Pontiac’s fabled Super Duty legacy began with a few special race-ready engine parts in 1956. Complete Super Duty models were rolling off the line by 1961. This Grenadier Red 1963 Catalina hardtop, assembled clandestinely in May 1963, was the last of the Super Duty breed.
In January 1963, General Motors execs issued an infamous edict banning all their divisions from any type of racing involvement, something the Automobile Manufacturers Association had supposedly instructed every American automaker to do six years before. “Ever since the AMA adopted—I think you can term it a recommendation—back in 1957, we have had a policy on our books, and we haven’t had any change in it,” said GM chairman Frederic Donner. Oh really? Then why was Chevrolet’s Zora Arkus-Duntov at the time planning to build 125 of his competition-bred Grand Sport Corvettes, five of which were already out running around on the international racing stage? “Very often you run into interpretations of policies that to an outsider might look like violations,” answered Donner. “[The] distance between interpretation and violation is a very delicate one”
What Donner’s words smelled like was from delicate. GM’s ruling elite had plainly looked the other way while Chevrolet, Pontiac, and, to a much lesser degree, Oldsmobile had kept on racing during the late Fifties and early Sixties in obvious violation of the AMA’s so-called “ban.” Now the chairman and his party-poopers were basically covering their behinds, undoubtedly as part of an effort to hopefully not attract any additional unwanted attention from federal killjoys, who already were on GM’s case about purported monopolistic business practices. Keeping the corporation’s nose as clean as possible was the new goal, and doing that meant bringing a definite end to shenanigans like Duntov’s.
Of course the same “cease and desist” order applied to Pontiac’s Super Duty project. Dating back to 1956, this program initially involved the production of hot, heavy-duty parts primarily meant for NASCAR racing. A complete competition engine package appeared in December 1959 topped by either a single four-barrel carburetor (per NASCAR specs) or Pontiac’s trademark Tri Power induction (for NHRA drag racing). Weight-saving aluminum body parts followed for 1961 with quarter-mile drag strips in mind, while the 389 cubic-inch Super Duty V8 gained even more might thanks to a lumpier “McKellar” cam and better heads with larger ports and bigger exhaust valves. New too were clever split-flow collectors for those tubular SD exhaust manifolds that allowed spent gases to either flow into a stock exhaust system or unhindered into the atmosphere.
 A super-duper SD V8, this one displacing 421 cubes, showed up late in 1961, but only a dozen or so got out shipped in crates to preferred pro drag racers. Grossly underrated at 373 horsepower, this bored-out big-block was followed in 1962 by a 405-horse dual-carb 421 Super Duty, of which 200 were built to meet a new production minimum set by NHRA rule makers. Another 13 four-barrel-fed 385-horse 389 SD V8s were also produced that year.
The 421 Super Duty V8 was available in three forms in 1963, beginning with a 390-horsepower single four-barrel version (shown here) meant for NASCAR tracks. The remaining duo both had dual four barrels, with one featuring 12:1 compression, the other 13:1. Ratings were 405 horsepower for the former, 410 for the latter.
When the 421 SD V8 rolled over into 1963, it was offered in three forms: a NASCAR-spec four-barrel version, rated at 390 horsepower, and two dual-four examples, one featuring 12:1 compression (like its single-carb running mate) and another that mashed the mix at a head-cracking 13:1 ratio. Ratings were the familiar 405 horses for the former, 410 for the latter. A new-for-1963 addition to the Super Duty package was the lightweight “Swiss-cheese” frame, drilled to cut even more pounds for increased speed potential down the quarter-mile. At least 85 421 SD V8s went into 1963 models (Tempest, Catalina and Grand Prix), with maybe as many as three other cars released but not recorded. The Super Duty V8 breakdown that year read 13 for the 390-hp V8s; 59 of the 405-hp 421s; five 410-hp 421s; and 11 of the 405-hp Tempest renditions.
Production of 1963 Super Duty Pontiacs began in September 1962 and should have ended, per executive order, by late January the following year. But a few did roll off the line in February and March, and one final Super Duty Catalina was even built in May.
Apparently some diehards in Pontiac engineering just couldn’t give up the ghost, even after GM’s anti-racing memo came down from the corporation’s ivory tower. Ordered by veteran racer Johnny Mauro, that last Super Duty model—a Grenadier Red Catalina hardtop—was officially completed on May 16, 1963. Mauro, a Denver native, had begun racing sprint cars at age 18, and his biggest claim to fame was an 8th-place Indy 500 finish in 1948. With Pikes Peak right in his backyard, hill climbing was a natural choice, and it was this adventure that he planned to take on with his new Super Duty in July 1963.
Single carbs were mandated by USAC stock-class rules for the Pikes Peak climb, so Mauro ordered his Catalina with the speedway-targeted 390-horse 421 SD V8, which featured a 625-cfm Carter AFB four-barrel. The drag strip-conscious Swiss-cheese frame obviously wasn’t warranted, but, unlike typical NASCAR Super Duty cars (which featured standard 15-inch stamped-steel wheels), Mauro’s machine was fitted with Pontiac’s classy eight-lug rims with their finned aluminum brake drums. Included as well was the lightweight aluminum front end, an exotic, understandably fragile option that, like the drilled frame, normally wasn’t considered for the 390-hp NASCAR models.
How Mauro’s car got away from Pontiac without corporate cops noticing remains mostly a mystery, though some clues still exist on paper. Or off. Unlike nearly all other Super Duty models, which are fully documented in company records, the last of the breed is backed up by a paper trail that tells the tale of an entirely different car. Surely as few employees as possible were involved in this clandestine construction and they managed to hide behind a series of falsified documents, including Mauro’s own order contract and the car’s official build sheets.
Placed through Johnson Pontiac in Colorado Springs, Mauro’s order specified the installation of a 421 HO V8, and Pontiac manifests echoed this fact with a build code of “08.” The correct reference for the 390-hp Super Duty was “12.” Mauro’s order form also noted the installation of a Borg-Warner T10 four-speed and a “high rear axle ratio, 4.6 to 1 or higher.” The factory build sheet—labeled at the bottom with “MAURO SPEC RUSH”—listed a 3.42:1 Safe-T-Track differential, but somewhere along the line the axle was fitted with 4.30:1 gears. A conventional steel front end was specified on the built sheet, too, again contrary to the actual end result.
Mauro’s Catalina escaped detection thanks to these slight of hand machinations then apparently was whisked off the assembly line into some dark corner where the true installations occurred. The build sheet lists a delivery date of May 24, 1963, eight days after build completion, meaning something secretive was up. Reportedly only two days or so normally separated build and delivery dates during typical assembly processes back then. The delay in this case surely was due to the extra work performed by select hands in Pontiac Engineering. The car copy of the build sheet also has a handwritten note at the bottom that reads “this car not OK—return to plant 8 after refinish.” Apparently this refers to the extra paint work required to make the retrofitted aluminum hood and fenders match the rest of the body.
 Instead of waiting for its arrival back at Johnson Pontiac, Mauro booked a one-way United Airlines flight from Denver to Detroit (via Chicago), arriving at 7:20 on the morning of May 24, 1963, to pick up his Super Duty Catalina. He then drove the car back 1,300 miles to his Colorado home. Unfortunately his NASCAR V8 failed during his first practice run prior to the Pikes Peak event and he couldn’t get the needed repair parts in time to qualify. What a shame: all that top-secret work and nothing to show for it.
A 5,000-mile original when noted muscle car collector Floyd Garrett obtained it, the last Super Duty Pontiac at that time featured an interior that needed next to no refurbishing.
At least Mauro’s historic hill climber did survive. It remained in exceptional original condition in various collections during the decades to follow, finally ending up in the hands of noted Pontiac/Chevrolet enthusiast Floyd Garrett, who runs the fabulous Floyd Garrett Musclecar Museum in Sevierville, Tennessee. Garrett received all pertinent documents (including Mauro’s plane ticket and those aforementioned build sheets) in the deal for this 5,000-mile un-restored survivor, which was then taken down to every nut and bolt for a complete refreshing.
The man responsible for the bulk of this work was Floyd’s good friend Bob Hancock, who spent eight months sweating the details. Among those who assisted Hancock along the way was Mark Miller, of REM in Annsville, Pennsylvania, who restored the aging firewall insulator panel below the dash. Save most notably for that red exterior, essentially everything else was Bob’s doing.
Great job, guys. Thanks to your efforts the truth can now be told of Pontiac’s last Super Duty, a car never meant to be.
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