In 1957, Pontiac was trying to shed its image of conservative and bland cars, so the company introduced a special limited edition car that was both sporty and luxurious. Pontiac only built 630 of these special Bonneville Convertibles in 1957. This car is number 339 and has been parked in a garage for the past 40 years or so. The car is in need of a complete restoration and isn’t going to be a cheap project. It can be found in East Earl, Pennsylvania or here on eBay.

As you can see, this car is tattered and rusty. The floors and underside are in rough shape and will need extensive work to be sound again. The Bonneville was based on Pontiac’s Star Chief, so replacement floors shouldn’t be too difficult to find. Another option would be to find a solid Star Chief to use as a parts car.

The seller doesn’t state whether this is the car’s original engine or not, but they claim that the original fuel injection system is on the motor. The fuel injection system used in the Bonneville is very similar to the one found on the Corvette and gave the 347 cui V8 around 310 hp and 400 lbs. of torque. While this was supposed to be Pontiac’s top performance model, a Tri-powered Star Chief could beat it in the quarter mile. Of course the Bonneville weighs more, with a curb weight of 4,300 lbs. Even with all this weight, it reached 60 miles an hour in 8 seconds and had a top speed of 130 mph.

The interior appears to be complete, but is going to need to work. Pontiac fitted every feature they offered to the Bonneville, making it a very luxurious convertible to ride around in. With A/C, power steering, power brakes, power seats, underseat heaters, and a long list of other standard features, this would be a comfortable car to take for those long highway cruises.

This is a rare car, but is going to need a considerable amount of work to even get it back on the road. The current market for well sorted Bonneville’s runs in the $100,000 range, but this one is going to take a lot to get it to that kind of condition. This one is definitely a car for someone with deep pockets, but it’s still an interesting car and hopefully someone will save it from further decay. Our thanks to Jim S for letting us know about this Bonneville.