(first posted 3/8/2012) If you were looking to buy a 1977-1979 full-size Pontiac today, you would have a long road ahead. Looking online and in Hemmings, you could be forgiven for thinking that all Pontiac built in the late 1970s were Firebirds and Trans Ams. Believe it or not, Pontiac really did offer a full lineup of vehicles, including their bread-and-butter offerings, the Catalina and Bonneville.
It’s no secret that the 1977-96 GM B-body is a favorite of many of us here at Curbside Classic. My personal favorite is the Bonneville, as my dad had one when I was born. In late 1978 or early 1979, his office bought three brand new 1979 Pontiacs from Horst-Zimmerman Pontiac-Cadillac for the investigators to use: blue and brown Bonneville sedans and a silver Catalina sedan. Dad got the brown one. It replaced the silver-blue 1977 Monte Carlo he had been using. He did occasionally drive the silver Catalina (no vinyl roof, red interior) and the blue Bonneville (I have no memory of that one), but the beige over brown Bonneville was his.
It was either Sierra Copper or Heritage Brown, but I’m pretty sure it was brown. It had a beige vinyl roof and beige cloth interior, with the standard full wheel covers. My first car memory was riding in the back seat of the Bonneville while going through the car wash at a Shell station with my dad. This was back when car washes actually had brushes, so it was a while ago. The photo above, although a Canadian-market Parisienne, is very close to what our car looked like.
It has been told many times before, but GM downsized their vehicles at exactly the right time. The 1971-76 B-bodies were the largest full-size cars GM had built, and it was time to trim the fat. Really, there was nowhere to go but down, size-wise. The 1977 Pontiacs followed the format of their corporate siblings in utilizing the ‘sheer look’, as had been first introduced on the first-generation Cadillac Seville. The new Bonnevilles (and Catalinas) were built on a modified version of the 1973-77 GM A-body chassis, but were much more space efficient. In fact, the 1977 Bonnevilles had more front headroom and rear legroom than the gigantic 1976 versions.
The standard engine for Bonnevilles was the 140 hp 4.9L 301 CID V8, with Turbo Hydramatic transmission. Optional engines included a 170 hp, 4 BBL 350 and 180 hp, 4 BBL 400. The Pontiac 350 was replaced with the Chevy 350 in 1978, and the 400 was discontinued in 1979. The lineup consisted of Catalina, Bonneville and Bonneville Brougham coupes and sedans, plus Grand Safari and Catalina Safari station wagons.
Bonneville and Catalina coupes could get an optional Landau vinyl roof. The Brougham added niceties like extra window sill trim, electric clock, power windows and an extra-plush interior trimmed in velour. All Bonnevilles had bright rocker moldings, a unique grille and taillights, and standard rear fender skirts to distinguish themselves from the more basic Catalinas.
1978 Bonnevilles received the usual front and rear styling changes. What had been the 1977 Brougham interior was now the standard Bonneville interior. Broughams had new loose-pillow seating in velour for extra decadence.
The Brougham interior would not have looked out of place in an Oldsmobile or Buick and actually reminds me a lot of the 1978 Park Avenue’s interior. Those who thought the acres of pillowed velour were a bit gauche could opt for the standard Bonneville and get a much more understated interior.
The most distinctive seating option was the Valencia interior. Available in red or tan, it consisted of special striped velour seating and door panel trim. It was an option on the Brougham only for 1977, but in ’78 could be had on any Bonneville.
One of the Bonneville’s best features was the instrument panel. A black trim section wrapped around from side to side and concealed the heating and air conditioning vents. Full gauges were also available as an option.
For whatever reason, the B-body 1977-79 Pontiacs were not big sellers. Perhaps it had to do with the Impala and Caprice offering a similar package for less money. At any rate, when comparing Caprice vs. Bonneville for 1977, there was no contest, with the Caprice’s 284,813 units eclipsing Bonneville production of 114,880. 1978 was slightly better with 125,297 Bonnevilles, but once again, the Caprice ruled the roost, with 263,909 built (figures cited exclude station wagons).
Although I prefer the Bonneville, the combination of rear fender skirts and the rounded rear deck may have made the Pontiac look less attractive than the Caprice to new car shoppers. The Caprice does have a somewhat trimmer, leaner look when compared to the Pontiac.
For whatever reason, the Pontiacs were the least-popular B-bodies, and Pontiac actually eliminated all their full-size cars after 1981. For 1982, the A-body Grand LeMans was given a new front end and renamed Bonneville Model G, replacing the true full-size Bonneville. The Catalina was axed. This proved to be a bad idea in the long run, as after the 1980-82 recession, car sales started picking up again, and Pontiac found itself without an entry in a market that was suddenly showing renewed interest in full-size cars.
There actually was a 1982 full-size Pontiac. GM of Canada did not feel it was a good idea to completely abandon the full size market, so they offered a Caprice-based Parisienne for 1982. The really rare variant was the coupe, built that year only.
Pontiac wound up importing Parisienne sedans and wagons to the US market starting in 1983. Sedans continued to be available through 1986, adding the 1980-81 Bonneville rear sheetmetal in 1985. The Safari wagon would last until 1989, then disappear.
I found this 1978 Brougham back in January and took some pictures for the Cohort. I remembered seeing it years earlier and was pleased to see it still parked on the same street, nearly ten years later. With the memories of Dad’s ’79, I had to stop and check it out.
It is well equipped, being a Brougham, and also has Rally II wheels and sport mirrors. The color is Chesterfield Brown, with velour interior in Camel Tan. It is also somewhat rare in that it does not have a vinyl roof. It has current tags, so it is still transportation for someone, though I’ve never seen it being driven.
As with just about every other Midwestern Bonneville still on the road, the rear fender skirts are gone.GM must have used the flimsiest hardware to attach them, as nearly every one I’ve seen since 1995 or so have them missing.
Here is a retouched photo of what the car would have looked like when new. Although I prefer the fender skirts, this car does look kind of nice without them, especially with the Rally IIs. I’d add some bright wheel trim around the rear wheel wells, though.
As for our 1979 Bonneville, it was traded in on a maroon 1981 or ’82 Volvo 242DL coupe. Mom had a ’77 245DL wagon, and I think Dad wanted something a little sportier. It turned out to be his last two-door car for almost twenty years. My brother came along in 1983, and Dad got a silver ’84 244GL shortly thereafter. When I asked him about the Bonneville while preparing this article, he really couldn’t remember much about it – we usually took the wagon on vacations, and when he was home he was usually puttering around with the Porsche 356 he had owned since 1973. I guess it must have been a good car, as I’m sure he would have remembered it if it had a lot of problems. The 1977-79 Pontiacs were pretty good cars, even if they weren’t the most popular B-body.
My Grandfather drove a blue ’73 Lemans with vinyl top that he bought new. When I got my learner’s permit in ’81, that’s the first car that I drove legally from the DMV to home. I remember the accelerator had such a short travel that it gave the illusion of more power than it really had. I’d step on the gas just a “little bit” (more like half throttle) and the car would put you back in your seat. It was pre-catalytic converter but had an EGR valve that never seemed to work right. When the valve stuck open, the car wouldn’t idle or run at low throttle. When it stuck closed, it would run hotter and ping like crazy with part throttle. The 350 4 bbl needed a valve job in 1975 when only 2 years old. Yes, it drank gas. Pretty much sums up cars in the 70s.
My mom had a 74 LeMans with the 350 2bbl. It was a dog. Our problem was that the automatic choke was never right. Until the car fully warmed up, it would hesitate or stall every time you tried to step on the gas. I tried fiddling with the timing on the choke and could never get it right – it was always over-rich or under. Ours drank gas too. But other than the choke, the bad gas mileage, and my running it into a fire hydrant, it was pretty trouble-free. Except for the door pull straps. And except for the maroon GM lacquer paint that would get chalky. And except for the time one of the back brakes got hung up, hot and cracked a drum. OK, I guess it wasn’t that trouble-free.
Until I was really aware of Japanese reliability, I always thought that “that’s just how it is”. I was born in ’66, so I was just becoming aware of cars and engines and how they worked during the mid 70s. Funny how our expectations of reliability have changed since then.
+1 on that! Same with me (born in ’65, started working on American cars in the early 1980s) – it was just normal to be replacing plugs, wires, hoses, shocks, brakes, tires, mufflers, tailpipes, etc. every few years. Which is why there was at least one gas station with a full garage at every major intersection in our small town (anybody remember buying a full set of new tires from the corner gas station?).
I was a big Japanese car basher when I was younger. Owning my first foreign car, a 1981 Mazda GLC, which at 190K miles still had every original engine accessory on it, opened my eyes. I couldn’t believe that an alternator could go that long w/o being rebuilt. All of the ones we had on our American cars growing up crapped out every 30-50K miles like clockwork.
That’s really odd because none of my alternators or starters ever went bad on my B or G body cars, even with over 100K miles. And the Japanese cars most certainly did have items that needed replacement every several years such as timing belts, head gaskets, belts and hoses, spark plugs, exhaust systems, distributors etc. 100k plugs, wires, anti-freeze and transmission fluid didn’t come about until the 90’s which GM was big on starting around 1995. Also stainless steal exhaust was starting to become popular then too which added years of life to any of my cars.
My parents drove Pontiacs for many years, as did I. Like Joe, here, I didn’t find these cars to be as unreliable as you seem to suggest. My folks had at least one Pontiac of this general era that I know had over 200k miles on it when they sold it, and was still running nicely. It had nothing more than typical “stuff” to fix, along the way… and it ran a long time further for the next owner. My own ’78 Bonneville Brougham was bought by my best friend, who drove it to… get this… over 300k miles, before basically giving it away, due mainly to its poor body condition, then… but it was still running. Yes, he’d done a bunch of smaller stuff to it along the way, but nothing unexpected. They were good cars.
My 78′ Pontiac Bonneville Brougham ..the best car I’ve ever had ..I love these cars so much this is my second one first I had a 79 bonne brougham
Looks like a nice one, too. I’d love to find another one in decent condition, myself… and I’d keep it “all original”, as much as I could. (I’d love to have the ’78 I owned back then…. an obnoxious wife (and “ex-wife” pretty soon thereafter) pushed me into selling it, which I later regretted doing.
Do you have the original wheels/tires and rear wheel fender skirts for it? A unit that decent looking would really be fine with the original wheels and everything!
+1 Whitewall tires with even the standard wheelcovers would look so good on this car. The optional Custom-Finned wheelcovers, Rally II wheels, Snowflake wheels, and even the red-center wire wheelcovers were available — too bad.
Mine had the original Pontiac “mag-style” wheels, plus its skirts and all, and of course I kept it that way. It was only 2 yrs. old when I got it, and I kid you not – the ’78 four-door, particularly, was somehow one of the best looking Bonnies’ of that time. Mine was the dark maroon, with matching vinyl top and dark blood-red “pillow top” seats and interior. I probably rcv’d. as many compliments on that car as any one I’ve ever had, literally (and that’s been a bunch). And it was a “babe-magnet” in its time, too (when I was still single, of course). Truly, it was a sophisticated, authoritative and “manly” looking car, all at once. My sister and brother-in-law had the light blue version with vinyl top, same wheels, etc., (also a ’78), and it was nice… but it didn’t really “look like the same car” in some ways. The deep, dark one almost looked like a different profile.
Let me add, too, that I’d owned GTO’s, etc., before that Bonnie, but that Bonnie was STILL almost the “cooler” looking car, in some ways. “Maybe it was just me”, as they say… lol… none of the photos, here, despite all the good intentions of the author and others, do the ’78 justice. It simply strikes you differently if you can actually see one as I’ve described here, but “in person”. Sounds odd, but it’s true.
My Dad bought a gorgeous ’78 Bonneville Brougham 2dr coupe with a 350 4bbl in Bronze, with tan loose pillow interior and loaded with every option including color matched Pontiac Rally II wheels and fender skirts, BRAND NEW in 1978. It was his last new car, and the first car I drove on the Highway when I got my permit, as I had just turned 16. My dad and I babied that car. We would wash and wax it weekly, and it was garage kept and my dad was in a work carpool, so it had low low mileage on it and was SUPER mint when he died unexpectedly in 1987. His second wife was originally going to give it to me,(I am an ONLY child) but then decided to get greedy and f**ed me out of all my Dad’s money and property and told me to get lost. She drove that car for a while and proceeded to beat the snot out of it,(she was a closet alcoholic) and then sold it, and his house, and kicked me out and moved down to somewhere in North Carolina. That was a little over 35 yrs ago. I would STILL have that car today if not for her.It was one of the most beautiful ones my dad ever owned, and he had quite a few nice old Pontiacs: ’66 LeMans, ’57 Pontiac Chieftain just to name a couple…
These Pontiacs were my second favorite of this series of B body, after the Olds 88. Your interior picture shows the most memorable feature of these interiors. For some reason, GM decided to print woodgrain on a piece of aluminum trim on the steering wheel. Everybody knows you steer these cars with your finger on the wheel spokes, so the wood printing wore off to leave you with half wood and half aluminum on the steering wheel.
I cannot speak to the fender skirt mounting hardware on these, but had firsthand knowledge of skirts on my Mom’s 74 Luxury LeMans. The skirts were fiberglass and the mounting system was actually quite solid. Maybe the top of the inner fender rusted so that the upper skirt mount had nothing to hold onto?
You are right about these being rare. I periodically see late 70s B bodies of all kinds, except for these.
That ’73 LeMans had fender skirts that would accumulate crud and sand underneath, so every once in a while, I’d reach under, try to find the handle in all of the dried on muck and take it off to clean it.
Seeing these GMs again makes me recall just how populated America’s roads were with them and how few you see today, at least in my neck of the woods.
I would have owned one of these back in the day if we weren’t into small cars for a number of years – oh, say until the late 90’s.
I worked for Koons Pontiac-GMC in the late ’70’s/early ’80’s and somewhat frequently drove my bosse’s 79 Bonneville Brougham 2 door. It was silver blue with a padded top and had the spider web look wheels. It was very deluxe inside and I fit in it very well. I am 6’5″ tall w/ a 38″ inseam.
IMHO, these and the ’78 A-bodies were the last new real Pontiacs before fully reverting to the function which almost resulted in their demise before Knudsen/DeLorean came along…
…fancy Chevy.
To me, the difference between the ’77-’81 American line and the ’83-up Parisiennes is night and day. GM Canada was no longer as clever as in the 60’s, adapting a Pontiac body to the Chevy underpinnings…instead they went the Beaumont/Acadian/Astre route, slapped a split grille on a Caprice and called it good. Not that the ’80s Parisiennes weren’t good cars…just that they weren’t – and couldn’t be expected to – equal to the ’77-’81s for what was expected of a Pontiac.
I’d probably point to the mid-90’s Bonnevilles and last iteration of Grand Prix as the marque’s last stand.
I am glad to say that I sold Pontiacs in the 90’s during the 2nd sort-of heyday for the division, we had the very attractive supercharged Grand Prix coupe and sedan, the Bonneville SSEi, the agressive Firebird and Trans Am, with WS6-Ram Air option, the Grand Am’s were selling really well even the Sunfire was kind of cool when it had a GT package, there were some good times.
Had a 77 Impala wagon. Always had a tough time seeing any difference between it and it’s corporate cousins. They all had gas eating tendencies.
That was probably the best work vehicle that I ever owned.. Sometimes you don’t miss what you have till it’s gone but I don’t miss the gas bill.
“The standard engine for Bonnevilles was the 140 hp 4.9L 301 CID V8, with Turbo Hydramatic transmission. Optional engines included a 170 hp Chevrolet 350 CID V8 and Pontiac’s own 180 hp, 4 BBL 400.”
Just for trivia’s sake, Pontiac still offered their own 350 for ’77. It was replaced by the Chevy 350 for 1978. At some point (not sure if it began in ’78 or not until ’79), the Buick and Olds 350s were also optional. The 400 was dropped after ’78.
California – 231 Buick V6 – Chevy 350 4bbl – Olds 403 4bbl. That was about it ca. ’77-’79 in full size Ponchos, although most I ran across in the day (Troncatty Pontiac in Corte Madera and Ballestra in Redwood City) usually had the Olds 403.
No version of the 301 was avail for Cali? Did they have the Chevy 305 instead or was there nothing between the 231 and 350?
In the Impala, Caprice and mid-sizers (and Camaro/Firebird) in Calif. in the late 70’s did offer the 305 2-bbl. Oddly, not in B-O-P full sizers. 305 2-bbl and the Chevy LM-1 350 4-bbl filled in for the Pontiac 301 as it (and the 400) after ’76, weren’t “clean” enough for the Golden State. In my driving youth, I paid attention to all those brochure additions that used to be printed up for California customers. Engine sizes, transmission choices were restricted. I think this began to change in the mid-80’s when more modern fuel delivery and emission systems began to show up.
When the full size B-body Pontiacs were downsized in 1977, the standard engine in the Catalina was the Buick 3.8 liter V6. The Bonneville had the Pontiac 301 standard (optional in Catalinas) with the 350 and 400 available. Cars with high-altitude and California emissions used the Oldsmobile 350 and 403 V8s. After the Pontiac 350 was discontinued, the Catalina/Bonneville used the Buick 350. The 400/403 was discontinued in 1979 followed by the 301 (not available in California) and Olds 350 after 1980. 1981s used the Olds 307.
Sorry, but in the looks department, the B-body Pontiac was a dog compared to the Chevrolet. Completely overdone, over-trimmed, and way too much chetchke (that’s the Polish/Slovak spelling, by the way – at least as I learned it). At least Pontiac was keeping it’s traditional place in the lineup: An overtrimmed Chevrolet for more money.
Back when dad had the Chevrolet dealership, the one ethnic group he couldn’t sell Chevy’s to were the Polish-Americans. In our town (Johnstown, PA; which was an absolutely ethnic Easter European enclave) they completely preferred Pontiacs. And all you had to do was walk one block from our church (St. Mary’s Byzantine Catholic) to the Polish church (St. Casmir’s Roman Catholic) and walk into the sacristy, you’d understand why. While St. Mary’s was the usual Orthodox style gilt wonder, St. Casmir’s almost made it look Ikea-plain by comparison. I guess it was something in the ethnic traditions.
It’s amazing how fairly small changes in sheet metal created quite different looks on the same body — especially on the coupes, which all had different rooflines. I agree that the Pontiacs seem pudgier.
I’ve known of the Catholics♥Chevies & Protestants♥Fords stereotypes (not just via Garrison Keillor), but Poles♥Pontiacs is new to me. They must not have gotten the message about Chevies. BTW, I do regret laughing at the idiotic Polish jokes popular while I was in school.
I heard many Jews hated Fords, which has an explanation: Henry was antisemitic; he sponsored the notorious 1920 book “The International Jew,” which found its way to Hitler’s library.
Yes, I do get annoyed when a ‘kid’ assumes “Pontiac was the muscle car division” as if that is all they sold, since 1926.
Let’s see, Pontiac wasn’t a muscle/sporty car – then it was (GTO, GP, Firebird) – then it pretended to be (80’s we build excitement, Fiero, Grand Am) – then it tried to be (GP again & Trans Am) – then it went all Aztek on us – small wonder that it was euthanized.
Re “Muscle Car Division,” that may be evidence of how well DeLorean’s marketing strategy worked. Maybe •too• well.
An elderly couple down the street from me had one of these, and kept it for several years–I always thought it seemed dowdy and out of place with the rest of Pontiac’s efforts to come across as a performance division/brand. The full-size Pontiac of this era is a mere shadow of the full-size Pontiac of the ’60s. (And that, among other reasons, is why there is no Pontiac anymore.)
Love to see a drag race between a 400 equipped B-body Pontiac and a 403 equipped B-body Oldsmobile of the same era.
Olds all the way!
In your dreams Rocketman…
Nothing a good Chevy engine wouldn’t fix…
I have driven both extensively and both feel pretty much the same. The Pontiac block revs a little more than the Olds but the Olds has better punch off the line. Also, the Olds is smoother and quieter than the Pontiac 400.
In fact the best engine that these cars got was the Oldsmobile 350. It revs much better than the 403 and you would never know the difference while driving the cars, except the 350 used less fuel.
We had a 1977 Catalina with the Olds 350 in our taxi fleet. No a/c and cranker windows so it was light. The drivers used to line up to get it. With the hd suspension the car was a true Q-Ship. Really, other than my 1990 9C1 it was the best B-body I have ever driven.
To add, while I am a fan of these Ponchos, I can see how an average big car buyer of the time would get either a cheaper Caprice, or an Olds/Buick for about same price. My parents and others of same generation put O/B on a pedestal, but not Pontiacs.
The sporty late 70s F bodies sold well, though, but as soon as gas went up…
The 80’s Parissiane and Bonneville G were mimicking Oldsmobiles, and clashed with Firebird/Fiero/6000 ‘sporty’ cars. Brand confusion hurt Ponitac in long run.
My folks had a 1978 Caprice and 1983 Olds 88, so I grew up with these B-bodies. I agree that the 1977-79 Pontiac didn’t get the best looks of the family, but they’re still fun — and now rare. I especially like that striped Valencia interior, which was offered on Grand Safari wagons, by the way! My parents’ best friends (50ish then) had a 1979-ish Bonneville Brougham for a couple of years, then traded for an Olds 98 Regency in the early 80s, to be followed by one of the last rear-drive Sedan De Villes (with cloth) — the classic GM move-up customer. But, in the common pattern we’ve talked about before on here, the ’80s Cad was their last GM car, to be replaced by loaded Toyota Previas and Siennas. Funny, huh?
That particular sedan needs the hinge bushings replaced on the driver’s door. Drive it with the door sagging like that for too long and you ruin the latch assembly too. When I was looking for a Firebird I saw a couple of them in which the door sagged so badly you could see daylight at the bottom from the inside of the car. Typical 1970’s GM – my 1975 Monza needed that done by the time I had 50k miles on it.
If you followed the manufacturer’s recommended maintenance schedule (lube all moving items on the body every year or so, can’t remember exactly) this did not happen.
We had a 1977 Chevy Impala in our family until about ten years ago, and the door hinges were tight as new when we finally got rid of it.
Spray-lithium grease is a wonderful thing. As a kid, I actually read the factory maintenance manual for our cars, and tried to follow it. Too bad that most of the dealers didn’t.
You can still find quite a few late 70s-mid 80s G bodies floating around in my area.
I wasn’t a fan of the Pontiac “B” cars just like many others. Oddly, I like the Grand LeMans/Grand Prix “G” cars more than the Chevy, Buick, and Olds versions.
It’s a tie for third place on my B body podium.
1. 1977-81 Olds Delta Holiday Coupe (A 77 Delta Royale Pace Car would an outstanding find!)
2. 1977-81 Impala Sport Coupe. (Would have had first but the Olds still had a “Big Block”
3. 1977-85 Buick Electra/Pontiac Bonnie/Catalina
“3. 1977-85 Buick Electra/Pontiac Bonnie/Catalina”
I’m being nitpicky, I know, but the ’85 Electra was FWD, and there was no Catalina or full size Bonne 82-85,
Delta 88 Pace car was way cool, like a big 442.
That shows how interesting I found the Buford and Poncho versions.. 😀
The Delta 88 Holiday/Pace Car, LeSabre Sport Coupe and late Bonnevilles were a curious attempt to revive the way dead sporty-ish big car market, they all had swaybars and suspension upgrades with available bucket seat and console options, though there weren’t many takers and most of those options were gone by 1980-81. I have not seen a turbocharged LeSabre sport coupe in years, it has to be the oddest of the late 70’s sport B-bodies. The Pace Car 77 Delta 88’s are interesting to, too bad the buckets were not available in 77, the 403 isn’t really a big block though, its a punched out Olds 350.
That’s why I had Big Block in quotes. Some people are nitpicky and consider 400+ cubes a BB(unless you’re a Mopar or Chevy fan..) So many parts interchange between 260-455 Olds mills that there really isn’t a Big and Small block.
Not true exactly – being said a 403 is a punched out 350; 403 is a destroked 455. Smogger big block – still offered mondo torque from 185 net horses – and “California Clean”. The Olds block is actually the same basic block design from the 1949 303 through to the end in 1990’s 307.
The 403 is a “small block” It shares the same 9.33″ deck height as the 260-350 blocks. The 400, 425 and 455 had a 10.250 deck height.
Used to think that too, like the Cadillac 425 and 500, but its not.
I was looking for the price of a 78 Pontiac Catania from that year new if you could tell me I would appreciate it .
Though I’m not as big a fan of this generation of B-bodies as many here (my idea of a Big American Car is a 71-76 B-body), I always liked the Pontiac versions a bit more than their corporate cousins. In fact, it’s the look of this exact CC car that I prefer: no fender skirts and rally wheels. Classy, a little sporty, and without the frippery of vinyl roof and faux-spoke wheels. (Like I said, if that’s what I’m looking for, I’ll go with a 1976 Fleetwood! Though I guess that’s technically a D-body….)
I can recall in 1976, dealers in Western PA advertised Pontiacs at rock bottom prices. Lemans sport coupes were advertised at less than $ 4,000. Some as low as $ 3,400. Sixes with manual trans, no doubt. The Grand Prix, nicely equiped, was listed around $ 5,000.
I knew 2 guys who bought Lemans’s that year. One young guy I worked with, a coupe, and the other, an older guy, bought a sedan. Both cars had significant rust in less than a year. The old guy kept his for a least 15 years, but patched the car with pop rivets and bondo. He kept the car alive.
I never knew anyone who bought the Gran Prix, so I don’t know how they aged. They were nice looking cars, the whole model line up.
Another fellow I worked with bought a used Bonneville (around a 75) in 1978. Several months later, he tried to trade back for an older model, due to financial difficulty. The same dealership offered him $ 200 for the car! And as the guy told me, the salesman acted like he was doing him a personal favor.
A similar thing happened to me. When trying to make a deal, the difference between buying a car no trade or trade, was that trading in my 68 Fury, I would pay $ 200 more than buying without the trade. When I asked the salesman why I was paying more to trade the car in, he replied that my Fury had no value.
I bought a car from another dealer and sold my Fury (in good condition) to a private buyer.
Sales of the full size Pontiacs didnt drop all of a sudden when these came out in 1977, they had been on a decline since the start of the 70’s pretty much, as they had been for many standard full size cars at the time, there move towards mid-sizers in the 70’s represented a big shift in the buying publics tastes, Pontiacs own Grand Prix was doing really well througout the 70’s while the full size cars sunk, and of course there was the Cutlass Supreme mania over at Oldsmobile. I do admire Pontiac for being the only division that still offered a full guage cluster on all their full size cars through the 70’s.
I thought the Chevy’s were by far the best looking on the outside…Very clean, elegant. Especially in two tone paint that accentuated the character line just below the belt line.
Interior I loved the Buicks. Those round gauges with the brushed stainless steel bezels, one of which was a huge quartz clock above the glove box…very elegant.
My dad bought a 1978 Buick Estate wagon. Bright red vinyl “notch back” seats with folding center armrest and chrome trim on the outer edges of the seats very cool.
An interesting thing was that the Buick wagons were actually Chevy bodies with a Buick front clip…fenders, hood, grille bumper. They had to braze a piece of metal at the top of the front doors under the mirrors so the chevy sheet metal would line up with the Buick fenders.
The car had an Olds 403 6.6 liter 4bbl that produced a whopping 185 hp…the same as 2.4 liter Honda CRV…but it did crank out a whopping 320 lb-ft of torque at fast idle!
My favourite was the Pontiac “Parisienne.” Only slightly less suited to Paris traffic than an ICBM carrier…
I bought an 80 2door brogham in the 90’s. Drove her for a few years and never had any problems until the day I sold her. Drove thru a gas station and stopped on a man hole cover and she slid in. Did you know that there was a bucket seat/console option in 80? Found it pictured in my
GM reference book, but never saw it in person. Now THAT would be sweet.
CC ALERT! CC ALERT! Murilee Martin at TTAC has found a 1981 model of this car in a junkyard! Look under the “Junkyard Find” section find at TTAC! BUY IT NOW! BUY IT NOW! BUY IT NOW! RESTORE IT! RESTORE IT!
That is my 1978 bonneville that is pictured and it is for sale if u are interested in it Tom i also have the fender skirts.
I was wondering, how long have you had the car? I remember seeing it at least ten years ago, so it must have been a while. These are very nice cars. If you read some of the other posts here on CC, there are a lot of GM B-body fans.
Hope you enjoyed the article.
What’s under the hood? How much? Inquiring minds want to know.
Did you ever sell your ’78? I never saw any further posts from you, even though you had a couple of questions asked in response to your post.
79′ bonneville brougham only 73,000 original miles 5.7 L 350 under the hood
Wow, nice car and a great color combination! I’d love to see more of it.
I owned a 1978 Bonneville Brougham 4dr. in that dark burgundy/red paint (don’t know what they actually called that color) with matching vinyl top, the Pontiac “mag” style wheels, with the deep red “loose” cushion interior… I think it was the best looking Bonneville made, of that era. Everything was intact, including the fender skirts. I really wished, later, that I hadn’t sold it. My best friend wanted the car, and my wife of that time (now “ex”, and has been since 1985 or ’86) also pressured me to sell it, and for some reason (I did own several vehicles, then) I agreed to sell it to him. That was around 1981 or ’82… It remains one of my “favorite” cars, and I was a “Pontiac man”, as were my folks, too, all the way back through the mid-’60’s. I had owned several Catalinas and even a ’70 GTO (last of the good ones, in my opinion), years prior to the Bonneville. I’d love to find a ’78 Bonney Brougham that wasn’t ragged out, and put it on the road! BY THE WAY… my buddy drove that Bonney to something near 300k miles before letting it go, basically because the body components were, by then, in rather rough shape after that many miles. (He was’t much of a “car” guy, and never really kept up the exterior that well…) But the thing still ran, half decently, when he practically “gave” it away, somewhere in the earliest ’90’s.
I’ve recently gotten my hands on a 78 Brougham with green everything. Has the 301 with the velour. I was lucky enough to find it with rear skirts intact, 60k original miles, everything still working and not a spec of rust! Great car, I drive it everyday!
Sounds like you got a really good one. There was a very sharp light green one for sale on adhuntr.com a while back–pic below is from the posting.
I had the chance many moons ago to purchase a maroon 1980 Bonneville coupe that was shockingly equipped with buckets seats, floor shifter, gauge package, Olds 350, rear sway bar, limited slip, snow flake alloys wheels and every power option imaginable. This was a small time car dealer that acquired the car from an auction with a bad GM 200 metric transmission and had it replaced with a THM 350. I test drove that car and instantly fell in love and have had a thing for B-bodies ever since. The price was a mere 3500 bucks but mom and dad were afraid of a 20 year old me behind the wheel of a big 350 engine. That Olds 350 would light up the optional P215/75R15 tires like nothing and boy dud that car handle! Alas what I ended up with was a 1981 Cutlass LS sedan with Buick’s mightly 231 110HP V6 with base suspension and poverty caps! That car made me realize early on how important it was to option these cars right. Suspension and engine upgrades were a must and the wheels could make or brake the overall look. I have looked and looked but have never found a 1980 coupe like this one. Also strange is that the Pontiac brochure lists the 301 4BBL as the top engine for 49 state cars and that only California had the 350 so apparently this must have been one of those rare instances when one made it to Upstate, NY.
Rob, Joe…
It’s difficult, judging by some of the other comments on this subject, for folks to really realize just how handsome a 1978 (“+ or -” a year or so either way) Bonneville Brougham really was. I wasn’t kidding when I told someone, recently, that I’d love to find a ’78 just like the one I had – same color and everything – to restore, or at least make to look and operate in a street-worthy fashion if not too deteriorated. That dark maroon w/matching vinyl top, blood-red throw cushion interior and Pontiac GTO-style (which I’d owned one of, also, years before…) OE “mags” was very sophisticated, in a “manly”-looking way. In fact, I liked the OE mags more than the wire wheel-style covers that you’d see on many of them. The wire wheels were handsome in a very “dressy”, formal way, perhaps, but the mags made the car look subtly different, in a cool, “faster” sorta’ way, even though it was a full-sized sedan. I was still single when I first got that car, and I recall compliments from many of the ladies I dated then. Of course, the odds of finding one even in the apparently fairly decent shape the ones you fellows each found at various times, are decreasing exponentially, now… and no doubt the restoration, or semi-restoration expense would be substantial. I don’t know how many parts are available for these, but I’d suspect that they’re more rare than many even older, but more currently popular, vehicles’ parts would be.
If I happen to find a “stray” photo of my ’78 Bonneville Brougham, I’ll post it.
The big 1977-79 Pontiacs are my favorite. It’s got to be a Bonneville with skirts; the Catalinas just don’t look as cool to me. A Grand Safari with Rally IIs would be nice too!
“Definitely” on the fender skirts… they’re, in part, what sets the B.B’s apart. The Catalinas of this era/grouping did not, as you say, look nearly as cool, and were much more staid and generic looking… though I owned a ’69 Catalina two-door, many years earlier, that WAS a cool looking one (different body grouping, of course, than the Bonney’s we’re talking about, here). The ’69 also had the then-current version of the OE mags and 2 doors, which, for that era, made it “cool”. Love to have it back, too. (If I had all the cars “back” that I’ve wished for, I’d have to own a tobacco warehouse to keep ’em all in, as my late Dad told me some years ago when we were reminiscing about the different cars we’d had… He, by the way, bought me my first car in ’69 or ’70 – a 1941 Chevy Coupe, one owner, that an elderly neighbor/owner wanted me to have for the nearly – even then – giveaway price of, I believe, $150. THAT’s the car I wish I had today, to also keep in that warehouse…lol…)
I did a post a few months ago on a ’77 Brougham for sale on craigslist with the Valencia interior. Check it out: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/craigslist-classic-christmas-money-burning-a-hole-in-your-pocket-how-about-a-77-bonneville-with-valencia-interior/
It might still be for sale–I regularly check out craigslist and adhuntr for pics of 1977-79 Bonnevilles. They’re so scarce!
Also, to my eye, GM made their biggest “mistake” when they downsized their entire Pontiac line some years later… I never owned another one after the ’78, which I kept until ’83, I think it was. Many of the later Pontiacs were almost silly looking, oddly styled rigs with some of the smaller ones adopting strange plastic body panels, etc., that came off looking cheap, by comparison. (I’ll probably offend somebody, here, by having said this. I understand that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, no doubt, even when talking Pontiacs. BUT…..)
I bought my first pontiac new at the age of 20, a 67 tempest custom, 326 with 2 speed auto, burgundy with a white top, and put keystone mags on it. It would do 100+ in first gear. What a great car and great memories. I worked 7 days a week from 6 in the morning till 10 at night and still put 23000 miles on it in 10 months. I traded it for a 68 firebird 350, 4 speed that topped at 110 and can remember being disappointed. My folks were pontiac people through the 1950’s and I grew up loving the way they handled. I have a 78 bonneville setting in my pasture that I was thinking about scrapping, but this spring started thinking of rebuilding. In another pasture is a 55 station wagon, 4 door—-I’ve been thinking I should have taken better care of them.
Dee, you mention having a ’78 Bonneville… you’ll see that I have posted various comments about the one I had, all through this whole page. I was/am a real admirer of that body style. My sister and her husband had a ’78 Bonne. Brougham (mine was also a Brougham, dark burgundy w/matching vinyl top and blood-red interior), and it was a good car for them for many years. The last time I saw it, it was still sitting beside one of their barns on their old farm, maybe 7 or 8 years ago. Theirs was a light blue w/matching vinyl top, but it almost didn’t even look like the same car as the dark burgundy one I had. The high gloss dark color of mine made that much difference in the overall appearance… really handsome. I don’t think anyone else, anywhere, is interested in these things! “Funny” how we can get tied to something that has become iconic for us… probably as much to do with the era and other memories, as with the car itself, best guess. But they were the last of the really handsome, solid looking Bonneville’s. As I said in a recent post, above, the later era of Pontiacs became smaller, and many of them were cheap and tacky looking, by comparison. I lost interest in the Pontiac line after this ’78 era.
I was lookin’ over your article. I read most all of the posts, I have the opportunity to trade my ’91 Cadillac sedan deville for a ’77 Catalina sedan. Body wise, the Catalina needs paint. But my caddy isn’t exactly “showroom”. I was born in ’87, but I love big bodied vehicles! When I was growing up on the farm, my mom bought my dad a ’73 Riviera with the 455 Buick wildcat under the hood. I later traded a ’77 Dodge aspen sedan (I kept my ’76 aspen coupe, that’s right: I owned 2 aspens when I was just 19!) For the old riv and drove it proudly! Even when gas was $3.75 a gallon! But I was looking to see if there was anyone with any advice on the matter.both mine and their cars need a little tlc, but neither have rust, or major dents
My parents purchased a used ’86 Parisienne back in 1997, which as has been mentioned, resurrected the rear sheetmetal of the ’77 to ’81 Bonnevilles, combined with the roofline of the Caprice and a front clip unique to the ’83 and up Parisienne. While it sounds like a Frankenstein, it actually worked surprisingly well. The more triangular C-pillar on these Bonnevilles was more attractive, granted, but I prefer the cleaner Parisienne front clip.
At any rate, it was definitely an anachronism in the “Pontiac Excitement” lineup of the mid 80’s, where its fender skirts and coach lamps coexisted with plastic side cladding and monochrome paint schemes on some of the other models. But that was a solid car that gave us several years of (mostly) trouble-free service, at least until it was stolen in 2002. The insurance check for a clean, straight, ~115K mile Parisienne on which everything worked and the engine ran like a top? A measly $850. That car would have easily sold twice that, and then some. An unfortunate end for a fine piece of ’80’s semi-luxury.
I just got in a accident some guy rear ended me and im mad cause u know the insurance company is going to total it out and not give me what its worth. The car has been in my family for years
That’s too bad, looks like it was in nice shape. It could probably be fixed, though it might take a frame machine to straighten it out. If they total it out, buy the car back from them and use the money to fix it–though you’ll have a salvage title at that point, it’s often the best possible option.
I need two driver side doors 4 my 78 bonneville any suggestions where I can get them
Ah… memories of my first car. Loved my 78 Bonne… and so did the ladies!
[img]https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2948/15402577382_a61565f0be_o.jpg[/img]
I’d love to find another 2 door one some day. I drove it until the frame completely rotted out on it.
I was a District Service Manager for Pontiac Division from 1978 to 1984 and had a number of these as company cars. We could order what ever we wanted back then and would drive the cars about 3000 miles and turn them in to be sold and move to the next one. I always used to order them with the handling package. They came with stiffened up suspension, huge sway bars front rear, cast wheels, performance tires, positraction rear. I had a white coupe, tan leather no vinyl top, cast silver wheels with the handling package. It had the 301 V8. I have always owned either German, Swedish or Japanese cars but that Bonneville was a great car. Wish I had it now. I recently picked up a 1978 Buick Electra with 32k miles. I also have a Mercedes S class. While the Mercedes is a wonderful car that handles, stops and goes in ways that these 35 year old GM cars could not even dream about. These old GM cars had a certain honest simple quality that I appreciate more today than ever before.
The first car I bought myself was a 1978 Bonneville Brougham Landau Coupe, white with a blue Landau top and a light blue interior. The outside was surface rusty, but the body was solid. But the thing that sold it for me was the 4 factory Snowflake 15X7 inch wheels, with Arrowheads on the centercap!! The car was fully loaded, I was shocked to find out it had its’ original 400 4 barrel, 400 trans setup. It also had a limited slip or posi (come on, this was 1991!) rear end, full dual exhaust with 2 convertors, and front and rear anti-sway bars. Further investigation by a friend at the now gone Wilde Pontiac revealed 2+ fender tags, and option codes for the heavy duty police/taxi, adding heavy springs, heavy duty shocks and anti-sway bars, bigger capacity fuel tank and the high performance 400 4V. This car hauled A**!! I mean tire torturing launches, I wish I knew how many ’78 Bonne’s were optioned out, this was set up like a wealthy man’s Trans Am. I had no idea how fast, because the speedo didn’t work, but the cruise did! But it quit running, and I found out it needed a new flex plate, had a weak spark the timing was off and the starter quit. It had many old car problems, and after getting some parking tickets, she had to go. My Bonneville was the wrong car at the wrong time. I had another friend, who I am not sure I should mention his name as he has been published in High Performance Pontiac and other places, but he owned an engine shop in Waukesha, WI and he BUILT Pontiac engines. He was able to verify many of the things about the car. I remember something about a Q or a Z in the V.I.N. I have only seen ONE other car like mine since, and that one wasn’t optioned like mine but had the 400 and the dual exhaust. Thank you, I enjoyed reading your stories. I do not have a photo, but I will include one I just found on the internet. I give them all credit and ownership of the picture. Best Wishes!!
I want to add that I drove a Pontiac LeMans Grand Safari wagon, fully loaded with a diesel. This was the smaller wagon, like the Cutlass and Malibu. The guy that owned it was a diesel mechanic, and BY FAR that was the scariest, fastest meanest sounding car I have ever driven. I have owned Mopar, a big block powered Cordoba was one, and built small blocks in 3 ’80 Cutlasses and my ’79 Cutlass had a .030 over 355 Chevy Comp Cams Edelbrock etc. But that wagon would get squirrelly when you really got on it, and I even once put it sideways in the street! and you chewed up a lot of real estate in a hurry!!!
Hands down I think the Pontiac was better looking inside and out vs. the Caprice…
I find the late 70s downsized Pontiacs more attractive than the early to mid 70s.
These cars were fantastically popular here in what was Pontiacland, um, Canada. All through the 60’s Canada’s shortened Pontiacs were by far the most popular brand in Canada. Big Pontiacs always sold well in Canada, and the B-Body Pariesenne was very popular. All the Canadian cars had Chevrolet motors, and that was fine as the Canadian spec SBC in the 1977-79 cars ran really nicely. These cars sold very well, and their popularity was why the Cheviac was introduced for Canada only, which was later exported to the USA.
My parent’s neighbour had one of the last Cheviacs. He was close to 70 then, and it was his last car. My father’s generation didn’t buy these cars anymore, and I wouldn’t buy a new one, either. That said, I loved the interior of these cars, a real cut above the Caprice.
Yes, I agree about the interior, it was quite ritzy and definitely a step above the Caprice. And yes these were very popular here in southern Ontario when I was 14 & 15 in the late ’70s. I also think Pontiac Parisienne has a much nicer ring to it than Pontiac Bonneville!
When I see a Bonneville the first thing that pops into my mind is “I am in high-speed pursuit!”
Nice to see this one come around again. I always liked the dashboards on these.
I prefer the original 1977 design to ’78 though. I think the tail and headlights looked better and I lust after that green sedan and the Safari counterpart pictured in the article.
My kindergarten teacher in the 80s drove a black Bonneville, I believe it was the B body and not the mini me G version that came out later.
While I said that the downsized cars lost some things from their predecessors, they still had great, though different, style. American as apple pie and I’d proudly take any of them to the drive in.
In 1977 my now ex-brother-in-law was working at a local Chevy dealer, and Dad was in the market for a new wagon. His 1971 Grand Safari was getting tired with well over 100k miles on it and he was ready to replace it with a new 1977. In fact, he visited the Pontiac dealer and was ready to order another Grand Safari. He wanted the 403 engine which wasn’t available in the Chevy, and his past disgust with a 1969 Kingswood Estate that was a true lemon soured him to the thought of another Chevy. I guess out of guilt he went to the local Chevy dealer and looked at the Caprice, to satisfy his son-in-law. Well he ended up ordering a new Caprice Estate wagon. Engine/tranny wise that car was a bull. Never gave him one problem. As far as the rest of the car? Hubcaps flew off it, trim pieces fell off, and it had body rot all along the back windows after 3 years. He didn’t hate that car, but he regretted not buying the Pontiac like he truly wanted.
I always liked the Bonneville coupes, no vinyl top and equipped with the snowflake alloy wheels. Those wheels made these look elegant and tough at the same time.
1977-1981 Bonneville Broughams are amongst the smoothest, quietest and gentle riding cars EVER built. Attention to detail inside and out, beautiful style, VERY COMFORTABLE seats , absolute silence at speeds well over the speed limit, reasonable gas mileage etc. Just took my 1981 for a relaxing 100 mile Sunday drive today ?
Note that for 1979 you could also order a code “W” 301 4 BBL in addition to the 2BBL “Y” version on Bonneville/Catalina coupes and sedans and I have driven several so equipped. The 79’s also seemed to come with the Buick 350 for 49 state cars and wagons could still be had with the 400/403 depending on where you lived. Despite being only 10 hp stronger compared to the 2BBL the 301 4BBL cars felt punchier with greater highway passing power and overall feel quicker than the 307 1981 Bonnys I have driven which is interesting considering the 81 had the 4 speed transmission with peppier 2.73 rear gears compared to the 301 3 speeds 2.41 gears.
I’d dearly love to have a photograph of the expression on my college age face when I popped the hood on my dorm housemother’s ’79 Pontiac Catalina (?), to jump off her dead battery, only to find a …CHEVROLET … V8 engine staring at me!!!!
A Chevy engine in a PONTIAC??? WHAT was the world coming to????? After my shout of su-prize (and a few none-too-muffled cuss words) several of my “car guys” dorm buddies came over to express THEIR shock and disappointment.
To what extent did fleet sales (police, taxi) have to increase the spread between Caprice and Bonneville in the numbers provided?
Those Caprice sales figures wouldn’t have included police/taxi spec cars as the Impala was still the entry-level/fleet model.
Wow lots of comments on this.
79 Bonneville is my fav, and one of my fav cars.
I recently was attempting to determine whether these 77-79 Pontiacs shared door skins with the 77-79 Chevys. After a lot of looking at photos, I could not determine conclusively one way or the other. Any opinions?
CC Effect!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pontiac-Other-Brougham-Sedan-4-Door-/321749741680?forcerrptr=true&hash=item4ae9c77070&item=321749741680
Love these old Bonnevilles without their rear skirts. Hard to pick a favorite one of these the Bonnie, Caprice and Electra are all so sweet.
I had a 1979 Bonneville Brougham 4 door in two tone Burgundy/red for awhile when i was in college. It was my grandfather’s last car. After he passed and neither my uncle nor my father wanted the Pontiac I took it. What a nice ride. What a collection of options – ‘specially for someone that had been driving salvaged Chevettes. Plush pillow interior, cruise, full gauges with vacuum “economy” gauge, AIR CONDITIONING, and fender skirts. I still love fender skirts. Having a car with fender skirts told me all was right with the world. (Boyhood memory of dad washing cars on Sundays with the fender skirts laid out on the lawn to be separately washed and dried.)
I drove it for a summer and into the fall fixing a few issues it had along the way from sitting so much toward the end of my grandfather’s life. Then my newlywed sister’s leased car was stolen and the insurance wouldn’t cover the full amount owed on the car (remember those bad, old days?) So I gave her the Bonneville as they needed it more than I did. She burned-up the engine in it, so we swapped in a junkyard engine. Few months after the swap she ran the car into an off duty policeman on his way to the station. *sigh* too much front end damage to even think about repair.
Really loved that car. We’d had a ’77 Caprice Classic that was optioned to the hilt at the time, but the Bonneville just seemed a cut above the Chevy.
Ebay Motors UK list a 77 Caprice Classic 5.0 ltr with only 10000m. Looking at the non wear on the seats and pedals that genuine. yours for £10000. I would .. a new B body. Convert to LPG. Se me out….
Pawpaw bought a 79 Bonneville Brougham 4DR new. He said the color was called “Laredo Brown”. Basically a beige vinyl top over a light brown. I loved that car. It was so quiet and powerful. The ride could best be described as ‘floating on a cloud”. Nothing like the radial tuned suspension. We’d take it to go golfing in the early mornings at Hermann Park in Houston. I was devastated to learn after the fact that he’d traded the car in. By the time I called the dealership, the car was gone, probably to an auto auction. Who knows where it ended up but someone out there probably still has my car. I want it back so badly!
Here’s a photo of what the car looked like. This isn’t the car, but other than a couple of minor trim items, it’s a spitting image.
I’ve owned my 1981 pontiac brougham sence 2006 & there’s still less than 100.000miles on, everything original & restored but paint & seats… still has am-fm radio… For the rite price everything go’s
Do you still have the 79 Bonneville brougham? If so, what are you asking for it?
Bill
I have a 1977 Pontiac Bonneville Brougham with actual miles. Love it.
42,000 actual miles
Very nice! I remember those when they were new and the Pontiacs were very good looking. Somehow the Buicks had odd front ends in that era and platform.
We must do whatever possible to revive pontiac. The CEO of GM is Mary Barra . Let her know Pontiac has many, many fans and should be revived in 2019 in commemoration of the brands cancellation announcement. GM must be bombarded with Pontiac fanatics. Whos with me? Let the battle begin
When new, The MSRP was $7,580 as equipped.