Pure Stock drag racing pits some of the most iconic classic muscle cars against one another, in a classic, quarter-mile drag race. Once again, Cars And Zebras provides us with an awesome drag battle, this time between a 1961 Pontiac Catalina and a 1973 Pontiac Firebird. Both cars represent the pinnacle of their model year as they lay down numbers rivaling modern muscle cars.
The contenders
1961 Pontiac Catalina SD 421
Technically, you could not get a 1961 Pontiac Catalina with the 421 Super Duty engine – the same powerplant used in some of GM’s factory race cars from the 1960s. If you knew the right people, however, the 421 cubic-inch V-8 was available for purchase, “over the counter”, from a Pontiac dealership.
The car is not exactly eligible for the Pure Stock class, but we still get to see it in action.
With a compression ratio of 11:1, the 421 Super Duty was rated at 373 horsepower at 5,600 RPM and 425 pound-feet (576 Nm) at 4,400 RPM. However, a MotorTrend test revealed the car to actually make 465 horsepower at 5,800 RPM and 505 pound-feet (685 Nm) at 4,200 RPM. Power goes to the rear through a four-speed manual with 4.10 rear gears. The curb weight of a 1961 Pontiac Catalina is around 3,800 pounds (1,723 kg).
1973 Pontiac Firebird SD 455
Being a 1973 model year, it’s easy to look down on the Firebird. However, Pontiac still made it work, despite the 8.4:1 compression ratio. With forged internals, high-flow heads, a “hot” camshaft”, and other upgrades, the engine was good for 290 net horsepower at 4,000 RPM and 395 pound-feet (535 Nm) at 3,600 RPM. This, roughly, translates to around 360 horsepower and 430 pound-feet (583 Nm).
Power hits the rear tires through a four-speed manual with a set of 3.73 gears. With the driver, the Firebird weighs in at 3,894 pounds (1,766 kg). Only 10 of these exist with a four-speed manual transmission. Back in 1973, Car and Driver magazine tested an automatic-equipped Firebird SD455 and managed a quarter-mile time of 13.75 seconds at 103.56 mph (166.66 km/h).
The Drag race
It’s hard to say, which of the two cars should be considered the underdog here. The land-yacht Catalina or the “neutered” Firebird. It turns out that both cars are way quicker than anticipated. The 1973 Pontiac Firebird takes the first win with a quarter-mile time of 12.84 seconds at 111.55 mph (179.52 km/h). The Catalina, meanwhile, takes 13.32 seconds at 106.91 mph (172 km/h).
The second race confirmed that the Firebird is the quicker car. The 1973 Pontiac increased the gap by finishing in 12.71 seconds at 111.78 mph (179.89 km/h) versus the 1961 Catalina’s 13.40 seconds at 106.18 mph (170.88 km/h). Regardless of the winner, both classic American cars proved they can give modern performance cars a run for their money. No e-Crate motor is going in these engine bays anytime soon.