I’m not one to use online auction listings as filler here at CC, but I decided to make an exception in the case of this 1967 Bonneville. While I already am impressed that a four-door model has survived to the present day in collector-grade condition (no, they didn’t just make muscle cars, convertibles and two-door hardtops in the ’60s), this Bonnie is a rare one. How rare?
How about bucket-seats-and-console rare? I didn’t even realize this setup was available on 1967 Pontiac sedans. I’ll let the seller’s auction description explain:
I am pleased to offer this literally one of a kind 1967 Pontiac Bonneville 4 door Hard Top. This is a PHS documented car with a note that it is a special order paint code as one of 30 options. One of the unique features is the bucket seats and center console. Other rare features are the power vent windows and the head restraints. Oh yes the front passenger seat will recline. This Pontiac was built in Kansas City, Kansas and sold by Quelch Motors, Inc. of Ironton, MO. I do not know the history since the car was sold new. The body is great with no apparent rust. This Pontiac has been resprayed once in its life and as far as I can tell is a match of the original color. The body is free of any dings, dents or unsightly blemishes. There are a couple of chipped places where the paint has been touched up. The front bumper has some pits in it but overall still holds a nice luster. The rear bumper looks great with very nice chrome and no pits. All of the glass is excellent. Inside you will find the original seat covers, head liner and door panels all of which are very presentable. The dash has cracks but perhaps and overlay would be the answer. The wire wheel covers add a special touch as they are not often seen on these cars. This Pontiac starts and runs well with no apparent mechanical issues. The tires still have a lot of tread remaining. I really think that this Bonneville has a great look to it and should be a unique street cruiser. As always email or call if you have any questions and rest assured my reserve is where you can bid to own. Thanks for looking.
A rare bird indeed. That powder-blue paint looks suspiciously like a Cadillac color–perhaps Carmine can confirm this? At any rate, the light blue paint, white interior (my favorite!) and wire wheel covers all look great.
The console does appear to have been modernized a bit, but all in all this car presents very well. Considering all the options on this car, I wonder who ordered it new? It may well have approached the price of an Electra 225 or Sedan de Ville, with its custom paint, console, power windows and all the other options that were added.
If this car strikes your fancy, its auction ended earlier today; however, the reserve was not met so it just might reappear. For lots more pictures, you can check out the listing here. For those who are interested, the car is located in Lexington, KY. Here’s hoping this unique survivor finds a caring new owner!
(All images are from the ebay.com listing)
A ’67 with headrests? They were available?
Headrest started showing up on the option books in 1966 first I believe, though they were an option of course, so not always, if seldom seen.
Those buckets have to be extremely rare, they are for sedans only, notice there is no release on the side as there would be on a coupe for rear seat access.
Also, Rambler got them as an option in the late 1950s and Imperial as well (still as an option) for ’64.
Also, seems then the console might probably be still available in Mexico for some full-size cars in the 1970s like in this 1971 Mexican Ford LTD http://www.flickr.com/photos/hartog/6330318528/in/photostream/
Edit: There was also available in the Mexican version of the 1973 Dodge Monaco as well from what I saw on this vintage brochure from Mexico
http://www.fuselage.de/dod73/mexico.html
Love those big American Pontiacs from the 60’s…beautiful car!
Pontiac styling in ’67 was still outstanding but the full-size line had grown to outrageous proportions. The Tempest/LeMans were good looking but didn’t take up too much space.
Sweet car!
I have always been kinda a downer on the 67 full size Pontiacs, I’ll bet that this was one of those designs that looked great in an artists rendering but kinda fell flat when it was pressed into steel. They look a little too Batmobile-ish for me, though the hidden headlight Grand Prix of the same year is good looking.
Its a well loaded car, the power vents and locks are rare too, it also has the dual map lights on each side of the roof, before they were combined into the map-dome lamp combo unit. Cornering lamps too, though not super rare, like the buckets and vents, pretty un-common too. I like how someone managed to chop a 2000 or so vintage Pontiac Delco radio to fit in the console, though I would find a factory AM-FM unit and add the factory 8 track that would go in that console spot, a wood wheel would also be a nice upgrade.
About the color, I dont know, Cadillac did have a blue that was similar, it was called Venitian Blue, I would like to see the cars “Fisher” tag to see what the color code is.
We had two ’67s in our family: a fully optioned Executive wagon (with 8-track player and everything else shown here, but no power vent windows) and my grandparents’ Bonneville coupe. I recall clearly when these cars came out – with that front end that immediately made the ’66s seem old-fashioned and baroque.
It’s great to see one of these with what looks to be a totally unbent front bumper. I assume the reason for the steering wheel cover is that the original plastic portions of the wheel are cracked. Can’t tell, though, whether this car has cruise control (a simple on-button recessed into the end of the turn signal stalk, replacing a more complicated system offered in 1965-66) or whether the a/c works, an expensive repair especially if switching to modern refrigerant. The vacuum door locks weren’t that uncommon; my long-gone ’66 Bonnie convertible had that option.
So much of what was good about these cars was gone so quickly – the elegance of the front end disappeared for ’68 and the whole car began to exude cheapness in ’69. I don’t know how much GM and the other carmakers were saving by eliminating vent windows, but the cheaper dashboard was self-evident. The only good thing about the ’69s was the switch from 14″ to 15″ wheels.
I actually like the 68-69 full size Pontiacs, they have a “full size GTO” them, with similar font end treatments like the intermediates, I always thought the 67 was too out there, except for the GP.The 1969 had the side markers “hidden” in the body molding, which was kinda cool. 1970 was the worst of them all though, that wrong looking grille stuck right in the middle of the front end and the fake horn vents.
The only problem with the 69 was that it was dull as dishwater inside. My Grandma traded a 64 Catalina for a 69, and the difference inside was like night and day. The 64 was full of chrome and cool features like the heater control, the translucent steering wheel and gobs of other little touches. The 69 looked like you were in a Chevy Biscayne instead of in a Pontiac. Nothing but black vinyl everywhere and a terribly cheap looking woodgrain piece on the passenger side of the dash. The only even remotely interesting feature inside was that the car, even though it had no a/c, still used the a/c vents on the sides of the dash. There was a second knob on each kick panel that you could pull for fresh outside air to come through upper vents in addition to those in the kick panels.
Some of that is due to making dashes and steering wheels crash-worthy. The hard steel dashes of the past may look flashy, but in a wreck?
All that chrome is also hard on the eyes while driving said car.
I’ve got a bit of chrome inside my ’77 Chevelle, and the ign lock on the column, the shifter lever, and turn signal lever sometimes makes it difficult to see from the glare off them.
The 1968 full-size Pontiacs (or at least Bonnevilles and Grand Prixs) lost the “chrome” finish of the interior moldings at the edges of all the windows and on the A-pillars of the two- and four-door hardtops. Additional dash padding also appeared, stuck onto the front panels of the ’67 dash. I think both changes were because of new federal regulations, but haven’t researched this myself.
I do know that the 1967 Pontiacs (intermediates too) had two mandated safety features not seen in the 1966 cars: the energy-absorbing steering column (this is actually mentioned on the hub of the wheel itself in these cars) and flatter, larger-diameter dashboard knobs less likely to enter eye sockets.
Those dashes hold up GREAT in wrecks! 🙂
A ’60s sedan with buckets (a pre-’69 with headrests, no less!). Wow. Aside from foreign jobs and the Thunderbird sedan, those have to be stunningly rare. That’s a pretty neat options list.
Base price of this car was just over $3500. By the looks of the (crappy) picture of the window sticker, the carries about $1700 in options. So $4700 out the door. That wouldn’t have bought you a Cadillac in 1967, but it’d get you a helluva an Electra.
Er, I mean $1200 in options. Learn typing and/or math.
That console is pretty trick. I got a better picture from eBay and cropped it. Looks like a recent OEM stereo, with CD player.
Sweet car, thanks.
In our ’67 Executive wagon with 8-track player, the upper panel was the same as in the cars with consoles: an ashtray with a central handle, which was necessary because the usual, non-fake-wood-covered ashtray (in cars with no 8-track and/or console) was pulled out from underneath. Here’s a photo I found: http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_images/1/2334/1141/5833070028_large.jpg
Factory stereo in those days (1967 was the first year the 8-track was offered) consisted of one speaker in the front, one in back.
Elsewhere on the dash, that’s the strangest set of heater controls ever. It looks like the car has two radios and no heater. “The radio’s stuck on one station, and every time I try to change it the car gets hotter!”
Those heater controls were fun. You rotated the right-hand “radio knob” clockwise, and the display (a row of 9 or 10 squares, each about 4 mm x 4 mm) changed from blue to red squares, one at a time, by some odometer-like rotary mechanism. Thus, a cold passenger would ask for more “reds.”
All the full-size 1965-68 Pontiacs had this setup; not sure about prior years.
I think they started using them 62-63 or so for the first time, I always thought the “double radio” controls on Pontiacs were creative.
I had a 68 Catalina 2 dr hardtop and do not remember what the heater controls were like. I do know for sure that it was nothing like what is pictured above. I did not have a setup that looked like two radios. I thought the car was ok looking but bought it mostly because of price ( I paid $3000 for a demonstrator with 3000 miles on it) and I liked its cruising comfort.
Take a look at the dash shots of the 68 Catalina we did here some time back. Perhaps this one will refresh you a bit, because it looks to me like they were still using the radio-style control. I know for a fact that it was gone by 1969.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/uncategorized/curbside-classic-1968-pontiac-catalina-lets-go-wide-tracking/
Thanks for the link jp. I did look at the dash shots and while it all looks familiar, those big knobs on the heater control section still do not look familiar to me. Probably the ravages of time on my brain. My car did not have air if that would have made a difference. I am reminded that I think the 68 was better looking than the 67.
My Grandma’s ’64 Catalina had these controls, but her car did not have a/c, so no blue squares – only red that would one by one replace grayish-black as the temp knob turned.
Cool. A big four-door from this era with buckets and a floor shift. Don’t think it was the first though. I surely remember seeing 63-64 Ford Galaxie 500 XL sedans equipped the same way. I am certain.
The ’62 500 XLs had them too. I owned one.
Love the car, but would definitely pass on the color…light blue metallic of that vintage would have been a lot better.
I’m not a fan of light blue either – to my eyes it ranks down there with sh* brindle and olive drab. Still, this is a nice-looking Pontiac that most guys would keep the original color rather than change it.
At my high school job my boss had a new 67 Grand Prix coupe – burgundy with black vinyl top, the hidden headlights – very sharp car, inside and out. Same color as the 67 GP convertible in the Transportation section of the Smithsonian’s American History Museum. I love the 67 Pontiacs and I remember them being good sellers in the midwest, especially the Catalina coupes. Never saw a four-door with the buckets/console – this is a first. Saw lots of the four-door Galaxie 500XL Fords with that combination.
My ’66 Chrysler New Yorker four door hardtop has front buckets with a console and floor shift. Along with every other factory option offered in ’66, it was a dealer’s special order for personal use. Perhaps this Bonneville was a dealer’s personal car. I’ve seen loaded up ’67 Bonnevilles before, but not like this one!
The 1965-1967 Pontiacs are a personal favorite and I especially like what they did in ’67.
Mr. Bill
Hamlet, NC
I’m pretty sure that bucket seats and a console could be had in any 1965 or 1966 Chrysler, even the Newport station wagon. Cars equipped that way are thin on the ground though.
Buckets and console could be ordered in all 1966 Chrysler hardtops, 2-door or 4-door, and convertibles. Bucket seats could also be ordered without the console. In the T&C wagon you could get buckets but no console. If you got buckets without the console, you got a “buddy seat” in the middle. Buckets were not available for the 4-door sedan at all.
That’s according to the 1966 Chrysler dealer “cheat sheet” of option codes, model availability and list price. If you pressed hard enough, some dealers would try to put in a special order though.
Also, if you got the bucket seats, headrests were an option. Another option was the reclining passenger seat with a hide-away headrest.
I once almost bought a ’66 NYer 4-door hardtop loaded with every option except A/C. It had buckets and console. A friend of mine has a ’66 300 4-door hardtop with buckets and console.
Do you have pics?
Wow, what a boat! (I mean that in a good way, like a dream boat!)
Those wire wheel covers bother me, though. I swear they’re not correct for that car. But a trip to oldcarbrochures.com clarified that for me. They are factory, but GM must have slightly revised them and put them on other cars later.
They still bug me…
I think Buick and Oldsmobile had a similar design.
Needs the 8 lug wheels! Fabulous car.
I LOVE IT! It makes me think Bonneville 225.
For years Pontiac lobbied for a C-body of its own, but it was squashed by the upper divisions, Pontiac resorted to stretching the Bonneville as much as it coould, the compromise came in 1971, when Pontiac got the GrandVille, which is a C-body roof on a B-body chassis.
Though it pushed the Bonneville a rung down the ladder, and it became more of Pontiacs Impala rather than the flagship fullsizer.
Big fan of the 1960s Ponchos. My dad’s company bought him a 64 Bonnie 4 door, a 65 Bonnie wagon, and a 68 Bonnie wagon. Later the 68 was bought for my mom. That’s what I learned to drive in.
However, I always thought the 1967s were the finest looking of that era. Especially the GP. Seeing this car brought a chill to my spine. It’s like my dad and I were back in the showroom, looking at the new Pontiacs when they came out.
Oh, and after 1969? Forget it. Cheapened right out.
Unusual to see such a huge car in baby blue paint. It actually does a reasonably good job of disguising the proportions. I find the overall result to be very, very attractive, and all those extra features are like the icing on the (blue) cake!
(baby) blue whale ! The V-8 burble will add some nautical feel…it’s a pretty cool sedan, with the buckets must be almost unique but there’s something about the ’67s that compared with the amazing ’65-’66s just don’t cut it, it’s still good looking but too heavy handed
It’s for items like this rare gem that I try to cruise ebay’s auto section once a week. I may not be interested in the sixties, but I still enjoy looking at the older cars.
Speaking of ebay finds, there was a 1983 Lincoln Mark VI Signature Series coupe with only 816 miles!! Yes, eight HUNDRED miles. Basically brand new from 30 years ago, it had a $25,000 window sticker. Who in the hell buys a $25K car, in 1983 dollars, and just throws in a garage for 30 years…?? This would be like today buying a brand new 5 Series BMW for $65,000 and saying, “Nope, don’t need this right now. Guess I’ll just put it away for awhile.”
Although ebay may not be the BEST place to find rarities and gems, it usually fun.
Well remember for a time there, the traditional full size RWD BOF American car was going to be DOA by 1985-1986, with oil embargo 4,5 and 6 and $5.00 gas on the horizon, not to mention CAFE. Its a similar thing that happend in 1976 with the last Eldorado convertibles, there still are low millage examples that come up for sale from time to time.
Someone in Williamsport, PA has a 82 LeBaron convertible with 900 miles advertised for 13,000. Must be related to the guy that owns the 83 Mark.
Both guys must have thought the cars would price in the stratosphere by now, just like the 76 Bicentennial Edition Eldos skyrocketed in the early 1980’s.
Another rave for the ’67 full-size Pontiacs. Around ’74 or so, my Dad had (for a very short time, until the engine coughed up a lung) a mint ’67 Catalina 2-door fastback, white with black vinyl top and black interior. That was one spectacularly pretty car, even if it was, admittedly, absurdly large. I’d give my left, er, arm to have that one back.
About a year and a half ago, I just missed a chance to shoot a white 67 Ventura 2 door fastback that was simply gorgeous. It was pulling out of a gas station just as I was pulling in. It was so great to watch it ooze out of the parking lot.
Love the hips on these — the front clip not so much.
But i still look for a 2 dr. Executive on every database I can locate—it’s become an obsession.
someday, someday!
For having no apparent rust, it sure seems to have some rust.
My 66 Deville convertible was the same baby blue, but with a matching leather interior and a black top. My car stickered for around $ 5,400, about $ 700 more than the highly optioned Bonneville. My car was pretty stripped, no A/C , just an AM radio, but it did have the power windows and seats.
I sold it in 1984, I still wish I had it, even at 8 MPG.
Gorgeous. And it reminds me of when (in California, at least) even the four-doors could be something special.
Not a fan of full size 4 door sedans. I’d rather have a 68 GrandPrix if size made a difference. A buddy of mine had a 428 4 gear one which is why I’m a quasi fan of full size cars.
That pastel blue reminds me of the Pegler-Sysco(now just Sysco) company. Seen way to many Impala,Granada,Taurus,Celebrity,etc from the 70’s-80’s in that fleet spec color. For those who don’t knopw or could care less Sysco is a restuarant supply company.
No, it’s not as stylish as the Pontiac, but buckets were also apparently available on Rambler 4-door sedans in 1964.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1964-AMC-Rambler-Ambassador-990-Sedan-56K-Original-Miles-/281037422009?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item416f22bdb9#ht_481wt_1090
Same color as the ’66 Cadillac Coupe de Ville convertible I owned about 10 years ago… and looks like the same seat backs, too. Wow, that is a looker. (My father had a ’67 hardtop Coupe de Ville, same color combo, my preference in the forward-slanted stacked headlamps, too…)
Interesting — My ’73 Bonneville was special ordered in this same light blue. I am not wild about this shade but will never change it since it makes my car truly unique. The invoice does not mention the name of the color: only “special paint” and its expensive $119 cost.
Instead of having a two-digit paint color on the Body Trim Tag, it has “- – ” instead. At the bottom of the trim tag it thankfully has the actual “WA-xxxx” paint code called out on it.
Since the Bonneville had door handle tape as standard equipment on these, I wonder if my car originally had it at one time. The car had been repainted in the past and my curiosity extends to the bumper fillers which are black. On normal cars these plastic pieces are molded in the body color. Oh well, nobody collects ’73 Pontiacs except me so I’ll just have to wonder!
There’s very little information on special-order paint cars* so I was excited to see this Pontiac. Thanks for posting it.
’68-’72 A-body GM cars excluded OF COURSE
Really nice car, never knew you could get a Bonneville hardtop 4 door with bucket seats and a floor console, the 1967 front end of these cars are starting to grow onto me, I used to dislike the headlights off of the ’67 full sized Pontiac’s because it didn’t look as appealing as it did on the 1965-66 full sized Pontiac’s, Pontiac sure knew how to build great cars back in those days.