1968 Bonneville convertible
 

Hi guys new member from Australia here.

Just wondered how rare are the 68 Bonnevilles, in particular the convertibles? I have a chance to buy one that's on its way here but I can't find anyone who knows anything about them on the ozzy forums.

The car has minimal trunk and rear quarter rust but requires a full trim kit. The top will also need to be completely rebuilt. I like the shape of the car and I'm a hands-on guy but I want to find out more before I commit to buying it. I really can''t find much info on these cars... were they not liked much? What other models shared parts with them?

Any help would be very appreciated! :)

Mike.

p.s. these cars are really expensive here, even when they need a rebuild. Something that would cost $800 in the US will sell for $6000 here or more!

68 Bonneville convs are pretty scarce. There is no reproduction sheet metal available. Some 67 parts will work. They are good cars with good drivetrains.
What do you mean about a "full trim kit"?

I can help you locating parts.

If you have pictures, I will be happy to look at them and advise you.

I know that there is a strong Pontiac Club in Austrailia.

Thanks for the reply mate. This is the link to the car I'm referring to;

http://www.americanused.com.au/intrans.html

Just scroll down the page a bit and you'll see it.

The guy who advertised it has used the words 'full trim kit' so I'm assuming he means the interior is stuffed!

Cheers for the help

Mike

http://www.americanused.com.au/images/pit007_028.jpg

Don't look to bad. A lot of surface rust, but from the pictures it don't look like it's rusted threw. Check the frame real good to make sure it's in tact. It's going to take a lot of work, but will be a very nice car.

How hard is it to have a car shipped in to Austrailia?

I'm sure that we could find you a "turn key car" for not that much more than what they are asking for that.

There are no interior kits available and the front armrests are moulded into the door panels, which make things much more difficult.

It does appear to be pretty solid.

That's what I was afraid of. If you guys can't get the bits and pieces over there, then there is no chance for us!

We can find parts, but you just can't open a magazine and buy what you need for this car. The door panels have to be made by a company in Oregon called SMS and they take a LONG time to complete. But I should be able to help you find what you need.

SMS will also have the correct vinal for the interior and the covers will have to be made.

The thing is;

I do like the looks of the Bonneville but frankly it's competing with other cars that I also admire which have many more parts available i.e camaros,impalas and thunderbirds.


Thanks for your help anyway guys but I think I've made my mind up that the '68 Bonnie is taking a trip to the too-hard basket!

How much does it cost to bring a car into the country?

Seems to be around the AUD$4000 mark from what I've seen.

What do you have in mind?

I don't really have anything in mind at this second, but I always seem to run across stuff.

I was just figuring that if you bought that 68 for 7 grand as is and restored it, you would be into it pretty deep. There was a guy driving a real nice 68 Bonneville conv last summer with very low mileage and he was asking over 20K, but the car was an untouched original. So what I am saying is that I may be able to find you a nice, turnkey Big Pontiac convertible in the 10-20K price range. Last spring I sold a 1 owner 69 Bonneville conv for 13thousand that ran and drove fine and had mostly original paint.

Let me know your thoughts. I am not a dealer, but I am in the auto business and always play around with Classic Cars.

Hey thanks for all your help Bud, do you have a name?

The reason I'm looking at the '68 rebuilder is because I have a low starting budget, around $7000US and I really can't afford an expensive car to start off with. Most of the appeal of the Bonneville to me is rebuilding it, I'd like a challenge and something I can work on over the years while the missus does her thing you know what I mean?

Mike

Yes, my name is Steve.

I understand your situation.

Cheers Steve

I've browsed through lots of sites and noticed that most convertible top parts are easy to come by, including cylinders and rebuild kits. Apart from not being able to get new sheetmetal, what is the next rarest part of the car going to be?

cheers

Mike

Yes, the convertible parts are readily available. The door panels and seat skins will have to be made. By the looks of the body, it seems that the sheet metal is pretty good. All the mechanical parts are readily available. A dash pad can be a problem, but I have one, if you need it.
The best way to say this is that everything is "available", but finding eveyrthing may be an issue. If you had a Camaro, all you would have to do is go online and everything is there.

I can help to guide you through this.

hi guys. Im from Lithuania (European Union). At the moment i have Pontiac Bonneville 1968 convertable. Im thinking to sell it or restorate. The parts for this car easyly area available in www.PontiacParts.net and www.kanter.com. Few month ago i restorated Pontiac CHIEFTAIN 1951and i bought the parts from pontiacparts, and im very happy with that company, all parts and shipping went with no problem. If someone is still interested in this topic with bonneville, i can guide you with this questions, because i went throw all this ordering, buying parts. Good luck

Pontiacparts.net is actually California Pontiac Restoration AKA "CPR" in California, which is owned by a long time friend and Pontiac Enthusiast, Rich Plastino. He helped me find some very difficult pieces for my 1960 Bonneville and my former 1954 Star Chief Convertible.