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From The Jackie and Gary Runyon Collection
HIGHLIGHTS
-1 of only 14 "Swiss Cheese" Catalinas ever built
-Formerly of the Randy Williams Super Duty Collection
-Full frame-off restoration completed in 2000 by expert restorer Scott Tiemann
-Discovered in the late 1970s by Randy Williams
-Sponsored by Packer Pontiac of Detroit, and driven by Packer employee Howard Maselles
-NHRA C/Stock record holder

Formerly of the Randy Williams Super Duty Collection, and tracked down by Williams himself in the late 1970s, this unique car showcased from Jackie and Gary Runyon’s collection is one of those big Cats. In fact, now considered historically as the most famous of the 14 "Swiss Cheese" Super Duty lightweight Catalinas built, this race car was sponsored by Packer Pontiac of Detroit, and driven by Packer employee Howard Maseles. It was eventually an NHRA C/Stock record holder before the end of the season, but the story of these unique cars is more than simply one of accolades.

That is because it all abruptly ended in late January 1963 when GM President Ed Cole, under possible threat of an anti-trust investigation by the Bobby Kennedy Justice Department, ordered both divisions to cease any racing activities immediately. While Chevy built 57 Z11s before the axe fell, Pontiac was able to release just 14 so-called ‘Swiss Cheese’ Catalinas. This handful of cars, offered as ‘stockers’ on paper, were legendary in that they took advantage of any and all efforts at weight reduction. This included removing one lateral brace of the rectangular frame rails and hole-saw drilling the remaining section, which resulted in the ‘Swiss Cheese’ nickname. Other lightening efforts were numerous aluminum body panels and components and parts deletes, enough to get the cars down into the 3,300-pound range and 12-second quarter-mile times.

What allowed this car to survive was that Maseles chose to use this Super Duty 405 HP engine package and well-lightened machine in Stock Eliminator. Here, narrow tire width precluded the stresses found in B/FX, where a number of other examples were campaigned with larger tires and much greater traction, creating immense and eventually detrimental stresses on those cars structurally. As a result, the well-preserved condition allowed noted Pontiac-restoration specialist Scott Tiemann of Supercar Specialties to do a frame-off refreshing on it, using numerous Pontiac NOS components collected by Williams over many years. That was completed in 2000, and the Packer Pontiac was the centerpiece of Williams’ world-renown Super Duty collection.

The correct 421/405 HP Super Duty engine is backed by a Borg Warner heavy-duty T-85 3-speed transmission and aluminum-case differential, as built. The powerplant has dual 4-barrel carburetors atop an aluminum intake, and also retains the factory compression ratio (raised to a blistering 13:1 for 1963) and uses the special #10 S/D camshaft and S/D heads. The exterior, complete with the proper aluminum paneling and hood scoop, is done in Frost Silver with period-exact lettering by hand. The gorgeous blue interior, all business with bench seating and correct race-oriented gauging, completes the look of this truly amazing race car.

Voluminous documentation accompanies the car including vintage 1963-dated Polaroid photographs, original pit passes and time slips from the 1963 season, period magazine and newspaper articles, NHRA souvenir programs, event posters and letters of correspondence, period press releases, itemized expense reports and even the original “For Sale” flyer created by Maselles to sell the car after the 1963 season.

There are many possibilities when selecting a factory drag package as an investment. Original availability, racing heritage, documentation, condition, restoration specifics, provenance and mystique all play into the decision-making process of acquiring the cornerstone of any collection. Well-known within the circles of muscle car and drag racing collectors, it is an honor to present the most well-documented, most famous and arguably the best example of the 14 “Swiss Cheese” Pontiac drag cars – The Packer Pontiac Catalina Lightweight.

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