(R) Dan Poole ( dpventura@comcast.net ) is the owner of this fine '74 (this is an older shot with his previous rims) October 2004:
"A friend of mine said he saw my car on your site. The caption said 'wish we had more info', so here we go. The motor is a 1969,400 c.i bored 40 over, 10.75 to 1 pistons, Edelbrock heads that have been ported to match the intake and increase flow. The intake is a Warrior Racing tunnel ram topped off with dual throttle body fuel injection units. The injection setup is laptop programmable. I am running be cool radiator, and March serpentine belt setup. The transmission is a turbo 400, rear end is a 12 bolt with 4:11 gears. The car is now 3 inches lower than the picture you have. I installed qa-1 coilovers in front and qa-1 shocks in rear. I put on Weld Prostar wheels and BFG tires. The suspension is all poly-urethane including body mounts... I love the web site you have and you're right that the Ventura is coming into style. I wish that a magazine would do a feature on these cars instead of all the notice that the Novas get. Thanks for the cool site and posting my car. Keep up the good work." (see his new pics elsewhere on the site)
One heckuva find at a charity auto
dealer. This fine car was purchased by proud new owner Dave Kohlmeier
( sharks17@msn.com ) for $1000.
Looks like Denver Gold to me...I like it! Clear coat's coming off, but
he's going to repaint it anyway. Dave tells us: "It
was manufactured in the Van Nuys CA plant (about 1 hour south) in late '73
and my guess is it has never left Ventura and Los Angeles Counties"
Mary Barnard of Albion, NY ( MBThunder78@netscape.net ) shares these images of her rejuvenated '74 Ventura. Thanks, Mary!
Body: All body work done in 1993, new rear quarter half skins, all emblems shaved, new paint also in 1993 (1993 Corvette Black Rose Metallic), needs a vinyl top
Interior: All vinyl in great shape, carpet new in 1998, new B&M Quicksilver shifter, all that is needed is a new headliner and visors.
Engine: small block Chevy, rebuilt in 1992, hi-performance cam, Weiand Stealth intake, heads rebuilt, 3 row radiator (New in 2001), alternator (new in 2001), Edelbrock Elite valve covers, air cleaner, dual stainless steel exhaust (new in 1995)
Tranny: new tranny installed in 2000
Brakes: entire brake system replaced in 2001 (rotors, drums, calipers, wheel cylinders, pads, shoes)
Chassis: front springs, shocks, and bushings new in 1996, rear springs, shocks, bushings, and traction bars new in 1997.
Rims: American Racing rally wheels (14x6 - front / 14x7 rear) new in 1999.
Thanks for your Website. It's fun to read about others that have a car like mine." We're here to help :-) Ro Maybe we can round up a nice set of sport mirrors for her, too.
"Hello again,
I emailed you before last fall about the metal turned dashes and how three of my four GTO's had them. Well so far this year all four GTO's are still sitting awaiting attention. However, I did manage to buy the 1974 Ventura from Idaho that you had listed for sale...The car is now in the garage half torn apart. The body is nice with nothing but a few small dings to fix. The whole interior and motor/trans have to go....It is a hatchback and will be the donor for the only hatchback GTO I own. Here is a picture of it in my garage. It is on the left next to the first GTO I bought on the right...I will send some more photos after I get done with the por-15 trunk repair kit and some more paint removal."
From the Don McKay Collection. Don saw this car twice at the Tiger Run show in Bend, Oregon. The second year this racer was up for sale. Where is it now???
Image from a Canadian marketing brochure of a Ventura Custom
These images of a uniquely
customized '74 were sent in by an unnamed source, but we appreciate them
very much! You can see a pretty wild combo of GTO stripes and badging,
monster rims, and atypical color...plus, check out the lowered location of
the side trim along the body. From some other photos that were sent,
the interior and engine compartment were still in work.
(R) Talk about coincidence, shortly after getting Jeremy's shots, the owner of the white '74, Gavin Black, contributed a bunch of his own photos, and provides this update: "Here are some before and after pics of the lift job. I got a total of 3 1/8' of lift without messing up the ride/handling. I now have room to put some beefy tires in the back. I have been considering putting American Racing Outlaw 1 tires on it. The 15x10s in back and 15x7 in the front. It is still undecided. I would prefer to put 16 in the back." Gavin's car has lived its life in the deserts of Nevada.
"Here's my 74 Ventura with only 21, 000 original miles, bucket seats, with floor shifter console, 350, automatic...Engine is almost completely original. The only part changed is the alternator as it was missing when we purchased the Ventura. We replaced it an original Delco alternator. Exterior is in great condition. Original paint except for passenger side fender and front header were damaged from minor accident by previous owner. Hubby restored the damage in the garage - he's a great tin basher!
We're the second owner of this beauty and it's an everyday driver - no trailer fairies in our garage! Although Nova's are our first passion, this Ventura - the sister car to the Nova - was too good to pass up!"
"Our 74 Ventura is well stocked with a .030 over 400 with a set of #12 1970 D port heads. A RPM intake and Demon 750 carb work with the Barry Grant 220 fuel pump...Hooker 1 3/4" x 3" headers connected to a 3"x3" Dr Gas X pipe system. Mufflers are Flowmaster 2 chamber affairs going into 2.5" over the axle tail pipes. A TH350 w/trans brake and 3800 stall converter does the transmission chores directed by a B&M Pro Stick. On the back of the car we have a 8.5" rear end with 4.10 gears swinging Moser axles and 28"x 9" M/T ET slicks. Lakewood slapper bars are assigned to getting the power to the pavement."
(R) This site picked up a Canadian '74 brochure, and the Sprint model has a page to itself.
"This is my 74 Pontiac. Plans include: 350/700r4 combo, 6 point cage, 4 whl. disk conversion. Alpine green/saddle int., fact. style rally wheels, stretched and widened to16x8 and16x10. Shaker hood and relocated marker/turn signal lights. Live out in nowhere and want a quick, nimble car. Yours was the first site I found and has been the best so far..."
Our parts ads are at your service :-)
Cardomain member Richard King (
drive02lancer@hotmail.com ) forwarded some photos and provided these
details on his ride:
"I own a 74 Ventura. (
http://www.cardomain.com/id/400civentura ) is my cardomain page for it.
"It has a 400 bored .030" over with roller rocker tips and K&N Intake with
Edelbrock carb and intake mani. Has headers and true dual exhaust with
Holley Intimidator Mufflers. Up next on the 'mod' list is 4.10 gears and
cams, than either Nitrous or a Blower. Guess I'll decide when the time
comes, then its all restoration work."
"I have been frequenting your site for quite some time now and figured it was time I sent some pictures of my baby. I bought her my senior year of high school in basically the condition it is in now. It still retains the original 350 engine, but has been equipped with a new Crane cam and lifter set, along with an Edelbrock Performer intake and 650 cfm carb. The transmission is the standard TH350 but has a B&M shift kit.
Exterior mods include GTO grilles, the car has been debadged, and I have removed the rear shock bumper mounts. Plans for this year (2005) include swapping the original 2.73 open rear end for around a 3.50 posi rear end, and a fiberglass cowl hood from Token Fiberglass. In the future I would also like to build a 400 or 455 engine for it.... keep up the good work on the site. Sincerely, David"
(R) Some notable vehicles from sales ads throughout the year. I'm not certain whether the orange-brown car is the original color or not, but the car seems to wear it well in conjunction with the black vinyl roof. The beautiful green machine was a Hot Rod Power Tour participant, according to the ad.
Military service has cut into his car time a bit, but Eric Walker ( Eric_Walker232000@yahoo.com ) will hopefully be home and behind the wheel again by the time you see this. He reports, "These pictures are of the car getting towed back to the interior shop for some touch ups. I have only driven this car one time." What you see here is the result of 2 years of work. The paint looks just great, and I'm guessing the car is wearing 15" rims as opposed to the usual 14".
(R) A Ventura combo from two of our readers... Remember the warning about buying cars painted white? Jody found out the seller of his '74 had done some budget body work by applying some masking tape to hide some rust damage, and then just painted over the tape! He's still happy with the car and will be replacing the quarters soon. Chris would like us to know that his "baby is fast and kicks ass". Interesting rims.