[Rapdron]

I found a 68 triple black bonneville convertible, 428 4spd car with a/c & bench seat. I was hit in the nose many years ago, covered with a canvas tarp & simply parked in a garage. Frame appears straight & clean, needs new front sheetmetal, radiator, core support & condensor. Interior complete, one seam split which could be repaired. I saw it when I went to deliver a neighbors car to them.
I stopped by last weekend to ask about it. Original owner with window sticker, protect-o-plate, etc in glove box. We spent about 2 hours getting it running (new battery, points, plugs, gas, oil, etc.) Except for flat, dry rotted tires & a rusted exhaust,it sounds great!
Any ideas about currrent value, production #s for this car. He was talking about 2-3 thousand for the car. No idea which 428, trans or rear under her. Ran out of time to check.
He also has a 68 parts car (no motor or trans)available to fix this for free if I want it.
I like the idea of a big Bonneville 4spd conv't, not sure about the bench seat.

Any comments?

Another Red Light Nightmare

[Rapdron]

I found a 68 triple black bonneville convertible, 428 4spd car with a/c & bench seat. I was hit in the nose many years ago, covered with a canvas tarp & simply parked in a garage. Frame appears straight & clean, needs new front sheetmetal, radiator, core support & condensor. Interior complete, one seam split which could be repaired. I saw it when I went to deliver a neighbors car to them.
I stopped by last weekend to ask about it. Original owner with window sticker, protect-o-plate, etc in glove box. We spent about 2 hours getting it running (new battery, points, plugs, gas, oil, etc.) Except for flat, dry rotted tires & a rusted exhaust,it sounds great!
Any ideas about currrent value, production #s for this car. He was talking about 2-3 thousand for the car. No idea which 428, trans or rear under her. Ran out of time to check.
He also has a 68 parts car (no motor or trans)available to fix this for free if I want it.
I like the idea of a big Bonneville 4spd conv't, not sure about the bench seat.

Any comments?

Another Red Light Nightmare

[68 Prix]

sounds like a sweet car. Often thought about looking for a bench seat for my Grand Prix. I like the arm rest that folds down in them.

[pvan]

68 428 Bonneville convert value is a tough one all big bonnes are tough to value. Those of us with the big hot Bonnes are a rare rare breed and we know that what we have is cooler then any smaller car but that's a personal opinion.
I got well over 30k in mine, I paid $8k for it ten years ago, before I went thru it, I love it and it ain't for sale.
On the open market mine due to really nice all the way through, its black, has a factory 428ho, automatic, posi,dual snorkel air cleaner, #16's, 4 bolt, long branch manifolds, plus mines a #114 Talladega pace car, all these great options but is still only worth maybe $15k.
CONDITION and options is everthing, if yours is an ho engine, factory black, and has a very rare 4 speed with a posi, then its easily worth 3 now and well worth 12k when its in decent shape, if you turn it into a stock looking show car its probably worth $15k+ although it will drive like its worth a million bucks. Big Hot Bonnes are a dream to drive, my plate reads B1BOMR and the plate is right on!

[mike nixon]

it sounds like you should buy it if that's what you want. big cars are hard to find as they've been robbed of drivetrains to fix the more popular models.

if tha cars not rusted in the body the price doesn't sound like it's far off and if the parts are good that come with it it's sounds fair to me.


mike

[Rapdron]

Hi Mike.
I have a 66 Bonneville convertible that I'm trying to finish this winter & a 66 Starchief Executive 2 dr ht as a nice driver, so yes, I really enjoy the bigger pontiacs. I just thought it was pretty unique, having a 428, a 4spd & a bench seat convertible with factory a/c.
The body is in reasonably good shape, except for the slight alteration to the front end. Even considering the fact it's been sitting since 1986. Everything is original to the car right down to the window sticker. My 66 has a th400, a/c, buckets & a console which seems like the ideal package. I was just surprised by the bench seat with the 4spd.
I've always been impressed by a big Bonneville with a 4 speed. It's not my favorite year, but it's still quite impressive, even being banged up a bit. Hopefully he won't change his mind before I get to talk to him.

Another Red Light Nightmare

[SpartanMSU]

Not only should you buy it, but you should keep it stock too!

A Catalina would be more common, relatively speaking, with a 4-speed. And the Bonneville could be a 400 with a 4-speed, but it is not, so it's even more special. In the Standard Guide to Pontiacs, they have a list of how many were made with "synchromesh." It is very few. I would not be surprised if only 15 were made.

[Blackcat]

Having passed on 3 Bonnie Converts over the years.
All 4-speed.
My friend that ownes a Junk yard also Parted another.
I'd say that they were produced in the hundreds. Not just a dozen. Oh, 2 of the 4 were HO cars also.

Usually I'm found working on my Pontiac. If you want to find me Look for the white picket fence and all the old Pontiacs parked outside. And the half dissembled engine sprawled all over the driveway!

[Rapdron]

Blackcat

Did you pass on them because of the condition, price, or "?" I'm not looking to purchase one because of them being "RARE". I just remember how much fun it was driving a 65 hardtop with a 4spd. Another car I shouldn't have sold.

I would prefer to have a 64-66 Full-size 4spd convertible, but haven't found any in decent shape that the owner would sell for a reasonable price. It's a little tougher up here in the northeast where most everything has had major rust problems. I found a 66 Catalina in NY, but the prior owner had converted it(badly) into a 4spd car.

I think for now I might buy the 68 & just store it untill my 66 Bonnie conv't is finished well enough to drive.

Another Red Light Nightmare

[64fullsize]

I'm working on a 68 Catalina 400 4speed right now and let me tell you it's tough to find rust free sheetmetal for it.I've had little luck finding good sheetmetal for it.I would buy it and hold on to it.It's getting tougher everday to find these cars. How about some pictures? Good luck!

[SpartanMSU]

Blackcat, I respectfully disagree with your friend. Maybe he's thinking of '65s, where they made thousands of big cars with sticks, but by '68, there were very few, especially on the Bonneville. If I only had that book . . .

[Blackcat]

One can't disagree with my friend as I saw the car before he crushed it! (Oh, he still has the 4-speed trans!)
I mainly passed on the cars because of:
Money ( I never had any when they were for sale)
Want (I had my own projects at the time)
Like (67-69's are not the most attractive cars to me)


Usually I'm found working on my Pontiac. If you want to find me Look for the white picket fence and all the old Pontiacs parked outside. And the half dissembled engine sprawled all over the driveway!

['ol Pinion head]

Factory 428HO 4spd '68 Bonnevilles are rare. Like Diego, have seen (or have) copies of Fred Simmond's researched production sheets, & the numbers were REAL low, esp for the 4spd HO converts. Only '68 428HO 4spd Bonne convert I've ever personally examined, for any length of time, is in a very prolific Pontiac collector friend's warehouse... have never seen a Pontiac with so many factory installed options, the car even has power wing windows. In addition, the same collector owns a 428HO convert that Mickey Thompson owned new. This car was originally red, but was painted blue for Mickey & his wife. Could go on & on, but folks value their privacy, & I have probably written too much

[pvan]

Ol Pinion Head is right on, 68 4 speed big bonne 428ho's are extremely rare. No prior posts have said the 428 is an HO but due to the 4 speed it is likely an HO. To check if its an HO look at what # heads it has and also a tell tale sign is the cast header looking exhaust manifolds.
Another rare option on this 68 is the black colored paint,black in both 68 and 69 is also a very rare option.
I have all the original paperwork on my Black 69 428HO automatic convertible, it was ordered by a Pontiac dealer as his own personal car. Interesting to me are the hand written notes that indicated the carb, cam, heads, and exhaust manifolds were shipped in the trunk when the car was originally delivered. Also interesting to me is an old rivited aluminum tag on the firewall next to the VIN that has stamped into it: 1969 Talladega Pace Car #114.
I have never been able to verify where the tag came from, the best I can come up with is the dealer did it, as the factory has no record of ever making any 69 bonneville pace cars. Any ideas?

[Rapdron]

I won't be able to see the car again until after Jan 5th. I don't recall seeing those long branch exhaust manifolds, but I could be wrong. I do remember it having dual exhaust. I will make a copy of the window sticker & also check the engine #'s. I'll take a few photos also.
The car is a true triple black car.
The car had a 428 metal emblem on the radiator support which I thought was just an add-on, but now that I've seen a few others I guess it is from the factory.
I'm still very interested in the car. Hopefully the original owner doesn't read there boards!
The owner knows it's a special car which is why he's saved it all these years. Hopefully he won't change he mind about the price.

Another Red Light Nightmare

[Blackcat]

One had to order an HO car.
If they just wanted a 4-speed it came with the Standard exhaust. I've even seen 400-4-speeds in the big cars. The 428 is not standard. Remember that the base engine is 400 and the base Trans is a floor shift 3-speed.
Who knows how many 3-speeds ended up 4 later?

Usually I'm found working on my Pontiac. If you want to find me Look for the white picket fence and all the old Pontiacs parked outside. And the half dissembled engine sprawled all over the driveway!

[SpartanMSU]

Base 3-speed is on the floor? I thought it would be on the column, no?

[SpartanMSU]

I found the info I was looking for - 208 Bonnies were built with sticks in 1968.

[Rapdron]

Original owner of the 68 Bonnie called me today. He decided after reading posts here & on CP about the rarity of the car to keep it & fix it up for his kids. Yes, it is a 428 HO!

At least he was nice enough to call & explain. We had a great conversation about the car.
He even asked what he owed me for the points, plugs, etc. to get her running again.

Wished him a Merry Christmas.

I hope he does put it back on the road again. Nice car!

Anyone have any leads on a 64-66 Bonnie convert 4spd for sale?

Another Red Light Nightmare

[Brian Baker]

BC, your friend...is he a union member too?