About Us

66 TigerGold · 02-01-2010, 11:36 PM

Here's my 65 Cat,389 2bbl,3 on the tree.

Engine-Ear · 02-02-2010, 01:05 AM

66 TigerGold, NEAT '65! I had a white one like yours, with several Police options.

It would be interesting to see interior and firewall pics that show details of what that year's "3 on the tree" looks like for people who may be building a car like this and would like to see what the finished product looks like...I would suggest that you start a new thread on this in the 62-66 Big Pontiac Tech section.

Steves65 · 02-02-2010, 06:29 PM

Here are some photos of my "Super Duty" Safari in progress. http://www.flickr.com/photos/3685772...7623212431347/

misterp266 · 02-02-2010, 06:37 PM

I like it! Great work!

I'm doing a '63 Safari but it will be blown with a 5 speed.

Engine-Ear · 02-02-2010, 08:22 PM

Steve, let's reschedule that visit when the wx gets a little better!!

66 TigerGold · 02-02-2010, 09:10 PM

Will get more pics when the weather gets better. Car is driver quality and use it alot when there's no snow or salt on the roads. Also has manual steering and brakes,great for parking!

REEDRACER · 02-04-2010, 01:20 PM

Here's my 64 Cat project.

Engine-Ear · 02-04-2010, 07:26 PM

ReedRacer - very cool...looks HAMB-friendly, too!

BigAquaBonney · 02-04-2010, 07:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by REEDRACER

Here's my 64 Cat project.

Gulfstream Aqua, too(?). Cool car. The little sister of my Bonneville.

Steves65 · 02-05-2010, 12:09 PM

Engine-Ear...yes lets do that. I've been meaning to call you but been busy with family stuff and trying to get ready to fire the motor up. Talk to you soon!

redranch · 02-09-2010, 05:37 PM

My 1965 Pontiac Bonneville Convertible was bought off the 3rd owner. It needed some work but was a great little car (little not being the right word as it was huge!).

Had a friend in Connecticut do some metal work, then it was put into storage for a year. In March 98 a guy in Oklahoma said he would paint it for me...that's where it all went wrong

He stripped the car, sandblasted the panels and told me the restoration work was under way, but he would need replacement panels as mine were too far go. So I sourced a junk yard in California and bought a ton of parts. At that time I live in the UK and went over to the US a few times a year...but for about 1.5 years when he was supposed to be doing the work I was working too hard to take a vacation.
So by the time I dropped in to see the work...to my horror he'd pushed the car out into the open where it's sat for the years...each year I call to see how it's progressing and get the same old story..."my painter quit and we are getting someone new in soon".
I even bought another 65 convertible to use as a part car )Gold), it had a whack on the rear quarter but was a pretty solid car.

So now I don't know what to do with the car, why should I pay for a new interior, an engine rebuild and fix lot's more rust than the car had when it wasn't that bad to start with and now it's trashed! if I haul it out of there...are they worth restoring, should I cut my losses and buy something that doesn't need as much work?

Or I might have to bite the bullet and find someone else to do the work for me, and spread the work over a few years.

So for now they are still sitting in that field in Oklahoma, not going anywhere. Maybe I'll have to find some cheap dry storage for them and then find someone to do the work properly this time. But I'll keep the cars in the US for now, and I don't care when they get restored as long as someone does a better job.

Hereis a link to some photos of the car, before and after:
http://www.autopendium.com/photos?it...m_type=Vehicle

...and here is the spares car:
http://www.autopendium.com/vehicles/...iac-Bonneville

Anybody want to give me the details of someone that want to make 2 cars into one good convertible or maybe I'll eventually restore 2 cars! The gold one didn't have an engine so i could make it into a 421 car...just a thought.

As the Gold car is a more complete car I could restore it then sell it to pay for the Maroon car...what do you think?

Cheers

Peter

wfbarto · 02-09-2010, 06:48 PM

redranch....sorry to hear your sad tales on your 65 Bonnevilles. My advice is that if you are not going to be actively involved in the restoration of your cars, you best best is to buy one already restored and driveable. You are learning the hard way about the restoration business. Get what you can out of the current two by selling them and if you still want a car, buy one already done. You will be lots of dollars ahead to the good!

redranch · 02-09-2010, 06:56 PM

wfbarto thanks for the sound advice...I did originally have a solid car, but simply gave it to the wrong body man to paint...I guess it's ebay time again (selling and buying).

Cheers

Peter

Deadhead · 02-09-2010, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wfbarto

redranch....sorry to hear your sad tales on your 65 Bonnevilles. My advice is that if you are not going to be actively involved in the restoration of your cars, you best best is to buy one already restored and driveable. You are learning the hard way about the restoration business. Get what you can out of the current two by selling them and if you still want a car, buy one already done. You will be lots of dollars ahead to the good!

I was thinking the EXACT same thing. Life is too short. If you don't enjoy building them, just get a done car now & enjoy it.

65 Cat 2+2 · 02-10-2010, 01:29 PM

Ditto to wfbarto's advice. '65 Bonneville's are expensive to restore, and (unfortunately) don't bring enough of a return to financially justify the cost. A couple of years ago I passed on a 421 convertible for $9000, and it was a decent driver quality car. You can spend that much on the metal plating on these monsters. I personally love that year Pontiac, and have been down the road of restoring mine, and am "upside down" on the value. But I did it for the love of the car - something I had to have. If you "have to have" a '65 Bonnevillle convertible, there are plenty of them available - done, ready to show or drive - at a decent price.

6 Grrrs · 02-10-2010, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redranch

wfbarto thanks for the sound advice...I did originally have a solid car, but simply gave it to the wrong body man to paint...I guess it's ebay time again (selling and buying).

Cheers

Peter

That is a shame. It looked like a decent car to start with.

I hate to hear these stories, but it happens often. Good luck in whatever you do with them.

redranch · 02-14-2010, 06:49 PM

For some reason I posted the twice as I didn't think to have it as a separate post...but it's now under 'A sad tale of two 65 Bonneville Convertibles', here is the link.

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=624431

I have more photos there too...thanks Peter

mkoser · 03-08-2010, 10:05 PM

Here is my '64 Catalina. 31,000 original miles. All original, except for the paint.

MK

Blackwood Goat · 03-08-2010, 10:59 PM

Nice

Rich

Engine-Ear · 03-09-2010, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mkoser

Here is my '64 Catalina. 31,000 original miles. All original, except for the paint.

MK

Great Cat, mkoser! A set of Arrowhead Components' NEW 8-lugs would really set off the car's lines right!

What ZIP code are you in? (I am about a half hour west of MKE)

Menu

About Us