1962 PONTIAC Bonneville- Erik De Mello

oneownercollectorcar.com

Writing and photography copyright D. S. Brown

Erik De Mello's 1962 Pontiac Bonneville looks just right perched on a hill alongside the Pacific Ocean with salt scarred paint and a few surfboards up top. San Diego, California has intense sun which can fade paint and the proximity to the ocean adds a further burden in the form of salt air blowing in from the ocean. As long as the car is parked inland a reasonable distance the salt air shouldn't cause too much drastic damage.

Erik found this 1962 Southern California Bonneville in running condition. He has put a bit of money into it fixing engine and transmission seals and installing dual exhaust. The old 389 4 barrel V8 engine runs nicely and Erik has been enjoying his cruiser in 'as found' condition. The model description of the VIN "862S" breaks down as follows:

8= Bonneville
62= 1962 model year
S= Final assembly at Southgate, California factory

The last five numbers are the production sequence number which isn't listed here to maintain owner internet privacy.

The front seats were replaced but the rear ones are still the original from back in 1962. The power windows on this hardtop still work.

Note the way Pontiac worked the 'Indian arrowhead' Pontiac logo into the pattern of the back seats using the car's exterior color. A nice touch. The center fold down armrest adds some luxury.

It's hard to gauge the actual miles, but the odometer tells us 32,039 which could be 130,000 or perhaps 230,000 or even more. The metal pedals below don't offer many clues since the metal doesn't wear down the way regular rubber pedals do. However, the rubber ribs aren't worn off which suggests the mileage isn't too high.

Have a look at the air conditioning unit provided back in 1962. This was state of the art for the time period.

Erik's Bonneville is slowly being fixed. If Erik decides to repaint here's hoping he sticks with the original Gold. What a great looking color, and how often do you see gold cars from this era? They all got repainted red in the 1980s and great colors such as this are getting lost through the years.