“Factory 4speed, 389-368 horse, super duty,
all original, 37,000 miles”
“First let me say I have been a car guy since I was in the stroller, the perfect height for looking at grills and hub caps. By the time the late 50’s rolled around I started to take notice of the 58-59 Pontiacs. By the time 1960 rolled around I bought myself a brand new 60 Ventura. What great cars! Then 61 rolled in and I fell in love again with the 61 Ventura. Needless to say I had to wait a while to get one.
I acquired this Beauty from a friend I have known since 1985. It took till 1988 to realize I wanted that Ventura, which my friend kept set up on jack stands and covered in a climate controlled facility.
Finally this past April he decided to sell it to me. It’s a factory 4 Speed, and it has the 368 horse super duty 389 tripower motor with the special #10 Pontiac McKellar camshaft. It’s a powerful Beast, with power steering and power brakes which makes it more manageable to drive – but hang on!
The color is called Bristol blue and with the tinted glass it is an absolute knock out – which is why I call it the Beauty and the Beast. The car is clean as a whistle, and the only thing I had to do to it was wash the whitewall tires because they were a little yellow.
In 1960 the Ventura started out as an upgrade model between the Catalina and the Star Chief. It was the small wheel base car with the Bonneville interior; the Star Chief and Bonneville were long wheel base cars. Pontiac repeated this in 1961 and had good success. These cars had the looks, upgrade interiors and lots of engine options.
In 1962 Pontiac dropped the Ventura model and made it an interior option. This continued through
1965 and then back to a model in 1966. I'm not quite sure when it dissappared but I think 1970.
The model then came back as Pontiac's answer to the Chevy Nova back around 1972.
It's these early 60-61 Ventura models that interest me. Back in 1960 I had a 60 Ventura and when
the 61's came out, I fell in love all over again when these cars were equipped with the 389 tripower
motor. Whether it had the 348 horse or the 368 horse, they were the factory super stocks class at
the drags, the muscle car of the era, ‘the cat's meow’.”
Owned by Louis Cohen