1963 bonneville Safari rebuild

[64 kiwi boni]

Yesterday , I picked up a 1963 bonneville safari wagon ..

it has a interesting history, and my intention is to rebuild it along side my 57 .. this wagon will be a fairly stock rebuild like my 64 was . But we may go with a different motor trans combo ! 
history wise . This wagon was a government car in American Samoa… it was shipped to New Zealand for repairs in the early 70s and never went back !!! 
Story has it that it spent a period of its life in Rotorua in the 80s and then was parked up … it did have a 396 big block in it at that time. 
here is a picture of it way back then 

Sadly she isn’t as flash as back then now !!!

But certainly worth rebuilding !!!

here is some pics of her today .

And I couldn’t help myself 

I had to fit the front sheet metal …..

[64 kiwi boni]

Factory colour is blue . And it used to have  a very flash blue interior … today I had to scrub the dirt off it just to tell it was still blue !!! 

Edited April 23, 2023 by 64 kiwi boni

[64 kiwi boni]

It came with very much everything needed to put her back together  

 

Both bumpers are dirty but straight and the chrome is good 👍 

 

And there was even some brand new parts … tail light lenses , a full set of body mount rubbers 

a new screen rubber 

and front end bushings and ball joints 

[64 kiwi boni]

At some stage of its life the 9.3 inch Pontiac diff has been removed and replaced with a 12 bolt Chev unit 

but still there was a Pontiac spare in the back ! Even the front has been changed too. Holden/Chev hubs with discs 

and for some  reason there was this pile of fan belts in there too !!

 

The floors are good but there is 5 areas that need some  love on the body work department … here’s two of them 

 

The whole body has been Soda blasted and so has the chassis 

so there no hiding anything !!!

Edited April 23, 2023 by 64 kiwi boni

[64 kiwi boni]

I had a really good look through all the parts and since she is very simlair to my 64 it was easy to see most were there … but the clip in hood bolts where not !!!

thankfully I just happen to have a bent   64 hood with justA the clips I needed to mount it onto the hinges !!!
 

Edited April 23, 2023 by 64 kiwi boni

[64 kiwi boni]

Looks like part of the family already !!!! 

 

[Ringo64]

Looks like you got some work cut out for you but I love that blue interior! 

[Wrongway]

Congrats bro! I love it! Super glad you were able to get her. Do I see his and hers Bonnivilles in the future?  Can't wait to see what direction this build goes bro. 

[64 kiwi boni]

17 minutes ago, Wrongway said:

Congrats bro! I love it! Super glad you were able to get her. Do I see his and hers Bonnivilles in the future?  Can't wait to see what direction this build goes bro. 

sure is mate. this ones for the boss and its going to be red as per her request... she has also set the budget, which will dictate how far into it i go, but i see nothing major to do, justA panel and paint. engine and trans set of wheels.

[JUSTA6]

I'm gone for a couple day's and look at all this!  Very cool purchase.  Cold rainy/hail/snowy weekend here.  

[Wrongway]

Hmmmmm, air bags, set her on the ground. BIG blower sticking out the hood and a ton of red metal flake and kandy! 

So seriously, any thoughts on motor/trans yet?

[64 kiwi boni]

3 hours ago, Wrongway said:

Hmmmmm, air bags, set her on the ground. BIG blower sticking out the hood and a ton of red metal flake and kandy! 

So seriously, any thoughts on motor/trans yet?

i have Dwights 389 here but its gona cost 10k to rebuild....then i need to build a bop trans to match up to it.............................................. my thought is a Ls 1 engine and 4l60e trans since this is a budget build, i am saving the ls2 and 6l80e that i all ready have  for my 57 !!!

And , they are super common, i can get a runner thats done 165kms for $6500 comlete with computer, loom, fly by wire gas pedal and all accesories , power steer etc

 then its down to getting a sump that will fit, modify the loom, remove the vats and put a tune in the ecu. engine mounts , trans mount and a adaptor of some kind to drive the speedo cable !!!.... 

Any one reading this that can point me to a pulse to speedo drive for a 4l60e trans ? 

Wrong way.... this car would be sooooo cool if i bag it !!! 

does anyone know if a impala kit will fit ????

 

Another question... does anyone know if the safari's are like the hard tops and all above the belt line is chevrolet ? i am asking if safari are the same as impala wagon ?????

wrong way... do you know if your front spindles are the same as chev ones ? 

if i dont bag the wagon, i was thinking of drop spindles justA to get it down 2 inches, in the front ... rear is easy with justA lower springs, and as i lernt with my 64, you cant lower the front springs very far... i only got a inch lower ....anything more justA caused to many issues 

[Wrongway]

Now that sounds like a good plan Kiwi. 

I'm not sure about the spindles bro, looks like I will be doing the brake conversion in a few weeks. I can get you any pics and measurements that you need at that time if it helps.

[64 kiwi boni]

12 minutes ago, Wrongway said:

Now that sounds like a good plan Kiwi. 

I'm not sure about the spindles bro, looks like I will be doing the brake conversion in a few weeks. I can get you any pics and measurements that you need at that time if it helps.

i justA looked at a impala front end on the web, and they are different, steering arms are the first thing i spotted !! chev has them at the front . Ponti at the back of the spindles 

what i do know is the spindle its self are the diameters, as the 63 has chev hubs on it !! so innner and out bearings are the same !!!

[KiwiStarChief]

Chris, you are a glutton for punishment for sure. I would have thought you had enough on your plate with the '57, but obviously not.

I also hadn't seen this, as I was at the Ellerslie Car Show on Sunday displaying with the club, so it's great to catch up with the news.

Re the conversion for the speedo to the 4L60E, I used a Cable X unit I got from the US, and although it works well, it was somewhat difficult to calibrate. I have it so it reads the standard '57 Pontiac speedo in Kms, which is real handy when there are so many speed cameras around and you don't have to do a conversion in your head.

I've read that there are others now on the market which are easier to calibrate, such as the one from Dakota Digital, and you can also change the tailshaft housing on the back of the 4L60E to one from a non electronic 700R4, but this is pricier that a digital converter. 

[64 kiwi boni]

Hi Russel ! 
you should post more pictures from your club here mate ! The guys all over the planet would love them mate !!! 
 

yes the new baby adds to the fun , but I still have a work / hobby balance in life !!! 
I will be working both the 57 and 63 at the same time , but once my engineer gets into the 57 , I have  a big gap to work on the 63 .. so . It’s a work in progress !!! 
The Safari is for the boss . It’s the year she was born and she like station wagons . And I promised her it can be red …..

foot note .. that means I can paint my 57 blue … which is what I wanted … … hahaha 

Edited April 25, 2023 by 64 kiwi boni

[Frosty]

When I grow up, I wanna own as many cars as Kiwi.

Lord knows I'm trying.....

[64 kiwi boni]

11 hours ago, Frosty said:

When I grow up, I wanna own as many cars as Kiwi.

Lord knows I'm trying.....

To be fair frosty , I did sell my Vs ss Holden to buy the 63 … but hell !!!!! 
so worth it !!! I justA saved another 

[64 kiwi boni]

16 hours ago, Frosty said:

When I grow up, I wanna own as many cars as Kiwi.

Lord knows I'm trying.....

On a side note.. frosty doesnt actually know how many toys i have...... i may be using fake news and Ai .... photoshop, flicker, twitter, and all those other web sites !!...

 still recon you should have bought that fire engine frosty !!! that was sooo cool 

[Fitzy]

Well, here I am catching up once again.

Firstly, you are insane.

Secondly, oh the memories. That pic of the front seat & dash is very similar to how my own POS arrived, along with mystery boxes of rusty bits & pieces.

Thirdly, Lordy, look at the room in there with all the seats folded. You may as well sell that shitbox work van and use the Safari instead! No - the Boss is going to (apparently) navigate that monster through the local shopping centre, is she? All the rice burners will just bounce off her as she steams through the lot toward her chosen park.

Fourthly, just a reminder that you are seriously loopy.

One day when you get too old, you can just bury all those junkers nose down like the  Cadillac Ranch and then charge admission for tourists to gawk at them. 😁

Whoops! I forgot: someone on Gumtree has a fully restored TriPower set up ready to bolt on and enjoy. I said "this Kiwi bloke I know has plenty of money, he'll buy it," and then I saw the price. Ba-bow.

[Frosty]

11 hours ago, 64 kiwi boni said:

To be fair frosty , I did sell my Vs ss Holden to buy the 63 … but hell !!!!! 
so worth it !!! I justA saved another 

I'm glad you saved another old girl from a fate worse than rust.

Did you sell the Holden because you needed the cash buy the Safari, or did the boss say you had to get rid of one to another one?

[64 kiwi boni]

12 hours ago, Fitzy said:

Well, here I am catching up once again.

Firstly, you are insane.

Secondly, oh the memories. That pic of the front seat & dash is very similar to how my own POS arrived, along with mystery boxes of rusty bits & pieces.

Thirdly, Lordy, look at the room in there with all the seats folded. You may as well sell that shitbox work van and use the Safari instead! No - the Boss is going to (apparently) navigate that monster through the local shopping centre, is she? All the rice burners will just bounce off her as she steams through the lot toward her chosen park.

Fourthly, just a reminder that you are seriously loopy.

One day when you get too old, you can just bury all those junkers nose down like the  Cadillac Ranch and then charge admission for tourists to gawk at them. 😁

Whoops! I forgot: someone on Gumtree has a fully restored TriPower set up ready to bolt on and enjoy. I said "this Kiwi bloke I know has plenty of money, he'll buy it," and then I saw the price. Ba-bow.

owch !!! thats wayyyyy to much !!! last tri power i bidded on went for $2500 and that was 500 over what i thought it was worth !!!

7 hours ago, Frosty said:

I'm glad you saved another old girl from a fate worse than rust.

Did you sell the Holden because you needed the cash buy the Safari, or did the boss say you had to get rid of one to another one?

bit of both Frosty !!!

[64 kiwi boni]

9 hours ago, 64 kiwi boni said:

owch !!! thats wayyyyy to much !!! last tri power i bidded on went for $2500 and that was 500 over what i thought it was worth !!!

bit of both Frosty !!!

you know this is all another distraction too !! i am setting up a proper sheetmetal work bench ! that the boss has no idea what the F  i am doing !! 

i spent a day fabing the bench, it will house my box/pan 1200mm  folder, it has a 5mm steel top. with mount for a post... i will explain in pictures once i have finished building it... but i have just ordered a sheet metal giloteen, bead roller and jenny and a shrinker/streckers 

I have built it all out of 40mmx3mm angle steel and it has lockable caster wheels so i can move it all around the work shop... Frosty could have this in his work shop..... that we havent seen for soooo long !

[64 kiwi boni]

This is justA my thoughts but.......... i like the 63 fender and head light trim better than the 64 !! i like that peek to the top head light trim !

63 has a wayy rounder leading edge to the hood and a more gto infill grill ...  

none the less, i am sure you all can tell i am addicted !!

Edited April 27, 2023 by 64 kiwi boni

[Fitzy]

I reckon she's a beauty. Old wagons are uber cool.

When I saw your pics yesterday, one of the first things to catch my eye were the stainless pedal trims. You get to pull this wreck outa the mud complete with those trims whereas I spent considerable money & effort to get mine! Well played, sir.