'65 parisienne vs catalina bodies

mk1V · Member

'65 parisienne vs catalina bodies

427carl · A Poncho Legend!

The American cars are longer .

dualquadpete · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

When I had my 64 Catalina 2+2 the body difference was in the 1/4's different trunk floor pan TOO!!! Cdn. trunk has a 'well" in center and US is "FLAT" on 64's

mk1V · Member

427carl wrote:
The American cars are longer .

only the Bonnevilles, at least according to the brochure specs...

fm Automotive Brochure Coillection

65pntcanbrchrspcs

I'm hoping someone here has actually had the chance to park a 65/66 parisienne next to a same year catalina and document the differences. The cowl/wipers and floorpans are obvious but I (and many others) would like to know what else was unique because of the wheelbase difference.

...kinda hard to read the us specs so here's a link to a bigger pic...

http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Pontiac/1965%20Pontiac/1965%20Pontiac%20Brochure/1965%20Pontiac-48.html

mike

-- Edited by mk1V on Monday 4th of September 2017 01:02:16 PM

-- Edited by mk1V on Monday 4th of September 2017 01:07:25 PM

65wagon · Poncho Master!

since im building panels for these things I should comment , bonny is longer in the quarter panel by three half inches and has a dog leg about twice as wide, the cats have the same length quarters, this is only for 65 66

4SPEED427 · A Poncho Legend!

But are the wheel openings in the same spot on the US 1/4 vs. the Canadian 1/4? It seems to me someone had posted that even though they are the same length, that is the difference?

1965CS · Guru

For my , there are a few other appearance differences such as the bumper mounts and lower front fender mounts. Also the one piece tail light housings / trim, and trunk lid and rear quarter caps are a slightly different shape.

North · Guru

I studied carefully my 69 Catalina and Canadian 2+2 and here was the gist of it:

...Overall length was identical, but front fenders are different, had wheel opening one inch closer to the doors on the Canadian car (65-70 fullsize chevy had front axle 1" closer to cowl than BOP fullsize cars),
...Quarters seem to be identical but the rear axle is relocated forward within the wheel tub giving that odd look to the Canadian Pontiac that the rear wheels aren't centered in the tub.
...doors, roof, glass etc are identical
...entire chassis is 100% chevy Impala with completely different frame, floor & trunk pans, front and rear suspension
...rad support, cowl, wipers, inner fender tubs etc completely different
...bumpers, taillights and grilles are identical but the mounting brackets were different

I would think this would apply to 65-66 given the basic design was constant from 65-70 with the exception of bumpers. Since 69 had valence pans the bumpers between US and Canada are the same but 65-66 had much larger bumpers that may have been different to mount to the Chevy chassis

4SPEED427 · A Poncho Legend!

I am wondering if the area where the trunk drop off panel meets the quarter panel would be the same shape. Somewhere they have to compensate for the unique frames that the two models have.

mk1V · Member

Thanks John. Was wondering about the fenders. I always try to remember to take a tape to the car shows but catalinas are usually kind of thin on the ground here :)

...wonder if this kind of info might make for some good 'stickys' or an FYI/FAQ section, divided by body generations...

mike

-- Edited by mk1V on Tuesday 5th of September 2017 07:12:26 PM

4SPEED427 · A Poncho Legend!

We do have a member here (63gpman) who can likely provide us with some 65 US measurements. He's in Minnesota.

63gpman · Addicted!

I can take any measurements of my 65 Catalina that anyone would like, it is only steps away from me. Below is the Catalina vs Bonneville vs Impala data. Kind of interesting, but the Bonneville Wagon, Catalina Wagon, Catalina, 2+2, and Grand prix all share the same chassis where as the Bonneville and Starchief exchange. There are differences again I the 4 door vs 2 door cars.

Model Wheelbase Overall Length Front Tread Rear Tread Tires
Catalina 121 in 214.6 in 62.5 in 64 in 8.25 x 14
Catalina Wagon 121 in 217.9 in 62.5 in 64 in 8.25 x 14

Bonneville 124 in 221.7 in 62.5 in 64 in 8.25 x 14
Bonneville Wagon 121 in 217.9 in 62.5 in 64 in 8.25 x 14

Chevrolet 119 in 213.2 in 79.6 in 61.5 in 62.4 in 7.35 x 14/8.55 x14
Chevrolet Wagon 119 in 212.4 in 79.6 in 63.5 in 63.4 in 8.25 x 14

mk1V · Member

Thanks for joining in! The measurements I'd be interested in concern the wheel openings, so any time you can get solid readings along the lower body/chrome line on both sides of each wheel opening would be great; ie rr bumper to rr w/opening, width of rear opening at chrome level, front of rr opening to door, front of door to frt w/o and maybe the width of frt w/o as well. Then we can do some comparing.

mike

Pontiacanada · A Poncho Legend!

mk1V wrote:
The measurements I'd be interested in concern the wheel openings,

Yes, I'd like the same info. for '64 Parisiennes.

MC · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Mike, are you planning to build a model of a Canadian Pontiac? Saw your post over at Spotlight Hobbies.

I've been thinking about a build, once I can manage to free up some time to get back into the hobby. Was thinking about combining the reissue AMT '65 GP and Bonneville kits with Chassis/drivetrain from the Revell '65 Chev to build a 409 Parisienne. Never got any further than the thought/planning process though, but was wondering how the kits measure up to the 1:1. Don't know how much cutting would be involved or how close you could get it using kit parts with minimal surgery. Then there's emblems and trim, etc. - have to work that out still.

mk1V · Member

How'd you guess :) At first, I was just going to build the '65 amt bonneville as a reminder of my black '66 hardtop but then got talking models and cars with Rick. Then I had a ride in his four oh nine at wetaskiwin and that cemented the concept of building one. Seeing that the specs showed the GP to be the same length sent me to the local hobby shop to grab the kit, which has the correct grill for a custom sport. Since I already have the revell '65 chev 409 ragtop, this first one will be a convertible. The difference in w/b will be very easy to fudge in scale and I'll probably just see if I can get some decals printed up. Building a hardtop catalina or parisienne can probably be accomplished with parts from the bonny or maybe even the chev roof.

Here's a link to the mcm forum thread regarding the amt grand prix model details...

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/113755-1965-grand-prix/?page=1

mike

-- Edited by mk1V on Wednesday 6th of September 2017 05:27:00 PM

-- Edited by mk1V on Wednesday 6th of September 2017 05:40:27 PM

MC · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Ah... I thought so! smile

Good suggestion on the Chev roof, as the Bonneville always looked funny on one side - too much curvature around the quarter window.

It'll probably be awhile 'till I start the build as I haven't built anything in a number of years now - can't even get to my model desk now due to "storage items" being in the way.

Would be great if you could post your project progress though - then you could have all the problems worked out before I build mine! wink biggrin

mk1V · Member

I haven't completed a build in a while; about ten projects I'm picking away at include a '61 parisienne with 348 tri-power. The '61 catalina hardtop is currently available in a kit and the amt '62 chev chassis fits fine. I scored an original amt '61 ragtop body for this project so I just basically have to change the cowl top on it. Back to the big stuff, a fairly decent turquoise '65 hardtop popped up on the radar while I was checking out garage sales a while ago that is tempting me mightily :)

mike

63gpman · Addicted!

Sorry, I ended up having to go out of town for work.
All measurements are taking on the lower body line with no trim attached from my 65 Catalina 2dr HT.
Behind the front wheel = 18 on the button
In front of the rear wheel = 20 ¼
Behind the rear wheel = 32 ¼

4SPEED427 · A Poncho Legend!

Thanks Brad.

I'm itching to see the Canadian specs...

1965CS · Guru

MC wrote:
Mike, are you planning to build a model of a Canadian Pontiac? Saw your post over at Spotlight Hobbies.
I've been thinking about a build, once I can manage to free up some time to get back into the hobby. Was thinking about combining the reissue AMT '65 GP and Bonneville kits with Chassis/drivetrain from the Revell '65 Chev to build a 409 Parisienne. Never got any further than the thought/planning process though, but was wondering how the kits measure up to the 1:1. Don't know how much cutting would be involved or how close you could get it using kit parts with minimal surgery. Then there's emblems and trim, etc. - have to work that out still.

I did this several years ago by combining the Bonnyville and GP and trimming the roof. Not perfect, but the kids at the shows like it.

MC · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

mk1V wrote:
I haven't completed a build in a while; about ten projects I'm picking away at include a '61 parisienne with 348 tri-power. The '61 catalina hardtop is currently available in a kit and the amt '62 chev chassis fits fine. I scored an original amt '61 ragtop body for this project so I just basically have to change the cowl top on it. Back to the big stuff, a fairly decent turquoise '65 hardtop popped up on the radar while I was checking out garage sales a while ago that is tempting me mightily :)

mike

Not to mention the AMT '62 Catalina that could be used for a CP project.

The 1:1 '65 sounds interesting... smile

MC · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

1965CS wrote:
MC wrote:
Mike, are you planning to build a model of a Canadian Pontiac? Saw your post over at Spotlight Hobbies.
I've been thinking about a build, once I can manage to free up some time to get back into the hobby. Was thinking about combining the reissue AMT '65 GP and Bonneville kits with Chassis/drivetrain from the Revell '65 Chev to build a 409 Parisienne. Never got any further than the thought/planning process though, but was wondering how the kits measure up to the 1:1. Don't know how much cutting would be involved or how close you could get it using kit parts with minimal surgery. Then there's emblems and trim, etc. - have to work that out still.
I did this several years ago by combining the Bonnyville and GP and trimming the roof. Not perfect, but the kids at the shows like it.

Neat! Thanks for posting the pics! Inspiration for the future...

mk1V · Member

Carl Stevenson wrote:
Thanks Brad.

I'm itching to see the Canadian specs...

You could scratch that itch by applying a tape measure to that gorgeous survivor of yours ... :)

mike

4SPEED427 · A Poncho Legend!

But it's a 66. I'm not certain the measurements are the same as for 65.