[Ben M.]

That's a beautiful car, hard to imagine anyone not driving that.

[Keith Vrabec]

Carl I have hubcaps....May as well drive it here and get one installed..Will have to test drive it though after hubcap installation.....Just to be sure ya know.
KV

[mike nixon]

WOW she's a looker!

Get her cleaned up and take the boy to prom in it!

Mike

[TempestFugit]

We made it to the Prom.!

Cleaned and detailed the car, replaced the package tray, sewed up the headliner and a quick wax job and off to the Prom, chauffeured by his older brother (much cooler than being driven by Dad.)

P.S. we found a set of PMD hubcaps with spinners up in the attic. Not sure what year they are from.

[TempestFugit]

Tar paper package tray, patched up headliner, and ready for the prom.


Keith, thanks again for having my back with that trailer. The car turned out to be better than I expected.



P.S. The guy I got the car from said that one of the the last times he rode in it was when his father took him to his prom in it.

[mike nixon]

That's AWESOME that you made prom with it. The kids make a cute couple.

Patrick Ray was kind enough to give me permission to take Tray and his Date to prom in his 66 'vert but the temps did not cooperate for the top down experience. Tray was bummed, his date was happy there was heat in what we drove.

[TempestFugit]

Yeah, that's the problem with convertibles. When everything is right - nothing compares, but there's a narrow range of perfect conditions.

That Bonneville Vista Series 62 was made to arrive at a formal event in - Style!

[Jeff Hamlin]

...Real nice,
Can you drive that all the way in or do you have to have a harbor pilot come out

PS those spinners are '67

[Heybuck]

That girl and your son may in years to come struggle to remember the names of their partners for the night but neither of them will EVER FORGET that ride to the prom.

What an experiance for everybody. That's what makes life good.

That car just has to be a keeper.

Ian

[Engine-Ear]

cAp! Welcome (back?) to the DarkSide, man!

'65 Bonneville Vistas are best-of-breed, IMO.

What is the numeric suffix of you VIN? I can tell you if you have the early or late suspension (or if it ORIGINALLY did, anyway).

Also, '65s have the LAME nylon-toothed cam gear on the timing set. After 50 years and so few miles, the gear is probably original...those teeth grenading is only a matter of time (BT, DT). I strongly suggest a preventative measure of a new Cam gear and Chain (Crank gear doesn't need renewing, IMO).

PM me when you get a chance...I lost your number.

[TempestFugit]

Hah, harbor pilot!
At times it would also be nice to have an oversize escort vehicle in traffic and parking lots.

It was a ton of work going from benign neglect dead storage, to the Prom in 24 hours, but I agree, it's the stuff memories are made of (all around) and if that's not why we are doing this stuff then what's the point. (Got a wedding coming up in July...)

Matt, Yeah I'm back for more... (Darksider) I had a '65 Cat awhile back that I sold (gave away) to some lunatic (with a couple of 1926's) out Chicago way.

I'd bet the suspension is original. Looks like all the 2nd owner did was have it painted and normal maintenance. They did a beautiful job on the paint but then after 3k miles just let it sit in the sun & Philly winters. Covered at first but when the cover tattered it came off and the sun burnt a few spots in the clear-coat. It's going to need a paint doctor for the trunk lid and a couple patches on the roof.

The vin is 262395E what's the story on the suspension difference?

Thanks for the heads up on the timing gear. I'm familiar with them but didn't realize this car has one. Do they degrade from time too or only from 'spirited' driving? From the sound of this engine it has had a very soft life.

PS 67 spinners eh? thanks... Going to have to check into what's correct.

[LASJayhawk]

We need the other end of the vin (E1XXXXX) to determine if it is the 1st type or 2nd.....I'll being my cheat sheet home tomorrow and post the breakdown.

The speaker grill will come out, You have to pull the dash pad to get to the hardware. The dash is held in by the screws going up in the instrument panel. Then there are 2 snap fasteners at the end of the dash pad, pull the dash pad to the rear to disengage them. Unplug the speaker from the radio, then......

Remove the wiper arms and take the cowl panel off between the hood and the windshield, on the drivers side there is a stud with a nut on it, remove the nut and remove the dash pad.

Make sure you seal around the stud when you put the dash pad back in, or you will get your feet wet when it rains.

[Deadhead]

Buy the repro speakers from S/M Electro tech. They are a million times better than re-coning. If you get the shallow kind, it will "drop right in" inasmuch as that is possible with anything in this location. For the huge PITA this is, it is not worth putting a re-coned job in you will have to replace again.

[TempestFugit]

Thanks for the pad removal info.

Question... How brittle is an original pad? This one looks original and only has one minor crack in it going from the speaker grill forward to the windshield. It's not very noticeable unless you're looking for it. What are the chances of getting it out & back in without destroying it.? (How much is a new one?)

133567 is the number

Yep I'll be picking up some repro speakers along with that package tray

[63gpman]

No new ones out there for our cars. Used or rebuilt is only option on these (unless you get very very lucky). You should be able to get it out and back in no problem, but you have to be very nice to it!!!

Fyi, not the right place to put this, but looking at that HT 4 door got me looking again. I don't have the cash, but looks like a good deal for anyone lookin'
http://madison.craigslist.org/cto/3800517332.html

[LASJayhawk]

!st type on the front end. Linden cut over at 5E152663.

The dash pad should come out ok as long as you know about the hidden nut under the cowl.

[Deadhead]

I had mine in and out recently. Very brittle. Obtained new cracks in the process. Be sure to have a gentle helper with you when you do it. Expect a few new cracks. You have to bang the edges to get them back into the bathtub clips. If you have A/C, hooking up the center vent can also stress the pad.

Take some Pics as you go. The center vent is a little tricky. Remove/unhook as much as possible under dash to have a look first.

[TempestFugit]

I think I'll try to spruce up the speaker grill in it's natural habitat before I pull the dash pad. Beginning to think it's not so bad after all.

Any significant difference between the two suspensions or just a matter of different part numbers?

(That '66 Executive is nice!)

[mike nixon]

first design have plates welded over the ball joints. I think the steering joints are different also but I'd have to dig more to confirm.

[LASJayhawk]

The ball joints/ lower control arm is a separate issue. They made a purge of the 65 lower control arms in late Nov. 64 and added the welded plate. I'm guessing a few arms broke in service.

The front lower arms were redesigned for 66-70. The redesigned arm became the service replacement for bot types of 65 front lower control arms.

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