Are you sitting down? Good. You will need to be when you hear this. The seller of this car has put it on the market because his wife wants him to buy a four door. Evidently his wife doesn’t understand the value structure of classic car bodies, where a “more door” is worth far less than a two door. The saddest part of this tale is that the two door they have is one of the nicest Pontiacs I have ever seen. This 1965 Pontiac Bonneville coupe, found here on craigslist in Oldham County, Kentucky, is almost all original. A fresh coat of yellow and white paint and new carpet have been done to freshen it up, and the asking price of $7900 is all it will take to put this big Poncho in your garage. That is, if your garage is long enough!
General Motors was really on a roll in the 1960s. Longer, lower, and wider was the order of the day, and all of GMs divisions delivered exactly that. Pontiac was the division known for performance, and they cultivated that image by offering cars with good handling and gobs of horsepower. The Bonneville was Pontiac’s flagship, and the car was redesigned for the 1965 model year. Along with its stable mates at Buick and Chevrolet, the “B” bodies ended up being one of the best selling car designs in American history. Looking at the smooth, long, flowing lines of this Bonneville, you can see why. The great color combination of a white roof and Mayfair Maize body only makes it look better.
The seller claims that this is an original car, and that it is in great condition. Looking underneath in the picture above, we can see that everything looks to be in amazing shape for its age. It would be better if we had pictures of the floor, but it is probably safe to assume it is in good shape given the condition of the body. Obviously, the twin mufflers have been replaced. However, it appears they decided to not replace the exhaust pipes from either the headers to the mufflers, or from the mufflers back. The shocks even look to be vintage, if not the originals. Truth be told, they probably need to be replaced as well. They do look cool though!
Inside, the condition of the interior is simply amazing. There are no obvious cracks in the dash pad, and the dash panel itself, with its miles of woodgraining, appears to be like new. The clear sections of the steering wheel look to be free of major cracks, and the chrome and stainless steel accents look immaculate. The pedals even seem to be unused. My guess is that this has been a garaged car all of its life, but the seller doesn’t say. I don’t see how it couldn’t be.
The second interior picture shows us that the seats and door panels are in remarkable shape as well. Cars of the sixties often had really tough vinyl interiors that degraded only through extreme wear or continued exposure to the elements. These seats, other than some minor fitment issues, look to be factory fresh as well. The trim is in great shape, and the seat belts are a nice feature to still have in useable condition, even though they are lap belts only.
Under the hood rests a Pontiac 389 cubic inch V-8 with a two barrel carburetor. Adding an aftermarket intake manifold and a 650 or 750 cfm carburetor would likely really wake this engine up. It might also be a good idea to refinish the air cleaner assembly after stripping all the old paint off of it. The air cleaner assembly, the valve covers, and the alternator seem to have received a rattle can refurbishment, and this kind of detracts from the look of the engine compartment. A little extra time sprucing things up in here would go a long way.
How can you not like this beautiful car? The colors are right, the design is sixties heaven, and it has all the appearances of being a garaged, rust free car. The whole thing is like a time capsule, and you would be hard pressed to find a classic car that was in such good condition for so little money. Hopefully for the seller, his wife will reconsider. This one is too nice to let go of, and it would be too difficult to replace it with a four door in this condition. One of you readers had better jump on this one before the seller comes to his senses!
Take my money!
OMG what a nice car! Might be grounds for divorce. Some flipper will grab this and add 8 lug drums/wheels…you know the rest of the story.
Keep the car, lose the wife.
June last year I bought 1977 Pontiac Bonneville Landau Coupe brown exterior beige cloth interior. All original garage kept 8K miles! 350 4B power windows power locks factory AM/FM radio factory AC tilt sterring . Beautiful original survivor.
But, this car does not have A/C. Sad.
Smart, practical wife.
If it had AC it would be so much nicer to own and drive. Bucket seats, another big plus. Then power windows and the other toys.Looks like a very solid car though.
Pontiac really made some of the most beautiful cars in the middle 60’s. Look what Mopars especially looked like in comparison at that time.
This is close to the most beautiful car they built which was the 1966 Grand Prix.
This looks good too.
I love the color.
I agree Miguel. Had a 66 GP several years ago. I’ve regretted selling it ever since.
Well I’ll have to disagree with you on that statement. The ’65 is far better looking than a ’66, and my dad had a ’66, so you’d think I lean that way. The ’65 is just so beautiful and cool at the same time.
Have to agree…these BIG Pontiac’s were picture perfect inside and out !
Buddy Alans mom bought a new 65 Bonnie 421 2+2 yellow w black. Impressive !!
This car would make a nice 2+2 clone.
2+2s were cats not bonnies…..id love to have it sitting in my teepee with my other tin indians…50 silver streak 62 cat dual quads 4 speed, 62 GP, 64 bonnie, and yes my 66 tripower 8 lug GP….oh and cant for get my daily driver a 79 bonnie brougham landuea……all 2 drs……if my wife ever ask me to sell one for a 4 dr……well ur honor this is why we cant make it work any more 😀
Right, in 1965 the 2+2 was an option package for the Catalina, not the Bonneville (the Bonneville was 3 inches longer, all in the trunk overhang). (The 2+2 would be a standalone model in 1966.) I had a 1965 2+2 convertible, with its original 421. Stupidly sold it…regret it every day.
Back in 1981 I had a maroon, 65 Catalina that looked like this. I bought it because it reminded me of my 65 Grand Prix that I had in high school. One of the neat options the Catalina had was factory cruise control. There was a knob that was mounted on the side of the speedometer and you would turn it to move the needle to the desired speed. Then you would push the knob in and the gas peddle would hit the floor and you would be pressed back into the seat. Actually, it felt like being pressed into the back seat. LOL
It’s amazing the things they could do back in the without loading a car up with computer chips you cannot work on or around.
In moms new 65 Olds, touch that knob in the speedo center and the PW switch plate on the drivers door and it would shock me good.
Grounds for divorce
That is one real long car
This will be gone in a “heart beat “if not a scam ad!
Looked over the ad and didn’t see anything that obviously said “scam” Maybe you could point it out for us?
Only the fact that the price seems very reasonable (low) for such a solid car.
Lust! I am ashamed of my lust for this car! Mom had a 66 Catalina and I loved that car
And people ask why I’m not married anymore and never will be again. lol
I want it! And my birthday is coming up! Coincidence? I think not! Oh, honey……
What a gorgeous car! Looks like a stretched out GTO.. I have a feeling this will go for more than I can afford.
Low compression, heads and it’s cam would prevent this from really waking up with a 4bbl AFB and manifold. it does sound mean ! Although there was a high 200s HP 2 barrel with nice torque.
2+2s came standard with buckets and floor shifted center console so a lot of work is needed to make it a desirable looking clone. But I have seen 2 PHS documented cars with buckets delete and column shift throughout the years.
Nice looking car in photos. absolutely need to see floors, inside trunk pan and.its extensions as well as under the rear seat.
’67 Bonneville wagon, sat 9 passengers on durable black vinyl, 400 cu engine, would really go, ate water pumps (40,000 miles top per pump), would not turn over if starter/engine got really hot, even with new, as it turns out not needed, battery, left it running at gas stations if it had been hauling at 75mph, 11 mpg in town, 19 on the road. LOTS of torque, enough to break off the rear motor/transmission bracket that runs from side to side – no rust just metal fatigue, not uncommon with the BOP’s with that body. So, a great car if you know its faults – as my wife said, she heard all of mine from the previous girlfriend, and married me anyway. So if you like it, buy it! Engine and transmission never opened up at 200,000 plus miles, but tin worm got it in the end.
I saw this car just last week driving in Crestwood Kentucky. Beautiful car.
Happy wife happy life. This car was reduced from $9900. Ad is legit.