The Tide Has Turn

Our old ride, my wife & I had this 61 Pontiac Ventura from 1990 until last year when we sold it finally. 389cid with a .30 overbore and pushing about 320 hp or maybe just a little more, Carter 4 barrel carb, dual exhaust with mandrel bends and it did take high test to fill it up and it was never touched body wise, all metal and original paint. Over the years it did surprised more than a few of the new cars & their owners. But we did have some fun.  

   

Did the car increase much in value over the years that you owned it?

Tanker... Did the car increase much in value over the years that you owned it?

The person who bought it was looking for a Pontiac and it was sort of a rare one, as it was the sport model for that year [Catalina chassis with Bonneville interior trim] and they only made the Ventura's as a production car from 59-61. In 62 the Gran Prix's took it's place and the Ventura became a package deal for the Catalina's. I saw only one other Ventura while we own it at a Pontiac-Oakland Club International meet.

I was the third owner and the car was solid and basically all original, paint, body and chassis was almost rust free, engine and transmission.  I did a total rebuild the engine and transmission, which were done by professionals in the area.

So as far as value, I got back what I paid for it and pretty close to what I put into it over the years we ran it. And we did put some miles on it [we were in two different Friday night cruisin car clubs] and it was a great road car and very dependable and it never broke down on us.

It was great for getting my wife & I out of the house as our kids were out of school and in collage then and we meet quite a few great people at the same time during and at the car shows or while just out for a ride getting an ice cream cone.

Overall a lot of fun over the years, but it was time for the Pontiac to have a new owner.  Still miss it, but it has a good new home.

That sounds like a good investment.

A vintage car can be a good investment... but my wife and I bought it for getting out of the house and it was something we both had interests in and I have worked with cars over my years, but now it's a little tough going for me to be crawling under the cars.

But be warned... parts, labor/your labor, maintenance, fuel [high test only in my case], insurance [we had antique plates which brought the insurance down a bit.], can all add up with a vintage car.

Especially if it is an odd year, make, production model. My transmission was a only used in the Catalina models and Oldsmobile's and at the same time they were different and could not be interchanged.

Basically it was a two speed transmission with a third gear underdrive, which was made for passing, you dropped it into third gear [the underdrive] and like the hand book stated, hit the petal.  

It was not an overdrive like today's cars which is made for cruising along. Put it this way, not many transmission shops wanted to even look at it, let alone work on it.

But I did not beat on it, doing burnouts and such, but did have a few drag races and like I said, my wife and I had some fun!