New car! 1966 Bonneville 4-door hardtop

[66 Wagon]

I sold my 66 Bonneville wagon last saturday at Power Big Meet in Västerås, Sweden.
The new owner drove it 700 miles up north so I might not see it again, except maybe in pictures.

The other day I bought a new ride, a Darksider of course. It's a 1966 Bonneville 4-door hardtop.

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1269&pictureid=12268

Haven't driven the car yet, it's still in Syracuse, NY and I can't do nothing but just wait for it to take
the long trip across the Atlantic before it hits the shores of Sweden in around six to eight weeks.

I know it's a long shot but is there anyone here at the PY forum that knows anything about this car?
At the moment I can't provide with any more information than the license plate number.
Is it possible to search the NY DMV and get info about previous owners, VIN-code and other things just by using the license plate number?
We can do all of that in Sweden, for free, so I was wondering if you have any similar service in the US

[66bonne]

Absolutely gorgeous !!

Jim

[stevep]

Great car!

[Engine-Ear]

LOVE IT! Great lines, smooth all over, plenty of power...What more can a man ask for in a mechanical mistress?

Do let me know if you want a RediRad for it...shipped to the New York address and thrown into the trunk before leaves the harbor!

[66 Wagon]

LOVE IT! Great lines, smooth all over, plenty of power...What more can a man ask for in a mechanical mistress?

Do let me know if you want a RediRad for it...shipped to the New York address and thrown into the trunk before leaves the harbor!

Thanks for the offer Matt but it's already loaded for transportation to Baltimore, where it will be shipped.

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1269&pictureid=12270

Those wire hubcaps will have to go. I don't like them. Until I can afford a set of eight lugs I'll try to get a set of spinner hubcaps.

By the way, is there some way to change my user name?

[prd1955]

Nice car. Good luck with it.

Getting DMV information from New York State is impossible. I purchased a 66 Corvette from upstate NY in 2000 and ran into a brick wall looking for previous owners. You may try the local POCI chapter to get information from a member who might know the car. Judging by the nice condition, it may be well known. You might also check the local AACA chapter. A previous owner may have been a member. Both have websites.

I sold and shipped a 65 GP to Sweden a few years back. I mailed the new owner the protect-plate and full ownership history. Surprisingly, the car was owned by a site member here in the early 2000's and I was able to contact him after I purchased the car.

Have fun it's that beautiful car.

[66 Wagon]

I just received a photo of the Protect-O-Plate. Anyone that can help me to decode it?
It's the lower portion of the plate I can't figure out. I can read that it's Reef Turquoise with Turquoise interior
but the other codes is a bit of a mystery to me.

http://i66.tinypic.com/4rep02.jpg

[Bonn66]

Try your luck and send a letter to the address on the Protect o Plate.
I did when I bought Bonne back in 2010.
Couldn't believe my luck when I got an email back from the 74 year old original owner still living at the same address when he bought the car in '66.
Still in email contact with him often, he's now 80 and loves seeing pics of Bonne on runs and at shows.
Worth a shot.

[Heybuck]

X2

I wrote to the address on my protect-o-plate back when I bought my '66 Grand Prix.

Got a nice letter back from the son of the original owner. The owner bought my car new in November 1965, owned it till 1996. The car was sold on his death. At the time his wife was alive and she in turn was a life time friend of the wife of the salesman who sold it new. He too had passed but I was staggered to also receive a letter from the salesman's wife saying how pleased everyone was to know the car was still in safe hands.

The only missing link that I can't find anything about is the 3 year period between 1996 and 1999 (when I bought it) although I know whoever owned it did a long trip across the top of the USA and then back to Oregon via Canada. I found a big wad of motel, petrol and food receipts still in the car.

Still got all that stuff in my files.

Good luck with your search

ian

[66 Wagon]

Try your luck and send a letter to the address on the Protect o Plate.

Worth a shot.

I google searched the name and address on the Protecto plate.
It turned up that the first owner, M.D Fesperman, passed away in 2009 and his wife a couple of years earlier.

Marselle Fesperman was 45 years old when he bought the car in January 1966. I don't know yet when he sold it.

The Fespermans married in 1941, propably before he went off to war. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps
during World War II in the Pacific on Guam as a machine gun and bombsight technician on B-29 bomber aircraft.

I have the name and address to Mr. Fespermans son, so I will sit down and write him a letter, since he has no known email.
And I might get some more information when I get the hands on the documents that will come with the car.

Mr. and Mrs Fesperman took good care of the car, I think. The interior looks really good. Can't wait to see the car in person...

http://i63.tinypic.com/dr2fc6.jpg

[66 Wagon]

Got in touch with the son of the cars first owner yesterday.
As he recalls, Mr Fesperman bought a demonstration vehicle, propably at some dollar discount, at Wallace Motor Company, the local Pontiac dealership in Salisbury, NC.

There are no options on it, except power brakes and steering. Mr Fesperman had an air condition added at the dealer. The right hand mirror and third brakelight are newer additions.

Here's an old photo of Mr Fesperman with the car. It looks blue but is in Reef Turquoise.


http://i65.tinypic.com/j935nd.jpg

The car originally came with the standard deluxe wheel discs and Fesperman kept them on until he sold the car,
so the wire wheel discs that currently are on the car is an addition by some later owner. They will have to go, since I don't like them.

Mr Fesperman traded the car in for a brand new 1987 Bonneville Safari and that is so far I have come with my search for the history of my new ride.

[66bonne]

Had to come back to this thread as I am really starting to appreciate the 4 doors. This one is beautiful.

Jim

[66 Wagon]

It's about time people start to appriciate 4-door Pontiacs and end the slaughter of them in order to get parts for coupes and convertibles.

[Heybuck]

It's about time people start to appriciate 4-door Pontiacs and end the slaughter of them in order to get parts for coupes and convertibles.

Interesting you make this comment. I could not agree more with you.

And a good friend of mine here who owns an original 4 door 1962 Impala Sport Sedan is passionate about 4 doors (although it must be a pillarless sedan). His car was the cover feature car in an American Chevrolet Magazine about 6 months back. It all came about because of the rarity of perfect (Carl's car IS PERFECT), 4 door Chevrolets in the US. So many have been lost to use as parts cars for yet another 2 door Coupe or Convertible.

Of course another Interest in Carl's car is the fact that Chevrolet built 200 of these Impala's as export RHD cars for Australia and they used a RHD version of the 1961 Pontiac dash. The cars were built in the Tarrytown NJ factory which is apparently now long gone.

My own "retirement" project is my 1965 4 door hardtop Bonneville. One day.....;)

[66 Wagon]

http://i68.tinypic.com/rvc2h1.jpg

Finally, 45 days after I found the car on eBay and an 800 mile voyage by truck and ship,
I could get behind the wheel and take it for it's first ride. It was a smooth quiet ride.

http://i68.tinypic.com/w4cbt.jpg

Now I need to wait for the DMV to register it and hand out the license plates.
After that it must pass some inspections before I can drive it legally on the road.

http://i68.tinypic.com/6gzq5y.jpg

The car is in a very good condition, not a show winner but a really nice driver. The interior is really good.

http://i67.tinypic.com/sqnia9.jpg

http://i66.tinypic.com/eiquqa.jpg

The odometer says 86,881 miles and I believe it's correct. No way it has gone another 100k miles.
On the inside of the door there is a Conoco decal. I just had to take a photo of it.

http://i63.tinypic.com/33nz58l.jpg

At 83,729 miles the car got it's last documented oil change and lube job.
Look at the date, 3-28-87, the car has been driven 3,152 miles for the last thirty years

http://i64.tinypic.com/29ekxlx.jpg

[OZZIEVILLE 67 2 door]

Very cool darksider..I got one of them stickers on my car..
A set of 8 lugs would set it up real nice

John L. :ausflag:

[66 Wagon]

I noticed one odd detail about my car. There is an arrowhead emblem on the trunklid.
From what I've learned these arrowhead were only on Catalinas, Star Chiefs and 2+2's.
Not on Bonnevilles and Grand Prix's. Am I right or wrong?

http://i63.tinypic.com/2heexkm.jpg

[Engine-Ear]

From what I've learned these arrowhead were only on Catalinas, Star Chiefs and 2+2's. Not on Bonnevilles and Grand Prix's.

Where is that being taught? (I would call that misinformation)

[66 Wagon]

Where is that being taught? (I would call that misinformation)

By looking at other '66 Pontiacs around me and in brochures, this is the first Bonneville I've seen with an arrowhead on the decklid.
And Ames states that their repopped rear arrowheads are for Cat, Star Chief and 2+2 only. On the hood all of them has the arrowhead.

Maybe it's a later add on and not factory?

[Engine-Ear]

While I am neither a '66 guru nor do I recall NOT seeing the arrowhead on the deck lid, I would expect that all '66 DarkSiders had one.

But if GP and Bonne do NOT have them as standard equipment, another angle to consider: Since both Star Chief and Bonneville have the extended trunk area, perhaps a S/C deck lid was used to build this one due to lack of availability of a Bonneville one.

Hmmm...

[66 Wagon]

...Since both Star Chief and Bonneville have the extended trunk area, perhaps a S/C deck lid was used to build this one due to lack of availability of a Bonneville one.

Hmmm...

And then the lid were drilled for holes for the BONNEVILLE letters? Yes, it's possible. I guess I'll never know for sure.

Speaking of the trunk, I replaced the trunk seal today. The old one were missing a few bits and was
frizzy at several places but surprisingly enough it was as soft as the new one.

http://i67.tinypic.com/245hgg6.jpg

[Deadhead]

Wonder if someone added that to the deck lid? How is it attached? Never seen a '66 GP or Bonneville with one.

[Heybuck]

Is it a '65 emblem?

Was there any difference between a '65 & '66 emblem? I know my '65 Parisienne Convertible has an emblem on the trunk lid and my '66 Grand Prix has an emblem on the hood but I've never examined them closely side by side to see if the patterns are the same.

And seeing my '65 is in a zillion bits:mad:, I'm not sure where to look to quickly find it:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

[raggare]

I have a '66 Bonneville with an arrowhead on the trunk lid (see picture)...... but I installed it myself.
I had just bought my Bonneville and stopped at a salvage yard in Oklahoma where I found a '66 Bonneville sedan (like yours) with an arrowhead on the trunk lid. I didn't have that, and it looked good, so I bought it, and drilled my trunk lid for it. Only later on did I realize the same as you, Bonnevilles don't normally have this!
But I am pretty sure it was original on the sedan I took it off of. And you seem to believe yours is also original.
A small mystery....

[66 Wagon]

Wonder if someone added that to the deck lid? How is it attached? Never seen a '66 GP or Bonneville with one.

Me neither, never seen one on Bonnies and GP's. And we do have a lot of them over here.
Here's what it's looks like on the inside of the trunk lid.
Yes, someone added it. The factory or a dealer or a previous owner? Hard to tell but I think this someone knew where to put it

http://i66.tinypic.com/14j7ub5.jpg

Looks like the emblem has been there for a long time. And I will not remove it. I like it.

http://i67.tinypic.com/iml9xj.jpg



Is it a '65 emblem?

Was there any difference between a '65 & '66 emblem?

Haven't got a clue what year my emblem is. I guess I can take it off and check the parts number on it.

[Deadhead]

Must be the underside of the lid is the same as the other models, so it would have provisions for the emblem and be easy to locate & add. Cool. Make it your own!

[johnta1]

I can read that it's Reef Turquoise with Turquoise interior
but the other codes is a bit of a mystery to me.

Not sure if you got an answer to this?

The 1 18 66 is date the car was delivered to customer I think.

The 251?733 is the motor unit number
YEP is the engine code - YE ; P is for Pontiac I think
PD is for the trany code - TH400
75958 is the tranny unit number

The 'C' and the 'H' not sure but probably the rear end code and something else.

:)

[66 Wagon]

Not sure if you got an answer to this?

The 1 18 66 is date the car was delivered to customer I think.

The 251?733 is the motor unit number
YEP is the engine code - YE ; P is for Pontiac I think
PD is for the trany code - TH400
75958 is the tranny unit number

The 'C' and the 'H' not sure but probably the rear end code and something else.

:)

Thanks. Yes, I figured out most of it myself but not the "C" and "H". I will check the code on the rear axle and see if it has something to do with it.

[66 Wagon]

Today my car passed all the tests that are required before it is considered a Swedish citizen and street legal.

http://i63.tinypic.com/deb6sy.jpg

Now I have to wait a couple of days to get the license plates before I can take it for a drive without looking all around for the police.

http://i66.tinypic.com/1z1xued.jpg

The same day it just turned over to 87,000 miles.
I know I'm over the limit to consider it a low mileage car but what do you guys think about how many miles is low?

[Stuart]

If you consider the age of the car, the mileage per year is really low. That's how I look at it. :)

[66 Wagon]

I found a note behind the rear seat back. Can anyone tell me what the codes are?
"26239" is obvious, it's a 4-door Bonneville and "548" is the green morrokide interior.
But the rest, what could it be?

http://i66.tinypic.com/29cs7tf.jpg

[Heybuck]

Wonder if someone added that to the deck lid? How is it attached? Never seen a '66 GP or Bonneville with one.

I looked at my '65 Parisienne trunk lid (Same size as a Catalina) and heres some pictures showing that to fit the emblem, it will require the mounting holes to be recessed into the top of the lid.

[66 Wagon]

I found a note behind the rear seat back. Can anyone tell me what the codes are?
"26239" is obvious, it's a 4-door Bonneville and "548" is the green morrokide interior.
But the rest, what could it be?

http://i66.tinypic.com/29cs7tf.jpg

I found out that "A39" is front and rear De Luxe Belts and that "D34" is the visor vanity mirror.
Wonder what "19", "MC" and "B50" can be?

[66 Wagon]

Some of you might not like this but I do.
Since a 1966 Bonneville has three bulbs in each tail light for brake lights
and turn signals I couldn't resist to add sequential turn signals on my car.

https://media.giphy.com/media/RoyeTK3wrYdy/giphy.gif

[Stuart]

Some of you might not like this but I do.
Since a 1966 Bonneville has three bulbs in each tail light for brake lights
and turn signals I couldn't resist to add sequential turn signals on my car.




I like it. :)

[Marv]

Sequential turn signals looks awesome :)

[66 Wagon]

Here's some more "useless" information about my car.

http://i68.tinypic.com/2ms2g3s.jpg
This car has a third brakelight. It was added by one of the previous owners and has GM markings on the inside.
The housing has the same color as the interior. To me it belongs to the history of the car and I will leave it there.

http://i65.tinypic.com/35n6asy.jpg
My car was equipped with the optional full width front floor mat.
It had a big crack in the middle and had 10 feet of of duct tape on the backside to keep it together.

http://i66.tinypic.com/m8mwxt.jpg
I was the lucky enough to find a NOS full width mat. It wasn't cheap but it looks really good.
The aftermarket under dash AC unit was added on August 23, 1969. I found the reciept in the glovebox.
It was installed by the same dealer who sold the car in January 1966, Wallace Motors in Salisbury, NC.
The AC didn't work when I got the car but I had it filled and replaced the thermo switch so now it blows ice cold.

http://i63.tinypic.com/33k68ts.jpg
One thing I haven't seen on a Darksider before is these rain gutters on the outside of the vent windows.

http://i68.tinypic.com/20iw8i1.jpg
I've seen them on Cadillacs and I guess they are to prevent water from entering the car while driving in rain.

[66 Wagon]

Here's some more photos of the car.

http://i66.tinypic.com/2502yyr.jpg

I've had it a year now and I'm very pleased with it.

http://i65.tinypic.com/2hh3nug.jpg

It drives very well and has a smooth quiet ride.

http://i66.tinypic.com/2r59hrd.jpg

Here it is with some friends Darksiders.

http://i64.tinypic.com/2cpqrgw.jpg

Even the wire wheel discs, that I didn't like at first sight, has grown on me. I like them a lot now.

[66 Wagon]

When I bought this car someone sometime had painted the engine the wrong color.

http://i63.tinypic.com/30js02a.jpg

So I pulled it in order to get the best looking engine paint in automotive history. The Pontiac blue metallic.
The car has 93,000 miles so it won't be just a repaint. An early 100,000 mile service will be done.

http://i65.tinypic.com/1zn0v14.jpg

Under the valley pan things looked quite good, no baked oil, heavy dirt or rust,
so previous owners seems to have done the oil changes with some regularity.

http://i64.tinypic.com/2e64rux.jpg

Inside the timing cover it looked good too,

http://i63.tinypic.com/fld01e.jpg

The stainless plates were also in really good shape and will not be replaced, even if I bought a set, just in case.
so I will just replace the timing gears, waterpump, freeze plugs, rear main seal and a few other bits and pieces

[694.1]

Just saw this thread. Bravo!

[gtospieg]

sweet ride

[mgarblik]

The engine looks very clean inside. Love the exterior color. You have a great car there.

[66 Wagon]

And two years later, in July 2020 I sold the car.
I bought a house and found out I didn't have the time or enough interest to keep it.

[OZZIEVILLE 67 2 door]

Plenty of Pontiacs in Sweden if you want another in the future.
Darksider of course.

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