Well, ok, it'll take me a bit to get some decent pics up in my signature, but this is what i got so far:

'88 Bonnie LE w/75K for $2K. Body'* clean, good wheels and tires and the interiors in pretty good shape too. I'm too old and broke for full-time shop work but since I found this site, I'm so jazzed I can't hardly sit still. Nobody did anything special with the car (Including zilch hi-perf upgrades), so I have to figure out how to bring the car up to snuff before I start to add tricks and treats.

Can someone point me to the best forum to find out what all I can do to bring this baby up to par? I'd really greatly appreciate it.

Somebody painted the WHOLE thing black. Even covered the door handles and the grill emblem... :?:

Well, enough for now... To you folks that made this site what it is, thanks. GREAT job...

Mike

Welcome Mike,

I am one of the few Southern California Bonneville owners on the site.....Seems we are a rare breed!

I am new to this new world of Bonneville addicts too, having just purchased my 99 SE 4 months ago.....but I can testify that the members here have been alot of help to me.

I have been able to find missing parts and alot of good knowledge about my particular year/model of Bonneville, here on the site.

If you do not have a drivers manual for your 88 try ebay, that is where I found a good copy of my model/'year. It helps to know what all the buttons and switches do!

So again, welcome and make yourself feel at home! Your among friends!

Thanks for the welcome. Yeah, I'm sure there'* no shortage of Pontiacs here in SoCal... think maybe no one in the area uses the Internet?... nah, that couldn't be it

I took your advice and checked ebay and I even found a Bonneville repair manual that GM released for factory mechanics... something like $30.00! I drove a Buick Skylark for 10 years and there'* no forum for that car anything like this forum. This is great.

holy crap. 2k for an 88? Seems a bit much. That car better be showroom new!

Best get some pics soon! We're driven by pics around here. Its like our fuel. We're a graphic bunch. No pun intended. Or was it.

snicker... it WAS a bit much but it'* in good shape (only 75Kmi) and has a new tranny. As for pics, have to go the route of a film camera>develop pics>scan to printer>save to file>... get the picture?

Actually, my ex bought it because I do ALL the driving to get our son and bring him back (30 miles one way-3 and 4 times a week). It needs to be freshened up though. Clean the pwr window guides, hi-perf plugs and wires, etc. Anybody know of a laundry list of things that could be done to this car to bring it back to life?

Mike

Welcome...kick off your shoes and enjoy the forum.

The basics stay true.

Since you recently purchased the car: plugs, wires, O2, throttle body cleaning, a fuel injector cleaner in the gas tank and checking all the vacuum hoses for cracks/dry rot can all be in order.

There'* a wealth of information in Techinfo to get you started. Glad you found a new home.

jeez... 76,000 posts between the two of you... any chance you've answered the same question twice (or so? :? ) Thanks for the welcome and the info... I'm on a dial up so reading every post, well, let'* just say cars may not even exist by the time I'm done so thanks for the pointer to the "Techinfo" forum.

Mike

LOL.. we've answered it a few time Mike.

Well covered .... mostly in the Performance area of Techinfo. being that most want to get more from their car.

Overall.. a good NGK TR55 or Autolite copper plug will treat you well. If you want something that lasts longer, spring for the Iridiums. Plug wires.. AC Delco (parts america) or Napa Belden'* are lifetime and good quality.

Steer clear of Bosch products (the don't agree with our car'* diets) and you should be fine.

Or are you maybe looking for a step by step how to perform this maintenance?

Thanks BB. No, I'm not looking for step-by-step on plugs and wires-type stuff. I found the Throttle Body cleaning tutorial and I think I can do that and have the car start when I'm done-maybe

I'd like to bring the Bonnie up to top stock condition before I add much in the way of mods. I also found a tutorial on how to buy a car and "dang" if'n I don't wish I'd seen it sooner. Right now it needs Wires/Plugs, TB cleaning, O2 sensor, (What'* an "Airbox" or a "Gutted Airbox?"), EGR cleaning... even if that stuff'* okay I want to start my own Maintenance Routine so I know for sure what'* been done and when. I've got an AC noise that'* not bad, but I need to spec it out to be sure. Also may have a faint CV joint noise.

You know, I'm kinda getting past the introductory stuff here. Is there a better place for these kinds of discussions, like say the 87-92 Mechanical, or something? Also, I'm 50 and this is really the first time I've decided to dive into a car and it'* too cool to find a site dedicated the car I own. Thanks alot for your feedback and information.

Mike