I've recently run into the option of securing a 65 Bonneville for the cost of recovering the title for it. The vehicle looks as if its been sitting since 2008, when it was last inspected. It does look pretty rough, and I'm nowhere close to knowledgeable about it. I took some pictures of the vehicle today, and I was hoping I would be able to get some pointers on where to start with this thing (or if its even worth dumping money into).

If anyone could look over the pictures, it would be much appreciated. I was looking for any kind of direction to go on for troubleshooting systems and getting it running again. Honestly, I don't even know the right questions to begin asking you guys to start with. I'm just hoping to get this thing back in running order instead of letting it continue to rot.

The images should appear under this link, I've never used imgur so .1965 Pontiac Bonneville https://imgur.com/gallery/wxQTRrm

I embedded the images for you. All you need to do is right click on the image on imgur, copy image link then paste it in between an image tag. The image tag button is under the subject box when you use the full editor to post/reply.

As far as the car goes, I've never brought a carbed car back to life before so take my advice with a grain of salt. If you want motivation, ViceGripGarage on youtube has a ton of videos of bringing field cars back to life then actually driving them home.

Before anything it's probably best to look at the frame and see if it's any good. If it is you'll want to know if the engine is any good, then address the cooling system, brakes, trans, diff.

My understanding is that more or less you want to see if it'll fire by:
-Pulling all the plugs and spraying fogging oil into the cylinders
-See if you can turn the crank by hand (crank bolt)
-Reinstall new plugs and check continuity of the plug wires before reinstalling
-See if the carb linkage is seized
-Disconnect the fuel supply line so you don't pull old fuel through the system
-Pull the distributor cap and clean contacts as required, reinstall
-Check oil level or preferably change
-Hook up new battery, smell for fire
-See if the starter will crank
-Check for spark when cranking (inline bulb tester, etc.)
-Fill the carb with gas that has 2-cycle oil mixed in
-Crank and listen for it to try and fire, add fuel as necessary

If you can get it to fire then its off to cleaning the fuel tank/system, adding coolant and servicing the coolant system, going through the brakes, checking trans fluid, see if it'll go into gear, check diff fluid and wheel bearings before you drive it, of course tires, etc.

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95 SLE... a keeper. 241k miles. Low and Slow.
97 BMW 528i
98 Infiniti vq35'd i30: 13.3@104mph, 30MPG Hwy (RIP)
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07 Ducati Monster S2R 800 with DS1000 swap
83 Yamaha IT175K
72 Yamaha DS7: '74 RD250 swap, JL chambers

Info on dropping a 92-99: Here.

First, is that some kind of horn bolted to the inner fender in front of the master cylinder? Or maybe an air raid siren?

One problem with a car that’s not “mainstream” (i.e. 1st gen Camaro or Mustang, tri-five Chevy) is that you’re going to have to search high & low for replacement chassis parts or fabricate stuff yourself as there is likely no remanufactured parts for this thing. On the plus side, it looks like this car is pretty much 100% complete. Near as I can tell all the chrome and trim pieces are there and in decent shape. Bonus!

Is that the original interior? If so, it’s in remarkable condition. Door panels will need some work, but the interior restoration is not insurmountable.

In addition to the frame as Mike suggested, check the rocker panels, trunk floor, area below the rear window, and lower fenders behind the wheels for rust. Also pull back the carpet in front of the driver’s seat and check the floor pan for rust. These are prime areas for corrosion. They can be fixed, it just depends on what you’re willing to do – time, effort, money. If those areas are solid take this car home with you…if you decide not to restore it you can easily make your title recovery money back.

When you pull the distributor cap off to clean the contacts, don’t forget to clean or replace the points. This thing does not have an electronic ignition and it’s likely the ignition points are crusty and if they are you’re not going to get any spark. I had a ’63 Star Chief and if it sat for a couple months I’d have to clean the points to get it to run.

The engine, transmission, brakes, and other mechanical systems aren’t, in my opinion, as much of a concern as the body. Chances are you can still get parts for those systems. Considering it was registered in 2008, one would think it was operational then. That’s not so long ago. Even if something in the drivetrain was hosed, I think it could all be fixed.

In summary, the car looks to be 99.7% complete (no air cleaner and the "B" on the right rear quarter panel is missing) and if I didn’t have 534 other projects to do, this looks like something I’d be willing to take on. This thing is not that rough for a 1965. It’s certainly in much better overall condition than my 57 Chevy project. If not you, someone ought to rescue this car.

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Resident Tightwad

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