The 1970s Ventura was Pontiac’s version of the Chevrolet Nova. They needed a compact car to compete, and cloning the Nova was the logical (and easiest) route to go. The front clip and taillights were different, but not much else was, except the engines when you ordered a Nova SS vs. a Pontiac GTO. The seller has a sweet-looking 1974 Ventura with 29,000 miles that could be original (or maybe restored). Located near Stratford, Connecticut, this simple set of wheels is available here on craigslist for $7,000. Head up to “Zen” for this ‘70s iron tip.
Arriving in 1971, the Ventura II (as it was called in ’71-’72 because the ’70 Ventura had been a full-size car) led to Buick and Oldsmobile also getting their own variants. Beginning in 1973, the car was simply called Ventura, and that stuck until 1977, after which it became the Phoenix for two years before the whole series was retired. Demand for the Ventura was good, but nowhere near that of the Nova, 103,500 units in 1974 vs. 390,500.
The seller’s car looks as though it should have a lot of history to go along with it. Yet, the seller doesn’t take the opportunity to tell it. Or why the car may only have 29,000 miles. The vehicle is finished in Denver Gold, an official Pontiac color in 1974 that looks similar to the finish on the Firebird in the TV show The Rockford Files. It’s a basic machine, with a 250 cubic inch inline-6 that would have been borrowed from Chevy.
Besides a Turbo-Hydramatic transmission and power brakes, the options on this car may have been few when new. It sports half-moon wheel covers, not likely from ‘74. The seller says the car comes with “many extras,” but doesn’t say what they are. The plaid interior looks basic but clean and jives with what one should look like with less than 30k miles. From the photos provided, it appears the car was featured at the area’s recent Independence Day celebration.
All Four Car Divisions Of GM Had The Same Compact. Nova, Chev, Ventura, Pont, Omega, Olds, Apollo, Buick The Same Body/Chassis. Cosmetics Differed. Grills, Taillamps, Dash, etc.
There Are Too Many Annoying Ads.
I like it because it’s a 6cyl to many of these cars have been V8 or LS swapped they are only original once just cruise it and enjoy it mostly as is, I nice exhaust it will still sound better than those bumblebee imports
Yes, I would leave this one as is. It is too nice to swap and restromod.
In fact, it is almost too nice, and I am suspicious of it at this price.
I personally think its had the passenger door repaired or replaced sometime in its life the paint is different but for a nice cruiser its not bad.
This is a super find. If it’s as nice as it looks, that is a great price!
The owner attends car shows with this Ventura. I’m sure that they are up to date on prices. Especially if they are insuring it every year. This stands out as a scam ad for sure.
I’ve never understood why Pontiac (among others) couldn’t resist playing around with the model names so much. Why take a perfectly OK name like Ventura and change it to Phoenix for 2 years before cancelling the model? Is confusing your customers a good strategy?
Phoenix was a way of boosting curiosity. The name carried on with the next generation X car.
LS it and put on a quiet exhaust.
From New York, not already sold in 6 days, very reasonable price, hmmmm. makes me wonder if legit.
I was unaware Stratford, Connecticut is part of New York
When you post on Craigslist, anywhere in Fairfield County, CT it sends you into the New York Craigslist.
The Chevrolet Nova was the first produced. When the other GM divisions decided to create their own, it is my understanding they used the letters from NOVA to create their own. N was for Nova (Chevrolet), O for Omega (Oldsmobile), V for Ventura (Pontiac) and A for Apollo (Buick).
Certainly this was no accident… but probably most of y’all already knew that?
Soooo wish one could buy cars this simple and straight forward today… could fix just about anything on them with a couple of screwdrivers and a set of Visegrips… Just went thru a nightmare with the spouses new ride… an unscheduled, random, over-the-air software update bricked the car in the grocery parking lot (although dealer says that was just a coincidence and did not cause the problem… Ya… OK) Dealer fired 3 parts cannons at it over week before the car was drive-able again… The service manager actually started to imply that we must have done something… which I immediately shut down. The industry has seriously gone in the wrong direction.
Our business still hasn’t attained credibility because of experiences like you just had. In the dealer’s defense troubleshooting isn’t as easy as it once was, even with electronic diagnostics. Add to that the continued supply chain issues. Nevertheless, the service department shouldn’t ever accuse the customer of improper operation unless abuse is evident.
Had one way back in the 90s. It had a Pontiac V8 from the factory (apparently) but wasn’t a GTO. :-) Terry J
looks really clean. needs a set of rallies. he might find a taker. if it were a nova, it would have been gone which this the same just different trim.
It would have been cool if Pontiac offered their late 60s OHC six and 4 spd in this car
Finally a seller that’s not greedy, nice looking ride at a decent price. Most sellers on this site want to make a thousand per cent profit or more.
First thing I thought when I saw this .. ? The Seven Ups!
Although Roy Scheider’s car definitely had a V8. If you’ve never seen the chase scene, look it up. It doesn’t end the way many expected it would.
Very nice looking car that would appear to be priced correctly, if not slightly low, for current market values.
One of my favorite movies we had a movie house close to where we lived as kids my friend and walked there to see the Seven Ups when we were 14 years old. One of the best chase scene with the truck driver pulling the windshield off Roy Scheider who was on the floor of the car at the end of the chase while bad guys got away. One of his best movies and one of the best movies as kids we stayed to watch it again.
On August 2, 1974 my wife and I took delivery of similar 2-door Ventura – except it was Honduras Maroon with a white interior (same plaid pattern). We bought it at Slocum Pontiac in West Allis, Wisconsin for $2827.70, $2943.31 with tax and license. I was earning $5.00/hour and gas prices were about $0.40/gallon.
It was a bare bones care – no radio, no cigarette lighter, non-tinted windshield, no carpet (it had a rubber floor covering). It had the same baby moon hubcaps and painted rims – no trim rings.
The drivetrain consisted of a 250 in-line six, three on the tree, and 3.08:1 non-posi rear axle.
It was never a pleasant car to drive, but it served our family well. We drove it until 2008 (34 years) and accumulated 276,000 miles in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota. The only major repairs (other than rust) were replacement of the camshaft sprocket and clutch.
We sold it in 2011 for $500. While I don’t miss it, I still dream about it from time to time.
$5.00 an hour wage was pretty good coin in 1974. I remember that the minimum wage in my Province at that time was $2.65 an hour.
Aldo N. – Yes, $5.00/hour was great. I had never earned more than $2.10/hour when I landed a job at a farm implement plant, which was a UAW Union shop. It was a good job and I was fortunate to have it.
There are not many vehicles in today’s market that you would actually want to drive, that cost 4 months wages.
To Nathan Brunner: Hello, Milwaukee! Only someone familiar with the area has heard of West Allis. When I was a child visiting Milwaukee in the early 1940s, I thought the name of the place was West Dallas. I was visiting relatives in Wauwatosa, Shorewood, and Elm Grove.
Harrison Reed: We lived two hours north of Milwaukee, but spent a day in the area shopping for a new Ventura. We also visited Ernie Von Schledorn Pontiac in Menomonie Falls and Foster Pontiac on S 27th Street. Slocum Pontiac in West Allis was the only dealer with a Honduras Maroon 2-door with a six-cylinder and three-on-the-tree. We wanted that combination, so we bought it off the lot. As a zero-option car, they were likely happy to get rid of it so late in the model year. I had zero negotiating skills and we paid MSRP.
My buddy Greg Pasley (RIP) bought one of these with the 6cyl, 3 on the tree, no A/C, no P/S, no P/B, a real stripper. He loved it because, as LucklessPedestrian said, it’s easy to fix when it breaks. It was a bit of a test in the hot Texas summers, but other than that, a good daily driver.
Oddly enough, just last night I was watching Roadworthy Rescues and he spoke about the GM clones of this body, Nova-Omega-Ventura-Apollo when you look, the first letter spells NOVA. Coincidence:??? I don’t think so.
To Nathan Brunner: You had to have been north of Sheboygan, too: were you well on the way to Green Bay? Were you near Oshkosh? You have me wondering…
Harrison Reed: North of Sheboygan, but south of Green Bay. Hundreds of moons ago.