Congratulations to Murray on putting together this amazing machine! You can chat with him at chambers42@telus.net Photos really don't do the car justice, since you really can't tell what you're seeing until you read about everything he's done to the car...this is what the judges get to read at the car shows: AceVenturaTechInfo (.doc format)
(R) Almost lost in my ever-expanding photo archive, this article (in French) is titled "My first car, 30 years later", so I am told. Close enough, mon ami! Donated by Canadian X-body fan Adrien Tanguay who just happens to own a '75 as well...you've seen it on the site.
MEMORY LANE...
(L) Thomas Lord ( tininjun@gmail.com
) is
looking for other images of his old sweetheart. While
he's looking, you can enjoy some fond memories of his '75 Ventura in the
articles section HERE.
(R) Car crafter Mike Black sent in these photos of one of his early
projects, possibly another '75. That car was in rough shape!
Wonder what became of it?
"...I bought the '75 4 door - 6 cyl. Ventura I informed you about some time ago. Luckily, it didn't appear to be too rusty, as far as I'm able to see, there's just some bubbles and spots around the wheel-curves and some at the right front fender...
"Technically, I'll have to get the horn working, and change the power-steering pump as it slings out oil from the shaft. In addition, I'll have to dump those horrible plastic hub caps and buy some decent wheels. The car has done only 55000 miles and thus I believe the engine should be in fairly good shape. The only option fitted seems to be the radio, it has no air conditioning, no power windows and no power brakes.
"I've also done some research around the history of the car; in '75 it was bought new at a Pontiac dealer in Covington, Louisiana by a Norwegian-American couple named Ringen who lived there at the time. The year after, the couple moved back to Norway as pensioners and brought the car with them. When Mr. Ringen died in '92, it was registered to his widow, who owned it until she passed away in 2003, I believe it was... Jansen"
(R) Another '75 sedan, this one owned by Andy Yerks (
andyyerks@aim.com
) "Haha, i got a new pic of it today with the new
wheels i put on it and it actually looks pretty good as it being a 4 door
still lol. I painted the thing semi-gloss black
like last year just to give it a paint job so the bare metal didn't get any
rust... it originally had a real light metallic blue and it
looked too grandma-ish hah, but I just gotta do some more things on
the body to make it real nice, only 2 rust spots on the whole entire car
and they are both the size of nickels. So i got pretty lucky on the car
especially since it was free..."
I think Andy has the beginnings of a cool look going here. I love the
slotted rims, and losing the C-pillar vent makes a huge difference in the
car's appearance. And he can't complain about the price!
You probably know by now that I'm a fan of painting the bumpers on a lot of these cars, and this is one of them! Wisconsonite Mark Weber ( ratinfested@hughes.net ) writes:
"This is my '75 Ventura that I found on Racing Junk.com. It is from North Carolina, was painted 2 years ago and also had the interior redone. The Ventura is a super clean and solid southern car. It has a 388 small block Chevy, with a turbo 400, 3:73 gears. When I got the car I just did alot of cleaning and detailing...repainted the engine, new plug wires, valve covers, braided lines ,etc. I also own a '77 Nova that I purchased brand new, it now has a 468 big block."
Not only has he chosen a great color, I think this is one of the nicest motors I've seen in a while. -Ro
'75 Ventura owner Vigleik Jansen ( jansen@chello.no ) has an update on his ride:
"I’ve now taken
care of those technical issues I mentioned earlier, including changing the
radiator, and have spent the rest of these cold winter months up here to
search for some cool rims for my Ventura. Eventually I came across some
decent 14x7 alu wheels, which I thought had this nostalgic ‘70’s appearance.
Neither me or the seller had the slightest clue what kind of rims they
actually were, and I paid just 165 bucks for the four of them. Later I’ve
found out that they are Appliance wheels, which aren’t being made
anymore(?), and actually reaching fair prices at the Ebay. Two of them
already had some really beefy looking tires mounted, measuring 245/60-14 and
were, quite unexpectedly, easily swallowed by the rear wheel wells.
"As for the front wheels, which I put 215/60-14 tires on, I’m not quite
satisfied though, as I think there’s a little too much air around the tires,
but according to Norwegian regulations, the tires are not allowed to
protrude outside of the wheel wells. Alternatively, I could go up in
profile, like 205/70-14, but that would make them kind of skinny compared to
the rear wheels again, I think. A second alternative would be to lower the
car, but I think the front end is already low enough as it tends to touch
the asphalt when I’m crossing all those “speed limiting bumps” in my
neighborhood. Anyway, I think these wheels change the look of the car
dramatically, giving it the kind of a classic, muscular look I wanted, hehe!
"Regarding
the lug nuts, which weren’t included, I really had a tough time finding
them, as they’re kind of special compared to all other lug nuts I’ve seen.
When I finally found them in a shop here in Norway, they were asking $400
for them! The solution was Ebay again, to be specific: Masseys Accessory,
1319 South Robinson, Oklahoma City, OK 73109. His member profile is
‘massey1946’. To him I paid only about $70 including shipping to Norway! As
I told them in my feedback:
Hereby
highly recommended!"
"My name is Bob and this is my Ventura. Yes, it's ugly!!!! In fact my kids have named it "BIG UGLY"!!!! This 1975 4-door has 107,000 miles on the original 260 V8 and it runs like a top! She has a 3 speed manual column shifter.
"I did not like the grille design on the 75 so I cut it up and styled it after the 72 nose, don't have the grills made yet, tho... I did the paint myself but will be redoing it this summer. More pics will come as I do more to it!!!! Bob West" bwest73@sbcglobal.net
(R) Terry ( thartwick@optonline.net ) is slowly pecking at this '75 Ventura. The salty New Jersey winters haven't been kind to this car.
"This car belong to my Great Aunt and I remember when it was new, since then it has been neglected. Started body work June 2006 on this 75, if anyone has a donor or parts even repro will appreciate. After body complete, dropping in a small block /drive pulleys , accessories , brackets also wanted. Anyway, whether it ever gets completed, figured a rusted out Jersey car which spent time rotting in PA and VA would be an inspiration to anyone restoring or owning a classic Ventura ... Thanks for the site. Long live the X body. Terry, Aug 2006"
(R) Someone didn't pay there bills, so the repo man paid a visit. You don't have to participate in "Pinks" to lose your ride, I guess.