Vintage Snapshots: Pontiacs In The ’60s-’70s

Text by Patrick Bell.

We are going to look at some Pontiacs for today’s feature, mostly from the sixties and seventies with one from the fifties for good measure.

First off we have a pleased-looking young lady with a new ’68 Firebird hardtop that probably is hers.  It was purchased at McKissick Pontiac in San Leandro, California, and appears like the base model dressed up with the Rally II wheels and a remote control outside mirror.

This one is a dusty looking ’61 Catalina Convertible Coupe, one of two ragtops offered that year.  It was the least expensive but the Bonneville actually outsold it.

What a difference eleven years made back in the day.  A ’53 Chieftain De Luxe 4 door sedan and a ’64 Catalina 4 door sedan.  Both of them are wearing ’64 Illinois plates.

Dad taking a photo of junior and Mom at a roadside pulloff likely in California.  They have a first year ’64 GTO hardtop that is a basic model with the only option I can see is a radio.  They are traveling somewhere or possibly on a camping trip.

Here we have another ’64 model, this one a LeMans hardtop parked in front of a house in Tujunga, California.  The house is still there but has changed quite a bit over the years.

A ’65 GTO hardtop in a nice shade of maroon.  Down the street is a ’57 Chevrolet with a V8.  Across the street is a ’63 Mercury Comet 4 door sedan.

Ranger Joe assisting a family with directions in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia.  They are traveling in a ’66 Catalina station wagon with a load on top.

Now let’s head north of the border to Banff, Alberta, where we have a ’65 Pontiac Parisienne Sport Sedan in blue.  Under the awning from the left is a blue car I don’t recognize and a red ’59 Chevrolet.  I believe the blue license plates are from ’70 and the green from ’71 so an early seventies photo in the summertime.

Back to California where we have a ’66 Catalina 4 door sedan and a ’67 Mustang hardtop.  Someone left some stuff on the hood of the Catalina.

At a Florida beach in a ’68 GTO Hardtop Coupe.  This one looks well dressed and is my favorite year for the GTO, although I wouldn’t turn any of them down.

We’re traveling through Texas with a ’70 Catalina or Executive 4 door sedan just passed on by.  It has a license plate that was first issued in ’75.  On the horizon to the right of the highway may be a couple of oil pumps.

Everyone had to have a compact model in the seventies, so this ’73 Ventura Coupe or Hatchback Coupe from California was Pontiac’s entry in the early part of the decade.  This one is equipped with a 350 V8 and looks good in the Rally II wheels.

The Firebird Trans Am was and is a popular performance car and was boosted up to legend status with a movie series.  This one is a ’77 or ’78 model, and looks good in dark brown with a saddle interior.  It appears to be in a church or perhaps a school parking lot.

In this image, we have a ’70 Bonneville 4 door hardtop.  Behind it is a ’80-’85 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser, and further back is the tail lamp of a ’82 or ’83 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera.

Thanks for cruising with us today and everyone stay warm!

More Vintage Photos Here