[Eric Vrem]

To All,
I finally got around to taking some pictures of my '61 Ventura to show you guys. I bought the car in 1998 as you see it except for the power steering which I added. It was ordered with 348hp, 4spd, Safe-T-Track, 8-lugs, and several other minor options. The original engine (blown up and sold long ago) was replaced with a '69 400 with '66 tri-power by the original owner. The exterior paint is original except for the front half of the LF fender and the silver insets. The interior is also original except for seat covers over the original upholstery. I plan to restore it to original 348hp configuration, but need to do some higher priority projects first. For now it is a fun driver.

Eric V.

[Keith Seymore]

Very cool. Thanks for posting those up; I think I got a whiff of fuel when I looked at that underhood shot...



How's that original paint holding up? Any checking/bleed through, etc? Is it black? Looks like you might be somewhere warm, like Phoenix or SoCal.

K

[Eric Vrem]

Keith,
The original black paint is holding up quite well. There is some checking on the right rear quarter, and it is thin in places and on a couple of the ridges it has been polished through to the primer, but overall it is not too bad. The car was sold new in Phoenix and spent its whole life there until I bought it in 1998 and brought it to its current home in So. Calif. (Fallbrook). It has obviously been garaged when not in use most of its life.

Eric V.

[PunchT37]

My favorite year full size Poncho.

[Stuart]

Very nice car! Black was an unusual color in 1961 (I can only recall seeing a couple of them originally painted that color) but they look good that way.

[marks73ta]

Eric you make my heart hurt. When I was a kid a family in my home town raced a 421 '61 2 dr sedan catalina and towed it with a '61 Catalina Ventura, 389 trophy (425??) 4 speed bubbletop hardtop. It was a beautiful Marina Blue if I remember the color code, with tri-blue morokyde??? interior, and buckets. 1968 the owners son was looking to sell so he could go to college and buy a smaller car. I was 16 and begged borrowed (not stole) money from everyone I knew and any thing I could sell to get the $300 dollars (yes $300 for a perfect '61) (sigh) that he was asking. I met him to buy the car. I handed him the $300 dollars and he handed me the title but would not let go. Then (oh this hurts) he let go of the 300 and pulled the title back, yelled "I just can't do it" and drove off. As you can see I never got over that. About 5 years later I worked for a shop while my job was on strike and he was a mechanic there. He said he just could not let it go because it was so nice, (which I already knew damn it) but then told me that 2 years after the dropped exchange he wrapped it around a tree driving drunk one night. I wanted to kill him. Anywho, other than the color differences, it looked just like yours. I'd probably still have it if I had gotten it. Sorry for getting off track. Mark L (SIGH)

[real61ss]

Eric,
Great car, not many black ones. While we are showing pictures of our '61's, I dug up a few of mine. Mark, mine is about what you decribred.....bucket seats, Bristol Blue etc.

[Kochtanek]

Under restoration, paused to work on another project, hope to get back to it again in 2010. Not a Ventura, but an original Black over tri-color Red 16,000 mile Bonneville. Fairly solid car, has a few areas that need patches (outer rockers). Currently stripped and sealed (two part Epoxy) and in storage at the farm. Underneath is detailed and painted. Engine is built, a 428 dual quad clone with 455 reciprocating parts. Going for that early 1961 look, although it's the long-tailed Bonneville. Will get the Ford hood scoop treatment.

Arnie once mentioned to me that he kept a 1961 Bonneville in the Atlanta area as one of his six or so racers he stashed across the country. Anyone ever see that car? I know the others were the smaller wheelbase cars.

Enjoy!
Tom Kochtanek

[real61ss]

Tom,
Great car!!! I didn't realize you were that far along with the restoration.

[Kochtanek]

Tommy:

I dismantled, stripped and sealed her last summer about this time, but since then have moved over to work on the 1961 Belair Sport Coupe. Right now I am preoccupied with a repaint on the 1962 Belair 409 car. I seem to move back and forth on various projects, advancing them all a little bit at a time. Must be some sort of healthy ADD disorder!

I did build the engine for the Bonneville, a stroked 428 with dual quads, but haven't fired it up as yet...

Enjoy!
Tom Kochtanek

[TinjunTribe]

By far the best looking Pontiac made.... I have a 69 GTO, and a 65 tempest...

If I could have ANY car....it would be a 61 bubbletop.....Ventura or Catalina...someday. It's just simple beauty....

[marks73ta]

Real61ss, that is a spitting image although it seems that the blue in my memory was just a shade lighter. But again it was 40 years ago. The right interior and the shifter, oh man you did it. They did not have the white walls if I remember right. The '61 2dr sedan was identical in color and a gray interior. Almost a taxicab type interior. They had some kind of undisclosed 421 SD in it is all I can remember, and they flat towed it with the Ventura. The Ventura was very stock although they did have alot of tuning in it. It humbled many of the faster cars in the town. And we had a lot of fast cars. Town of about 2000 then and a great main street for cruising. Cars from miles around would come there to cruise and choose off. There were at least 6 teams of cars that would all caravan out to Union Grove WI, Greatlakes Dragaway, about 20 miles away, every weekend, to go racing. Man, the memories. When I was a little younger I was madly into motorcylcles but these guys changed my mind. From then on it was all cars. Thanks for adding the pics of my---errr---I mean your car. It's beautiful. Mark L

[Blackwood Goat]

Originally Posted by real61ss

Eric,
Great car, not many black ones. While we are showing pictures of our '61's, I dug up a few of mine. Mark, mine is about what you decribred.....bucket seats, Bristol Blue etc.

Mark

Very nice. I like the color. Rich