[Tennesseestorm]

I am doing research on the 1971-1976 Pontiac full-size cars. Since the early to mid 70s cars were so oddly optioned in some cases, I am trying to see how everyones car is equipped.
Post each of the options your car has (in as much detail as possible) such as the following:
Power windows, power locks, power seat, split 60/40 seat, tilt steering column, cruise control, am radio, am-fm radio, tape player, cornering lights, bumper guards, bumper strips, door edge guards, side protective mouldings, map light, door courtesy lights, vanity mirrors, remote outside mirror(s), deluxe wheel covers, rear window defog, rear window defroster, power trunk release, vinyl top, A/C, auto-climate control A/C, "Custom" option (available on at least some of the early 70s Grand Villes), (3rd seat, woodgrain, luggage rack -stationwagon options) or ANY other features/options on your car that you think may have been optional. Also post the year, model (Catalina, Catalina Brougham, Bonneville, Bonneville Brougham, Grand Ville, Safari or Grand Safari) as well as body style (2-door hardtop, 4-door sedan, 4-door hardtop, convertible, or wagon).

Thanks for your help with this!

My post about my car will be on the following post.

[Tennesseestorm]

Ok- here are the details about my car:

1973 Pontiac Grand Ville Custom 4-door hardtop sedan- (455, automatic, color: burnished umber w/black vinyl top and saddle tan interior) -
Power windows, power locks, tilt steering column, AM radio, vinyl top, bumper guards, bumper strips, side protective trim, door edge guards, dome light w/map lights, lower door courtesy lights, 4-season A/C. My car also has the "Custom" option which includes cut-pile carpeting, deluxe color-keyed seat belts, rear lighters, front seat back handle for rear passengers, upgraded cloth upholstery and door panel trim. There are probably a few I have forgot to mention, but these are the basics.

Thanks again for your help.

[RAJNWDY]

too bad your not going back to 69. I have a Bonneville brougm that is Optioned to the max. 2 things it didn't come with...disc brakes and automatic temp control. but there are a couple options that came on the car that the AMA specs said weren't available for this car in it's setup. This was a special ordered car.

[Tennesseestorm]

Hello. Other years info also appreciated. I used to have a 69 Pontiac myself and I currently have a 69 Chevrolet Caprice as well. Thanks.

[mr67gp]

FWIW, I had a 1973 Catalina 2D HT, vinyl roof, A/C, 400 2bbl, cloth interior, AM/FM, and rear defroster (heated glass). Long since gone.

[soon2b2ltmp]

I have a 72 Catalina that has pwr brakes, A/C, AM radio, and not much else in the way of fancy options. I don't mind, since it's serving it's purpose!!!

[Stuart]

My long departed '71 Catalina two door hardtop had a 400ci 2bbl engine and automatic, power steering and brakes, A/C, pushbutton AM radio, vanity mirror on passenger sun visor, floor mats front and rear, a vinyl roof, cloth seats, and a trunk lid release button in the glove box. I think that's it...it was a pretty average car, nothing special or weird.

[Tennesseestorm]

Thanks for the replies- keep them coming.

Also- if you have owned the cars in the past- that is fine, or list the options on any model of these you have seen.

mr67gp- the 73 Catalina 2dr you had sounds like it was a bit unusual. Not many of the Catalinas had the FM radio and rear window defrost.

Stuart- the 71' you had sounds like a neat car. Today your car would be somewhat rare. Not many of the 71s are left these days. Also, the power trunk release was a fairly rare option on the 71' Catalinas. This option was usually placed on the Catalina Brougham, Bonneville and Grand Ville that year and even on those it seems like it is a more "unusual" option on these cars.

[RAJNWDY]

69 Pontiac Bonneville Brougham
2 dr htp cpe Midnight green with green cloth, White cordova top, automatic, power ant, rear window defogger, mirror right visor, mirror left visor, Mirror outside remote, Cruise control, instrument gauges, Remote deck lid, power brks, brougham trim, power door locks (vacuum), 6 way power bench, Air Conditioning, floor mats front, floor mats rear, reel light under hood, instant aire compressor, Saf-T-Track, 3.08 to 1 ratio, AM-FM Stereo radio, door edge grds, deluxe belts, Safe guard speedo, wire wheel hub caps, fender skirts, Varable power steering, Tilt wheel, Safety Ray Glass All, Auto level control, Cornering lamps, 8 track player, reel out light trunk, dual exhaust, CDI Ignition, HD radiator, HD air Cleaner, 428 HO 390 HP engine, 428 badge delete, Map lights. Now some of the options on this car are wierd when you look at the 69 option sheet. Take the radio for instance. I have the AM-FM stereo with 8 track, rear speakers, on the window sheet the stereo is code 388 and on the option sheet rear speakers were N/A for code 388, 392, 394. 392 is vibraphonic, and 394 is 8 track tape.
But this car was special ordered so anything would go from the factory. This car has many other things that were weird such as the two reel lights, I know the car is long but to have them front and rear?? A 3.08 ratio in the rear end was N/A with air conditioning according to AMA spec's, and then the CDI ignition, its mounted under the bumper, wired into the main loom, I do not have the coil or distributer but the wiring is all there, AMA specs for 69 says that it was unavailable....Not on my car...This was supposed to be a 68 HO but the factory ran out of HO's late in the run. This car followed a letter from the factory, to the gentleman that ordered it stating the fact of the shortage, and if he still wanted the car it would have to be a 69 model. He OKed it and the rest is history.

[stevep]

1n 73,my brother ordered a Bonneville coupe,red on red,no vinal,400 2bbl,no ac;cruise,stereo,heated rear window,Rally 2's and handling pkg.

[Tennesseestorm]

Steve- did your brother live up north? Seems like most of the "non-A/C" equipped cars of that era that I see are originally from the northern part of the country. In addition, it seems like most of the cars of that era I see with "rear window defog" or "rear window defrost" are also from the north- where these items are typically needed. There was recently a 1974 Caprice 4dr on E-bay that was from New York. It too lacked A/C, but had the rear defog option. Seems like most "non-AC" cars had that option. An exception was someone here locally that had a 1972 Buick Electra that I was comparing my old 1972 Electra to. It had the rear window defrost (heated glass), but it also had A/C, with the "auto-climate" option. It was a southern car, so I guess the heated rear window was just something the owner wanted to have incase it was ever needed. My Electra just had standard A/C and did not have rear defrost/defog option, but it was a southern car- which is not unusual. My car did however have the bumper guards option, as well as "finger tip gear shift" wiper control- which his car lacked. His car also had power trunk release- which my car did not have.

Here is a link to a E-Bay 1973 Pontiac Bonneville that I think is a very nice car. It has power windows, cruise, AM radio, A/C and what appears to be a switch for rear defrost/defog, but it lacks power locks and tilt. I think that the "BIN price" is very reasonable.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...e=STRK:MEWA:IT

[stevep]

Yup,we all still live in the Boston area.Back then a/c was still not that popular up here.

Up until the late 80's,you could always tell a Florida car beacause it didn't have a rear defog.

My brother figured the a/c would put him over budget as he had just recently graduated and gotten married.

He only kept that car 2 years due to the gas shortage and traded it in on a new Celica SR5 with a/c.His car had a vinal interior,not cloth.He also deleted the 4bbl and got the 2bbl.

[Tennesseestorm]

Yes, from what I can tell, a lot lacked A/C from up north. Interesting to hear a Bonneville lacking A/C and even vinyl top.

Most of these cars in the southeast- say from Virginia and Kentucky and points southward were equipped with A/C and did not have rear defrost. I think more had defog, because that was mainly used to remove moisture from the window, rather than melting ice- so it (defog) would be more popular than defrost on a southern car.

[stevep]

He did not want the vinal top because of the potential rust problem down the road.But he only kept it for 2 years anyway!
It did have a tough look to it with the Rally 2's and the radials without the vinal.

[Tennesseestorm]

That makes sense. I have seen a lot of these cars rust under the vinyl top cover. Moisture gets under there and rust develops.

Even here in the southeast USA, this can be one of the only places these cars can rust. My old 1972 Buick Electra had some bubbling under the vinyl top by the rear window, but otherwise it being a southern car- it was 100% rust free- no rust anywhere else. Luckily, my 73 Pontiac with the top is still fine in those areas. The top was recently replaced and suprisingly there was no rust under there.

I can see where the lack of vinyl top and the wheels would give it a sporty look. I am wondering- since he ordered the Bonneville with minimal options, is there any reason he chose the Bonneville over a Catalina? I know that was a long time ago. Have to get that memory working.

[stevep]

He picked the Bonneville because it was nicer than the Catalina.I think the Grand Ville was more than he wanted to spend.
Tha car listed for $5700.00 and he paid $4200.00.

[Tennesseestorm]

That makes sense. That was also a very good price. The original owner of my old 72 Buick Electra got a good price on it when he bought it. It had a sticker price of $6700 and he bought the car for $5900, because it was late in the 1972 year and they was making room for the 73s.

[mike nixon]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Stuart:
My long departed '71 Catalina two door hardtop had a 400ci 2bbl engine and automatic, power steering and brakes, A/C, pushbutton AM radio, vanity mirror on passenger sun visor, floor mats front and rear, a vinyl roof, cloth seats, and a trunk lid release button in the glove box. I think that's it...it was a pretty average car, nothing special or weird. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

had one that was a twin to this one in options.
tan int /vinyl top with an aztec gold ext.

[mike nixon]

i aslo had a 74 g/p sj that was an odd option car.
triple black, rally 2's. full guages, climate control,premium sound, manual windows, seats,locks [odd on an sj] orig 455 dual exhaust car with th400 and 3:23 posi.

mike

[Stuart]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by mike nixon:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Stuart:
My long departed '71 Catalina two door hardtop had a 400ci 2bbl engine and automatic, power steering and brakes, A/C, pushbutton AM radio, vanity mirror on passenger sun visor, floor mats front and rear, a vinyl roof, cloth seats, and a trunk lid release button in the glove box. I think that's it...it was a pretty average car, nothing special or weird. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

had one that was a twin to this one in options.
tan int /vinyl top with an aztec gold ext. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Mine had a tan interior, dark brown top and tan paint (don't remember the exact color names.) My dad bought it when I was in high school and drove it for many years, then I bought it from him and used it as my winter beater until one of the brake lines rusted out . By then the frame was almost ready to break in half from rust as well, so that was the end of that. It was a great driver, right up until the end. I wouldn't mind finding another one some day, just for nostalgic purposes.

From what I've read, they built a handful of full size Pontiacs in 1971 with manual transmissions (three on the tree only, and then part way through the year they dropped the manual transmission option altogether.) I wonder if there are any of those still left, I imagine they were all base model cars sold to old farmers.