Sometimes, the idea of being treated like royalty or a Head of State can seem irresistible. Few will get to experience that type of lifestyle. However, with the right vehicle and a healthy slice of imagination, it is possible to create a reasonable facsimile. That is the opportunity awaiting the new owner of this 1963 Pontiac Bonneville. This is no ordinary classic but is a professionally produced stretch limousine. It requires total restoration, although the foundations are there to create a vehicle that can’t help but turn heads. If you find the concept too tempting for word, you could become the new owner now that it is listed exclusively on Barn Finds Auctions.
If an owner wished to create a stretch limousine in the 1960s, they needed two things. The first was an appropriate car, while finding a company capable of completing the work to a high standard was imperative. I can’t think of many better candidates for the project than a 1963 Pontiac Bonneville. The car already features clean, sweeping lines, so adding a few feet to its overall length seems natural. The original owner commissioned the Superior Coach Company of Lima, Ohio, to undertake the conversion. The company enjoyed a successful history creating bus bodies and fabricating hearses, so a Limousine was not a tall order. Their work is acclaimed, and many of their high-end vehicles saw active service for decades without issues. This Starlight Black Bonneville has seen better days, but its panels are surprisingly sound. There is visible surface corrosion but no penetrating rust. It is a similar story below deck, which is unsurprising. Once Superior completed its work, it was standard practice to apply a protective undercoat. This remains largely intact under this Pontiac, and where it has peeled, there is no evidence of trouble. The panel fit and gaps are all you might expect from a handbuilt vehicle, meaning they are tight and consistent. Most factory trim pieces appear restorable, with the bespoke pieces created by Superior looking excellent.
One of the least complicated aspects of creating a stretch limousine is dealing with its mechanical components. Customers received a respectable V8 under the hood of every ’63 Bonneville, making them the ideal conversion candidate. This car features a 389ci V8 that sends 303hp to the rear end via a three-speed automatic transmission. This is a heavy car, so a scorching ¼-mile time isn’t on the table. However, the V8’s low-end torque delivery means this Bonneville would have coped remarkably well in heavy traffic while cruising effortlessly on the open road at freeway speeds. The only mechanical component changed as part of the original build would have been a longer driveshaft. Otherwise, everything is typical Bonneville fare, meaning parts for maintenance and refurbishment are readily available.
This Bonneville’s front passenger compartment is close to what buyers expected in any car that drove off the production line. However, Superior accentuated its plush feel by adding custom leather and cloth upholstery. The seat shows plenty of wear and tear, but the remaining upholstered surfaces appear to need nothing but a deep clean. Locating a correct seatcover could be challenging, but a skilled professional could use the existing cover as a template for a replacement. The dash and pad are excellent, as are the wheel and bright trim pieces. The interior appears complete, and although there are no power accessories, the air conditioning should help keep occupants calm and cool on hot days.
Rear seat occupants didn’t face many hardships aboard the Limo because the seat in deeply-buttoned Gold and Cream cloth and leather looks hugely inviting. The same material covers the pair of jump seats and other upholstered surfaces. Privacy is maintained by a sliding window separating the front and rear compartments. As with the rest of the interior, this aspect of the Pontiac needs love. The top of the back seat has suffered at the hands of harsh UV rays, while the headliner is sagging and wrinkled. The jump seats and remaining upholstered surfaces don’t look bad, and an upholsterer might be able to address the sun damage. If so, a deep clean could have many items presenting well without resorting to a total retrim.
Some people will look at this 1963 Pontiac Bonneville Limousine and consider its potential restoration overwhelming. However, they shouldn’t because the coachbuilders who created this giant, Superior Coach Company, enjoyed a reputation founded on quality craftsmanship. Therefore, any work required to return this classic to its former glory should be no more complicated than any other classic from this era. The difference is that when the buyer puts down their tools for the final time, they can slip behind the wheel of a genuinely unique vehicle guaranteed to draw a crowd. That idea must make this project worth serious consideration.
- Location: Phoenix, Arizona
- Mileage: 14,153 Shown, TMU
- Engine: 389 cui V8
- Transmission: Automatic
- VIN: 863P144342
- Title Status: Clean
Bid On This Auction
Will bid $3,100.00 2023-04-07 11:59:56
64bonneville bid $3,000.00 2023-04-07 11:59:38- Will bid $2,600.00 2023-04-07 11:59:13
- 64bonneville bid $2,500.00 2023-04-07 11:58:53
- Will bid $2,100.00 2023-04-07 11:58:30
- 64bonneville bid $2,000.00 2023-04-07 11:58:10
- Will bid $1,600.00 2023-04-07 11:57:48
- 64bonneville bid $1,500.00 2023-04-07 11:57:26
- Will bid $1,200.00 2023-04-07 06:55:49
- 64bonneville bid $1,100.00 2023-04-07 06:55:22
- Will bid $1,000.00 2023-04-07 06:29:21
- 64bonneville bid $900.00 2023-04-07 06:08:38
- Will bid $800.00 2023-04-04 20:31:03
John Schwager bid $700.00 2023-04-04 20:30:27- Will bid $600.00 2023-04-04 17:00:13
Kershcom bid $500.00 2023-04-02 21:00:23
Pro Design bid $200.00 2023-03-31 11:39:17
This must be a former Funeral Car, not the hearse but, the family limo.
Superior built the limo as a separate model.
Al, this car served as a small town ambulance/limousine.
Have 3 1963 pontiac superior stretch limos. I think about 75 were built. Would like to own this one if new owner wants to sell
I’m the new owner. Everything I always read suggested 12 were built, this is my 2nd though and if you have 3 then 12 may not be accurate.
A much better buy than the $300,000.00 ’64 Imperial limo also listed.
I would prefer the Imperial, just because it probably wasn’t a funeral home car.
Not having to think of all the sadness a funeral car carried.
Hmm, that’s funny, I saw the identical car in a ‘u-pick’ junkyard in Denver Colorado about ten years ago. I thought it was so cool that i took pictures of it. It was sitting next to two equally awesome 1959 lincoln convertibles.
It was probably not actually an “identical car”, although it was very likely a similar car, with both of them being built by the Superior Coach company.
True, not identical. Now that I think of it, the one I saw in the junkyard was maroon with black vinyl interior. It was totally complete, down to the folding jump seats. I hate when cool cars like that get junked.
Wow! If I’m gonna draw this one, I’m
gonna have to put it on a poster board! Cool car. If I weren’t buying a
house, I’d more than likely be all over
it. I could just see this car cruising
through Old Town on Saturday night,
with yours truly dressed to the nines
pretending to be some kind of billionaire as I waved to the crowd.
Well, it don’t hurt to dream!
This coach would have been built by Superior Coach, at their Kosciusko, Mississippi plant where they built all their Pontiac based professional cars. The Superior Coach company was best known for building school buses, and professional cars (hearses, ambulances, “combination cars”, flower cars, and a limited number of limousines). All Superior Cadillac professional cars were built at Superior’s main plant in Lima, OH while their “medium priced” offerings were built at their Kosciusko, MS plant. Incidentally, Superior didn’t build any of the Cadillac limousines, as those were known as the Cadillac 75 and was built exclusively by Cadillac up until the mid 70s. They did, however, modify a limited number of Pontiacs into limousine conversions. Superior’s biggest competitor, the Miller-Meteor company, also built Cadillac professional cars as well, and they had a sister company called the Cotner Bevington company that built their medium priced offerings on Oldsmobile chassied vehicles. Any time you see a Pontiac limousine, it was likely built by Superior Coach while Oldsmobile limousines would have been built by Cotner Bevington. These medium priced cars were usually — but not exclusively — built for funeral homes to serve as family cars which would accompany funeral processions, ideally in a matched fleet of all (Cadillac, Pontiac, or Oldsmobile) professional cars. Interestingly, Superior Coach was also well known for building Superior school buses while the Wayne Corporation, of which Miller-Meteor as well as Cotner/Bevington were subsidiaries, built Wayne branded school buses. Both Wayne Corporation, as well as the Superior Coach company stopped building professional cars shortly after the downsized GM vehicles after the 1977 model year, but they both continued to build school buses up until the 80s.
Abe Bush – Yes. It is a Superior Coach conversion. It started life as a 4 door Bonneville.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aacb/407495566/
GHR,
Does it run, or when was the last time it did?
Superior Coach Photo
You know your Superior history
Brian. I drove it to it’s current location about 5 years ago.
There is a Cotner Bevington 1967 Oldsmobile 98 of similar configuration that has been sitting for years in a Nashville parking lot. I keep meaning to ask if it’s for sale, though I am afraid they will say yes and i will have a big project on my hands