Pontiac Star Chief Executive 1966 - Project: Body preserved in AZ

1966 Pontiac Bonneville Additional Info:

Who says there are no more find barn finds? This discovery was sitting in a property across from our garage in a car port, and we would never have noticed it unless the renter had not come over and told us about it... It had come with the property and a different former tenant who was now 14 years out of contact. We applied for and got an abandoned title and pushed it into our yard to clean it up a bit. That process took a year. So all we really know about it is what we can see.

Engine turns, has compression and has the pictured numbers cast on it [481990] which is a later year. It has evidence of being rebuilt or at least refreshed with new gasket material and parts painted. We definitely recommend tearing it down to see what further needs cleaning or improving but it does appear an older stalled restoration got this far. The automatic transmission has a rebuild plate on from a transmission shop and is clean so it does not appear to have been run after that. Plate says Assembly: 3E EF 147, Type: AJ

Car steel is solid and MVD confirmed it was always an AZ registered car though it has not been on the road for decades. The title process includes sending letters to a few owners back to see if anyone has claims. All the letters were not returned therefore we got the title free and clear.

The only rust other than surface rust where the original paint has faded off is in two spots where storm water obviously sat a long time without draining – the trunk and left rear quarter.

We tried to take a lot of pics. More are available atthis box folder.

We can help with shipping at your cost if required but prefer local pickup. This car is also being offered in several other venues so we reserve the right to pull down the bay listing if we get confirmed cash from those.

Questions at 602 [524] 0053 - West coast time zone please.

Ok, now just for fun is what I believe to be the "all true original backstory of this car" ; )

1966 Pontiac Star Chief Executive. The year the Beatles came out with 'good day sunshine' and you were starting to watch COLOR TV! For ladies, plaid, ‘California colors’ and cowboy looks with mini skirts were in style (soon to be replaced by psycadellic prints if you were keeping up). This fit in well with the 14 paint colors and 5 interior colors available for the final year of this series. All those options, but they only made 10,140 of them at the GM plant.

Stan Clark, the bank clerk who had just been promoted to branch manager bought this car to elevate his image - trading in a tired 49 Mercury that was ‘just an old used car’ by then.

In his new position he could not quite get away with a mod GTO but this was similar looker with real class and had many of the same options.It was a new car in the same vein to impress his friends, and a smooth cruiser for the clients and prospective clients he need to meet or take on site visits.

He was also able to impress his girlfriend. The on again /off again love affair from high school. They were both done shopping the field and with this purchase he was looking stable enough to marry.Good thing this cruiser was perfect for romantic getaways like an Air Conditioned trip to the beach in San Diego or a mountain ride to Sedona to cool off in summer.

After a couple years the payments were done and she used it as a second car when he upgraded to a four door Bonneville. Couple more years and a few parking lot dings later the star chief became college kid transport for a neighbors kid (whose parents were also an important client of Stans).

After that the history of this tank is sketchy, but rumor has it the college kid sold it to a drop out who drove it all over the west coast with a guitar and a tool kit doing odd jobs. His western music morphed to folk and slipped to rock and roll. And there was too much fun to be had to be a handyman in one place for too long. He got in a little too much debt (and trouble) to stay out on the road so the Pontiac smoked its way home back to Phoenix to be parked in one of dads rental houses for several years, and several years more. His brother decided to pull the engine and fix it up 'Hot Roding' it, but though he traded a motorcycle to a friend to do the motor, the project languished there partially built and partially apart.

So here you have the option to rekindle what 1966 started. A solid frame – all 124 inch wheel base of it - and basic mechanicals started, all you need is an interior and a plan. With four engines and four transmissions available that year you can do pretty much anything and keep it standard. Or go restomod and get jiggy with it. But Pontiac really thought way ahead back in ’66. I guess this Executive originally had a 389 cubic inch V8 – a hallmark of Pontiac’s formidable engine heritage – yet this 389 in 1966 is the economy engine with a mere 256 gross horsepower(!). We don’t know what the bro did to it however between the chrome pan and valve cover upgrades…yours to discover!

Q&A: Title is a valid current one for the state of AZ for this VIN. It says "disassembled" on it because the engine was out when inspected. All that means here, is you drive it in when done and they will reprint the title without that on it. This MVD check would be required anyway to register.

The floors are 100% solid as far as I can tell with out scraping more padding and paint off them. I put pics in the box site listed.

Another question was about the mileage and Vin plate. The mileage showing is 93836. The plate on the inside Drivers door jamb is 2563760129898

The plate in the engine bay is 02e St 66-25637 BC 1048 TR 526 c60 which shows this to be a very original car still in what is left of it's Cameo Ivory paint and turquoise interior made in the Southgate plant CA in late February of 1966.