I've recently purchased an 04 GXP Bonneville and while I love the car, I am absolutely going crazy being unable to source certain things, even from the dealer. For example, right now I'm trying to track down the hood insulator, which has been discontinued by GM.. The part number is 25765684. Only one available place has it and it's just an online resource of part numbers called OEMCats that for some reason has an online vendor system that doesn't seem to work. And no, before you ask, I didn't punch in my payment info; a few Google searches showed frustration from people who tried to and that was enough for me.

Can any of you fine folks help me out here? I mean I get that since its a Northstar v8 there isn't much modification possible, but come on, I should at least be able to find parts. I won't even ask about the Shop manual/factory service manual; the best I could find is a used set of 3 books for about $500. To be honest I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I loved the look of the car, it was in relatively good condition, so I bought it. It handles and drives great, but it's just... everything else.

Try Bonnevilles Unlimited. He's great for stock parts.

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WHITE WHINE - 1992 SSE Supercharged 236.26 ci (.040 Over) 15.090 at 90.2 MPH on old engine w/ slipping trans & melted O2 sensor - Gen 3 M62 and matching TB, Gen 2 Pully, Zillamotorsports Ported LIM, YT 1.72 Roller Rockers, SII FPR & Injectors, Hypertech Thermomaster chip w/ 160 Thermo, TransGo Shift Kit, Infinity/Pioneer Speakers & a 10" Alpine Type R Sub, all the watts, 140 amp Alternator, Ricepipe CAI w/ heatshield, Pilot Angel Eye Foglights, Clear Corners, '02 17" Chrome Bent 5's, Magnaflow F-Body Muffler and Hi-flo Cat, Ceramic Coated Ported Exhaust Manifolds, Fan Override, Monroe Reflex struts, red calipers
2009 G8 GT - Sport Red Metallic, loaded, SOLO Axlebacks, Rotofab Intake, Tuned, autodim mirror, removed intake manifold cover, HSV GTS triple gauge pod, two tone red-hot shifter and HSV SuperSport steering wheel, GXP rear sway bar and diffuser, 3.45 diff and various Camaro suspension bits, LED Taillights

Oh I hear you when it comes to the GXP's they were an extremely limited run vs the other models and while they look a lot like an SSEI on steroids, they are more like a cadillac with a pontiac facelift because so little of the parts that fit an 00-05 se - ssei fit on a GXP. they are Beautiful cars, but that is part of the reason I steared away from them...that and I really liked my old ssei (addicted to blower whine).

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2003 Pontiac Bonneville SSEI
3.8L V6 SC, 180*T (Drilled),
Custom PCM w/Perf Shift,
SLP Ceramic Coated Headers,
Thrasher Cold Air Intake,
GXP Tails, Interior Door handles, Trim pieces etc.
40th Aniv Grand Prix GTP Wheels (Very Shiny & Very Annoying )

Thank you, I will definitely look into that tomorrow. What I've found out is that the hood insulator was discontinued, besides the obvious reasons such as a basically obsolete and limited run car, is that the hood insulator is difficult to ship. You can't fold it, and to ship it would cost way more than its worth. Hopefully he can hook me up though. I looked into other possible ways to fix the situation, such as maybe a high heat tolerant material+glue, but so far the best option would be is an actual hood insulator because it acts as a fire blanket in case the engine catches fire. Knock on wood, but still.

To be honest I didn't even know about the Bonneville until I saw one for sale. I liked Pontiacs and always wanted the GTO specifically The Judge, but what I was actually looking for was the supercharged Grand Prix or a earlier model Trans-Am. Once I saw the Bonneville up for sale in reasonably good condition, saw it was the v8 AND a Pontiac, I just bought it. It had 154k miles on it but the guy who owned it was more than knowledgeable about it and even replaced the head gaskets not too long ago and some other stuff. But considering what I know now about it, I'm not saying I wouldn't have bought it but maybe I would've at least haggled a bit.

No, not really. It's just for keeping the sound in and "looks". A lot of people remove them completely and rock the "golf ball" look of the underside of the hood.

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Andrew - owner/operator of Bonnevilles Unlimited

2004 Bonneville GXP | 60k | White Gold Tricoat | custom built supercharged 3800 hot rod | garage queen
1997 Corvette | 55k | Silver Metallic | Z06 wheels | Date-night Hauler/Parts runner
2014 Town & Country Limited | Cashmere Pearl | 95k | Family Hauler
2002 Ram 1500 Quad Cab Sport | Black| 260k | Official Bonneville Hauler

Really? Well I don't know *what* to believe anymore. I've had numerous people even pertaining to my old Japanese car that the pins holding the insulation in place have a low melting point so in case of a fire, they disintegrate and allow the insulation to drop down on the engine and to smother the potential fire. I mean one person said so I could've brushed it off, but after hearing it over and over again I was inclined to believe it. The golf ball look is actually pretty cool, I'm not gonna lie, especially if you take some high heat enamel and maybe outline it some.. But with regards to sound dampening, how much engine noise becomes audible after the removal, do you know? Is it possible to have a conversation inside with the car in motion?

Actually thanks for the great idea, HaroFreak00 (is that a reference to BMX by any chance?) It got me thinking. What I'm gonna do is scrap the original hood liner + fiberglass crap and get my hands on a SecondSkin hood liner kit. It's both sound dampening and insulation! I have no idea why this "fire blanket" thing is such common misinformation. I might even do my firewall with it because it lets through a significant amount of heat.

The problem with the lack of aftermarket parts and discontinued dealership parts is that it basically forces you to use your head. I was so used to swapping out parts that I didn't even realize you can just do whatever you want.