Nearly Spotless Survivor: 1967 Pontiac Bonneville
TJ has really nailed it with this tip on a 1967 Pontiac Bonneville. It’s to be found here on eBay. It’s a one-owner car with a believable 66,000 miles on the clock. The originality boxes are all checked, in fact. If you want it, you’ve gotta jump into the bidding at nearly $11,000, but even then, you’ll need to push the number up, because it’s still short of reserve. The auction ends in a week, after which you’ll fly into the Nottingham, Maryland area and make an attempt, likely successful, to drive this golden beauty home.
The Bonneville was in its fourth generation (1965-70) by the time this one rolled off the line, though styling in the 1960s was radically changed as both front and rear views were updated. The interior, too, received a renewed dash with handsome bits and pieces. Only V8s were used, and this one has the 400-CID version. It’s got to have some power, as it is tasked with moving a more than 4000-lb, almost 20-foot-long, monster around. That’s right: 222 inches of Pontiac metal, in truth 18.5 feet, but who counts once you get up that high? Just check the dimensions of your garage before you put in your bid.
One thing that increases the value of a car is documentation, and this one has it in full starting from its delivery day, December 27th, 1967. Imagine the after-Christmas joy of the family which cruised this home, Signet Gold paint shining under a winter sun? Apparently, everything is done to the car, including all maintenance, is verifiable from that moment until this one through the paperwork. Barn Finders, how much extra is that worth to you on top of the price of the originality and of the car itself—three things stacked in favor of this massive hardtop? Value guides put a #2 Bonneville at around $17,500. Is that where you’d go on this one? The condition is perhaps not quite to that spec, but the docs add a few thousand bucks. History is not free.
About all you will need to address, or at least put on watch, is some bubbling on top of the rear window and in a couple of other places. There’s also some rust scale underneath, but it looks like it hasn’t created any perforation damage. You’d have to decide whether it was worth addressing for maintenance purposes, or whether for show reasons you need to put the underneath back to factory spec. I’d just fix what might appear to be ready to create trouble down the road and let it go at that. The trunk, unfortunately, has been wet under the mat, as the photos show some rust, but it’s still repairable, it appears. The car also needs some work on the AC and, if you bother in the age of the mobile phone, attention to the AM radio. The interior is absolutely stunning, with acres of gold vinyl and trim inviting you to sit, put the automatic into gear, and cruise.
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Comments
I’d swap a set of Rally II wheels onto this Golden Lady, and CRUISE!!
GLWTA!! :-)
The paper work definitely adds to the overall value of this beautiful Pontiac! I would absolutely take a chance on this one! If it runs as good as it looks – with the all the paperwork from day one – you betcha. It’s almost a miracle to bring a vehicle like this 56yrs and present it like this! I’m going to think about it all night – probably will drive me crazy. Oh well , at least someone will get a beautiful car. I hope they love it as much as the original owner did! Great article! Good luck.
My fav fullsize Pontiac,as a kid i loved that front end..1967 is epic.
‘Original’ is a fragile state on a car this old.
If kept indoors, out of the weather, this old Indian will last a bit longer, but put it into regular service, exposed to the sun and wet, and it’s going to deteriorate pretty quickly.
I would’ve thought these cars had 421 or 455 cube engines, as big as they are. And I thought the 389 cube was still being used in 67. It was in the GTO.
The GTO used a 400 rated 5 hp less than this one, I believe.
By 1967 GTO adopted the 400.
Final year for the venerable Pontiac 389 (and 421) was 1966.
In 1967, they would have had either the 400, or the 428 (1967-1969) The 455 was a 1970 offering, replacing the 428.
They could have put a 428 CID in it.
I owned the 9 passenger wagon version for many years. VINYL roof, incredible power, whole baseball team could fit, ate a water pump every 40,000 miles, when hot the starter would bind up, requiring a wait until it cooled, cross brace that held up rear of transmission broke due to metal fatigue from those 400 cubic inches of torque., not rust, gas tank fell down due to rusted strap, died of terminal rust at about 200,000 miles. 19 mpg on the highway, 11 around town. At death engine and transmission were still strong.
In my opinion the 65-68 generation of vehicles from GM, Ford, Chrysler and AMC was a great one! Build quality and design quality (for the time) was pretty solid- and the styling was fantastic! I think the 67 full-size Pontiac was amongst the best in the “good-looks” dept… although the 67 Ambassador was right up there
You should add 69 to your years for the Camaro alone.
I bought a 68 coupe March, 1973 when I joined the USAF. Driving from VA Bch to Pgh the timing chain “skipped” so I advanced spark plug wires in the distributor and sold it a month later. The 400 2bbl was adequate at best.
My dad years ago once owned the blue 1965 Pontiac Catalina two door coupe with the three eighty nine four barrel engine and a four speed hurst shifter pretty much quick for a boat!
Dad’s last new Pontiac was a beautiful turquoise on matching interior 67 Catalina. I still have a photo of me sitting in the driver’s seat at 11 years old. I waxed that car for him and took care of it, even at age 11. He lost his job that year and he traded it for a POS 1968 Ford Country Squire wagon. I was furious. I went with him when he bought the Cat from Henry Ruderman Pontiac in Port Jervis, NY. There was a red 67 GTO in the one car showroom and I told dad to buy that instead. He said mom would kill him. And he was not a car guy and we went home in the 67. He traded in his 66 white Safari wagon. That was a good car too. I owned numerous Pontiacs over the year, including 1969 and 1970 GTOs, a 1995 Bonneville and 1977 Grand Prix SJ. I miss my dad and the 67.
Also last year for the stacked headlamps and only year for a Gran Prix Convertible. This Bonneville has a light and airy design with all the glass and sloping roof. A true hardtop!
Beautiful. This is why I hold on to my old cars. So many new vehicles come with boring black as the only available interior color.