Junkyard Outtake: B-Body Bonneville Bonanza

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If it’s Friday, then it’s time for another Junkyard Outtake. This week, we explore the wonderful world of B-body Bonnies – both on and off the road.

You may recall the beginnings of this story from Tuesday’s QOTD, in which I was heading down to see yet another B-body coupe – yes, in the very same yard that gave us a crack at that sweet Electra coupe two weeks back. Well, here it is!

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This 1981 Bonneville looks like it was in pretty decent shape, right up until whatever mishap befell it. It’s also worth noting that, if you added some more doors, this one would be a dead ringer for my former ’81. Same color paint, trim, top… everything.

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Even the interior is that same mustard-colored cloth with a fleur-de-lis pattern. This one is much cleaner, though; mine had been soaking wet and thoroughly rodent infested, causing me to swap in a Broughamtastic grey velour interior from a late ’80s Caprice. Cleanup was a two-day project, and required wire wheeling and repainting the floorpans just to get the stink out. Even after all these years, I can’t look at this interior without smelling mouse urine.

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Digging for gold under the back seat bottom? Somebody at this yard has developed a habit of yanking backseats for no apparent reason, then flopping them back into place.

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Not a bad dashboard for that era, if I do say so myself.

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This is unfortunate. Whatever they hit, they hit it hard.

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I’d bet this ruined their day.

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Somehow, one of the parking lenses was spared.

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Pry open the hood, and what do we find? An Olds 260 Pontiac 265 V8 (thanks to readers Junqueboi and Joe Yoman for pointing out the discrepancy). So I guess that makes two differences – mine had a wheezy, smokey Pontiac 301.

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Okay, make that three differences – mine was missing its chrome spoke covers. A fresh coat of gloss black for the steelies, chrome on the hubs, and four trim rings did the job just fine for me, but I would have preferred something a little nicer. Like a set of Rallye IIs. Or, had they been sitting here for $3 each at the time, these would have done just fine.

Did you notice the keys hanging in the trunk? My LeSabre was sold without a door key, so I seized the opportunity to pull all three locks and the key to match. I also bought this one’s power trunk release setup, and its immaculate trunk carpet, which will be a fine replacement for my Buick’s mouse-chewed one. (What’s with me and getting stuck with rodent infested B-bodies?)

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But the bonanza isn’t over – not by a long shot! As I was leaving the yard, I fell into traffic behind this mid-late ’80s Parisienne sedan, looking sharp and clean. Bet he could use those arrowhead center caps for his spoke covers!

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And as I proceeded homeward, I caught this similar four-door on the move, looking much more worn than the first.

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Looks like he, too, could have used those center caps. His spokes are sporting Buick shields. (Is it just me, or does the front seat passenger look really relaxed?)

Three in one day – and a coupe amongst them. These kind of days won’t be getting any more frequent, so enjoy it while you can.

Long live the B-bodies!