[Greg Reid]

https://www.curbsideclassic.com/vint...e-ever-tested/

Sent from my moto g stylus (2021) using Tapatalk

[GT182]

A DJ friend of mine in Vineland, NJ has a 61 Catalina Royal Bobcat 421 Super Duty, 4speed, with a Micky Thompson cross ram intake and dual 4bbls. I believe it also has 8 lug rims too. It is one sweet looking car. Tho I have no idea what the rear ratio is... but it will go knock-your-socks off fast.

[gtokid1968]

1 BAD ass Car !!!!
dont care who you are!!

[Jack Gifford]

The introductory blurb by Car Life states "The fastest accelerating production car...". But the SD 421 was only available over-the-counter.

[sdbob]

I had Popular Science mag back from 62 testing all 4 manufacturers . 406 Ford,409,413,and the 421 GP in 62. (Somehow I misplaced the mag). When they got to the 421 the roads-track were damp but ' felt' the 421 was the strongest. The car wasnt in color but article stated light green.

[61-63]

Originally Posted by Jack Gifford

The introductory blurb by Car Life states "The fastest accelerating production car...". But the SD 421 was only available over-the-counter.

Not in '62 I don't think? In '61 they were all over the counter but in '62/'63 they were delivered as completed cars.

[tom s]

Yes,62-63 were factory built SDs.Avail with either steel or alu sheet metal.Tom

[Tom Vaught]

So how many 421 engines were build in 1961?

I assumed all were 389 SD Engines. That being said there had to be some "Mules"
out there for the 421 Engine testing.

Tom V.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Greg Reid

https://www.curbsideclassic.com/vint...e-ever-tested/

Sent from my moto g stylus (2021) using Tapatalk

From the comments:

"Grace, pace and space. Peak Pontiac".

I like that.

K

[Keith Seymore]

A few more pictures of the Dennis Koss owned Scott Tiemann created Bobcat clone. Dennis is present in the comments as well.

K

[tom s]

Tom,I think only the real insiders could get a complete engine.All the parts were avail over the counter and you put them together.The 127 heads did not even get put on a factory installed engine well into the 62 production.Early 62 SDs got the 306 heads like early 63s got the 127s instead of the 980s.My first 421 SD was made from parts from Bill Barry pontiac that sponsored Tyree cars.Tom

[61-63]

The one interesting thing about that article is the engine bay picture; the intake and water neck are painted engine color. I've handled over fifty (mebby sixty/seventy?) sd intakes over the years in the process of restoring them for people or doing up a setup to sell and the overwhelming majority were bare aluminum not painted. Several were complete setups carbs, linkage, and all and every one of those had bare aluminum intakes. Because of this I have always been of the opinion that the intakes were sold over the counter bare and were installed bare on factory built cars. Then too I just remembered that all of the pictures of sd intakes you see in the early 60s Hot Rod etc. magazines of people like Thompson, Gay, and Beswick messing with the things show the intakes bare. But now here this picture shows an intake and water neck painted?

I came back and edited this. Look at the battery in that engine bay picture. That is a modern battery not one from the sixties. I now think that picture is of a restored '62 GP SD car and not the original. On a number of the restored sd cars you will see painted intakes which IMO is not correct.

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by Tom Vaught

So how many 421 engines were build in 1961?

I assumed all were 389 SD Engines. That being said there had to be some "Mules"
out there for the 421 Engine testing.

Tom V.

I have an engine production log for 1961, but it has no figures for either the 389SD or 421SD. They were all over the counter engines. From everything I've read there were only a handful of 421SD engines built in 1961, like maybe a dozen or less. It came out late in the model year, I think just in time for the Daytona 500. Most of them probably went to NASCAR guys like Smokey Yunick, Ray Nichels, etc. and then probably a few to drag racers like Mickey Thompson.

If any 1961 SD421 engines ever showed up in the parts departments of regular Pontiac dealers, it had to be just a very few. I knew a guy who said he bought a 1961 Bonneville convertible new from a dealer somewhere in California that had a 421SD engine. The story was kind of murky but he did say the engine was dealer installed, I don't know if he bought it during the 1961 model year or if it was a carryover into 1962.

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by 61-63

I came back and edited this. Look at the battery in that engine bay picture. That is a modern battery not one from the sixties. I now think that picture is of a restored '62 GP SD car and not the original. On a number of the restored sd cars you will see painted intakes which IMO is not correct.

There were a few pictures of SD car engine compartments in the magazines back in the day, but of course they weren't very large and were kind of grainy. If anyone has a membership to the Motor Trend online archive, there may be higher resolution photos available there.

[sdbob]

I forgot to add that the article showed the Pontiac with dual 4 bbl carbs. So was it a SD? I think the other makes were multiple carb err ngines.

[Stuart]

The dual four barrel manifold was an SD only part.

[tom s]

Pretty sure all the factory built SD cars the intakes and water neck were painted.Many pictures of engine compartments over the years had upgrades that owners did like 63 859 intakes on 62 cars and 63 SD valve covers on 62 cars.Original 62 SD valve covers are almost impossible to find to do a correct restoration because they were trashed back then.FWIW,Tom

[tom s]

Just confirmed it with George Kenevilebard that all factory engines had blue intakes and thermo housings.Tom

[61-63]

Well Tom you are apparently right so I stand corrected. I called Duane Stroschein who found one of the '62 Catalina Pure Oil SD cars and had Scott Tieman restore it for him. He said the car came with it's intake and one carburetor and the intake was painted. He also said he and Scott discussed whether or not the intake and water neck should be painted and Scott convinced him that they were painted from the factory, telling him that all of the original cars he had restored for Randy Williams and others had painted intakes when they entered his shop. Never too old to learn.