Floyd De Bore 1958 Pontiac Bonneville

If you asked me what some of my favorite Pontiac model years are, 1958 wouldn’t be at the very top of the heap. It was a bit of a transitional year for GM Styling overall, and some divisions pulled it off better (Chevrolet) than others (Buick & Olds). The Pontiac’s of ’58 were just a little less sleek and clean. Chrome got heavy and trim got fussy. So when I saw Floyd De Bore’s wild Waston-painted Bonneville, I was duly impressed. This Bellflower bomber was fairly mild on bodywork with only a shaved hood, deck, and a quad of ’56 Olds taillights. The mesh grill and ’58 Lancer caps are nice touches as well, but it’s Larry Watson’s deep plum and bronze paint work that really stands out. He utilizes all the Poncho’s complex panels quite well, striping around each section, trim piece and scoop with a perfect line; Even the  seaweed flame stripes coming out of the body side rockets, curving around each star. Rather than removing all the trim and trying to hide the busy factory bodywork, it gets embraced here, and the whole package works nicely.

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