The Bonneville was at the top of Pontiac’s hit parade for most of its run from 1957 to 2005. Along with the later Grand Ville, the Bonneville was the largest Pontiac ever built, reaching 230 inches and 5,000 lbs. at one time or another. That may have led Pontiac to downsize its full-size cars in 1977 as they were some of the biggest gas guzzlers on the market. This 2-door coupe from 1977 looks like a nice survivor and may only have 40,000 miles on the odometer. It’s available here on craigslist in Chicago, Illinois for $10,500. Thanks, T.J., for directing this tip our way!
Pontiac named the Bonneville after the salt flats in Utah, the site of early auto racing and most of the world’s land speed record runs. When the big boats were shrunk for their sixth generation in 1977, they were 14 inches shorter, four inches narrower, and 800 pounds lighter than their 1976 counterparts. At the same time, passenger compartment and trunk space actually increased. The machines were powered by either 301 or 350 cubic-inch V8 engines. Of more than 850,000 Pontiacs built in 1977, 115,000 were Bonnevilles, and 38,000 of those being hardtop coupes like this one.
No history is offered about this ’77 Bonneville, but it presents very well after 45 years. It’s exceptionally clean inside and out, and the paint and the upholstery could all be original. There is no reason not to believe this isn’t a turn-key vehicle, with new brakes, a tune-up, and dual exhaust. It’s said to be a nice running machine with an automatic transmission. With no mention of which engine is under the hood, it’s not likely a barnburner either way.
These cars were plentiful in the 1970s, but they don’t seem to turn up much these days. Maybe they’re not terribly collectible, but you’re going to be a big fish in a small pond if you drive up to a Cars & Coffee event in this bi-product of the disco era. Saturday Night Fever lives again!
With the jacked up rear end end it must have been used to haul moonshine…
Usually that’s caused by Chinese replacement springs. That’s why you see so many restored muscle cars that are about 2″ higher than they were from the factory. Apparently spring heights specs do not translate well to Mandarin!
Nah, they equipped it with Air Lift suspension to handle two or three dead bodies at a time…
Doesn’t have the presence that one would expect in a Bonneville. Chalk it up to the malaise era, I guess.
Looks like it’s the 350 version but that setup with the fresh air intake is something that I’ve not seen before. Is that a home grown version of cold ram air?
Did the red duct tape give it away?
I had a ’77 Catalina 4 door with a 301. It ran until I spun a rod bearing and replaced it with a ’73 350. Then the old man traded it for an Escort wagon…lol
The Craigslist post is gone already.
I think it is ironic that what started out as a model named after the go-fast, ultra-smooth, high-speed salt flats turned into these big, wallowing, fat-a$$ boats.
To me, it seems like it took til like 1992 until the name kind of matched the car again.
Your username made me howl…best laugh I had all day.
Much I have seen, and much have I done, for I am. ..
The prior generation (’87-91) wasn’t so big or stodgy, handled well and at least looked the part in SSE trim, tho’ it wasn’t until the next-gen SSEi with the supercharged 3800 that it finally got the speed to match the name.
What were they going to do about it? It was the era of emissions and attempts to improve gas mileage. It wasn’t about power in this time period. It’s still the nicest Pontiac – especially the Booneville Brougham.
Nice car, in excellent condition. Must have been special ordered when new, since it has a power seat, but no power windows or locks. I had a neighbor who had a new 79 Bonneville in Mint Green, also a 2 door coupe, and I remember it being a beautiful riding car. I passed up several opportunities to buy one of these cars over the years, for one simple reason – most that came up for sale, if they were in good condition, always seemed to have the 301 engine, which, in addition to not having a good reputation for reliability, just wasn’t up to the task of adequately moving a car of this size. The 350, while no barn burner, is by far the better engine for a car like this, but there never seem to be any Bonnevilles that come up for sale with that engine…
I would agree with that assessment. You really need a 350 in one of these cars for adequate power.
One of the 1st “downsized” cars the old man had, was a Bonne like this. Coming from big Caddys, it was too small for him. It had the 301, and I remember it getting outstanding gas mileage, almost like something was wrong, high 20s, easy. It’s one of the few cars I should have bought from the old man. It was a very nice car.
Not a hardtop coupe, just a coupe. Framed door glass. I see an a/c compressor under the hood, but where are the vents on the IP?
In the black trim area of the dash, two at the top center above the heater controls, one at each side, and two ‘lap’ vents, one below the glove box, the other below the steering wheel. I had a near new 77 Brougham coupe with EVERY AVAILABLE option, which was a great road trip car. The 301 was a bit underpowered if you happened to be climbing a mountain (happened one time), but otherwise was ok and the mileage was decent for the era.
You didn’t have every available option if you had the 301. You could have gotten a 350 or a 400 in your car.
Look a little closer, the A/C vents are there, the dash pad is hiding the vent on the far right, there is a vent in the center of the dash, and you can see the one on the left too.
My Grand Father (RIP) bought one of these new in 1978, beautiful two tone green 4 door, olds 350 with all he bells and whistles. He gave it to me when he replaced it with a Lincoln in 1986 with 160k miles on it, but still looking like new. It was a wonderful gift and I drove that car for another 25k miles until some thug stole it at a BART station in Oakland CA on evening. So many fond memories of him and the car. Having the 350 4bbl in it, it never lack performance for being a big car and was a classy ride, still looking show room sharp the day it was boosted. Miss that one too….
Here in the Great White North our model was the Parisienne. Exactly the same. Just different in name. I bought a 1980 for $1500.00 cdn. That’s like what, $15.00 American? Lol. Anyway. This car was absolutely gorgeous inside and out. The only thing that didn’t pass a safety was the hockey pucks used to replace the frame supports to the body? And that the frame was pretty much rusted out. Now I don’t know what the climate is like in Utah but if it’s even remotely that of the Niagara Falls Ontario area then please make sure the frame is sound. And thanx to Barn Finds for letting me see some of my dreams. Unless the lottery is won that’s what they will stay. Dreams. Amen.
It’s on Ebay now – ending today. Bidding is in the $4k range – much more reasonable but I’m sure the reserve is much higher. Buy it now for $10.5K. https://www.ebay.com/itm/175481301424