Dropped this on BonnevilleForum, thought I'd put it here too for some more opinions.

Looking at a 1997 Bonneville SSEi (black on black).

It's high milage -294,000 Km (182,600 Mi).

According to the add "In the last year, the car has had brand new brakes (all around, as well as a couple new lines), wheel bearings (front), alternator, starter, and a few odds and ends here and there put on it. This car has never been raced"

He's asking $2,500, or best reasonable offer.

I would have two main concerns with that... the tranny, and the suspension. And probably the LIM gaskets. I just dropped a good chunk of change on the '96 redoing the suspension, I really don't want to do it again. From the pics the body looks like it's in excellent condition.. definetly something I'd go and do a thorough inspection on though.

I'm thinking of offering $2,000 if it's in good shape. What do you guys think?

My '96 runs great so I'm in zero hurry whatsoever. I have a tossup of going for an older SSEi (of which I love the looks WAY more), vs. the more expensive but probably less problematic newer ones.

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G8GT. 62,000 Km.
SOLO Mach-Balanced catback, Rotofab CAI, Healthy dose of awesome

I have a question: Would you be getting rid of your SE then or you just going to have 2?

If the body is mint and with minimal or no rust, I'd hit it for $2000.
I always thought as long as the body is good especially no rust you can always replace the drivetrain.
You know so what if the motor goes swap another one BUT if your strut mounts or engine are rotted beyond belief the car is usually not even salvagable

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Clay
1997.2 40th SLE-138k
1968 Bonneville 400ci w/TH-400-40k
1999 GMC Suburban SLT-191k
2005 Escalade 253k-GINA

I'd be keeping the SE. The body is in excellent shape, underside is mostly surface rust where there is any, engine is good, and I just did $2,500 of work on the suspension.. car rides and drives like a million bucks. That's one reason I'm not in a huge hurry to spend more money. As much as I want an SSEi, I have a Bonnie that runs great already.

And that's what I figured about the drivetrain. If I have to have the tranny rebuilt it will last.. if the frame, body, and suspension are in good shape it may be worth it.

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G8GT. 62,000 Km.
SOLO Mach-Balanced catback, Rotofab CAI, Healthy dose of awesome

I totally agree. I was looking at trading my SE for an SSEi straight up but I decided against it b/c I know what I have done to my car and I know it runs good and drive like a Cadillac (or something that rides amazing). And also the parts for n/a are cheaper.

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Clay
1997.2 40th SLE-138k
1968 Bonneville 400ci w/TH-400-40k
1999 GMC Suburban SLT-191k
2005 Escalade 253k-GINA

I have no doubts that the supercharged Bonnevilles are a lot of fun. But when you have an SE that runs as well as mine does, that is as comfortable as mine is, there comes a point where you just have to accept that it's a *dang* nice car and the L36 is a *dang* nice engine just the way it is (after dealing with the intake). Once you get over your supercharger envy, you can really start enjoying your car for the great vehicle it is.

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PontiacDad at WCBF `08: "By any chance, was his name. . .Radomir?"

R.I.P. 10/31/15: 1997 SE: "Silver Shadow"
`05 Mercedes S500

Oh, no doubt. One reason I want another car though is because I don't have the time to do anything fun to the engine. Since it's my daily driver anything that I do to it has to be able to be done over a weekend.. which doesn't leave much time for modding :(. I have a list of things I want to do with it, but since I know almost nothing about modding auto engines I can't be quick about it.

I thought "hey, I could get something crappy to drive while modding the bonneville.. but why not an SSEi?"

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G8GT. 62,000 Km.
SOLO Mach-Balanced catback, Rotofab CAI, Healthy dose of awesome

Incidentally, that's a fine looking SE you've got there. I love that combination of color with those wheels. Is your interior fabric or leather, and is it camel (tan) or another color?

My SE is also my daily driver and kid-hauler. It has been only very lightly modded with a ricepipe & K&N on the intake, Magnaflow dual exhaust muffler conversion, and the rest are mostly comfort changes, like aftermarket stereo, amps, & sub; rear swaybar upgrade (still looking for a front bar); aftermarket struts & Energy sway bushings; Dex removal; 9005 headlamp conversion; clear corners; window tinting; and regular maintenance items like plugs & plug cables. Almost all of these things can be do-it-yourself weekend afternoon mods, and makes the car more fun do own.

It also currently holds the WCBF club trophy from the Woodburn dragstrip, just to prove you don't need an SSEi for consistent times at the strip. It performs comparably to a Series 1 L67.

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PontiacDad at WCBF `08: "By any chance, was his name. . .Radomir?"

R.I.P. 10/31/15: 1997 SE: "Silver Shadow"
`05 Mercedes S500

Thanks! The interior is black leather. I also love the rims. Nice and large and (fairly) easy to clean. They look great on yours as well... come to think of it, I think these rims look great on the 8th gen regardless. This is my first car, definetly glad I picked a Bonneville and one in good condition at that.

True. If I get the time I want to port the lower intake manifold.. I'm running stock gaskets (though not running dex) so I know I need to do that, I was hoping to port the LIM while I was at it. Wouldn't mind gutting the airbox either; could probably do that in a day. I really want to learn more about modding and engine work. I'd like to do more work myself. Like I said though... daily driver + lack of experience means I can't do too much yet.

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G8GT. 62,000 Km.
SOLO Mach-Balanced catback, Rotofab CAI, Healthy dose of awesome

Gutting the airbox takes an hour, including a drive around the block to see how much power you've gained, LOL.

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Bye Bye:

RIP sandrock

Is there a how-to on gutting the airbox or how much and where do you cut it?

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Clay
1997.2 40th SLE-138k
1968 Bonneville 400ci w/TH-400-40k
1999 GMC Suburban SLT-191k
2005 Escalade 253k-GINA

Wow, black leather, that's a great combination for that color car. Definitely keep an eye on your coolant levels. Either the gaskets will let go or the upper will burn through at the EGR. I'll definitely be porting the LIM next time it comes apart, that's the one mod I didn't have time to do. It's absolutely on my list.

Airbox gutting is pretty self explanatory. Just take it apart and cut out the baffles from inside the box. I preferred to just go with the Autozone pipe and the K&N cone filter. I have to put my stock airbox back on every 2 years in order to pass the California smog check, so I like leaving the stock airbox unaltered, although I'm sure a gutted box would still pass the visual inspection they do here.

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PontiacDad at WCBF `08: "By any chance, was his name. . .Radomir?"

R.I.P. 10/31/15: 1997 SE: "Silver Shadow"
`05 Mercedes S500