Out for a Sunday drive w/ my family today, I saw this Catalina (67, 68?) parked on a lawn:

Is this some home-style hackjob, or a Canada-only version, or what? Notice the parting line around the door, and the joint where the window frame angles forward- def. looks hand-made. (Just realized the pics are kinda crappy, sorry.) Doesn't look like a pickup bed, it looks like some kind of trunklid is still present.

Just strange, never seen one like that before. FWIW

What is that? A Pontiac El Catamino ?

whoa... thats really weird... but... i have something that rivals it...

behold the 1968 corvette!! station wagon?!?!?!?!

It's a '68 Catalina 4dr sedan that has had some crude cut-and-paste job done to it. Looks like it would be hard to get in and out of with the tiny door uppers.

Edited April 10, 200619 yr by moltar

That's definitely a homebuilt. It started life as a '68 Catalina. Based on the trunk, it looks as if it may have originally been a Catalina conv that someone grafted the El Camino roof onto. The quarters have been patched up badly as well...

That's definitely a homebuilt.  It started life as a '68 Catalina.  Based on the trunk, it looks as if it may have originally been a Catalina conv that someone grafted the El Camino roof onto.  The quarters have been patched up badly as well...

I'm pretty sure it was a four door..look at the length of the door and you can see the outline of the sealed-up rear door under the bondo..

I'm pretty sure it was a four door..look at the length of the door and you can see the outline of the sealed-up rear door under the bondo..

I think you're right. I looked mostly at the rust repair around the quarters, but the "sweep" doesn't start on the door as it would on a 2 door or convertible...and the door looks a bit short. Good catch!

Poor Catalina...

I think you're right.  I looked mostly at the rust repair around the quarters, but the "sweep" doesn't start on the door as it would on a 2 door or convertible...and the door looks a bit short.  Good catch!

Poor Catalina...

I've seen a few mutants like this before..when I lived in Florida, in my little town there was a '73 Torino wagon that had been cut off behind the driver's seat and had a flat bed installed, and a '73 Mercury Colony Park wagon that had the whole roof cut off--a station wagon convertible..both crudely done..

Some poor '68-72 El Camino lost its roof for this hack job.

Here's the real thing:

Eeegads.

Interesting.

But, disturbing at the same time.

Cort, "Mr MC" / "Mr Road Trip", 32swm/pig valve/pacemaker

MC:family.IL.guide.future = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/

Models.HO = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/trainroom.html

"Waiting to be mended like a potter would mend a broken vase" ... Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers ... 'Broken Lady'

Sad. Very sad. Two independently neat vehicles sacrificed to make one pile of $h!. Makes me wonder about all the Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser station wagons that had their rear roof section cut off to furnish the needs of that dumb f@#king custom van fad that lasted for all of ten minutes back in the late 70's.

Those bars on the back of the rear section, though; please don't tell me this is some sort of awful attempt at a flower car. Almost reminds me of the '67 Toronado flower car on eBay last year where the rear section was made from what appeared to be the quarter panels from a '67 razorback Cadillac Eldorado. Didn't look good, but didn't look bad either. Anybody else remember seeing that?

Craptastic attempt at a flower car Poncho. Too bad such nice car(s)

were cut up and destroyed in the process.

Craptastic attempt at a flower car Poncho. Too bad such nice car(s)

were cut up and destroyed in the process.

Another way of looking at it that the sedan was probably a rusty beater, the Elco was probably a wreck, and someone merged the two into something else rather than both going to the crusher...

I hope you're right Moltar.

Wow, it has "Astro Ventilation" in the quarter panels!

:rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:

I wish I had a pic of the Astro ventillation logo right now!

Cool! Now someone chop it into the pic of the rear quarter.

pardon the ignorance... but what is astro ventilation?

Youngin's, I swear... :AH-HA_wink:

GM's Astro Ventilation led directly to the demise of "vent wings", the small, triangular windows at the front of car doors.

so kinda like... RAM air a/c? haha

Here is a picture of the vents for letting the air out on the back of a 1973 Corvette. They are the little orange rectangles behind the rear window.

Easily visible since they are highlighted by the lack of dirt.

That is one Filthy Vette.

Flow-through ventilation. On older cars you had to fun the fan of open a window to get air in the car. I think it was only on non-AC equipped cars