1972 pontiac ventura

[Guest DaveTC]

 I'm getting a 72 pontiac soon. Something for me to drive daily and have something that looks great. I'm just curious if there is any problem that I might run into after a couple of years driving I.e. engine problems or electrical that might pop up. 

[bradhohio]

The more you drive it the more things are going to need fixed or repaired.

[intimeold]

If the car has made it to this point; all the bugs, if any, are already fixed.

 

Now you have to deal with all the worn out parts; just from normal driving and age.

Edited May 7, 2016 by intimeold (see edit history)

[Dave Mellor NJ]

Sometimes with old cars the more you drive it the less things go bad.

[John_S_in_Penna]

Dave, you haven't said where you are located,

but don't drive the car in ANY snow or salt or slush!

You may know that older cars had far less rust-resistance,

and even 3 or 4 years of winter driving will give you

not only rust bubbles, but rust-through--rendering your

nice old Pontiac almost valueless. 

 

Keep your car nice--for yourself, and as a steward of a

historical car for the future--and get something else for winter.

Otherwise, enjoy it for a couple of years, and then keep it as

a historic car for your collection!

[Guest]

Dave, I had a '72 Ventura years ago. Great car, very reliable. I wish I had another one today. They are pretty hard to find now. Good looking car. Last of the body style before the federally mandated 5mph impact front bumpers, which made them safer but ruined the looks. Is yours a 6 cylinder or V-8?

Greg

[padgett]

Ventura Sprint was an interesting car, for '72 it had the Pontiac 350cid though I always liked the front end of the 73-74 better, could also get the hatchback with the camper option then. It is essentially a Chevvy NOVA (acronym was for Nova, Omega, Ventura, Apollo or is that more than you wanted to know ?) so lots of parts available.

[poci1957]

Should be a good first old car, all the major mechanicals are very serviceable and most interchange with the popular Chevy Nova so parts availability should be much better than average.  The first thing to do is determine what engine you have as it may have a Pontiac 350 or a Chevy 350 and they are not the same.  Send us a picture if needed, good luck, Todd C   

[John_S_in_Penna]

Dave (original poster), you'll get more out of the forum

if you rejoin the conversation.  This bunch of car enthusiasts

can be active and helpful, so please don't pose your question

and then walk away for several days.  Doing so means that

your question goes down the list of subjects, even onto the 2nd page,

so fewer people see your question and you get fewer responses.

 

 All the best in your car purchase!

[Guest]

On ‎5‎/‎8‎/‎2016 at 8:28 PM, padgett said:

Ventura Sprint was an interesting car, for '72 it had the Pontiac 350cid though I always liked the front end of the 73-74 better, could also get the hatchback with the camper option then. It is essentially a Chevvy NOVA (acronym was for Nova, Omega, Ventura, Apollo or is that more than you wanted to know ?) so lots of parts available.

There is no Pontiac engine in a 72. The engine choices are the 250 straight six and the optional 307 Chevy V-8. If you want a real Pontiac engine in a Ventura 2 you would have to wait until 1973 and 1974. according to John Gunnell's 75 years of Pontiac and Bonsall's the complete history 1926-86. although I thought I saw a 350 Buick in a 74 Ventura 2 - it was a California car.

[padgett]

a) in the mid-70s they were "corporate" engines.

b ) For '72 my FSM & P&A shows a code F 307 and a code N 350 and the 350 and 400 share the same crank.  Engine code YV for a 350 in an X body. Pretty sure that was for the Sprint. John was very thorough but not always biblical.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, padgett said:

a) in the mid-70s they were "corporate" engines.

b ) For '72 my FSM & P&A shows a code F 307 and a code N 350 and the 350 and 400 share the same crank.  Engine code YV for a 350 in an X body. Pretty sure that was for the Sprint. John was very thorough but not always biblical.

What is a  PA? FYI, I did see a P 400 engine for 1972, but discounted it thinking he made a mistake.

  FYI 2, 336, 326, 355, 389, 400 do have similar cranks but you might have a problem interchanging them because of the counterweights being heavier on the 389- 400 because of the larger pistons.

Edited May 10, 2016 by helfen (see edit history)

[padgett]

Same crank billet ?. Agree balancing would be different but the stroke was the same. "Y" prefix generally indicated an automatic transmission. W a manual, Z=fun. Made me go on a dig but on page 442 of "75 Years..." there is mention of the 350 (with AT only) in the coupe but not the 4-door. Looking in the 1972 FSM pg 6-102 it is clear that the stroke is 3.75" (Pontiac) and not 3.48" (SBC 350).

 

Got me looking in books I hadn't opened this century.

 

Oh, P&A in this case is the 1975 Pontiac "Parts and Accessories" catalog. Volume 1  (pg 32) usually has the engine codes by year going back about a decade. To be complete you need three sets: FSM, P&A, and TSBs. Ones I just bought on eBay for the 93 GP was incredibly cheap for about 40 lbs of books. Any more I prefer .pdfs but needs must.

[Guest]

3 hours ago, padgett said:

Same crank billet ?. Agree balancing would be different but the stroke was the same. "Y" prefix generally indicated an automatic transmission. W a manual, Z=fun. Made me go on a dig but on page 442 of "75 Years..." there is mention of the 350 (with AT only) in the coupe but not the 4-door. Looking in the 1972 FSM pg 6-102 it is clear that the stroke is 3.75" (Pontiac) and not 3.48" (SBC 350).

 

Got me looking in books I hadn't opened this century.

 

Oh, P&A in this case is the 1975 Pontiac "Parts and Accessories" catalog. Volume 1  (pg 32) usually has the engine codes by year going back about a decade. To be complete you need three sets: FSM, P&A, and TSBs. Ones I just bought on eBay for the 93 GP was incredibly cheap for about 40 lbs of books. Any more I prefer .pdfs but needs must.

Yes, the crank is basically the same. Same 3" main journal, and rod journal ( 287-455 all use the same connecting rod dimension including pin dia.)  It's just the counterweight difference which a machinist can fix while he is balancing a engine. I wonder where that 400 engine came from that was in Bonsall's book that had it listed for 1972? I don't think a 400 ever made it into a X body. Even the 74 GTO had a 355.

[TG57Roadmaster]

9 hours ago, helfen said:

There is no Pontiac engine in a 72. The engine choices are the 250 straight six and the optional 307 Chevy V-8.

 

If there's "no Pontiac engine" why do they say the 250 "had its start at Pontiac in 1964?" Hyperbole for corporate engines? Says the 350 was the only V-8 for CA. 

 

At least they put woodgrain on the dash!

 

I know brochures aren't gospel, but I've found plenty of mistakes in books by experts, too.

 

TG

Edited May 11, 2016 by TG57Roadmaster (see edit history)

[padgett]

Like the early 73 Brochures that listed the SD-455 as available in the Grand Prix (redacted in the post April brochures after the EPA "incident".). Have copies here....somewhere. Why I like to use the P&A from a year or so later. Of course Pontiac never sold a car with the RA V but all the parts were in the P&A.

 

Thanks for the 72 Ventura brochure.

 

ps: have to read exactly what it says: "got it's start at Pontiac in 1964". Doesn't say was designed or even first used there but replaced the "half a 389" 4 and the Buick 215 cid V8. Back then it was a 230cid 3rd gen "Stovebolt"

 

pps think we are into the second or third hijacking of the thread. But it gets my synapses firing.

 

[Guest]

45 minutes ago, TG57Roadmaster said:

 

If there's "no Pontiac engine" why do they say the 250 "had its start at Pontiac in 1964?" Hyperbole for corporate engines? Says the 350 was the only V-8 for CA. 

 

At least they put woodgrain on the dash!

 

I know brochures aren't gospel, but I've found plenty of mistakes in books by experts, too.

 

TG

  For 1964-65 the Tempest-Lemans used the  215 engine It  was a Chevrolet Gen 3 design. In Chevrolet configuration it was the 194, 230, 250 and 292. The 215 was a Chevrolet engine through and through except it was machined to Pontiac's specification giving it 215 cubic inches. Painted Pontiac blue it was still a Chevrolet and used all Chevrolet parts. Pontiac abandoned it for 1966 with the OHC 230" six and used that OHC six through 1969. After 1969 Pontiac used the Chevrolet 250 six as the base engine in Firebird, Tempest, LeMans, Ventura 2 / later became Phoenix until 1977.

Oldsmobile also used the Chevrolet engine as the base engine in it's Omega and Cutlass in the early 70's. Olds abandoned it for 1977 in those cars preferring to use like Pontiac did in the Phoenix to use the Buick V-6 instead. In my opinion a mistake. The seven main bearing 250" Chevy six is superior in torque and reliability. I have one in my 1976 Omega Brougham that I bought new and still drive today. The engine runs like a Swiss watch and has never been apart ( heck the carburetor has never been apart ) and performs flawlessly at 115,000 miles. the car is still in it's original paint and interior. Yesterday I ran it up to a honest 90MPH and it was still pulling. The air cleaner sticker said Oldsmobile but heat destroyed it , but it is still a Chevrolet engine, and unlike Pontiac painting it's engine Pontiac Blue My Olds engine is painted Chevy orange.

   

I believe that Ca. 350 is the Buick 350 I talked about in the thread.

[padgett]

Has anyone asked what engine the '72 that was the original subject has ?

In the late '70s GM was tooling up for transverse engines. A straight six is too long.

Solly Charlie but the only 350 described in the 72 FSM is clearly a Pontiac (3.75" stroke). Buick was a 3.85", Chevvy 3.48" and Olds 3.385. The Olds is a very underrated engine.

What they are saying in the brochure is that the 307 and the 350 were options in 49 states but in California only the 350 was available.

[JamesBulldogMiller55Buick]

On 5/7/2016 at 10:34 PM, Dave Mellor NJ said:

Sometimes with old cars the more you drive it the less things go bad.

that's true with my Buick

and my 1990 F250