Spotted a '65 Bonneville Sport Coupe on my street this morning

I ran a '64 Bonneville convertible for about six years and the extension cord detail hit home for me too. Mine lived on a battery tender all winter because those big old years-era electrical systems leak down fast, especially with the clock and radio drawing on them. One trick I picked up was pulling the negative cable whenever it sat more than a couple weeks. Saved me a lot of jump starts in February. If it turns out to be a tripower car, here's what I learned the hard way: those outer carbs on the original setup like to gum up if the car sits, and getting all three dialed in takes patience. I ended up running mine on the center carb alone for months before a local guy who knew the old Pontiacs walked me through the linkage adjustment. Made a huge difference once it was right, but I wish I'd asked around sooner instead of fighting it myself.

Also worth knowing, the 389 and the 421 share a lot of parts, so if the owner mentions an engine swap somewhere along the line, don't assume the numbers are gone. Mine turned out to have a later block from a Grand Prix in it, which annoyed me at first untill I realized it ran way better than the tired original ever did. Either way, go knock on that door. Half the fun of these cars is the guy standing next to them.

Funny thing about catching owners, I gave up on the lurking method years ago. Just knock on the door. I waited three weeks once trying to run into the fella who bought the house down the block with a '66 Catalina, and when I finally knocked he turned out to be thrilled someone cared. We ended up trading a spare hubcap and he let me sit in it while he told me every story his dad ever told him about the car. Door knocking works. One thing to brace for though, most of these big Pontiacs left the factory pretty tame. For every tripower car there were a pile of two barrel 389s that were built for comfortable highway cruising, not burnouts. My Catalina was the base motor and honestly it suited the car fine, lazy torque and a quiet exhaust. If his trunk full of tools means he's new to it, he might appreciate a hand. I've got a '65 shop manual reprint and a pile of old Pontiac catalogs from chasing parts for mine, and paying it forward is half the fun of these cars still showing up on curbs instead of in scrap piles.

That part about the car having three of the fuel mixers on top blew my mind, I didn't even know they made engines like that. I always figured one was enough no matter how big the motor was. My question is, why did they bother with three instead of just making one bigger? Was it to get more power or just to show off? Either way I'd also be lurking on that porch waiting to peek under the hood, no shame in it.

Keep an eye on the trim when you finally get a look at it. I did a full redo on a '65 Catalina a few years back and those side spear moldings ate more of my time than anything mechanical. Took me three tries to get the rear quarter piece seated without dimpling it, the clips behind there are old and brittle and they snap if you look at them wrong. If the new owner is pulling tools out of the trunk, hopefully he knows what he's got before he starts prying on anything. Also curious wether it's a bucket seat car, those show up alot less often than the bench setups.

Agree with the fella who did the Catalina, that trim will humble you fast. When I redid my '63 Bonneville the stainless along the rockers fought me the same way, and I finally figured out to slide a strip of cardboard between the molding and the paint before pushing anything into place. Kept the edge from digging in and saved me from scuffing fresh lacquer. Also grabbed a handful of new clips at a swap meet before starting, wich turned out to be cheaper than the two pieces I cracked learning that lesson the first time.