1970 Pontiac Bonneville Convertible 455 project for sale

[BK911]

Selling for a friend.
Runs and stops, but she is definitely a project.
I was told original engine but I didnt dig too deep.
Frame rails looked good, but floors need some work.
Bumpers are included. All cleaned ready for chrome.
Dont know what these things are worth, but several people stopped me on the way home to try to buy it.
I think she is looking for around $12k, which is what her husband paid for it.
Any advice is appreciated.

She has anther one too but I have not seen that yet.
Will probably pick it up this weekend.

[pavulon]

a set of clubs and a golf course could fit in that trunk!

[tabs]

Originally Posted by pavulon

a set of clubs and a golf course could fit in that trunk!

I was the thinking a family of four Chinese could sublet the trunk.

[CurtEgerer]

LMAO.

That thing is pretty awesome.

[fastfredracing]

You should be required to pay real estate tax on those things

[Steve Carlton]

You're gonna need a bigger lot.

[scottmandue]

Passes everything except a gas station

[BK911]

Yea, I really want to keep it too, but no way I am getting another project.
We will see.

[speeder]

Someone needs to learn how to load a trailer. You've got all the weight on the tongue, that would sink my F-250 tow vehicle. I have the same trailer, sometimes you need to put a pig like that on backwards to get it right. You want the weight centered over the two axles or as close as possible.

[sammyg2]

I learned a lesson when I was 18 regarding proper loading of a trailer and weight distribution.

I had built up a hot dune buggy and bought a cheap trailer and put the buggy on it as far forward Was possible, I thought it was about balanced but as it turned out, the cg was just behind the axles.
So we headed off to El Mirage.
We weren't on the 15 fwy for long when something upset the trailer a little. Cant remember if it was wind or lane change or what but the trailer started doing a tank slapper and got worse and worse.

after I learned the problem was caused by not enough tongue weight and too much weight behind the axles. Prolly 45 front and 55% rear.

50/50 might have been fine, but 60 front 40 rear would be better.
Minimum 100 lubs of tongue weight on a light load and trailer, more tongue weight on a bigger load.

[sammyg2]

More info:

Properly loading a trailer to maintain a proper tongue weight is paramount, especially when it comes to handling.

Imagine driving down the road on a vehicle with egg shaped tires. It would be pretty hard to control the vehicle or to drive safely. That's the kind of wobbly, out-of-control situation you might find yourself in if you try to tow a trailer with improper tongue weight.

How Tongue Weight Affects Your Vehicle

The tongue weight is the static force the trailer tongue exerts on the hitch ball. Proper trailer tongue weight can make the difference between a safe trailer towing experience and a dangerous journey. If you don’t have enough weight on the trailer tongue, the trailer may be prone to swaying from side to side, making it difficult to control. Conversely, if you have too much weight exerted on the hitch ball, the force could overload the rear tires of the tow vehicle and push the rear end of the vehicle around.

This could also negatively affect handling – you might not be able to go around corners and curves properly, and your vehicle may not stop quickly enough when you press the brake pedal.

What Is Proper Tongue Weight?

For conventional trailers with ball-mounted hitches, proper tongue weight is roughly 10 to 15 percent of the total loaded trailer weight.

For instance, if a 2,000-pound conventional trailer is loaded with 1,000 pounds of cargo, the proper tongue weight of the loaded trailer should be between 300 and 450 pounds, or 10-15 percent of the loaded 3,000 pound total.


Load Placement

A correctly placed load is key to ensuring both a proper tongue weight and a safe trailering experience. An improper load condition can make for a dangerous trailering situation. According to the GMC Trailering Guide, to get the proper trailer tongue weight, you should put about 60 percent of the load centered evenly over the front half of the trailer. For instance, if that 2000-pound trailer is still carrying 1000 pounds, roughly 600 pounds should be in the front half of the trailer.

https://www.gmc.com/gmc-life/trucks/why-tongue-weight-is-important-for-safe-towing

[BK911]

Somebody made it home with it loaded as pictured.
I always load the front more than the back.
Maybe cheated a little too much, but all ended well.

[Steve Carlton]

I was all set to buy that Bonneville until I found out it wasn't trailered properly. Damn.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by BK911

Somebody made it home with it loaded as pictured.
I always load the front more than the back.
Maybe cheated a little too much, but all ended well.

I'm glad to hear that. Trailer accidents can really ruin your day. Sammy's link is correct wrt tongue weight vs. total trailer weight, you definitely need enough tongue weight but if it's sinking the rear end of the tow vehicle, you've got it improperly loaded. It's not rocket science; simply stand back and look at the loaded trailer and tow vehicle. If everything looks level w that type of trailer, you're good to go. If the front of the trailer and the rear of the TV are both pointing downhill, you fk'ed up.

[speeder]

Wait...does that car have the 455 installed in it? It looks kind of high in the front, like the engine is missing. If that's the case, forget what I previously said. It's loaded properly.

[Porchdog]

I think it's sitting high because the bumper is missing. Also, those GM's seem to sit a bit tail-low anyway.

That's a really tempting car for me. My dad drove a Centurion convertible (his dad and brothers were a Buick/Pontiac dealers).

I will send a link to my cousin

[Steve Carlton]

Maybe an all aluminum 455...

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by BK911

Yea, I really want to keep it too, but no way I am getting another project.
We will see.

Keep the Caddy, sell the Bonney

[speeder]

Our neighbor across the street had this car, '70 Bonneville ragtop. Not the best looking year, (or the worst). He had a '67 before that, now that was a looker.

His name was Leroy Johnson, one of two Johnson families within 200 yards of our front door. In Minneapolis in the '60s and '70s, the Johnsons and Petersons took up half the phone book w Ericksons and Andersons filling in the rest. Mr. Johnson was a real character, a total alcoholic but a really nice guy. He had played college football somewhere and was large man but it was a lot of fat by that time from drinking.

He used to fight w his wife a lot but never violent that I saw, just a lot of yelling. He loved kids and would pack the whole immediate neighborhood in that Bonnie w the top down in the summer and drive us to Baskin Robins for ice cream cones. Imagine 10 kids packed into that car w top down, sitting on folded top w legs inside, kids packed onto other kids, no seatbelts...somehow we survived.

[Steve Carlton]

We drove through a Jack in the Box in a friend’s parents’ 1968 Electra convertible late at night just wearing our tighty whiteys. Prank 1972 style.