Other than the right fender,...
Other than the right fender, which was repainted early on, the remaining code L Marimba Red Metallic paint found on this Catalina is said to be completely original and has held up remarkably well over the years.
Sentimentality-it has value to which few owners could ever apply a dollar amount, and Ray Kehr of Omaha, Nebraska, certainly never envisioned the unequivocal dividends that his $3,800 investment in early-summer 1964 would pay after his passing. No monetary offer to his family could ever be great enough for them to even consider parting with the '64 Catalina that he purchased new, and is now symbolic of Ray.
The Decisions
The Catalina's tale begins like many others- in 1963, Ray and his wife Charlotte were looking at vehicles to replace their '56 Chevrolet. "We decided on a new car, and Ray wanted a Pontiac-a big one with a big engine," says Charlotte. "We went to McKenzie Pontiac in Omaha, looked through the dealer literature, and ordered a Catalina. Ray picked the performance options, and I got to pick the color."
With an endless array of optional equipment available on the various '64 Catalina models, Ray ultimately chose a 389ci engine with Tri-Power induction to motivate his Sport Coupe, and he backed it with a four-speed manual transmission. Charlotte selected Marimba Red for the exterior, and Ray added tri-colored Ventura interior to complement the rich finish.
Memories In The Making
The Catalina was scheduled for production at GM's Kansas City, Missouri, assembly plant on April 27, 1964. It was then shipped to McKenzie Pontiac where the couple took delivery a few weeks later. "The price was $3,843, and we had to make monthly payments on it for three years, but Ray was so happy the day we got that car," recollects Charlotte.
For the next several years, he drove the Catalina regularly-when weather permitted. "It was always garaged, rarely driven in the rain, and he never drove it in the snow," she says. "It was his first new car, and it was his baby. He was so particular and always kept it very clean."
The optional L71 389ci Tri-Power...
The optional L71 389ci Tri-Power engine features a 4.06-inch bore and 3.75-inch stroke, No. 716 cylinder heads with 1.92/1.66-inch valves, a compression ratio of 10.75:1, and a No. 009 camshaft with 273/282-degrees of duration and 0.407-inch valve lift. Rated at 330 hp at 4,600 rpm and 430 lb-ft of torque at 3,200 rpm, only 1,280 32B-code engines were produced during the '64 model year. The owner replaced its original painted valve covers with factory chrome units early on. This non-original air-conditioning compressor is part of an aftermarket system.
She continues, "He taught me how to drive a manual transmission so I could use it, and it took a while for me to get used to shifting. The clutch pedal was really stiff, and I wasn't ever comfortable driving it, so I didn't use it very often. I took routes with the fewest hills when I did, and I vividly remember how much power it had!"
Daughter Roberta recalls how proud of the car her father was, and a trip the family took to Estes Park, Colorado, with it in the '70s. "I remember riding in the back seat of the Catalina and how much fun that trip was," she says. "I also remember how poorly it ran in the thin mountain air, and how relieved Dad was to get it back home safely."
Retirement
Ray retired the Catalina from regular service in the late '70s with just 38,000 miles on its odometer and took it to the family farm for long-term storage. Though he made recurring pilgrimages to visit his Pontiac and maintain its overall operating condition, he never drove it again. Ray's dad, Alfred, owned the farm and subsequently passed his meticulous nature on to his son-he regularly cleaned and waxed the Catalina for Ray, never giving it a chance to get dirty.
As years progressed, Ray's father passed away, and then his own health took a sudden turn for the worse. Unexpectedly, Ray died in September of 2004, at the age of 61, and his prized Catalina sat dormant while the family regrouped. In May of 2005, Roberta's husband, Dave, offered to maintain the Catalina for Charlotte, and asked if she'd consider bringing it back to her home. She agreed, and, unexpectedly to him, went one step beyond that-she told him that the Catalina was his and promptly had the title transferred into his name.
 This Catalina's No. 9775088...  This Catalina's No. 9775088 cast-iron intake manifold and trio of Rochester two-barrel carbure-tors are identical to those found on similarly equipped '64 GTOs. The smaller center carburetor (No. 7024175) and vacuum-actuated end units (Nos. 7024178 and 7024179, front and rear, respectively), flow roughly 750 cfm. Hidden behind the vacuum diaphragm is the original No. 1111052 points-type distributor providing 26 degrees of centrifugal advance by 4,600 rpm and 20 degrees of vacuum advance. |  Within the padded dash panel...  Within the padded dash panel is a code U63 push-button AM radio and, hanging below it and to the right of the steering column, is an aftermarket Frigiking air-conditioning system. The bracket to the left of the column once housed a CB radio. |  A total of 257,768 '64 Catalinas...  A total of 257,768 '64 Catalinas were produced, and just 15,194 of them were equipped with a manual transmission that year. The floor-mounted shifter connects to an optional code M20 Borg-Warner T-10 four-speed manual transmission with a First gear ratio of 2.54:1. An M01 heavy-duty 10.5-diameter clutch disc and pressure plate assembly was required with the Tri-Power mill. |