Wow, that’s a virtual twin for the Pontiac Ventura my Dad bought used when we first moved to the US in ’81. Same color, same 4-door. I recall the thick rub strip on the side, except it was gray (as I suspect this one used to be as well). Heck maybe this is the actual car, it was sold by us around ’83 or ’84 and it seems to be SoCal. You never saw many of the Pontiac version around and certainly don’t see too many these days, great find.
The beginning of the end. Back before EnduraFlex, if you wanted a different nose on a car, you had to stamp different panels. With the advent of the plastic nose, GM could make a Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, or Oldsmobile out of the exact same stampings – just add a different plastic nose and tail, et voila!
Combined with GM’s engine sharing, a loaded Nova was the exact same car as an Oldsmobile Omega. Why pay several hundred more dollars for the privilege of shopping at the Pontiac/Oldsmobile/Buick dealer?
And such plastics age poorly. Now, many cars like the Honda Element have even more plastic skin, which, like habitual sunbathers, will look lousy after years of UV soaking.
Whenever I see a workaday CC in excellent condition, I always want to know the story. I assume the last member (and near non-driving member) of an elderly couple finally passes, and the car gets released to someone 50 years younger.
Well this nice Ventura does not look as cheap as its Nova brethern, but is that a vinyl roof I see? Also what does the engine callout on the fender say? Is it just me or does the driver look younger than the car? Depending on where you live a Curbside Classic can be either 15-20 years old or 25 years and older.
It’s not an engine callout. It’s a Ventura SJ, which was the top of the line model in ’75-’76. Came standard with buckets and a console, among other upgrades.
When the Pontiac Ventura was redesigned in mid year 1977, it became the Pontiac Phoenix. When the Ventura became a Phoenix, I wonder where the extra inches on its Overall Length came from because from 1975-77 the Ventura was 199.6″ and when the Phoenix (Maybe Chevrolet Nova’s version of the Concours to justify the Ventura replacement) had taken over around April or May of 1977, its Overall Length grown to 203″4 inches which was not that much shorter than the Cadillac Seville at 204.0″ nor the Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu Classic 2 Door Colonnade Coupe at 205.7″ but significantly more compared to the base Chevrolet Nova which measured at 196.7″?
The RWD X-Bodied Pontiac Ventura had became the Pontiac Phoenix much in the same manner the Downsized RWD A/G-Bodied Pontiac LeMans became the Pontiac Bonneville towards near the end of their model runs.
I can’t believe I’ve never posted any pics of my aborted ’72 Ventura project on here. Anyways, here it is.
I bought it with the intention of turning it into a dedicated 1/4 mile drag car. Unfortunately, temporary health issues, my aging parents’ reliance on me, and money shortfalls all put a kibosh on that idea.
Nice find! I haven’t seen a Ventura of this generation in many years; in fact I don’t recall a time where they were ever truly common. Not a bad-looking car at all though.
Aren’t those the Pontiac hubcaps with the little black plastic fins that dry up and snap off? I don’t recall the last time I saw one of those without some or all of the fins missing.
Re; Eggsalad. The Nova and it’s cousins all had different hoods, fenders, front bumpers and grilles.
The Ventura and Nova shared same rear end and rear fenders(quarter), but different tailights. The Buick/Olds had their own rear end.
The cars had divisional steering wheels.
When we moved back to the US in 1977, my dad got a 75 Ventura 2-door. It wasn’t even an SJ or LJ, but compared to the ubiqutious Nova, our Ventura’s tan/beige interior was a nicer place to be.
Ours had a 260 V8, which was a debored Olds Rocket. The power of a six with the fuel economy of a large V8. Compared to the 350, we gave up a lot of power for negligible economy gains. But it was smooth reliable.
I came close to buying a twin to the featured car in the late 70s….same colors and wheel covers. I decided to pass as it had high miles for a 2 year old car (50K) and because it had the Olds 260 engine. After looking at several of these X-body cars I settled on a 77 Nova 2 door with the Chevy 6 as it was the only car where the engine was from the same division.
I always liked the 1975-77 Ventura’s a lot more than the Chevy Nova’s of the same era (never cared much for the mid to late 70’s Nova’s), I always thought the 1975-77 Ventura’s were the nicest of the late 70’s X-body cars, I wish they’ve kept on with the front end of the Ventura’s till 1979 instead of changing the front end for the Phoenix.
Wow, that’s a virtual twin for the Pontiac Ventura my Dad bought used when we first moved to the US in ’81. Same color, same 4-door. I recall the thick rub strip on the side, except it was gray (as I suspect this one used to be as well). Heck maybe this is the actual car, it was sold by us around ’83 or ’84 and it seems to be SoCal. You never saw many of the Pontiac version around and certainly don’t see too many these days, great find.
A Ventura in Ventura! Cool.
Just wondering…how many Pontiac Parisiennes may cruising on the streets of Paris France? Or Le Manses in Le Mans France?
I’ve never driven a Ventura in Ventura but I have driven a Malibu to Malibu.
I’ve seen a Cadillac Fleetwood in Fleetwood and a Vauxhall Carlton in nearby Carlton.
The beginning of the end. Back before EnduraFlex, if you wanted a different nose on a car, you had to stamp different panels. With the advent of the plastic nose, GM could make a Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, or Oldsmobile out of the exact same stampings – just add a different plastic nose and tail, et voila!
Combined with GM’s engine sharing, a loaded Nova was the exact same car as an Oldsmobile Omega. Why pay several hundred more dollars for the privilege of shopping at the Pontiac/Oldsmobile/Buick dealer?
And such plastics age poorly. Now, many cars like the Honda Element have even more plastic skin, which, like habitual sunbathers, will look lousy after years of UV soaking.
Now I have to go to Malibu and take a picture of the very first one I see there. It’s only a 16 mile drive from us 🙂
Whenever I see a workaday CC in excellent condition, I always want to know the story. I assume the last member (and near non-driving member) of an elderly couple finally passes, and the car gets released to someone 50 years younger.
CC effect! Just saw a really nice, but clearly a daily driver, Apollo in Kennebunk, ME this weekend.
Well this nice Ventura does not look as cheap as its Nova brethern, but is that a vinyl roof I see? Also what does the engine callout on the fender say? Is it just me or does the driver look younger than the car? Depending on where you live a Curbside Classic can be either 15-20 years old or 25 years and older.
It’s not an engine callout. It’s a Ventura SJ, which was the top of the line model in ’75-’76. Came standard with buckets and a console, among other upgrades.
Thanks.
That wide, high rub strip is …unfortunate. Otherwise, great find.
I quite like it myself.
When the Pontiac Ventura was redesigned in mid year 1977, it became the Pontiac Phoenix. When the Ventura became a Phoenix, I wonder where the extra inches on its Overall Length came from because from 1975-77 the Ventura was 199.6″ and when the Phoenix (Maybe Chevrolet Nova’s version of the Concours to justify the Ventura replacement) had taken over around April or May of 1977, its Overall Length grown to 203″4 inches which was not that much shorter than the Cadillac Seville at 204.0″ nor the Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu Classic 2 Door Colonnade Coupe at 205.7″ but significantly more compared to the base Chevrolet Nova which measured at 196.7″?
I’ll guess it was the pointy nose.
The RWD X-Bodied Pontiac Ventura had became the Pontiac Phoenix much in the same manner the Downsized RWD A/G-Bodied Pontiac LeMans became the Pontiac Bonneville towards near the end of their model runs.
I can’t believe I’ve never posted any pics of my aborted ’72 Ventura project on here. Anyways, here it is.
I bought it with the intention of turning it into a dedicated 1/4 mile drag car. Unfortunately, temporary health issues, my aging parents’ reliance on me, and money shortfalls all put a kibosh on that idea.
A pic of the other side:
And finally the inside:
The black side bumpers look great on this car, they make it look more modern.
They make the beltline look even lower.
The low beltline and high greenhouse, with its big windows, make these cars look modern.
No, I did not think the slitlike windows on the 2005 Chrysler 300 looked modern…
Nice find! I haven’t seen a Ventura of this generation in many years; in fact I don’t recall a time where they were ever truly common. Not a bad-looking car at all though.
Looking out for an Austin Cambridge……
Aren’t those the Pontiac hubcaps with the little black plastic fins that dry up and snap off? I don’t recall the last time I saw one of those without some or all of the fins missing.
Re; Eggsalad. The Nova and it’s cousins all had different hoods, fenders, front bumpers and grilles.
The Ventura and Nova shared same rear end and rear fenders(quarter), but different tailights. The Buick/Olds had their own rear end.
The cars had divisional steering wheels.
When we moved back to the US in 1977, my dad got a 75 Ventura 2-door. It wasn’t even an SJ or LJ, but compared to the ubiqutious Nova, our Ventura’s tan/beige interior was a nicer place to be.
Ours had a 260 V8, which was a debored Olds Rocket. The power of a six with the fuel economy of a large V8. Compared to the 350, we gave up a lot of power for negligible economy gains. But it was smooth reliable.
I came close to buying a twin to the featured car in the late 70s….same colors and wheel covers. I decided to pass as it had high miles for a 2 year old car (50K) and because it had the Olds 260 engine. After looking at several of these X-body cars I settled on a 77 Nova 2 door with the Chevy 6 as it was the only car where the engine was from the same division.
Those are about the only wheelcovers of that era I actually like.
Must have taken some quick thinking, and quick shooting – or just really great luck – to line up that shot!
I always liked the 1975-77 Ventura’s a lot more than the Chevy Nova’s of the same era (never cared much for the mid to late 70’s Nova’s), I always thought the 1975-77 Ventura’s were the nicest of the late 70’s X-body cars, I wish they’ve kept on with the front end of the Ventura’s till 1979 instead of changing the front end for the Phoenix.