65grandprix
New member
Hello All, I'm new to this site...need a definitive answer to a nagging question...my mother bought new a '65 Catalina Safari, I was a young kid at the time, and we kept the car 10 years. As a car nut, even then, I remember vivid details about that car. My question is regarding the Safari nameplate...I remember it as being a Grand Safari, with the "Grand" written in the same chrome script as "Safari", and being located just above and to the left of the word Safari. I've never seen another, and I can't locate a photo of the car. The car doesn't exist anymore, it was crushed, unfortunately. All info I can find about the "Grand Safari" name says it first appeared in '71, however I would bet my annual salary that my mom's car had "Grand Safari" on the tailgate. My older brother, who drove the car in high school beginning in 1972, remembers it being as such also. So my question is, did Pontiac make some "unofficial" Grand Safaris in 1965, or was it possibly part of some dealer-installed package??? My mother's car did have the luggage rack on top, the hard rubber foot steps on each end of the rear bumper, it was a 9-passenger, and the windshield wipers were odd (although I have seen a few like this)...they were the same-directional like those found on the Tempest/LeMans/GTO, not the opposing-type found on nearly all of the full-sized cars. If anyone has a clue about the Grand Safari thing, please let me know. Thanks.
