Being too philosophical is rarely a recipe for happiness, but as a guy who finds comfort in Platonic dialogues and was recently told on an automotive forum that I “may just be overthinking the situation,” I sometimes fail to resist the urge. Have you ever considered how much of your success in life is simply attributed to dumb luck rather than any conscious effort on your part? William Oliver posted a handful of pictures of this 1977 Pontiac Ventura in the CC Cohort, and it’s led a charmed life without even realizing it. It’s a garden-variety General Motors X-Body sedan, living in Canada without a spot of rust, still plying the road 48 years later. I’ve seen these cars with their subframes hanging by a jagged shard of rust, still crab-walking through town, willing themselves along with sheer grit and guts, yet this one parades around on its Rally II wheels like it’s at Pebble Beach. Yes, if existence counts as dumb luck, this Ventura is among the luckiest.
Every General Motors X-Body is hard on car spotters because their obvious year-to-year updates were few. In 1977, the grille was updated to this more rectilinear six-box design from its slightly swoopier predecessor. It’s hard to tell from this photo, but the nose was slightly angled for a more…aerodynamic (?) effect.
Photo credit: IMCDb.com
That may have helped the Ventura in its second career as a NASCAR Busch Grand National stock car in the 1980s. I remember watching a Grand National Race at Michigan International Speedway in the early ’90s. The series was using V6 engines at the time, and the buzzing sound was completely unlike the Cup cars that ran on Sundays. Before NASCAR forced teams in Grand National to use current bodies that roughly conformed with the Cup cars (and V6 engines), they (the GM teams) often used X-Bodies and smaller V8s (up to 311 cubic inches). Dale Earnhardt, Jr. recently bought and restored one of his dad’s ’80s Busch cars (a Nova). It was an interesting decade in NASCAR’s second series.
Of course, nobody was going to race a sedan, which may be one reason why this ’77 has lasted so long (but probably not). We don’t know what’s under the hood of this example, but the standard Buick 3.8-liter (litre? It is Canada, after all) V6 produced 105 horsepower and 185 lb.-ft. of torque through a Rochester two barrel. Since the Ventura was a little bit of a throwback compact anyway, it should come as no surprise that the standard transmission was a three-speed on the column.
Also not surprising considering that it was the 1970s was that the 2.5-liter four cylinder was a credit option offered with an optional five-speed manual transmission. With 90 horsepower toting around just over 3,000 pounds, the Ventura wasn’t going to live up to its (eventual) race car image, even with a five speed. However, for those who wanted to go a little faster, the V8 option in Canada was Pontiac’s lightweight 301, a 135-horsepower two-barrel version with an optional four speed. Now that would be a little more fun, although our featured sedan is unlikely to have that particular powertrain combination.
What it does have is a really nice shade of blue. Color chips, like everything, fade over the years, but “Glacier Blue” appears to be the closest facsimile to the color found on our lucky Ventura. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a “Glacier Blue” that didn’t look good.
Some lucky X-Bodies became first-generation Cadillac Sevilles; this profile picture of the Ventura reminds me of those rare sightings when I was an elementary school student in the ’80s. I recall seeing an early Seville and thinking that it looked just like a Nova (ahem, Ventura) in profile. Of course, General Motors did an excellent job masking the fact with the Cadillac’s sheet metal, but they couldn’t hide the proportions, even from a little kid. And there were still plenty of late-’70s Novas running around at the time with which to compare them, even in Michigan. It takes a side shot to see how generous the “dash-to-axle” ratio is; is that some Camaro/Firebird influence coming through?
Unfortunately, we’re unlikely to know why this particular Ventura got a reprieve from the sort of life lived by its X-Body brothers and sisters, so we have to simply be happy in knowing that it happened. This run-of-the-mill (unless it’s a manual-shift car!) Pontiac compact was well-loved enough by someone to either 1. preserve it or 2. restore it. Either way, this very nice little GM compact has had a lot of dumb luck. We should all be so lucky.
Related CC reading:
Cohort Classic: 1975-79 Pontiac Ventura & Phoenix – Seeking Greater Fortune
Cohort Outtake: 1975 Pontiac Ventura Sprint – A Sprint In Name Only
This car has dual exhausts, so the V8 option seems likely.
Also, the licence plate says it was most recently registered in Ontario within the last few months. I was thinking “originally a Western or California car” until I noticed the dealer tag, which *appears* to be from Sussex Pontiac Buick (now Sussex Chevrolet Buick) in Sussex NB. New Brunswick isn’t exactly known as a rust-free paradise, so “lucky” is definitely the word.
Actually, it looks like the dealer tag is from Slessor Motors in Newmarket, about 30 mi. north of Toronto. The typeface matches what Slessor used in the 1970s, so there’s a good chance the dealer tag is from the original sale.
I had assumed this was a west-coast car as well, so it’s incredible that it appears not to be.
Eric, I may have brought this up before, but within the last 20 years, I regularly saw a pristine ’68 Chevy II sedan being driven in all sorts of weather by an elderly lady. I can only imagine it was a low-mileage original that was washed every time it was taken out, and someone snapped it up when she passed. Maybe this is that sort of car.
In reading this, I was reminded of stories on CC over the years from folks in northern climates who drive their cars regularly and keep them rust-free. Oil treatments, frequent washings, etc… all foreign stuff to me, but extremely impressive.
You’re right, BelAir, it’s probably a V8…good catch on the exhausts! Wouldn’t it be funny though if it had the Buick V6?
Actually, anything will fit under the hood, so who knows…but the car looks so original that I would assume it’s an original engine.
Yeah as wen I first saw these cars wen new I thought duels myself Only to find out no GM cars from 75 up all had a single cat converter with duel out let exhausts ! eventually way down the road HP cars like the vett & camaro got duel cats Were like Chrysler right in the beginning did duel on there HP / big engine cars ! what a time period
Yes, single cat (unless removed), single exhaust pipe to a cross mounted muffler with 2 outlets located behind the axle was the common GM setup for the V8 X-bodies. like the 1975 Buick Apollo/ Skylark with the Buick 350 V8 I previousy had.
A Malaise Era survivor is a rarity, even in a three-season, salt-free environment.
So, yeah, it’s nothing short of a miracle seeing a pristine example (and a lowly, common GM product, no less) in an area where severe winter weather isn’t exactly an anomaly. At the very least, I would assume a rarely driven (and definitely not in inclement weather), garage-kept car.
Every time I see one of these on CC I’m tempted to check whether the doors from a MK1 Vauxhall Cavalier would fit….GM was using the photocopier for styling back then…..
Unlikely, as these were a size class larger, but some GM stylists in that era did seem to have a brief passing fancy for that “Hofmeister kink”, as also seen in the J-body four-doors like the Mk II Vauxhall Cavalier, probably intended to lend some styling continuity from the Mk I.
“but the nose was slightly angled for a more…aerodynamic (?) effect.” I’d call it the cow-catcher look. To be clear – not the best job of styling. At least the angle matches the tail of the car. Which, combined with the massive rear bumper makes loading anything into the trunk a chore.
In the spirit of saying something nice – I like the colour.
is it just me or does the letter D typeface in Ontario license plates look like it could be mistaken for a letter “O”? I have had to do a double take sometimes.
A well styled car, and as was only sometimes the case with GM in this era, I find the Pontiac details look better than its stablemates. But they’re all good. A rare find even in rust-free California; I saw a similar vintage Nova driving recently but that was the first in a long time.
I remember seeing one or two of these in Pontiac showrooms in 1975-76 when Mom’s 74 LeMans was in for service. I lamented how these were the last GM cars with doors that sounded really solid when you shut them.
And I agree that the Pontiac was the best looking of the bunch.
Lefty Gomez said “Id rather be lucky than good” I’ve heard several racers repeat it
Dated, sorta-kind a, someone who had this car in green. The “seats’ were tartan plaid.
Super interesting! This is the first time I’ve seen that a post-72 Nova-ish could be available with a 4 cylinder engine. The previous one made do with a 3 speed standard, so this one with a 5 speed had some advantages, but nonetheless….never heard of it.
Great find – thank you both William for posting the shots, and Aaron for writing it up. I love that this Ventura exists. For all the divisional differentiation the styling shows up front (which was needed), the taillamps are a letdown. Not unattractive, but barely different in shape than those of the Nova.
The Phoenix, which probably used the Skylark taillamp housings with different lenses and amber turn signals, seemed to have more Pontiac flavor.
Really nice survivor, I too think it looks more Nova than anything else .
When fairly new I wonder if one could build it out with the V8 and 5 speed manual box, unrestricted twice pipes etc……
-Nate
Very clean side view. Maybe, just maybe, the front end of the front fender should have had a slight slope, corresponding to the rear end.
The front view looks a bit baroque. But – so what …
All in all, a car that makes me want to get in and drive off. Especially in this beautiful light blue metallic paint