Vehicle Description
West Coast Classics are proud to present an exceptional example of
this original California 'Black License Plate' 1963 Pontiac
Bonneville 2 door V8 Convertible in original factory 'Marlin Aqua'
(Code Q) color paint with a 'Fawn' color interior and seats and
with a 'White' power convertible top and boasting a later model
upgraded (1967 XX code) 400/325HP V8 engine with factory options
including: Hydra-Matic automatic transmission, front bucket seats
with center console, full carpeting including lower door panels,
cushioned instrument panel, chrome exterior trim, power steering,
power brakes, deluxe steering wheel, original Pontiac 'Super
Deluxe' AM radio, heater, original and desirable factory Pontiac
hubcaps with period correct tires amp; dual exhausts!Repainted once
in it's original and highly striking factory 'Marlin Aqua' color
paint amp; boasting an original bucket seats interior with center
console and with the floor boards, trunk and all the typical
rust-prone areas solid and rust-free and with the car having no
indication of any accidents - obviously an always garaged and
cherished California car since new!The car looks very impressive
with all it's original logos and its original 'Pontiac Super
Deluxe' radio and power antenna and with the brightwork design on
the dashboard, the dashboard itself, and the carpets and seats all
in very presentable condition throughout. All the chrome work is
also in very good condition and the original spare wheel is in the
trunk. This particular car drives very well with the transmission
shifting smoothly through all the gears and with the temperature
always remaining cool! It is hard to pin down the first actual
muscle car; some have asserted that it is the 1949 Oldsmobile
Rocket 88, which was built with speed in mind and with an overhead
valve V8 placed in a mid-size car with a relatively lightweight
body. A lot of observers cite the next big step in the evolution of
the early muscle car to be the introduction of the 1955 Chrysler
C-300 with its 300 horsepower Hemi engine that could go from zero
to sixty in 9.8 seconds and reach a top speed of around 130 miles
per hour. A car that came along a few years later that is of note
to many collectors and muscle car enthusiasts is the Pontiac
Ventura. The Ventura hardtop of 1961 cost the same as the 1960
model but weighed 180lbs less. The new and shorter wheelbase by 4
inches 1961 Pontiac with the lighter bodies and stronger engines
made Pontiac drag racers hard to beat on the street or strip and
Pontiac won 21 of 52 NASCAR Grand National stock-car races this
year. The 1961 Pontiac Ventura 389 with the standard 389 cubic inch
OHV V8 and three two-barrels was capable of going from a standing
position to sixty miles per hour in a brief 8.2 seconds, and it
could get a quarter mile in 15.5 seconds and reach 93 miles per
hour in the process. They were offered with the famed bubble-top
body style and the eye catching 'Jeweltone Morrokide' upholstery
and were similar in design to the marque's top of the line model
the legendary Pontiac Bonneville!The Bonneville name was introduced
in 1954 on a pair of bubble-topped GM Motorama concept cars called
the Bonneville Special. It entered the production lineup as a
high-performance, fuel-injected luxury convertible within the Star
Chief line in the 1957 model year and was loaded with every
conceivable option as standard equipment with the exception of
optional air conditioning. This put the Bonneville in a
Cadillac-like price range of $5,000 - more than double the base
price of a Chieftain four-door sedan. A fully equipped Bonneville
could cost more than a Cadillac. Only 630 units were produced that
first year, making it one of the most collectible Pontiacs of all
time today. The following year it would become its own separate
model and it would endure until 2005 as the division's
top-of-the-line model. The name was taken from the Bonneville Salt
Flats in Utah, the site of much early auto racing and most of the
world's land speed record runs, which was named in turn after U.S.
Army officer Benjamin Bonneville. Bonneville became a separate
model in 1958 and was available as a coupe or a convertible. It
paced the Indianapolis 500 in its first year. In its third year,
the 1959 Bonneville became a full top-line series with the addition
of the four-door hardtop sedan and Safari station wagon body
styles. The Bonneville played an important part that year in the
introduction of two of Pontiac's greatest marketing inspirations
the split grille and the Wide Track slogan. The latter was not just
ad copy, either, as Pontiac pushed its wheels further out toward
the fenders than anyone else and created what were considered to be
the best-cornering full-size cars in the industry. Both the grille
design and the Wide Track phrase remained part of Pontiac's image
up to its termination. A "Safe-T-Track" differential, used to
minimize wheel spin, was an option beginning in 1959. The
Bonneville remained as Pontiac's costliest and most luxurious model
throughout the 1960s and was instrumental in pushing Pontiac to
third place in sales from 1962 to 1970.The Bonneville differed from
its lesser Catalina and Star Chief counterparts by featuring more
luxurious interior trim with upgraded cloth and Morrokide vinyl or
expanded Morrokide upholstery in sedans and coupes, expanded
Morrokide in Safari wagons or genuine leather seating in
convertibles. Bonnevilles (with the exception of Bonneville Safari
Station wagons) were also (along with Star Chiefs) built on a
longer wheelbase version of GM's B-Body. Also found in the
Bonneville were instrument panels and door panels with walnut
veneer trim, carpeted lower door panels, grab bar on passenger side
of dash and courtesy lights and rear arm rest. Beginning in 1964, a
Bonneville Brougham option package was available that included an
even more luxurious interior trim level with front and rear seats
featuring center armrests, upgraded door panels and a standard
Cordova (vinyl) roof with 'Brougham' nameplates.Bonneville models
were standard equipped with Hydra-Matic (through 1964) or Turbo
Hydra-Matic (1965-on) automatic transmissions. Other options
included power steering and power brakes as well as air
conditioning. The Bonneville also had more powerful standard V8
engines than other full-sized Pontiacs including the 389 cu in (6.4
l) or 400 cu in (6.6 l) V8s with four-barrel carburetors with many
optional V8 offerings available including Tri-Power (three
two-barrel carburetor) options on both the 389 cu in (6.4 l) and
421 cu in (6.9 l) V8s that offered up to 376 hp (280 kW) through
1966. For 1962, Pontiac also offered the 421 cu in (6.9 l) Super
Duty with two four-barrel carburetors, rated at 405 hp. This is a
great opportunity to own a wonderful daily driving example of a
1963 Pontiac Bonneville Convertible with a 400 V8 engine and one
very rare and highly desirable and unabused example of one of the
outstanding early rag top muscle cars from the early sixties.