Big Girls: 1966 Bonneville

[Bills72sj]

Break out of my '66 Bonneville in to its own WIP thread.

Body in color.

[Zippi]

I like the red on your Booneville.  Looks nice.

[rrb124@sbcglobal.net]

Back in the past there was a silver one in the neighborhood. Had the optional 421 emblems on the lower rocker panel just rear of the front door. You could tell the different engine sound going past the houses. I think that the 66 might be one of my favorites.

[espo]

Great looking color. 

[Bills72sj]

16 hours ago, Zippi said:

I like the red on your Bonneville.  Looks nice.

Thanks Bob, I was shooting for a darker red but this is what came out. It is pretty though.

 

14 hours ago, rrb124@sbcglobal.net said:

Back in the past there was a silver one in the neighborhood. Had the optional 421 emblems on the lower rocker panel just rear of the front door. You could tell the different engine sound going past the houses. I think that the 66 might be one of my favorites.

Robert, Cool story. I am semi-replicating a 66 2+2 I saw at a car show many years ago.

 

10 hours ago, espo said:

Great looking color. 

Thank you David.

[Bills72sj]

I have been working on all my Pontiacs the week. This one is the odd man out. Earlier I found some seats that were a closer match to the correct upholstery pattern, so I have them prepped. Today I tackled the rear seat. I had this 62 Pontiac rear seat in my parts box which does not have the exact pattern but it is much closer than the kit seat. An hour of hacking and filing has it fitting pretty good. I also finally decided on the interior color(s). White seats and door panels with black carpet, dash and package shelf. Officially known as Parchment and Black.

 

[Bills72sj]

A bit more work on the interior. The kit dash is a flat panel with a full width decal to represent it. LAME! I have a 62 Catalina dash in my parts box, while incorrect, at least has some detail to it and is in the correct era. However, it does not have the distinctive, individual, rectangular gauge pods. I decided to whittle down some square evergreen stock to fabricate them. I also learned that the 66 console is the same as the 65's. I plan refurbish my prototype console to be a close enough replacement for the all-wrong kit piece.

[Carmak]

If you can get the fairly common AMT 65 Bonneville / GP / 2+2 dash it is fairly close to the 66. The most significant difference is the change from round bezels to square bezels for the three center bezels you are working on.

Also, It's not very clear in your picture but the three center bezels and angled slightly towards the driver.

The automatic console in the AMT 65 Bonneville / GP / 2+2 is exactly the same as 66. If you are doing a 4spd. console it is actually completely different from the front of the seats forward.

 

[Bills72sj]

1 hour ago, Carmak said:

If you can get the fairly common AMT 65 Bonneville / GP / 2+2 dash it is fairly close to the 66. The most significant difference is the change from round bezels to square bezels for the three center bezels you are working on.

Also, It's not very clear in your picture but the three center bezels and angled slightly towards the driver.

The automatic console in the AMT 65 Bonneville / GP / 2+2 is exactly the same as 66. If you are doing a 4spd. console it is actually completely different from the front of the seats forward.

 

Thanks, I am actually building all your suggestions and my 66 Bonne simultaneously. All of them are to be 421 Tri-Power 4 speeds. The AMT consoles were so lame I fabricated new ones from scratch. I know they are slightly angled. However, my fingers could barely hold the tiny little buggers as it was.

[Carmak]

19 hours ago, Bills72sj said:

Thanks, I am actually building all your suggestions and my 66 Bonne simultaneously. All of them are to be 421 Tri-Power 4 speeds. The AMT consoles were so lame I fabricated new ones from scratch. I know they are slightly angled. However, my fingers could barely hold the tiny little buggers as it was.

I really look forward to your progress! In the 90's I used to have multiple 65, 66 & 67 full size Pontiacs. The blue 65 2+2 was a 421 tri-power 3spd manual (on the floor with no console) with 8 lugs. The gold 66 and 67 were both Catalinas. About 15 years ago I bought a rough 65 Star Chief 4dr as a daily, it was used in a low budget movie. Fun times.

Carmak

[Bills72sj]

This one has been lagging behind due to the fab work required when starting with a curbside. I have the interior fully detailed finally.

[Keef]

WOW!! That dash is a work of art!! The interior is looking amazing and with that color red it will definitely POP!!

[NOBLNG]

That is a beautiful red, and I agree with Keef…the dash looks fabulous.?

[dino246gt]

1 hour ago, NOBLNG said:

That is a beautiful red, and I agree with Keef…the dash looks fabulous.?

I also "concur"!

[slusher]

Beautiful dash and interior!

[Bills72sj]

19 hours ago, Keef said:

WOW!! That dash is a work of art!! The interior is looking amazing and with that color red it will definitely POP!!

Thank you, Keith. ?

16 hours ago, NOBLNG said:

That is a beautiful red, and I agree with Keef…the dash looks fabulous.?

Thank you, Greg. ?

14 hours ago, dino246gt said:

I also "concur"!

Thank you, Dennis. ?

1 hour ago, slusher said:

Beautiful dash and interior!

Thank you, Carl. ?

 

This evening I attempted to put the interior in the body. Ran into fitment issues. Trimmed the ends of the dash, cut off the rear most portion of the package shelf and had to paint the inside of the body below the side windows flat white. You all know how it goes sometimes.

[drodg]

We do and I have read that isn't the easiest kit to assemble.

[TransAmMike]

Love the big Pontiacs and your build here is looking great!!  Really like the color and quality of the body paint?

[rrb124@sbcglobal.net]

Great looking big Pontiac.

[Bainford]

Nice work, Bill. I have always been curious about these Hasegawa American car kits. Interesting to watch this one come together.

[Bills72sj]

12 hours ago, drodg said:

We do and I have read that isn't the easiest kit to assemble.

Assembly has not been too bad so far. It is all the time consuming mods.

10 hours ago, TransAmMike said:

Love the big Pontiacs and your build here is looking great!!  Really like the color and quality of the body paint?

Thank you, Mike ?

9 hours ago, rrb124@sbcglobal.net said:

Great looking big Pontiac.

Thank you, Robert ?

7 hours ago, Bainford said:

Nice work, Bill. I have always been curious about these Hasegawa American car kits. Interesting to watch this one come together.

It has its nits to pick but when you really like the subject, you do what you can with what you have.

[Bills72sj]

Interior ready to install.

[Keef]

11 hours ago, Bills72sj said:

Interior ready to install.

Amazing!!! There are several different builders on this site that everytime I see their builds it inspires me to get out of my comfort zone and start trying new things. You sir, are one of them! That color combo is going to look gorgeous when it’s done!! 

[Bills72sj]

2 hours ago, Keef said:

Amazing!!! There are several different builders on this site that everytime I see their builds it inspires me to get out of my comfort zone and start trying new things. You sir, are one of them! That color combo is going to look gorgeous when it’s done!! 

I agree. For years, I put minimal effort into my interiors. Steve G. has inspired me to step up my efforts. I have learned a lot, and am getting pretty good results.

[Keef]

17 minutes ago, Bills72sj said:

I agree. For years, I put minimal effort into my interiors. Steve G. has inspired me to step up my efforts. I have learned a lot, and am getting pretty good results.

Same here , and yes I agree that Steve G. is one of my numerous favorite builders on here.