-power in a four-speed that car was amazingly quick for what it was and later had a 66 Grand Prix for 21. Try power automatic with 323 years in a car. We keep up with the 911 Porsche side-by-side.

Your collection of automobiles is so exactly as I would have. We have a very similar taste in what cars that are timeless, and I would want to own!

Super Duty Content! Very nice to enjoy.

High compression, small cam, small valves, big displacement and 2 bbl carb = excellent response and lower RPM performance.

I remember reading the Motor Trend 1965 Pontiac car of the year issue on microfiche at the Virginia Tech library in 1982 and wishing cars were still that good. This was when X cars, K cars, J cars, Escorts, etc. dominated the market.

Just smooth gem!

Arnie's love for Christine pales next to my love for Adam's 66' 389 Catalina

Great vid!!!! 👍👍

The 389 has a stroke of 3.75", pretty long, even for its day. Lots of torque, and like you mentioned, the carbs weren't completely anemic, allowing the engine to rev pretty well. Lots of power in the sweet spot for a largish American V8.

My dad had a Pontiac Star Chief with a 389 2 barrel and a four-speed automatic

I agree - very smooth!

Your 66 is a beautiful car! If it was mine I would change to 4v carb and intake as soon as possible!

My uncle bought a new 1967 Pontiac Tempest in blue. I was just 6 when I saw it in 1968, but I remember thinking it was so beautiful.

Three duces and a 389 little G T I shes really looking fine

I have a 66' starchief executive 389ci 4bbl 325hp and 423fp/torque i beleive it is. It ran hard and also very smooth. Untill I overaved it in neutral shifting with one finger while flooring it. It went, 1....2.....Dr...neutral...(supercharger sound) before I let go the pedal of the foor. It started blowby after. Im not proud at all for that incident last year. It still ran good, but I broke 3 pistons rings and shims between the rings. They were broken like Mike Tyson punch you in the face and all your teeth fell off. Lol You can see my resto-mods I done to my Starchief Executive in my little picture ! Another great video !

Man that motor was as smooth as Tennessee whiskey !!!

I was reading how a racecar guy reversed the flow on his high compression racecar and uses 87 octane to race with. Running the water through the heads first is the best way to go I guess. Makes sense because burnt valves are a problem with big block engines and usually at the back pistons.

Another fine ‘cameo’ video presentation. Does your ‘66 Catalina run on fourteen inch wheels?

Very cool 👍👍👍

My wife's folks had a 4Dr HT Catalina Std engine. Wow what a car! You could put a full size bike in the trunk. It fit in the garage better that a newer chiseler. On the road it got 20-21 MPG. And my father in law said it had a lot of Thump, torque.

I have never seen or knew of the "Sportable" radio that is seen on the brochure page at about 5:00 Could you imagine using 3 of those 500 CFM two barrel carbs for a tri-power set up for a built GTO?

45 years ago my brother and i installed a stock 69 small valve 428 pontiac in opel kadet to drag race.still have it and still race it.has never been overhauled runs 7.50 at 89 mph in the 1/8 . love the engine i have alot faster cars too the ponti/ opel still makes me happy.

Had a colleague at conservatory in the 80s that had a 4-door Bonneville that pulled beautifully. Must've been the 325-horse 389.

I was a junior in High school in '59. Dad brought home this wonderful Bonneville. To say I was thrilled was an understatement. Was it ever a great thing to drive it to school once in a while.