I don't care for the Color, and the LT1 would not have been my 1st choice of an engine to transplant, but looks like a very nice car for the asking price considering all the work and new parts installed. 4-speed car to boot. https://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/cto/d/1971-pontiac-ventura-coupe-fs/6460899069.html
What would've you dropped in it, then? I suppose something more modern out of a Corvette would have been much more work, since there aren't factory mounts made for the conversion. The LT is more than enough to get that thing going. Would have prefered a 5-speed, if it had to be a manual tranny or a THD. Luckilly, the interior is black. That way, the ugly green can get covered with any other color
Too much money, but I like what the seller did to it. I was kinda hoping it was a 4-door, which would be my preference. In '72, there was a limited edition Ventura II sold in California, called the 'SD' - basically a 'sporty' 4-door.
I have never been a fan of the Optispark ignition system, a pain to work on, and placed perfectly to mess up the seals when the water pump starts to weep. If I didn't go with a traditional Pontiac V8, it is hard to argue with a LS series engine, even the little 5.3's put out 300 hp and are about 80 lbs lighter than a LT series and take the same engine mounts as the engine they put in. No arguement that the LT1 puts out more than emough power to move that 3100lb car. And I agre I would have gone with a 5-speed if I did all tat work just to get the cruising RPM down, and the MPG up. Krash, thanks for posting that review, I am a Pontiac nut and that is a new one for me.
I was always under the impression that only Chevy 8s were dropped in there. Wouldn't a Pontiac 8 be tight in there? Removing an exhaust manifold from a mid-size Pontiac with an 8 was a pain enough as it was
Pontiac 350's were put in 73 & 74 so any Pontiac V8 will fit. Buick and Olds Small Blocks V8's were also used in some models.
I'd love to find one of those........needle in a haystack, though. I think they only sold 200 or so of them, if that.
Krash, I just ebayed that issue so when it arrives I can post a readable copy of the article. Thanks for making me aware of the model.
Krash here is a slightly more readable copy of the 72 SD Article you posted. Interesting to see that 3 of the 4 Guys mentioned as being responsible for putting the option package together were the guys mostly responsible for the 73/74 SD Trans Am/Formula Program (you also have to add the 3rd Shift Pontiac Casting Plant's production manager that cast the heads & Blocks on his shift without permission when his shift had reached their quota for the day, but that's another story) It looks like the SD option package was available with any engine available that year from the 230 Chevy I-6 up to the 350 2bbl Pontiac V8, The SD option was just the Bucket seats & Console from the Ventura Sprint 2-door but in a Ventura 4-door, then you would have to option any performance options you wanted. And the article says they were given Zero advertising dollars to promote the package so no wonder it sold so poorly. Hopefully you can read the article, sorry about my horrible photography skills.
Thanks for posting that, Jeff. It had been a long time since I had read the actual article (had the actual issue at one time, long ago...), and some details get lost over time. Seems as if they really weren't interested in producing them on a large scale - absolutely no marketing money behind them. Being in the L.A. area at the time when I was young, I recall seeing maybe ONE of these.... don't remember for sure. If they had really wanted to make these interesting, they could have upgraded the steering box to a quick-ratio Camaro SS / Firebird 400 unit - better 'feel', too. Lots of mechanical parts interchanged with the F-bodies. I suspect some other reasons the Pontiac brass didn't get 100% behind it are: - Old platform, about to be re-bodied for '75, and in '75, I believe you COULD order the buckets in a 4-door 'SJ' model. - They also had the all-new LeMans / Grand Am coming out in '73, and seems like they were pushing the 4-door Grand Am quite a bit.
The Chevy IIs had external hydraulic cylinder steering assistance. The Camaros might have had the integral unit, simultaneously. From the exterior, manual GM steering gear boxes all looked alike. If they indeed are, the integral-boosted boxes from the Camaros should interchange with those of the compacts. Here are new up to date replacements: http://www.borgeson.com/xcart/search.php
There were write-ups in the car magazines in the 70's and 80's about changing the 'spool valve' in the steering gear of your run-of-the-mill Chevy or Pontiac to one from a Camaro Z-28 or Firebird Trans-Am, and it literally changed the whole personality of the car into something that felt real sporty. I remember reading a report where they did this on a '82 or '83 Caprice sedan.......
That's fine, if the rest of the suspension gets modified to keep up with a valve which weeds out understeer. I would just replace the gearbox with an even more modern variable ratio type
