The Nineteen Sixty One Ventura
The Pontiac Ventura was introduced to the public in 1960 as an upscale version of the Catalina four door sedan
. The public took notice because of its deluxe wheel covers, sport steering wheel and unique tri-toned seats made of faux leather vinyl. The 1961 Ventura was based on General Motors B-body frame.When the car came out in 1961 it was 210 inches long with a 119 inch wheel base. Depending on the options, the care weighed between 3680 and 4000 pounds. It came with a standard 6.4L engine with an option for a 6.9L engine. The 1961 Pontiac Ventura also came with a longer wheelbase like the Bonneville, had only two doors and was smaller and lighter in size. The Ventura trim option was offered on the Catalina in 1962. However, Pontiac went back to building Venturas again in 1969 and 1970. It was taken out of production and replaced by the Catalina Brougham in 1971.
For a short time, the Ventura was called the Ventura II, however the name simply went back to Ventura in 1972. The company offered the car with a number of different engines including a 250cu in. 6 cylinder, a 307 cu in. V8 and a 350 cu in. V8. This last V8 was called the Sprint package. Both V8 versions came with two barrel carburetors. Transmissions were either the standard column shift or 3 or 4 speed stick. The V8 Venturas also came with automatic transmissions. The 1973 6cylinder Ventura was the last Pontiac to offer the two speed automatic, which disappeared from all GM cars and trucks that same year. The two speed automatic was replaced by the three speed turbo hydra-matic automatic transmission.
Pontiac went back to offering Ventura as an option package called the Ventura Spring option on two door models until 1975. These were six cylinder cars with the 350 V8 as another option. The package also offered all vinyl upholstery bucket seats, custom steering wheel, special striping, black grille and 15 inch wheels. In 1972 Pontiac came out with the Ventura SD which was made for the Southern California market. The SD was a sport luxury compact to compete with the European sports compacts that were entering the American marketplace. All Ventura SD cars were built in California at the assembly plant in Van Nuys.
The 1961 Pontiac Ventura went through a few more transformations, becoming the Ventura SJ with restyled roof lines and improved suspension. Pontiac also upgraded the interior by putting in reclining bucket seats, a center console, and rally instrumentation In 1978 the Ventura nameplate was retired with all body types sold as Phoenix SJ.
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