1964 Pontiac Bonneville project car, light rust but restorable with effort

[A Horse With No Name]

Found that 64 Pontiac Wagon project you so dearly wanted...

1964 Pontiac Bonneville Rusted Abandoned vehicle on Morro Bay, CA Sand Spit - uncovered by winter storms, reported to have been stalled here in 1973. Photo taken 06 May 2010. Photo by Michael "Mike" L. Baird.

Next time I'll look somewhere other than Ohio for a slightly more rust free car...

[SAmadei]

What. Is. The. Story. With. That. ?.

Seriously, I need more info... why are the bumper and interior panels looking new while the rest is, well, not.

[SAmadei]

Curious the glass is gone... and headlights. Unless the car was uncovered and vandalized at some point. I kinda wish there were closer up pictures... its just fascinating as hell.

[balthazar]

^ Yea, the hood is totally gone. Car was obviously vandalized/relieved of parts over time, roof must've been cut away, too. And tho I can attest that the Morrokide upholstery is very high quality, long-lasting stuff, it's not going to survive being buried in sand and pounded by salt water waves for decades. I can see the tempered side glass being gone once broken, but if you've never broken a period windshield with the goal of removing it- it's not easy to eradicate it totally.

Who knows the real story here.

Edited December 22, 2011 by balthazar

[SAmadei]

I figured the hood and roof rotted away. Usually when people take a hood, they leave behind the hinges, which pop up. The hinges are not popped up, so either they were taken with the hood... possible, but unusual... or the hinges are rust frozen in the down position.

I'd love to see what the engine was like.

I wonder if it is still there... I have to assume the city would tow it away (or more likely, sweep up the remaining solid parts) after it reappeared.

[daves87rs]

interesting....

[ocnblu]

I'm thinking it was fully intact throughout its journey. If it's anything like today, horizontal panels do not have the same corrosion protection as vertical body panels (water and dirt do not accumulate in roofs, hoods or decklids, there fore the factory doesn't spend the money). The roof prolly disintegrated, which left the glass vulnerable. The hood prolly rusted away from the latch and hinges, then a wave took it like a boogie board. And as far as the upholstery goes, there was a '55 Bel Air just across our property line in the woods on the farm, plastic parts of the upholstery still intact, cloth long gone, and we've all seen the "abandoned junkyard" vids on youtube, vinyl upholstery is super-permanent. The lasting chrome is a testament to GM's plating process back then. The steel bumper is likely gone behind it, leaving the chrome skin in a delicate facade.

Very fascinating, yes. Could have been 1973 kids in a hand-me-down '64 Pontiac that was just another used car then. Partying on the beach, and either parked too close to the water or drowned out the engine playing around. That's my story.

Edited December 25, 2011 by ocnblu

[A Horse With No Name]

Sounds very logical Mr. Blu...quite the contrast to the pristine 64 Pontiac Wagon Balthazar posted in the work vehicle thread awhile back...

And Balthazar's car and the abandoned car are almost the same colors...amazing how two vehicles can survive half a century in such wildly different conditions...

[knightfan26917]

Wow ... that's sad and interesting ... all at the same time.

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