[4214speed]

Here is my old 68 428ho ventura 4 speed 4.11 gear manual steering and manual brakes

[Ron Landis]

Originally Posted by 4214speed

Here is my old 68 428ho ventura 4 speed 4.11 gear manual steering and manual brakes

I walked away from a black bench seat four speed HO car for $1,800 because it needed an exhaust! One of those!

[SD455DJ]

4214speed, Very cool Ventura. Someone else posted they have one like that in this thread.

Ron, who knew back then? We sure thumbed our noses at a lot of cars we would love to have today. Frankly, these cars were completely off our radars when we were kids buying the discarded muscle cars in the mid-70's.

Dennis

[SD455DJ]

It's been quite a while since the last update (March!). The body is off the frame waiting in line at SuperCar Specialties (Scott Tiemann) for some metal patch work and new Voodoo paint. Dan has finished the 'body work' to the frame (filler and lots of time) to make it look pretty again. The original 4.11 rear end (VM stamp) is rebuilt and restored, and will get the factory black fog paint soon. Dan is currently working on the trailing arms, A-arms/front suspension & steering pieces. The 428 HO engine has all the machine work completed for future assembly and dyno'ing (428 + 0.030, actual 10.75 compression, nos 068 cam, and original Q-jet, intake, & long branch manifolds). The M-21 is rebuilt with new Autogear internals too. Dan's intention is to run it at this years Pure Stock Drags if he can finish it by then. We're guessing mid to low 13's at 105 mph.

Dennis

[J GLASGO]

That's looking good. Can't wait to see it!

[SD455DJ]

Thanks John!

[marxjunk]

I'm excited too I can't wait to see it done

Sent from my SM-G935P using Tapatalk

[SD455DJ]

Thanks Marxjunk - It's going to look great in fresh Verdero Green, black guts and 15" wheels with dog dishes. The interior is remarkably nice and the body is pretty rust free, except for a portion of the trunk floor, bottom of the rear wheel wells, and the lower rear quarters. Some southwest sheet metal will serve as patch panels to fix those areas. The doors are solid as well and the cowl just needs small patches. The hard part is going to find good cloth covered wind laces for the door openings. We'll figure something out if once we get to that part of the interior assembly.

Dennis

[SD455DJ]

...also had to find a good hood which wasn't too hard to find. The original hood had a hardware store mailbox with the bottom cut out screwed to it and the OO drilled a couple dozen 1" holes in the scoop area, destroying a perfectly good hood otherwise...no rust at all. Here is the original VG paint that was behind the front valance license plate frame.

Dennis

[63 Pontiac]

I need that frame...

[SIX8YAK]

Any updates?

[SD455DJ]

SIX8YAK - If you mean me...see post 104 below...just posted that last week. Body work to be started soon, frame is all done and being assembled, engine machining all done and assembly commencing.

Dennis

[SIX8YAK]

I did, Dennis. I have my thread tools a little jacked up. You have plans to make it to Norwalk if things come along?

[SD455DJ]

SIX8YAK - That would be nice, but it doesn't look like it will be finished by then. My brother Dan is car owner and is restoring it between the other jobs he's working on. I help when ever I get some free time, but there is a heap of work to do yet. If it was the only project, he probably would get her done by then. Dan is hoping to make it ready for MCACN in November, but, he's not sure even about that.

Dennis

[chicagoland]

Way cool, was always a fan of 60's full size 'sleepers' or performance cars.

I'm thinking the original owner had '61-'63 421 Catalina and traded in? Mid size and compact v8 [muscle] cars were taking over by '67-69, but cool to see one still could get a 4 speed B body Pontiac as late as '68. [US, but maybe in Canada til '70?]

Hope a magazine like Hemmings Muscle Machines does a feature on this Catalina.

[427strato]

Hi. I started a post years ago on another site with respect to 1968 Catalina 428, 4spd. cars. I've always wondered why I have never seen or heard of one until this topic was submitted on this forum. I know not everyone appreciates Canadian Pontiacs however here is the equivalent to a Catalina in Canada; a 68 Strato Chief, 2 dr. sedan, 427-385 hrs., 4 spd. that I purchased new at that time and have restored over the last few years. I still have the original bill of sale and a letter from GM Vintage Services in Canada that indicate they made 5 68 Strato Chiefs with the L36 that year. Doug.

[north]

That’s a really Neat and Rare car! Amazing you still have it 50 years later!! probably a bit quicker too than a US version thanks to the less substantial and therefore lighter Chevy chassis.

Those Canadian ponchos don’t get much love (I have one myself) and prices reflect that. They have their advantages; lighter, easier and cheaper to rebuild the drivetrain, probably a sturdier engine in stock form than a real Pontiac.

The weakness revolve around the stigma of being a halfbreed, unknown to most of the car hobby too. My problem with them has more to do with the awkward look of the narrower and shorter Chevy chassis overlaid with a bigger Pontiac type body. Another issue is finding Canadian Pontiac specific parts during Resto; hood, fenders, trunk floors, emblems etc are impossible to find with the double whammy of no reporos and no equivalent in Canada to the US southwest for rust free originals.

[north]

Btw, I can see in your photos that we share another interest, a waterborne one!

[427strato]

Absolutely correct; no reproduction parts; you either have them or you are out of luck. This car is so plain that there is not a lot you have to worry about. As you say, the drivetrain is standard big block chev as are all of the drivetrain components. There isn't actually enough of the 427 cars to establish values or desirability as they seem to have made less than 10 of each body style over the years. I happened to find NOS full rear quarters over the years and everything else was in good shape, although there were no holes, they were just wavy. The interior material is identical to 1968 Biscayne. I decided to run 15" wheels as I had a better choice of larger rubber. I had the 427 updated with a roller cam, ect and it is now bored 70 thou over. The car came with 8.25/14 bias ply tires. I ordered it with 3:73 gears, M20 wide ratio, tinted glass, heavy duty cooling, rear antenna, am radio, etc. The last two sets of 427 emblems, if I remember correctly, went for $1000, so you don't want to lose these. In any event, I would just love to see a 68 Catalina 428 4spd., or own one. Doug.

[SD455DJ]

427strato - Very cool Strato Chief! I like the B-body Canadian Pontiacs, especially one's like yours. Also very cool is that you are the original owner and then restored the car. My brother, Dan, and I are geeked that his 428HO Catalina and your Strato Chief are the same color combinations...Verdero Green with black standard interiors. Do you have any pictures you can post when you bought it? I'd love to hear more stories about the car and why you ordered a B-body vs. A-body, etc.

I don't know that I'd say it would be a bit quicker than a 428HO Cat with 4.11 gears, but it would be very close (actually, who cares...they are both great cars that you never ever see today). Love it!

Dennis