1963 Pontiac Bonneville

This is my 1963 Pontiac Bonneville Convertible. This car is fully optioned with a 421 Tri-Power feeding a TH375 to an original Dana Safe-T-Track. I bought this car as a incomplete shell from a local salvage yard about 5 years ago for $1200, where it and most of the Catalina doner panels were loaded via forklift onto a flatbed. Due to lack of running gear and interior I was originally going to make it a drag car with chevy powerplant, but lucked out in getting a complete 64 grand prix rustbomb for $700 at a swap-meet. With most of the major original parts it ended up turning into a father-son restoration. My dad had a 62 Cat he raced in the late 60s so we decided to do kind of a late 60s resto-mod. We first started on the striping, since the car was for the most part already in pieces we set the body up and started with a DA and quickly moved to an acetylene torch, since it was coated in body filler, upwards of an inch in in the quarters on both sides where it was polled. Months of torch and molly work got the body line back and most the metal straight. Rust was light minus the non existed trunk floor, hammer form 16-gauge sheet fixed that. Chassis was straight with only a few stress cracks from a front end hit which where ground stop drilled and welded. The block and heads were sent to a local machine shop for magnaflux, bore/hone, seats and regrind. We assembled the motor using the OE durasteel forged crank and rods, TRW pistons, etc. The Tri-Power is factory, all three carbs where rebuilt, linkage is a homemade progressive. Interior was sewn by my dad, it's a stock pattern in creame white leather with maroon leather accents in place of the factory 2 tone vinyl, instruments were all rebuilt, carpet is a burgundy loop pile the I molded. Top is a stayfast canvas top in a parchment with glass window. Major mods are the late 70s trans-am/eldarado front/rear disk brakes and master. 63 GranPrix Grill and Rear valance. 70s Olds TH375. Other then the Chrome and some mill work by local shop nearly every part was restored by my father and I over 5 years.