February 2012 Longroof of the Month - 1983 Bonneville

Thank you for the LROM honor!

I appreciate being asked to share this tale and I hope you enjoy it; I have certainly enjoyed putting it together for you.

I am a retired engineer and a long-time car nut. My wife is also an engineer; she retired in 2008 and joined me in running our small business…more about that later.
Our two daughters are grown and on their own; we enjoy traveling and are frequent “cruisers”…more often on ships than in cars.

I enjoyed.... survived might be a better term...over 30 years in the "Tier 1" automotive supplier industry. I spent most of my career in the Interior and Seating industry, with a few detours into exterior trim (bumpers & fascias) and mechanical components and stampings.

My love of cars began early in life, as it did for many of us.
The first car I vividly remember was one of my father’s cars...a 1957 gold and cream-colored 4 door Dodge.
I don't remember the model, but it looked like this one:



I DO remember watching the gravel roads go by through holes in the rear floor pan while sharing the rear seat with my younger brother; I was about 5 years old and he was 3.

Then came a two-tone white and red 1963 Comet wagon…this is where my wagon appreciation began. I learned how to operate a clutch and a “three on the tree” by watching my Dad drive that Comet. Drive-in movies were special; we got to sit in the back, behind the seats, with blankets and snacks for movie time!
The Comet looked like this one, but ours had a red body and white roof:



My first car - bought in my Senior year of high school with my parents' assistance - was a 1970 4-door Nova with a TH350 automatic (no Powerglide for THIS boy).
It was that ubiquitous, pale metallic green with a dark green interior, AM radio and cloth seats. It was such a cheap car, it had a molded rubber floor cover; no carpet.
I added a carpet, an FM converter and a rear seat speaker with a fader control. I cleaned and waxed that car like it was a Corvette.
It looked just like this one, minus the boat, the dog and the rust:



Though I had no money to spend on modifying my car, I discovered an entire culture of go-fast car lovers at college; guys who would spend every hard-earned dollar to make their ride go a little faster. One of my freshman buddies had a 68 (or maybe a 69…too many years gone by) Torino wagon with a 428 transplant, a built up C6 with a console, floor shifter and bucket seats out of a two-door car. He had also added the Cobra Jet hood scoop, blacked out grille and slotted aluminum wheels.
I fell in love with that wagon! It looked a lot like this one, but his was gold with a black interior:



Fast forward 22 years and about 20 cars….
After getting canned from my second VP position in 2006, I decided that I was DONE with the automotive OEM supply industry. I found a small business that looked very intriguing and we soon became small business owners. The company had been around for over 40 years, but was sort of a well-kept secret. We made reproduction exhaust systems for vintage (domestic) cars and trucks. We could supply exhaust pipes, mufflers, resonators, tailpipes and other exhaust parts for just about any vehicle built from the early "teens" through the 1970s. We established a website (http://waldronexhaust.com) and started adding new products; sales took off!

In the spring of 2007, we got a call from the Big Dog Garage (recognize that name? I didn’t, at the time…). They ordered a stainless steel exhaust system for a Hudson Hornet. THAT turned out to be a wonderful experience; you can watch the results in this short video (sorry; you might have to sit through a commercial before the video starts):

http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/waldrons-antique-exhaust/190235/

That was a GREAT visit. My wife and I got to tour Leno's collection, we met everyone that worked at the garage (5 full time employees back then) and enjoyed reserved seats to watch the taping of "The Tonight Show"!

We even got our picture taken on the set with Jay after the show was taped:



And of course, we got to hang out at the garage while waiting for my turn with Jay in front of the cameras…it was awesome!

Also that year, I was contacted by Tom Hand (son of Jim Hand, who wrote the first edition of "How to build High Performance Pontiac V8s"). Tom was looking for a manufacturer to take over production of his re-production of the Pontiac VOE (Vacuum Operated Exhaust) mufflers. These very special mufflers were originally available on the 1970 GTO for a very short period of time…until GM brass and the insurance industry realized what Pontiac was doing!

Here’s a link to one of the original "Humbler" commercials from the 1970 Super Bowl:



We couldn’t find any Ram Air GTO’s with the VOE bracket (Pontiac might have sold a few of them, but we never found one). But the car in the commercial is a Ram Air car with VOE, so we did a frame-by-frame review of the part where the driver reaches down to pull the switch. We were able to determine what the original bracket looked like and we re-created it so Ram-Air equipped cars could add the proper mounting brackets and VOE controls.

Within 6 months, we had the mufflers in production. I used my 1971 GTO as our development vehicle, completing the fit, sound and durability evaluations on my own car. We even re-produced the elements of the original control systems, so owners of GTO's that had this rare option on their cars could restore the cars with factory-correct parts. It was a blast! Our VOE mufflers even won an industry “Best New Product” award at the Hot Rod & Restoration trade show.



Here’s how the VOE mufflers sounded on my car; that's my wife is recording the sound pressure readings:



That project got me invited to participate in a panel discussion at the 2008 GTOAA Nationals in Saratoga Springs, New York. The moderator was Paul Zazarine (a good friend, who we lost in 2011).

I enjoyed the awesome experience of sitting with some "heavy hitters" of Pontiac and GTO history, including Jim Wangers, Arnie Beswick, Dave Warren, Milt Schornak and John Sawruk (who also passed away last year).

I'm in the middle; wearing the dark blue shirt and a goofy look on my face.



THAT was a fun event!

To top it off, we won an award for driving our GTO the furthest distance to attend the 2008 National meet.

By January of 2009, the 68 GTO I had been working on for about 3 years was painted and I had nearly completed the assembly of the car.
I had intended this car to be a very nice "driver", but when it was done, it was much better than that. I decided to see just how good it was; I registered to have it judged in the "Concours-Restored" class at the 2009 GTOAA Nationals in Dayton. We drove the 1971 GTO and entered it in the "Popular Vote" class, and trailered the 68 for judging. It really wasn't even finished yet; the shoulder belts had not been installed and I still had some fine-tuning to do, but on to the judging field it went. I used the scoring sheets to judge the car by my own eyes and I thought I was a little shy of winning a "Bronze" award. (Gold is 90% to 100% of perfect total judging points, Silver is 80% to 89% and Bronze is 70 to 79%).
I was shocked when my car received a ”Silver" award!







Believe it or not, this is what I started with:



Throughout the week at the Dayton show, I was drawn to a lot of beautiful cars. One of my favorites was a 1965 Lemans wagon that had been made into a “GTO” wagon…I thought it was great! It fed my desire to find a wagon as my next project…

So now we come to my recent life with wagons and how I came to join this group of wagon-lovers...
While owning the exhaust company, I drove a full-size pickup. I needed the bed for parts hauling and I needed the towing capacity to haul our trailer to swap meets. In 2010, with the business going strong and growing, my wife and I decided it would be a good time to sell the company. We thought it would be easy to find a buyer.

Once we decided to sell, I began looking for a replacement vehicle for my truck. I was ready to get back into a car but I wanted something with some towing capacity. I had always liked the 1991-96 B wagons; I thought they were SO much better looking and more versatile than their sedan cousins. Besides, I had always yearned for a wagon since riding along in the back of that little Comet when I was a kid.

I started looking in earnest and saw a LOT of local cars; all of them were 305 TBI cars. At the time, I couldn’t find an LT1 in my price range. In February of 2010, I saw a CL ad for a maroon 91 Caprice. In the ad photos, the car wore 24" rims. I went to check it out and discovered that the car's original LO3 had been replaced with an LO5 350. It drove like NONE of the wagons I had driven; lots more grunt than any of the cars I had tested so far. It was surprisingly clean underneath…for a Michigan car.

I noticed a set of Impala SS rims in the seller's back yard; he had just replaced the SS rims with the 24" rims and I offered to buy the car for a lot lower price...if he put the Impala wheels back on. A little back-and-forth and we had a deal.









I kept the Caprice for less than 2 years. I did a lot to it (mostly "deferred maintenance" like brakes/tires/fuel pump, etc.), but I was frustrated that I could just barely get the car in my garage. It was very difficult to get around the car in the garage and I'm getting too old to work outside in our Michigan winters!

I started thinking about smaller wagons; I decided to replace the Caprice with another wagon, but it had to be at least a foot shorter than the Caprice. I always liked the proportions and size of the 1978-87 “G” body wagons, so I started looking for a clean example from a dry, salt-free environment. By now, you've undoubtedly realized that I'm a Pontiac fanatic. I narrowed my search to Lemans and Bonneville wagons.

I found my Bonneville by searching the “Pennysaver” national website. It was advertised in Arizona; it belonged to a widow who had decided to sell the car rather than keeping it in the yard any longer. I learned that the car had been purchased new by her father and it had spent its entire life in her extended family...all the time in Arizona. I asked a lot of questions that she couldn’t answer, so she put me in touch with her cousin who is the mechanic that had cared for the car since its warranty days ended. Satisfied that the car was what I was looking for, we agreed on a price and I hired a hauler to move the car to Michigan.
Here are a few of the “before” photos:









I was very excited about getting the Bonneville back to Michigan.
I met the hauler at a local industrial park and took some pictures of the underside before we unloaded the car.
It was dirty, but rust-free!





I got the car into my garage and dug in to my new project.

Most of what I've done has been shared on this site, but here's a brief summary:
- Rebuilt the Rochester Q-jet carb; it is still the original Computer Controlled Combustion (CCC) carburetor
- Replaced timing chain and gears
- Replaced filters and fluids
- Wet-sanded and polished the paint (it's not great, but I'm doing my best to live with it)
- Replaced original 14" wheels and wire wheel covers with 15" Pontiac Firebird "Snowflake" wheels
- Repaired damaged grille
- Replaced floor carpet
- Replaced original split bench seats with 1982 Bonneville buckets
- Installed Grand Prix console and floor shifter
- Installed speedometer with trip odometer and tachometer to replace original base speedo and clock
- Refurbished woodgrain dash panel and console trim
- Installed new speakers and Alpine CD player (that was a great junkyard find…)
- Re-dyed all rear compartment trim panels
- Installed true duals with VOE mufflers (video coming in a few days)
- Installed 1.25" diameter front sway bar and a GM rear sway bar

As of today, it looks like this:





















My project list for the rest of the winter includes installing the "quick ratio" steering gear to tighten up cornering/handling (parts are in the garage, awaiting installation)
I also plan to remove the tint from all the windows and clean the engine compartment and underbody before spring.

I enjoy driving this car and I want to get it to handle like the 79 Trans Am I owned “back in the day”. I’m not sure if I can get it to that level without major aftermarket suspension mods, but I'm giving it my best shot.

As for long-term plans; I've got a 200-4R sitting in the garage ready for a rebuild and I'd like to eventually switch the rear end out for a 3.08 or 3.23 posi unit (it's currently a 2.41 open diff...not much excitement off the line )
With either a 350, 383 SBC or a “real” Pontiac engine (whatever deal I find first...), that trans/rear end combo should make this one sweet little longroof.

Eventually I will fix the blemishes and dents so it looks as good as it runs.
My vision is to end up with a car that Pontiac should have built…a sort of “Grand Am” sport wagon…and then who knows what will come next?

I hope you enjoyed my tale; thanks so much for your attention and for the LROM honor!
Have fun and be safe!
Joe

Nice write up Joe. Funny, when I was in high school a girl in my class owned the same color Nova sedan -but I went to HS in the 2000's. Her's looked exactly like the one in the pic, with faded paint and rust. Also, that VOE exhaust on the GTO is AWESOME! I had no idea that anything like this was ever a factory option on any car! And of course lastly, I do love the longroofs. I know you don't have the Cappy anymore, but man it sure looked like a super clean ride. I also really like your Bonneville. The more I see it, the more I like it, and I could see myself owning one someday. IMO the Mailbu looked too plain, and the Buick and Olds versions looked too faux luxury, but the Pontiac actually looks sporty. Oh, and those Pontiac wheels are my favorite! Hopefully I'll get an '80s Safari someday and put them on it!

Thanks, Lynol.

You must be about the same age as my daughters; still working your way towards the ripe old age of 30.

The VOE mufflers were a lot of fun. I just wish we could have made them a lot less expensive; they are very costly to manufacture.
I refused to manufacture them in Mexico or China.

I also like the G body Pontiac instrument panel better than any of the other styles.

I like the honeycomb wheels...and Trans Am GTA wheels really look good on these cars, too.

Those snowflake wheels are probably the BEST factory wheel GM has ever made. LOVE them.

Those VOE mufflers are SWEET too. Great read.

Thanks, stingroo!

Nice write up Joe! Ditto on the VOC mufflers, learned something today and would like a sound clip of them on your wagon

I think I saw your 91 For Sale at the Impala Nationals last summer, it was really clean looking car.

Joe,

What a story. I REAL car guy. I wish I had the fore-site when I was younger to target the automotive business and not telecom. Love the wagon AND the GTO. What a beautiful pair of cars. You have had some great experiences with your industry.

Of course I have to ask, when are you going to produce 2.5" duals for the B-body wagons?

Tim

Tim,
Thanks for the kind words!

I don't own the company any more, but they keep adding new products. I know they can still provide OE replacement parts for the B wagons, I'd have to ask Jon (the new owner) about his product development plan.

The company is focused more on restoration/OEM type parts; their newest product addition is a set of exhaust hangers for 1961-69 Lincoln Continentals. Lots of those cars still out there!

The first car is near and dear to me,. it,s a 58 dodge custom, i cut the back end off one and used it as a bush car, push button trans,.

why did you sell the company?

your car would be interesting with a 428 tri power in it,.and a big brake conversion,.and a set of 17X9 snowflakes rims

Interior looks good,.

Nick

Nick,
Looks like I picked a bad example; I thought the car in the photo was a 57 Dodge Coronet.

We sold the business because we were ready to retire.
My wife and I both enjoy travel; we are always planning "the next trip".
We know many people who waited too long to see the world; health and mobility problems can crop up any time at our age.
We decided to see and do as much as possible while we still have (relatively) healthy knees, hips and hearts.

Yep, a 428 tri-power would be cool.
I've been thinking of doing something a little different; maybe a '68 350HO with that 200-4R and a 3.42 rear gear, bigger brakes and yes, 17" snowflakes!

Joe, I like your dual exhaust on your g wagon, we need to talk about getting the same done up for my 79 malibu coupe....

JoeT wrote:

The VOE mufflers were a lot of fun. I just wish we could have made them a lot less expensive; they are very costly to manufacture. I refused to manufacture them in Mexico or China.

That decision makes those mufflers even cooler!

Excellent write up and a great job on the G-body wagon. Definitely not an average, belly-button Hot Rod.

Great story, thanks for sharing!

GREAT POST! Oh the Pontiacs! So cool. I'd love to tour Jay Leno's toybox, and that picture sitting with all those Pontiac legends was flat awesome!

Very Very cool!

- Jealous in Texas!

81X11: Here are a couple more of the Pontiacs I've owned. These have all been sold; right now, the only "toy" in my garage is the Bonneville.

Here is the 1971 GTO that you saw in the VOE video:



In this picture, you can see the prototype VOE switch mounted beneath the steering column:


Here's the 69 Firebird convertible I had for several years.
455 +.060, slightly bigger than "068" cam, 4 speed. Sold it in 2011:




2002 Grand Prix GTP. Bought in Florida, drove it home to Michigan.
Held onto it for a few months, then sold it to make room for the Bonneville:




The neighbors never know what's going to show up in my driveway next.

Man that GTO with a stick....wow!

I have a similar GP in my driveway now! Ha!

Incredible story Joe and you just raised the "Longroof of the Month" to a standard that will never be matched.So cool to meet Jay Leno and tour his garage.Has anyone ever told Jim Wangers
how rediculous that hairpiece looks?Hope you are not planning any cruises to Italy anytime soon.
Sorry to hear you sold the business but understand completely the urge to travel while still able to walk around and really see the sights.One of my lifelong friends had a 66,2 67s,a 70 and a
72 GTO is high school.These were traded between him and his 2 younger brothers.Always loved
that low end grunt the the Poncho engines always seemed to have a lot of.Even their Mom drove
big Pontiacs back thenThanks for the Woderful Story
Jim

Flasheroo, thaks for the comments.

I don't know who advises Wangers on his grooming decisions, but when I'm 85 I'll probably ignore everybody's advice, too. He's a pretty amazing guy; he's still very active in the hobby, continues to travel around the country and runs his marketing/consulting business.

We got a tour of Jay Leno's collection when we visited; at the time it consisted of about 125 cars and 75 motorcycles. It was a wonderful day!

Glad you enjoyed the story; one of these days I'll scan some pictures of the rest of the Pontiacs I've owned; there's some nice stuff in the archives...but nothing as nice as that 68 GTO above.

Those exhaust cutout mufflers are SWEET!

Flasheroo wrote:

Has anyone ever told Jim Wangers how rediculous that hairpiece looks?

Ha! Ha! At last year's Buick GS Nationals in Bowling Green, KY, this was broadcast over the PA system, "Jim Wangers, your hairpiece has been found in the burnout box. Jim Wangers, your hairpiece has been found in the burnout box and is in the tower."

I can just picture them scraping it off the track like a road kill.

He had a nice GN for sale and I never found out if it sold.

JoeT wrote:

Flasheroo, thaks for the comments.

I don't know who advises Wangers on his grooming decisions, but when I'm 85 I'll probably ignore everybody's advice, too. He's a pretty amazing guy; he's still very active in the hobby, continues to travel around the country and runs his marketing/consulting business.

We got a tour of Jay Leno's collection when we visited; at the time it consisted of about 125 cars and 75 motorcycles. It was a wonderful day!

Glad you enjoyed the story; one of these days I'll scan some pictures of the rest of the Pontiacs I've owned; there's some nice stuff in the archives...but nothing as nice as that 68 GTO above.

If you get bored, many of my past cars are here. Not as gorgeous as yours, but still fun to look at! https://gmlongroof.4umer.com/t5004-my-brother-gave-me-a-photo-scanner?highlight=photo+scanner

Awesome story and great cars.

81X11: there are some very nice cars in that post of yours.
I really like the white CC and the Grand Prix, but I think the 68 Lemans convertible was a keeper!

But I'm betting your 67 GTO will be the best of the bunch.

Take off the vinyl top, my car never had one, and I think this is what my car would have looked like new. My car had the dog-dish caps and most likely redlines like this one. Plum Mist over Parchment interior. Just wish my car was a stick!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_hJrLIqbnw

Great story Joe, thanks for sharing it. It's refreshing to see something out of the ordinary. The pictures made the story.

Let me guess, the 70 lime green Nova, wasn't exactly a chick magnet, as they say now-a-days. When I got married in 1979, my wife had a 73 Nova hatchback, 350 w/TH350. I made her sell it, under the guise that we needed a truck to pull a travel travel. Wish I had it now, along with a 1967 GTO, 57 Nomad, 55 Chev, 63 Country Squire, 72 Electra and who knows what else that passed through my hands.

Anyways, great job and thanks.

Tom C.

Great story and a lot of cool cars!
.
I must ask... Am I the ONLY guy here who was waiting at the end of Joe's 'VOE' video for the "balls out" quiet & open 'test'?

No, no you are not.

lol

I gave it a little more throttle on one run, but all you could here was the squealing of those skinny tires...

Plus, the neighbors were getting a little anxious...we made the videos on quiet weekends in a neighborhood school parking lot.

If I still had either of those GTO's, I would make new videos that include WOT runs, but both cars are long gone...

I'll add full throttle runs when I make the Bonneville video, but it's just not the same.

silverfox103 wrote:

Great story Joe, thanks for sharing it. It's refreshing to see something out of the ordinary. The pictures made the story.

Let me guess, the 70 lime green Nova, wasn't exactly a chick magnet, as they say now-a-days. When I got married in 1979, my wife had a 73 Nova hatchback, 350 w/TH350. I made her sell it, under the guise that we needed a truck to pull a travel travel. Wish I had it now, along with a 1967 GTO, 57 Nomad, 55 Chev, 63 Country Squire, 72 Electra and who knows what else that passed through my hands.

Anyways, great job and thanks.

Tom C.

Thanks for the kind words, Tom.
I know what you mean about the ones that "got away".
I recently made a list of all the cars I've owned/leased over the years; there are a few that I'd love to have in the driveway again....especially the 2005 CTS-V that i leased for 2 years before I retired. Boy, do I miss driving THAT car!

Wow very nice write up.

Woah! Love the work you did on the wagon!!! Very cool stories too on your other rides!

Thanks!
Bet you recognized the front seats!