64 2+2 weight

[Dualquadpete]

Anybody know what a 64 2+2 coupe would weigh out at??? Pete

[Larry]

According to John Gunnell's book "Standard Catalog of Pontiac", the '64 Catalina 2-door hardtop tipped the scales at 3,750 lbs. It does not specify the 2+2 as any different, and I doubt it would be. It also doesn't specify if the engine options made a difference either, so we must assume the 389 and 421s ("regular" and H.O.) were close enough in wight to not factor in.

Just as added info, the '64 Catalina convertible was 275 lbs. heavier at 3,825.

While snooping around to find the weights, I also found that there were 74,793 '64 Catalina 2-door hardtops (model 2347) built at a factory price of $2,869.00, and 18,693 convertibles (model 2367) at a price of $3,181.00. Of these two models, 7,998 were produced including the 2+2 option; not broken down by model.

John's books are a wealth of information for everyone, and highly recommended for any Pontiac lovers library. I was very surprised to not find the weight listed in the 1964 pontiac Owners manual. It had just about everything but the weight.

It was neat though to see the first page of the Owners Manual with the speed warnings which most of us have long forgotten about. See image below.

[Dualquadpete]

Thanks for your info on the weight of this "white whale" I looked all through the owners book as well & found everything but the weight!! For a 3750lb. car I'm surprised this performs as well as it does, but I did think it was going to weigh out even more. Thanks again, Pete

[Stu Norman]

A buddy just had his 1963 Grand Prix weighed, it tipped the scale at 4350. 3750 might be a little bit low.

[Larry]

A quick look at John Gunnell's book again, shows the '63 Grand Prix at 3915 lbs. That's 435 lbs. lighter than your friend's GP.

I'm guessing the factory has the fuel tank empty, probably good for 125 lbs. So we're still 310 off. Any ideas?

[Stu Norman]

I can only guess that the factory weight was based on dry weight with no options.

By the time you add gas, oil, coolant, radio, power antenna, A/C, power steering, power brakes, automatic transmission and a cigar lighter you can easily boost the weight up 7-800 pounds.

[Larry]

I forgot about options. That would certainly account for a bunch of extra pounds. Things like power steering and automatic transmission especially. I guess the factory did everything they could to show the lightest weight possible.

Sort of like the MPG ratings today.... 26MPG-- with 80 lbs. of air in the tires, down hill with a tail wind, stripped of everyhting but a body shell, and a 70 lb. anorexic driving. Kidding, but just try to get what they say you can.

Thanks for the insight.

[Stu Norman]

From what I have been able to gather, the factory didn't always try to list the lightest weight possible.

Back in the early 60's when the stock classes were dominating the drag strip, your stock class was determined by cubic inches/shipping weight and transmission. In other words, X pounds of car per cubic inch of engine. Pontiac engineers figured out (allegedly) that if you claimed the car was a little heavier, you'd land in a better stock class. Maybe you're a little slow in A/stock, but if the factory book says your car is a little heavier than it really is maybe you'll clean up in B/stock?