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#1
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New Dark Side, Long Roof, Dark Roof addition to the Squad
Picked up another big car in August and finally got it home after two months of transport delays. It's a 49,000 mile survivor Bonneville Wagon and I'm the third owner. First owner had it until his death a couple of years ago. Very heavily optioned car (428/360, TH400, duals, every power option, AC, cruise, tilt etc) and very original. Paint and interior are untouched but the original black Cordova top was replaced by a jobber top (seams don't have that GM look).
Sold new in Ohio (then Virginia) but obviously never out in inclement weather and always stored indoors. Original paint looks good in pictures but it was waxed so often that it's worn through in many areas. Interior is amazingly clean and original right down to the carpets and gold mats (not repro'd). Runs well but could use a new exhaust system. Great documentation including the original window sticker and all the original purchase paperwork. The rear air deflector is on the original dealer invoice but not the PHS. This explains it being gold, It should be roof color, maybe the dealer didn't know it should be satin black to match the Cordova top so they painted it body color. Bit of trivia, on the original dealer paperwork the letterhead mentions that that dealer (Avery Pontiac in Columbus Ohio) was the oldest car dealership in the world. I assume they meant the oldest dealership still operating?
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My Break Away Squad 1969 Fbird (base OHC, 350, 400HO & Sprint Cvt’s - 400HO & TA ht’s) 1969 Custom S 2dr ht 1969 LeMans (2dr & 4dr ht & Cvt) 1969 LeMans Safari wagon 1969 GTO (2 Cvt, 2 ht & Judge ht) 1969 Cat (3 Cvt’s & 2dr ht) 1969 Ventura wagon 2 seat 1969 Exec 4dr post 1969 Bonnie Cvt & 2 wagons 1969 Bonnie Brougham (4dr ht & Cvt) 1969 Grand Prix 2 SJ’s 1969 2+2 2dr ht (Canadian) |
#2
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Wow, that's a beauty. I see a tilt column, and even an 8 track player. I think the 428/360 was standard equipment for a Bonneville in 1969, wasn't it? From the 4th photo it appears you have another wagon, that one looks like a Catalina.
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#3
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The only optional engine on a Bonnie wagon was the no cost step down to a 400-265 regular fuel. This one has the standard equipment 428-360 with typical TH400 and 3.08 diff.
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My Break Away Squad 1969 Fbird (base OHC, 350, 400HO & Sprint Cvt’s - 400HO & TA ht’s) 1969 Custom S 2dr ht 1969 LeMans (2dr & 4dr ht & Cvt) 1969 LeMans Safari wagon 1969 GTO (2 Cvt, 2 ht & Judge ht) 1969 Cat (3 Cvt’s & 2dr ht) 1969 Ventura wagon 2 seat 1969 Exec 4dr post 1969 Bonnie Cvt & 2 wagons 1969 Bonnie Brougham (4dr ht & Cvt) 1969 Grand Prix 2 SJ’s 1969 2+2 2dr ht (Canadian) |
#4
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The other wagon is a Catalina I bought about 4-5 years ago, also original paint and only 20,000 miles. It's has the Ventura trim so it's badged that instead of Catalina.
It's a time capsule and oddly optioned, no wheelcovers or decor trim (no bright trim around the windows etc) but it does have PS, PDB, TH400, AC, roof rack, deflector and some odd options like supplementary warning lights (belts, lights, low fuel), cornering lights, underhood reel-out light, cargo lamp. Engine is the standard equipment 400-290 and a 2.73 rear. I call it the US Forest Service wagon because it has that "federal government" look about it. If it wasn't so minty I'd letter it accordingly just for fun. I'm the second owner and the original owner's wife won it new on a Good Morning America type TV show.
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My Break Away Squad 1969 Fbird (base OHC, 350, 400HO & Sprint Cvt’s - 400HO & TA ht’s) 1969 Custom S 2dr ht 1969 LeMans (2dr & 4dr ht & Cvt) 1969 LeMans Safari wagon 1969 GTO (2 Cvt, 2 ht & Judge ht) 1969 Cat (3 Cvt’s & 2dr ht) 1969 Ventura wagon 2 seat 1969 Exec 4dr post 1969 Bonnie Cvt & 2 wagons 1969 Bonnie Brougham (4dr ht & Cvt) 1969 Grand Prix 2 SJ’s 1969 2+2 2dr ht (Canadian) |
#5
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That's a nice looking Bonnie (and Catalina) wagon! I kinda miss mine, but the kids miss it more. Mine was pretty loaded as well, complete with a power sofa... I mean front seat. Was like driving your living room around on long trips.
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1966 GTO 1969 Lemans Convertible- F.A.S.T. legal family cruiser. 12.59 on G70-14 Polyglas tires. 1.78 60' 1969 Bonneville Safari- cross country family cruiser. . 1979 Trans Am 400, 4-speed, 4 wheel disc. View from the drivers seat racing down Atco Raceway- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhYDMdOEC7A Ride along in the other lane-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIzgpLtF_uw |
#6
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Being a Ventura wagon makes it pretty unusual all by itself, even before you get to the options (or lack thereof.)
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#7
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Looks like the wagon that was at POCI Gettysburg this summer. Great car, well preserved, I talked to the owner at length about the car but just couldn't rationalize his asking price at the time. Glad somebody who will appreciate it ended up getting it.
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1963 Catalina 2 door hardtop 1968 Catalina 2 door sedan |
#8
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Can't remember ever seeing a '69 Ventura wagon. Nice looking ride!
My Dad special ordered a '69 Executive 6 passenger wagon. Veduro Green with limelight green top, wood grain, green interior. Ordered as GM employee & to save a few hundred more, set it up so zone rep friend could drive it as a company car for 2 months. Looking back after my folks married, it was their first new car together. 428, PS, AC, tilt, hd alt & battery, super lift shocks, rear deflector. believe it had disc brakes. Dad had an equalizer hitch installed & pulled a Williamscraft camping trailer on summer vacations. In the last 35 years, have bone yarded all over the country, from dinker yards to monster 75 year old yards that seldom crush, & have only come across three other '69 Exec wagons.
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Buzzards gotta eat... same as worms. |
#9
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North, I wonder what that weight of your new ride is?
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1977 Black Trans Am 180 HP Auto, essentially base model T/A. I'm the original owner, purchased May 7, 1977. Shut it off Shut it off Buddy, I just shut your Prius down... |
#10
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It was at Gettysburg, I wasn't there but my friend Brad saw it and spoke to me about it. It took a month to come to an agreement and a month to get it home. I probably overpaid a bit but what the hell. When you build a collection with just one make and one model year you can't get to tight when you see a good car for the collection.
By the way, when I titled my avatar, "The Breakaway Squad" I thought it was such a witty play on words for 69 Pontiac but now the word "Squad" has connotations I want no part of!
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My Break Away Squad 1969 Fbird (base OHC, 350, 400HO & Sprint Cvt’s - 400HO & TA ht’s) 1969 Custom S 2dr ht 1969 LeMans (2dr & 4dr ht & Cvt) 1969 LeMans Safari wagon 1969 GTO (2 Cvt, 2 ht & Judge ht) 1969 Cat (3 Cvt’s & 2dr ht) 1969 Ventura wagon 2 seat 1969 Exec 4dr post 1969 Bonnie Cvt & 2 wagons 1969 Bonnie Brougham (4dr ht & Cvt) 1969 Grand Prix 2 SJ’s 1969 2+2 2dr ht (Canadian) |
#11
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ive got a 69 Bonneville 428 wagon loaded up pretty good. I think it has the highest msrp of any 69 Pontiac I have ever owned. light blue dark blue white vinyl top. I bought it back in the mid 80's. thinking about letting it go. any interest?
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#12
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Love it! The rear-facing back seat is absolutely classic. Looks just like a bigger cousin of my '69 Executive coupe. Dash is nearly identical except yours has more options.
I'm curious -- what is unique about the GM stitching on the vinyl tops? Mine is going to need to be replaced some day... I probably wouldn't notice the difference, but wouldn't mind knowing what gives the authentic ones away. |
#13
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The factory Cordova top seams are flattened overlaps that are glued and pressed.
Jobber tops like the one on this car often have a raised bead, almost like seat edge upholstery. Not in this case but often the seams on jobber tops are also located differently or in some cases they only have one rather than two.
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My Break Away Squad 1969 Fbird (base OHC, 350, 400HO & Sprint Cvt’s - 400HO & TA ht’s) 1969 Custom S 2dr ht 1969 LeMans (2dr & 4dr ht & Cvt) 1969 LeMans Safari wagon 1969 GTO (2 Cvt, 2 ht & Judge ht) 1969 Cat (3 Cvt’s & 2dr ht) 1969 Ventura wagon 2 seat 1969 Exec 4dr post 1969 Bonnie Cvt & 2 wagons 1969 Bonnie Brougham (4dr ht & Cvt) 1969 Grand Prix 2 SJ’s 1969 2+2 2dr ht (Canadian) |
#14
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Got the new wagon on the road last week. Spent the winter going through any mechanical needs. Didn't have to open the engine but the balljoints were bad (surprising after only 49k miles, and easy ones from the condition of the car). Did the brakes too, luckily the drums and rotors were perfect, just needed pads, shoes. To be safe I had the rear cylinders replaced as well as the calipers rebuilt. Recored the original rad and the regular tune up stuff like battery, hoses, belts, water pump etc. I put a set of 235/75/15 Maxxis tires, really nice driving tires. Inside everything works great (seat, windows, locks etc) but I had the stereo radio and the 8 track serviced along with an NOS rear speaker to replace the scratchy sounding original. Power antenna was also sent out for service. What remains is to get the auto leveler and cruise working.
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My Break Away Squad 1969 Fbird (base OHC, 350, 400HO & Sprint Cvt’s - 400HO & TA ht’s) 1969 Custom S 2dr ht 1969 LeMans (2dr & 4dr ht & Cvt) 1969 LeMans Safari wagon 1969 GTO (2 Cvt, 2 ht & Judge ht) 1969 Cat (3 Cvt’s & 2dr ht) 1969 Ventura wagon 2 seat 1969 Exec 4dr post 1969 Bonnie Cvt & 2 wagons 1969 Bonnie Brougham (4dr ht & Cvt) 1969 Grand Prix 2 SJ’s 1969 2+2 2dr ht (Canadian) |
#15
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One odd thing was that the car had one inch aluminum spacers under the front coils. They looked like they were there for decades but the car sits beautiful without them now. Wonder why he installed them? Part of the answer may be that he had 225/70 tires on it before, they were 2.5" less in diameter than the factory 9.15's it had from the factory. Even the new 235/75/15's I now have are an inch less at 29" than those tall 9.15's
I need to align it now, with the spacers out the camber is clearly out of wack. I also replaced the exhaust with a well made Waldron set up. Easy install and sounds nice with factory style mufflers and resonators. The chrome tips you see in the pictures were actually standard equipment on wagons. I guess it was because the side outlet design would cut up peoples legs so the tip covered the sharp edged saw cut pipe.
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My Break Away Squad 1969 Fbird (base OHC, 350, 400HO & Sprint Cvt’s - 400HO & TA ht’s) 1969 Custom S 2dr ht 1969 LeMans (2dr & 4dr ht & Cvt) 1969 LeMans Safari wagon 1969 GTO (2 Cvt, 2 ht & Judge ht) 1969 Cat (3 Cvt’s & 2dr ht) 1969 Ventura wagon 2 seat 1969 Exec 4dr post 1969 Bonnie Cvt & 2 wagons 1969 Bonnie Brougham (4dr ht & Cvt) 1969 Grand Prix 2 SJ’s 1969 2+2 2dr ht (Canadian) |
#16
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It really drives well, the pillar and window frames makes it a tighter body than a hardtop and this wagon was factory equipped with the Y96 ride and handling option so it has much firmer springs and the 7/8" rather than 3/4" sway bar. By comparison my Executive 4 door sedan which has similar mileage but the standard suspension, the difference is amazing, the executive drives nice but in the floaty way you'd expect. Next week I'll weigh the wagon on a public scale, any one care to take a guess? I'd think it must be in the high 4's? especially with all those options.
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My Break Away Squad 1969 Fbird (base OHC, 350, 400HO & Sprint Cvt’s - 400HO & TA ht’s) 1969 Custom S 2dr ht 1969 LeMans (2dr & 4dr ht & Cvt) 1969 LeMans Safari wagon 1969 GTO (2 Cvt, 2 ht & Judge ht) 1969 Cat (3 Cvt’s & 2dr ht) 1969 Ventura wagon 2 seat 1969 Exec 4dr post 1969 Bonnie Cvt & 2 wagons 1969 Bonnie Brougham (4dr ht & Cvt) 1969 Grand Prix 2 SJ’s 1969 2+2 2dr ht (Canadian) |
#17
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Nice work, and a great looking Long roof! it will be interesting to see if it weighs less the 4600 lbs
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Jeff R 60 Jaguar Mark 2, 3.8L Automatic 67 Sprint Firebird 230 OHC-6 4-Speed A/C 78 Catlina Safari, Pontiac 400 powered 77 Astre Formula, 215 Buick V-8 T-5 73 Lemans Safari, 400 4bbl 4-speed 71 Catalina Enforcer, 455 4bbl 06 Mallet Solstice #024 LS2, Now with a Tremec 6060 6-speed! 2012 F-150 Echo Boost (My local Ford Dealer SUX!!!) 2020 Dodge Charger Scat pack (recovered) |
#18
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I was thinking 4650.........
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1977 Black Trans Am 180 HP Auto, essentially base model T/A. I'm the original owner, purchased May 7, 1977. Shut it off Shut it off Buddy, I just shut your Prius down... |
#19
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I’m guessing it will be close to 5,000 lbs, here’s why...
To give you a sense, I weighed my 69 LeMans ragtop and it came in at 3,950 with 350HO/TH400/AC and lots of other power options. My GTO ragtop came in at the same weight, also heavily optioned with AC etc but with aN M20. Both were weighed with a full tank of gas (130 lbs). The factory curb weight of a 69 GTO convertible Is 3,722 lbs and a Bonnie wagon has a factory curb weight of 4,783. The addition of options like TH400, PS, PDB, AC, power seat, windows, locks, stereo, 8 track etc should easily add 200 pounds. Btw, factory curb weight includes full fluids including fuel.
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My Break Away Squad 1969 Fbird (base OHC, 350, 400HO & Sprint Cvt’s - 400HO & TA ht’s) 1969 Custom S 2dr ht 1969 LeMans (2dr & 4dr ht & Cvt) 1969 LeMans Safari wagon 1969 GTO (2 Cvt, 2 ht & Judge ht) 1969 Cat (3 Cvt’s & 2dr ht) 1969 Ventura wagon 2 seat 1969 Exec 4dr post 1969 Bonnie Cvt & 2 wagons 1969 Bonnie Brougham (4dr ht & Cvt) 1969 Grand Prix 2 SJ’s 1969 2+2 2dr ht (Canadian) |
#20
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Question about the body side moulding. Years ago I had a 69 Bonneville Brougham 428 HO car (long branch manifolds, etc) that was loaded with options. I seem to recall the trim piece at the end of the side body moulding near the front bumper as possibly lighting up. It has been so long I can't remember. Can you confirm if it does light up or not?
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