This 1974 Pontiac Ventura is clearly a former drag car that the seller claims is “…very straight” aside from some speckled rust and blisters in a few spots in the floors and along the body. Overall, it looks solid, and its location in San Marcos, Texas would inspire some confidence that it hasn’t been exposed to the sorts of hazards that come with residence in the snow belt. The included drivetrain components is a mixed-bag, as the big block Chevy is gone but the matching headers are included; the small block aluminum intake is not. You’ll find the Ventura here on eBay with bids opening at $4,500 and no action yet.
Old drag cars are usually found in condition like this, with the upgraded drivetrain long gone and most of the desirable parts stripped off. The Ventura is the individual’s choice, as we don’t see those nearly as often as its sibling the Nova, and you can always spot the Pontiac version from a mile away with those tiny slits for taillights. The Ventura’s paint is obviously quite oxidized, but I’d love to see if it would bounce back after some time with an orbital buffer. Despite the drag car past, it hasn’t been overly modified from the outside, as the stock bumpers remain attached and the wheel arches don’t appear to have been flared out.
The interior is pretty roached out, with a full cage and just a solitary racing bucket for seating. The stock interior was likely junked when a previous owner decided to turn it into a drag car, likely around the time a used Ventura wasn’t worth a whole lot at the local used car lot. The dash at least appears to remain largely untouched aside from some cracks caused by the Texas sun, but the door panels, carpet, and console were all sacrificed at some point in the name of weight reduction or to scare up some cash for whatever go-fast parts the previous owner needed that week.
The seller has a few different vehicles of interest on his property, including what looks like another former drag car parked next to the Pontiac. With a car like this, I struggle to find an easy answer as to whether to keep it in its vintage drag car duds or bring it back to stock condition. The drivetrain is stripped out, but it sounds like a big block would drop back in given the headers and rear end are still there. And aren’t vintage drag cars just always in style? I wouldn’t even necessarily compete with it, just preserve the looks and maybe add some wider rear tires while making the interior hospitable to more than one passenger. How would you rebuild it?
One “sad” thing is that, when you buy drag cars, you’re tempted to bring it back to the original form, but the cost of the process can be challenging if the car isn’t in good condition. Not to mention that originally it was a Ventura, a car that has some unique pieces.
Competitive turn key race cars can be found for close to $10,000, track ready grudge night bombers for considerably less. This car doesn’t make financial sense, by the time someone buys it, updates the safety equipment ( its limited to 11.50 with its current roll bar), gets new tires adds an engine and transmission it will cost significantly more than either of those two options. As for returning it to the street, a decent driver shouldn’t cost much more than this cars current asking price. There is no compelling reason to haul this car from its current location.
Steve R
Very sound comment, thank you.
Maybe Dragged Out Of A Swamp.
We raced one of these years ago..built 455..turbo 400..12 bolt with tall gears..finally got the engine dialed in and took it to the local drag strip for grudge night..my buddy had the first run and hit it hard off the line..when he came back around I noticed that the rear hatch was open and wouldn’t latch closed..the 455 twisted the car that hard!!
Those were the good old days
1000 bucks and I would drop my 468 dual quad low rise and 400 hp nitrous on it
The other problem with most drag cars are lack of title like this one. This Ventura is not bad looking but getting back on the street would be a headache.
$1200. and no tires will be kicked. and the sale will go to bill. no title. no title no title. worth more in parts. was a big block in front of a 10 bolt…what conditon is the 10 bolt. worth $500.00 with no title. how aboout a certified bill of sale…to bad its not a GTO.
it is the more desireable hatchback
“Come on down! If you like rust and hunks a junk, we are your one stop shop
plenty of snakes and lizards for the kids to play with”
Like Steve said go buy a car that is modern enough to be raced with a minimal investment trying to get a car like this going again is a lot of needless work and if you really want to drag race you will spend more on this than just buying a race ready car.
One other problem with drag cars is a lack of a local track to flog ’em hard, there’s one eighth mile strip left locally for me, up in the hills but never saw the stop light length racing all that interesting. Just the way it is some places due to progress.
Looks like a 340 Demon parked next to it, plenty quick but doesn’t appear to be a strip only machine.