Calendar Car: Ken and Erica Vosburg’s 1977 Pontiac Ventura
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On one side of the shot for the month of November in the 2019 RacingJunk Calendar sits Ken and Erica Vosburg’s midnight blue 1977 Pontiac Ventura. Ken, owner of Ken’s Auto Upholstery in Pittsfield, MA, is no stranger to long days in the garage perfecting his craft and the builds that come along with it. This Ventura held special interest for him, as a 1977 Pontiac Ventura was his wife’s Erica first car and she had expressed how much another one would mean to her.
Ken found this ‘77 Ventura on eBay originally, but the ad was removed before he could make an offer. After some tracking he found the car again and was able to come to an agreement to purchase the Pontiac. Upon arrival, Ken knew the car was not up to the standards he sets for himself day in and out at his shop and began the tear-down, determined to build his wife a proper Ventura.
The engine, interior and rear end were all built by Ken. He maintains the only work he didn’t do on the car himself was the transmission and paint. He started with a 454 motor with 1968 427 closed chamber rectangular port heads. The valve train is COMP Cam’s hydraulic roller and the intake is a sheet metal Holley Sniper with the Sniper fuel injection and timing control. Mated to the motor is a custom built 700r4 transmission by Dynamic Transmission with a custom built 2700 stall torque converter. The powertrain is finished off with a Chevy 12 bolt rear end including a Yukon posi unit and Moser 33 spline axels. Other notable features of the Ventura build are the drilled disc brakes and the 3” mandrel-bent tubing and pipe exhaust.
Knowing shoes are an important part of any outfit, Ken threw some classic Cragar SS wheels on the Pontiac to go along with the midnight blue paint and really complete the look. With the heart and the exterior of the car out of the way, Ken pushed forward to the interior. The imported Italian leather seats with diamond stitch oyster inserts, light grey bolsters and burgundy stitching were all designed and made in-house at his shop.
The emotion and connection to the car from both Ken and Erica shows in the final product. They’ve taken the Ventura to a handful of car shows and even placed in one. Their intention is to continue to bring the car to shows, run it at the track occasionally and, most of all, enjoy the Pontiac and the stories behind it together.
On one side of the shot for the month of November in the 2019 RacingJunk Calendar sits Ken and Erica Vosburg’s midnight blue 1977 Pontiac Ventura. Ken, owner of Ken’s Auto Upholstery in Pittsfield, MA, is no stranger to long days in the garage perfecting his craft and the builds that come along with it. This Ventura held special interest for him, as a 1977 Pontiac Ventura was his wife’s Erica first car and she had expressed how much another one would mean to her.
Ken found this ‘77 Ventura on eBay originally, but the ad was removed before he could make an offer. After some tracking he found the car again and was able to come to an agreement to purchase the Pontiac. Upon arrival, Ken knew the car was not up to the standards he sets for himself day in and out at his shop and began the tear-down, determined to build his wife a proper Ventura.
The engine, interior and rear end were all built by Ken. He maintains the only work he didn’t do on the car himself was the transmission and paint. He started with a 454 motor with 1968 427 closed chamber rectangular port heads. The valve train is COMP Cam’s hydraulic roller and the intake is a sheet metal Holley Sniper with the Sniper fuel injection and timing control. Mated to the motor is a custom built 700r4 transmission by Dynamic Transmission with a custom built 2700 stall torque converter. The powertrain is finished off with a Chevy 12 bolt rear end including a Yukon posi unit and Moser 33 spline axels. Other notable features of the Ventura build are the drilled disc brakes and the 3” mandrel-bent tubing and pipe exhaust.
Knowing shoes are an important part of any outfit, Ken threw some classic Cragar SS wheels on the Pontiac to go along with the midnight blue paint and really complete the look. With the heart and the exterior of the car out of the way, Ken pushed forward to the interior. The imported Italian leather seats with diamond stitch oyster inserts, light grey bolsters and burgundy stitching were all designed and made in-house at his shop.
The emotion and connection to the car from both Ken and Erica shows in the final product. They’ve taken the Ventura to a handful of car shows and even placed in one. Their intention is to continue to bring the car to shows, run it at the track occasionally and, most of all, enjoy the Pontiac and the stories behind it together.
I like the car. Would you ever sell it?
Just curious.