1973 Pontiac Ventura                     Page 7

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After a complete frame-off restoration, Al Pipher's car is coming back together nicely. He doesn't have the front end pieces installed yet, but check out the awesome stripes!  Al had them specially reproduced.  He even worked with a seal company to re-produce the unique '73 hatch seal.  That's dedication!
(L) From Kansas, Dalton Mick ( ventura_350p@hotmail.com ) informs us:

"This is my 1973 Ventura. It is a Sprint Custom 2 dr. hatchback. It has a 350 w/ Edelbrock intake and Holley carb, Edelbrock valve covers too. It was a father and son project we started 2 years ago. We had it repainted w/ a new fender and rear quarters and it has all new interior. It has Firebird bucket seats and a '72 Buick console and shifter.

"I would really like to find reproduction Sprint graphix and a tent for the hatchback. Thanx, Dalton" 

(R) This animal is going to SCREAM when it's complete.  Another progress pic of Rico's twin-turbo Ventura project.
Sometimes, we get some beautiful photos via the ad section of the site.  This particularly nice Minnesota '73 was worth showing again in case you missed it. It was advertised as having a 350 engine, automatic trans, no rust, and was all original with 39,000 miles...
(L) Here's what happens when you sell your car to a brother who really isn't big on body work... Tom Cain  ( ponteman73@yahoo.com  ) is going to try to save this car, and here's his story:

"Hello, I just was able to get my first real car back (how many people can say that), a 1973 Pontiac Ventura Custom.  My parents bought it in 87 for a family toy, I got the title in 90 and drove it for 8 years and she was seeing some of her age so at that time and no money (the marriage/family thing) I gave it to my brother to play with.  He somewhat repaired the rear quarter rust holes and the flapping front fenders.

"With the $199.00 MAACO paint job she looked good for about a year due to the awesome body work of my Picasso brother, so he still drove it around once in a while until the buying-a-new-house bug got him.  Last week he called me up to see if I wanted her back... "Hell yeah" but now I can see a little more why he did not want it any more. But now she is mine and I will never let it go again. So now the parts search is on. I am in need of so much but the big stuff first. I am looking for FULL to the roof pillar Rear Quarters and front floor pans. Does anyone know of the best places to get the new sheet metal ? I have seen partial panels but not full. This site is the best one to find the parts to make my car alive again I have seen. Thank You, Tom."
"Alabama Pete" Venditti ( petervenditti@mchsi.com  ) has a '73 Ventura project in work.  There's a 400 under the hood.

 In case you were wondering what stripes might do for your Ventura, here's an example from a car that quickly sold through our ad section.  Thanks to Brett Stewart ( pepprjak@yahoo.com ) for these photos.   He's got another '73 with the Sprint-style nose, which he's still working on.  Painting that bumper really ties the nose of the car together, and the use of red as an accent works very well.
(L) What would a Ventura look like without bumpers?  The owner of this Loveland, Colorado drag machine did a little bodywork and came up with this interesting profile.  Text from the seller's ad:

"This is a sweet street friendly & legal car. NHRA inspected for quarter mile drag racing. Great Saturday night cruiser. Paint is two years old & very nice. Full interior no back seat, but could put one in. 358cid Chevy motor professionally built w/ steel crank forged pistons & rods, 4 bolt block.70' Z-28 2.02"cly. heads 10 hrs.port work. Comp X-treme energy hyd. cam.10.25:1 comp.Weiand Team G intake Holley 700DP. All MSD ign. & electronics. Hooker Super Comp coated headers W/ 3" custom full exhaust w/ Borla mufflers. 8 pt. cage, subframe connected. Ford 9" Richmond gears ladder bars.12 gal. fuel cell, trunk mount. Optima battery. Small NOS cheater plate. MT ET streets & Convo pro all the way around. Also have two steel hoods. All Auto Meter gauges, B&M shifter W/line lock. Griffin aluminum radiator. Lots & lots of $ in receipts!!!

(R) You just never know what you might find...it took this buyer a while to figure out that he had what appears to be a real '73 Ventura Sprint.  Looks like this one came with factory sport rims, but no sport mirrors?

"It has 67,000 miles, 350ci, auto, ac, pb, hatch back, black inside looks great except for driver's side front seat. Surface rust in a lot of areas. Drum brakes but came with disc setup for the front. Runs good. It has been sitting for ten years. Paid $1200.00.  I think it will be a fun project.  Getting more photos ...THANKS FOR YOUR TIME,  Patrick in Sacramento, CA  ( pkfairlane67@yahoo.com )
We've had this Indiana drag car on file for a long time.  That interior looks pretty fireproof!
More cool shots from Dalton Mick ( ventura_350p@hotmail.com ), who is definitely a Pontiac guy...here's his '73 Ventura lined up next to his family's other rides:

"Here are some more pics of my Ventura.  The first one is my car with my dad's 67 GTO.  The other is a 'family photo'.  It includes our whole fleet of just Pontiacs, we have others...

(left to right) "My high school car-87 T/A stock 305 4 bbl, my 73 Ventura Sprint, my dad's 67 GTO, my mom's 2004 Bonneville, and our project 66 Star Chief Executive"

 (It's kind of surprising how large the 'compact' X-body is in comparison to the red GTO -Ro)
Brian ( bfjkb@msn.com ) has made great progress on his '73 Ventura, blacking out the grilles and bumpers in the bargain.

"1973 VENTURA, 482 CI BIG BLOCK CHEVY 13.5 TO 1 COMPRESSION ROLLER MOTOR, 740 LIFT CAMSHAFT,1150 DOMINATOR CARB, 350 TRANS W/4500 STALL CONVERTER,3.90 REAR GEAR, RUNS ON AVIATION FUEL 700 EST. HORSEPOWER- REALLY FUN TO DRIVE. 

"I BOUGHT THE CAR 5 YEARS AGO FROM MY COUSIN WHO OWNED IT AND HAD A 403 OLDS IN IT. HIS LITTLE BROTHER HAD IT BEFORE THAT AND OWNED IT THRU HIGH SCHOOL, SO IT HAS BEEN IN THE FAMILY FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS.  

"GREAT WEB SITE, THANKS FOR SETTING UP A SITE FOR US PONTIAC GUYS AND GALS..." 

Who says today's youth are only into imports?  Zach King is 15 and writes:
"Here are a couple shots of my 73 Ventura that we "rescued" from a back yard in Central Oregon. The car had sat for about four years, so needless to say my dad and I have done a lot of work and still have a lot to do. We paid $400 for the car, put air in the tires, fresh gas, and three quarts of tranny fluid and drove it home. The engine is a 350 Pontiac with dual exhaust. We recently installed a new cam, fuel pump, carb, and did a major tune up. We have replaced the weather stripping, brake system, wheels and tires (17" Torque Thrusts), and started on the body work.  I am 15 years old and now have my permit. I make my dad take me driving as much as possible. Thanks for your great web site." 

Those Torque-Thrusts and aggressive pipes make this a tough-looking car already!
One small consolation prize from all those sad visits back home this past year... I discovered a few more shots of my original '73 Ventura, taken by a younger brother while I had the car loaned to him while he was stationed at Reese AFB in Lubbock, Texas.  The car was in good company with other Pontiacs (first photo) and had just been freshly washed in the second pic.  -Ro