Suburban Pontiac, Bellflower California

Above is the build sheet for my '63 GP shipped to Suburban Pontiac in Bellflower, California. Conceived at the South Gate Plant in late July, 1963, the new owner took delivery right before Christmas. That documentation will be posted soon. The car was born, raised, and stayed in California until I adopted it to my Wisconsin home in 2008.

The CCA color code (Cameo Ivory paint top and bottom - "CC", and black interior - "A"), 421 Engine, and A/C are what attracted me to the car--and probably the original owner.

Did a little research on the dealership. Sadly, despite efforts by the community to keep them in town (to prevent the drain of tax base), they closed in 1988 and headed out to an Auto Mall close to the Artesia Freeway. An awesome picture of the Dealership after its prime, but still in full garb, can be found at:

http://roadsidepeek.com/roadusa/southwest/california/socal/socalauto/socaldealer/index.htm

Suburban Pontiac's charm and history has apparently been replaced with a new name: Cerritos Pontiac Buick GMC Hummer--which probably looks like every other Pontiac Buick GMC Hummer dealer in the country. All identification gone, the small picture above shows what the old dealership looked like in 2008.

Of course, the Pontiac brand has recently been eliminated by GM in a confusing move. The brand was clearly not plagued with a "Not your Father's Oldsmobile" image. It was the performance brand, that had finally mastered a good line-up, and was the GM choice among younger domestic buyers. Apparently, GM believed that the 'Your Grandfather's Buick' image was something special--at least in China.

Slowly, but Surely Slowly

The 63 Grand Prix is coming along nicely. The doors are in primer, and straight as a whistle. Next up was removal of the trunk lid and hood, and taking them to the acid dipper two weeks ago. I was a little more concerned about what was under that white house paint on the trunk. Good news: both pieces came back cleaner than a baby's bottom--although a few very slight pin holes on the inner edge of the lid. My body guy, Mike, is going to repair them the old-fashioned way with lead. Advice to everyone contemplating paint removal on a project: acid dipping is the way to go! Fenders are next, along with the cowl and some assorted stuff on the front clip. Slowly, but surely slowly, it'll take weeks to get that all off. No hurry, the project is a journey, not a race.

Started the White Grand Prix

Not content to do one thing at a time, starting disassembling the 1963 Grand Prix--doors first. Concurrently began rebuilding the rear suspension with new springs, shocks, and control arm bushings. This big fella came from California, where it sat in the high desert for a long time after spending most of its productive life in Los Angeles, where it was originally purchased.

The previous owner used a paint roller to spread either white house paint or badly faded epoxy primer over the entire car (the car is a CCA coded car--white body, white top, black interior). Other than the typically rusted out trunk, the car appeared to be almost completely rust free, but who knows what's under that rolled on paint. I removed the doors a couple of weeks ago to begin the painting process. My body guy took them to be acid dipped, and they just came back. Goods news is that the now paintless doors look almost perfect. It won't take much to get these ready to go after primed in protective epoxy. Next up removal of the hood and trunk lid, which get acid dipped, too.

How I Found Her

On the header of this Blog you can take a look at my beautiful 1964 Gulfstream Aqua Pontiac Bonneville Convertible at her previous home--abused and neglected in the back of body shop in Florida. I located her through an ad on Car Trader Online. The ad didn't have any pictures, but did have a phone number. I was lucky to print it after I saw it, because it was taken off line after about a week by its original owner--who became reluctant to sell it. It took almost a year to make the sale. A friend in Florida went to look at her in the shop and took this picture and others. Turns out to be a relatively rare Bonneville: factory dual exhausts, bucket seats, 3.08 posi, 8-lug wheels, Trophy 4 barrel 389, and air shocks. Most Bonnevilles had bench seats, single exhaust, standard 5 lug wheels and toned down 389's. Even better, the original engine had been removed and rebuilt, balanced, and blue printed with a ram-air cam by a now defunkt Pontiac Engine Builder in Orlando. It was wrapped in plastic on an engine stand in the corner. The picture next to this post shows the car cleaned up a few months after getting back to Wisconsin. The owner put in a mid-70's 400 and TH400 transmission--which still worked well after sitting in the shop for almost a decade. The original 4 speed Automatic SuperHydramatic transmission was in the trunk, with boxes of spare parts. My friend Greg and his cadre of young helpers have since put the original engine back in along with a now rebuilt original transmission. Runs like a charm. All of the brake, steering, and suspension systems have been rehabilitated. The convertible top pump, lines, and cylinders have been replaced as well. These pictures show my Big Aqua Bonney after a thorough cleaning. The car, now, is "up north" at a friends being repainted and freshened up, as time permits. Hoping to have it back by early summer, 2010.