We should all strive to care less about what others think and worry about what makes us happy, but on the other hand, can you imagine the unadulterated envy felt by the neighbors when you pulled into the driveway for the first time in this Bonneville? If you have any classic car lovers living in your neighborhood, the feeling will be the same today, 63 years later, because this Bonneville is being presented as a 61,849-mile car with, of all things, a three-speed on the column. What? A plush Bonneville with a standard stick? It’s sitting right in front of us, so we have to believe it, and Barn Finder Curvette spotted it here on eBay in Tallahassee, Florida, with an asking price of $27,500 or best offer.
The manual-transmission-equipped Bonnevilles had an interesting engine, a low-compression (8.6:1) 389 four-barrel, which produced 235 horsepower and 407 lb.-ft. of torque. Pontiac almost begged Bonneville buyers to upgrade to the Hydra-Matic, as the standard engine with that transmission was the high-compression (10.25:1) 303-horsepower 389, which also had a hotter camshaft than the synchromesh engine. This car has power steering and power brakes, and the seller says that it’s in “excellent running condition.”
When buying any early 1960s GM full-size car, it’s important that the interior is in good condition, because upholstery is not only hard to find but also very expensive. And it would be a shame to upholster a Pontiac in anything but its original fabric, because they were as stylish inside as they were outside. The interior goes very well with the car’s “Saddle Bronze” paint. Some paint work has been done; the seller doesn’t mention if it’s had a complete new paint job or just some judicial blending, but it looks good in pictures.
For the extra price over a Catalina, the Bonneville buyer didn’t just get a more luxurious interior and fancier exterior trim, but they also got a three-inch-longer wheelbase and seven extra inches of overall length, which was all focused in the rear. The trunk is cavernous.
Finally, you may have noticed the eight-lug wheels, one of the most distinctive and beautiful wheels of not only the 1960s, but of all time. The tires are in good shape, the miles are low, and the styling is gorgeous. The only thing to debate at this point is the price, since the “make offer” button leaves some room for negotiation. What would be a fair price for this high-point in Pontiac styling?
Wow, Dad wanted to shift and keep the big bench seat. This a very cool ride, have to agree with the author 8 lug wheels. They were a poncho only and such a distinct feature. Worked in a service station in 71 and we had the adapter to change tires on the tire machine for these wheels. Don’t know what you do if you need new brake drums today but they were and are a distinct feature.
And how do you balance the wheels? In the old days they had the balancer that spun the wheels on the car.
Originally, the spare has an adapter plate for use on a bubble balancer.
We used to have an adapter at tire store to be able to mount wheels. (Same design as for use with 14.5″ French and Hect we wheels. ) Although today everyone uses the rim clamp style tire machine. But the spin balance is still an issue. I would mount the brake drum onto the spin balancer and bolt the tire to it. It actually might give you a more precise balance. Just have to remember to always mount the wheel back in the same place after repacking the wheel bearings. I think I remember a steel disc that had both the 5 lug VW bolt pattern AND the Pontiac 8 lug pattern. It was stepped with the smaller VW pattern sticking out and the larger 8 lug pattern on the outside of the ring. You could always mount the drum on the wheel balancer and bolt the wheel to that. .
To answer what to do with 8 lug drums. They have a steel liner which there are services to replace these advertised in Hemmings & Smoke Signals magazines or Google relining brake drums. This company speaks about balancing them too. https://www.jgrelining.com/
Wow. Its beautiful. And has to be the only 389 4 barrel Bonneville equipped with a 3 soeed on the column I’ve ever seen. I didn’t know Pontiac had a low compression 389 4 barrel but I’m guessing the HP was limited with what this trans could take. I’m wondering the same thing rhat Cadmanls said above, what do you do about the drums? This is a gem, and I’m telling you if things change for me I’m seriously going to take Curvette car shopping!!! You sure can pick them!! Great write up too Aaron thanks for writing up this rare Bonneville!!!
Yes, the Pontiac/GM 3 speed of the time was torque limited. That’s the reason that the standard ’64 GTO 3 speed was called a “Dearborn” unit. Yes, it came from Ford!
Beautiful car!
It was also an all synchronized trans. No first gear grind on a downshift.
That torque output sure ain’t low. What a cool Poncho. Wow. 😎 👍 🏁
Base 4 bbl was 303 hp, the higher compression was 313 and the 3 deuce was 333 as I remember. Please weigh in if Im not correct.
You’re correct if the car was equipped with the Hydra-Matic (aside from the 333-horse engine, which wasn’t an option in ’63). The three-speed cars got the engine I mentioned.
I’ve attached the engine lineup from the brochure. It’s a little confusing, but no 389 aside from the 235-horsepower version appears to be available on the Bonneville with a three-speed, unless you stepped up to a Tri-Power car with a “Heavy-Duty” three-speed.
Quite impressive considering today’s limited choices!
I had a ’62 Grand Prix with 4 sp Tri Power 389. What I never understood was the 4 bbl motor was 303 hp and the tripower with bigger cam, bigger valves, and more carburation was ONLY 10 hp more. What a joke. I routinely beat on most of the muscle cars of the day. No one believed the performance of that heavy car.
Thanx, never knew about the under 300hp engines….however the trophy v8 were all a kick to drive.
Throughout the 60s Pontiac could not seem to build an ugly car. This is an absolute beauty. Great colors and the interior is a reward for admiring the exterior. In the era before disk brakes eight lugs have no compare. Did GM even try to offer a version for the other brands? I just think the 3-speed makes this more unique and cool 😎
I completely agree regarding Pontiac’s designs from that period. The only model I can recall which just ‘didn’t make the grade’ was the ’68 Grand Prix… too swoopy for my taste, though not as bad as the Buick Riviera of that same year (Truly hideous!); kind of surprising since the stunning 1969 Grand Prix is among GM’s most beautiful designs ever.
And then, just months later Pontiac presented the iconic ’70 Firebirds.
Obama should have made GM deep-six Buick, rather than Pontiac.
Just look at what passes for a ‘Buick’ today!
Too much business in China for Buick which is a staus brand there for GM.
Don’t think Obama had any say in that decision. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
Someone in the then current administration told Rick Wagoner that Pontiac had to go if GM was to come out of bankruptcy reorganization intact. Buick lived solely from its popularity in China. Buick exists in the US today selling soulless conveyances to a confused and addled public.
Awesome!
Ended with no takers.
We all just caught the end of this listing. Seller will probably relist this beauty.
Back then people opted for manual transmissions as they were perceived to be more reliable than automatics. Plus, just like now, some people wanted more engagement and control. I do agree with others that this is a beautiful car, even in this rather drab color .
really cool but listing is gone. love the colors
The car is still listed on a Craigslist ad.
https://tallahassee.craigslist.org/cto/d/tallahassee-1963-pontiac-bonneville/7921564379.html
Working in a GM dealership when the stuff hit the ventilating source. (GMC, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Cadillac and Hummer) #1 GM had given up on, and phasing Oldsmobile and Pontiac out as it was. And loss of Market Share was the official reason. #2 Plus it was a perfect excuse to dump some of Chevrolet’s competition. Chevy dealers are whiners and complainers. They figure that since they are the “Big Dogs” they shouldn’t have to compete internally with other GM marks. GM is quietly phasing GMC out also. Some of the strongest GM commercial stores/dealerships were GMC. They had to be as they did not have any cars to fight any other brand with. But Chevy complained so bad that in 2016(or 2017 I don’t remember) at a commercial dealership meeting in Dallas. Mary Barra announced that GMC would never receive any new commercial product. (I know, I was there) And sure enough, they (GMC) have only received updated Sierras, Yukons and other SUVs and no commercial vehicles. Chevy dealers see GMC as stealing “their” business. If you add GMC Sierra and Chevy Silverado sales together. The 2 combined out sell the F150 (always have) which Ford claims as the number one selling pickup.
Perfect car for today – a gorgeous luxury car with a built-in anti-theft transmission. — This Bonny is beautiful, and as someone said; I too don’t think Pontiac couldn’t build an ugly car in the 60’s – they were all beautiful.
Wow, lots of great info. I got ahold of a 64 Buick Estate Wagon a couple years ago built with 3 speed column shift (coverted to 4 speed by seller). It’s also built on a Wildcat chassis with 401 Nailhead. I have everything to go back to the 3 speed column – my dream being to find a good B/W T85 OD tranny.