This car was purchased brand new literally off the show room floor by my parents when I was a 4 year old rug rat. I actually have some snap shot memories of seeing it at the dealer in the show room when my parents were buying it. For some reason my dad just can't explain, he traded his '65 Impala SS for the Bonneville. AND, for some other reason, he never drove the Bonneville in the winter. It was their only car at the time, but he got a beater for going to/from work. It was always garaged and covered with blankets.
Fast forward from '67 to '87 when I returned home from the Air Force. My dad and I teamed up to start participating in local classic car shows. I joined the national and local chapters of POCI (Pontiac Oakland Club Int'l) and actively participated in the local club. My parents were given honorary membership in the local chapter. I was the youngest member - go figure.
The Bonne was still in great shape - paint, top, interior, etc. Dad and I started with detailing the engine bay. Pretty much everything else was almost brand new. Keep in mind, she only had about 52,000 original miles at this time. In the meantime, I met my wife to be and we married in '91. Thankfully she was a really good sport coming to car shows and even bringing her parents. We remained active in the local POCI club and car shows while we started our own family. Our daughter joined us in '93 and our son in '97. At this time we found it really tough to remain so active with the Bonne and the club.
In the early 2000's, my job required a lot of travel (like 75%) and time with the family was precious. In about '08, I put the Bonne away in my parent's garage for its last drive. My dad would start it occasionally, but that dwindled down to nothing around 2010. The last 2+ years were challenging with my parent's --- my mom passing away unexpectedly in 2012 and my dad having to go into a nursing home in 2013. Thankfully, my love of the Bonne was recognized by my parent's and my dad signed the title over to me.
With my parent's house now empty, it came time to get the Bonne out of their garage, and up and running again. My buddy's father has his own car repair garage and he had previously owned an Oldsmobile dealership. With his father's blessing, my buddy and I tackled everything that needed immediate attention to make her safe and drivable for the rest of the summer. After 2 weeks, she's on the road again and running better than I can actually remember.
These first 3 pics are from 2010, but the top down pic is the day we dropped her off at the repair garage to begin her resuscitation in early July. At his point, there are only 56,600 original miles on the odometer. Needless to say, I'm like a kid in a candy store. I haven't stopped grinning like an idiot for days. Starting this coming weekend, she begins to feel the love of Adam's. (Any suggestions on how best to clean and maintain the 'Expanded Morokide' interior is greatly appreciated!)
Thanks for bearing with my long post. This car has been part of my life for almost 47 years now, and I have a lot of very special memories.
Well, if I ever met a more humble man than you, I didn't know it. As with everything, you are open and honest and up front. Very admirable.
My vote goes to PA, and if you ever have a chance to look at our area, boy could we use some kind of business here. Steel mills gone, mines gone, and the town is dying. Plus if you come somewhere close to me, I could keep an eye on these young bucks so they don't walk out with the store! And the wife can keep an eye on me!!
I just purchased the Master Blaster on Saturday and am going to try it out for the first time tomorrow. I too started out with the sidekick for about a year. I like the sidekick but felt like I needed something larger to dry the entire car.
I just 'upgraded' to the Master Blaster from the Sidekick during the Memorial Day Sale. I held off buying for quite awhile because of the price, but now that I have it, I wish I hadn't waited so long.
I had been using just the Sidekick to finish up washes / details for the last 2 years and it was great for me because I didn't know better. Now - - - boy do I know better!!!! It really is worth the price if you value your time and take pride (like we all do) in your vehicles. The time savings is far more than you can imagine. Finishing a detail and having no water spots or drips is like icing on the cake.
I highly recommend it based on only having it for a couple weeks now. I'm sooooooo glad I finally made the move.
icantdrive55 got a reaction from LDM in '67 Pontiac Bonneville Convertible
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