[Pecosbill]

Guys, I'm a GTO guy and spend most of my time on that side of this board, but I have always loved the big Injuns, too. My Dad had a 1960 4dr. hardtop Catalina and I remember it warmly. I was looking at this 1960 Bonneville on ebay and was wondering just what it would be worth. It looks to be in pretty decent shape, but you never really know until you see it. Sounds like the owner has changed the color scheme, but it also looks like he did a decent job on it. From what I can tell the car has numerous options, including factory AC and it has the original 4 bbl 389 under the hood.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Help me out here....what should the price tag on a car like this be?

[Stuart]

A nice looking car, but being a four door limits its value. It was bid to $8,000 but didn't even reach the seller's reserve - I don't think I'd pay that much for it.

[poison heart]

That's a bad ass car but it seems to me that 8-12K is about all you can get out of a 4 door 59/60 GM. I don't think I would pay 8K for a 4 door but that is a very sweet car

[Pecosbill]

The owner has sent me a 2nd chance opportunity to buy the car for $9K, since I bid on it when it was being auctioned. That seems a little high for me, but I"ll bet he's got a lot more than that sunk into it. My idea was to get it and drive it for a couple of years, have fun with it and then sell it. If I could do that and get my money back it will have been a good deal. But as I expected, the 4 door nature of it seems to limit the number of buyers.

My Dad's 60 Catalina was also a 4 dr hardtop. It was the lack of a post between the windows and the rear roofline jutting out that attracted me to the car. I know goats pretty well, but have a very limited knowledge of cars like this one. The owner says it has the original 389 with a 4 barrel carb. What was the standard hp rating of the 389 4 bbl setup in the Bonneville? I have a 3 deuce setup for a 1960 that needs a lot of work, but that would be a pretty unique car I would think with trips and AC. Was the 3 deuce motor and the 4 bbl motor the same in 1960, or were there any internal differences?

I wonder if I can tell my wife that it just followed me home one day?

[Poncho60]

Std 4 barrel motor was 303HP....the regular tripower was 318HP. I bought this Ventura Vista (40K original miles) in 2001 for around $5800, which was probably about $1000 too high. On the other hand, I haven't had anything major to repair and it has a near perfect all original interior which I'm kind of in love with. I'd probably do it again even at the same price. If you just do car stuff based on the fact that you always have to get your money back or make money......seems like it kind of takes the fun out of it....JMHO.

[Pecosbill]

Originally Posted by Poncho60

If you just do car stuff based on the fact that you always have to get your money back or make money......seems like it kind of takes the fun out of it....JMHO.

Poncho, I agree fully; just don't want to grossly overpay going in. I've sunk WAY more money into 64 and 67 goats than I will ever get out of them. It's not the money, but the fun you have with what you've spent.

[poison heart]

I'm sure he has more than that into it...doesn't mean it's worth it. I have well over 10K into mine and it still looks like crap. I doubt I could get $4,500 for it on ebay if I tried to sell it as is right now

[61-63]

I agree with Stuart the fellow should have taken the $8100. It is a nice car but a 4 door.

[Pecosbill]

Thanks for all your help, guys. I have decided to pass on the car. The owner sent me some additional pics showing the underside. He did a good job on restoring it from what I can tell, but I've decided to stick to goats until my ultimate dream car comes along: a 1963 Yorktown blue Bonneville convertible. Whenever that comes along, I'll be joining in with you.