By Thomas A. DeMauro
Having a friend with a common goal can be very advantageous. Just ask Ed Giolma and Steven Cayce. They are both Pontiac guys and both have a deep appreciation for the 1961 model year Ventura. Instead of competing with each other to have the best 1961 Ventura, they help each other to not only improve their Pontiacs but to find them.
By a strange twist of fate, Ed found the Bamboo Cream Ventura in the possession of a friend who was ready to sell in 1998 so he contacted Steven. In 2001, Steven would get to return the favor when he located the Bristol Blue Ventura in an Auto Trader and promptly informed Ed. Both have benefited from their relationship and now we will too, by presenting these fine examples of 1961 Pontiac performance.
Steven Cayce's Bamboo Cream Ventura
"My love for '61s goes way back to childhood," Steven related. "Dad bought a brand-new Ventura when I was four years old. At 15 it became mine. My dad and I restored and modified that Pontiac and since then I have owned several."By the time the 44-year-old Gladstone, Missouri resident caught up with this Pontiac (thanks to Ed's heads-up), it had been repainted with PPG in acrylic lacquer in its original hue by Charles Karne's Wrecker & Bodyworks in Brownwood, Texas; but it still needed color sanding and polishing. Upon further inspection, Cayce realized that he had a restoration project on his hands. On the plus side, it was an original Trophy 425A 348 hp Tri-Power, 4-speed '61 Ventura to begin with. Factory convenience options included: Super Deluxe pushbutton AM radio, rear seat speaker, Circ-L-Aire heater and defroster, 2-speed wipers with washers, backup lamps, outside left-hand mirror, inside non glare tilt mirror, custom wheel discs, power brakes and antifreeze (it was still an option in 1961). On the minus side, "It was missing a lot of parts," Steven lamented. "Basically, I bought the paint job and a non-running car. My goal was to restore this Ventura back to its as-new condition right down to the paint marks and stampings."
Its equipment wasn't all that made this Ventura so special, however--it had a history. Ken Davis, whose pair of 1960 Catalinas competed in two of our Lone Star shootouts last year, is a lifelong Pontiac drag racer. As luck would have it, this Ventura was campaigned by Davis at Waco Drag Strip and Green Valley in Fort Worth from 1962 to 1967. Ken recalls that the Ventura ran 14.00 at 99-100 and was unbeatable in the Hillsboro area.
Obviously this Pontiac had it all and Steven knew it so a 3 1/2-year ground up restoration ensued. Since the paint was already done, Steven decided it best to leave the body on the frame but all else was stripped from it for refurbishing or replacement. Cayce went through everything, rebuilding the suspension and braking system and adding 8-Lug wheels and power steering in the process. The incorrect 1967 Muncie 4-speed was swapped in favor of a correct and rebuilt Borg Warner T-10 behind a stock replacement clutch and the 3.90:1 Safe-T-track differential was rebuilt. Since the dash had previous mods done to it, Cayce welded in another. The wiring was rewrapped and all of the connections were repaired and resoldered and new gas tank and fuel lines were installed. On the outside, the stainless was polished.
Of course the original engine was rebuilt but keeping it as stock as possible and reusing as many original parts as practical was very important to the project. The 389 4-bolt main block was bored .060 over and fitted with cast pistons (with Speed-Pro rings) on the stock refurbished crank and rods and the #538177 heads received a valve job, NOS 1.88-1.60 valves and new seals. A #6 cam controls the valve events and the Tri-Power induction system was meticulously restored inside and out.
Now that the restoration is completed, Steven confided, "It's been a long and frustrating project, but well worth the effort when my wife Juli and I drive to cruises and hear good comments about it."
Steven Cayce's Bamboo Cream Ventura has just 58,373 miles on the odometer. Ed Giolma's Bristol Blue model is the low mileage winner with only 28,000 miles since new. |  | 
Note the bench seat shifter with the big bend. This is pre-Hurst days when Inland supplied the shifter and linkage. Notice how thin the shifter handle is. |
A Tri-Tone interior is a highlight of the late '50s and early '60s Pontiacs. North Kansas City Auto Trim reupholstered the seats using NOS vinyl in the proper white, red and maroon tones. Steven added a set of floor mats over the Ames carpet and the headliner is original. | 
On the Bamboo Cream example, the Tri-Power induction system is restored to stock including the factory studs used on the tops of the carbs. Note the special tips. Mechanical linkage is used for this application and the jets are .063 in the center and .069 on the ends. | 
Attention to detail is evident in Cayce's engine compartment with firewall marks, an original #1115133 coil and other factory parts refurbished and reinstalled. |
Ed Giolma's Bristol Blue Ventura
"My first 1961 Pontiac was purchased in 1965. It was a Coronado Red 348-horse, 4-speed Ventura coupe," Ed Giolma explained. "I've owned about a dozen more since then. All were Venturas except for three. Of the Venturas that I have restored, three have scored 396-397 out of 400 points in POCI judging, this including the 1961 Royal Pontiac Super Stock Ventura." It was Steven who tipped off Ed that this Bristol Blue 1961 Ventura was for sale up in Washington State in 2001. According to Ed, the very low mileage example appeared to have been upgraded to a Super-Duty as evidenced by some of the parts that were on the car when he got it. Originally from California, the Ventura has aged well and was treated to some restoration work including a repaint prior to Ed's purchase.
Since moving into the Giolma's Southgate, Texas garage, Ed has added the wide whites for a vintage look and has installed reupholstered bucket seats. Giolma related that the Ventura left the factory with a 318-horse 389 and a 3-speed column-shifted manual transmission with a 3.42 Safe-T-Track rear. Comfort and style options included tinted glass and 8-Lug wheels.
Currently, Ed's Ventura is built to Trophy 425A specs with the #6 cam and the later free-flowing exhaust manifolds. It too is shifted by a T-10 4-speed, installed by a previous owner.
Future plans include a frame up restoration next year. We thought it looked fantastic, but Ed sees work that needs to be done to meet his standards.
Conclusion
Both of these Pontiac hobbyists exhibit the positive side of the hobby where friends work together for the betterment of their Pontiacs, their relationship and the hobby itself. Of course their '61 Venturas aren't bad either. Why is the story called Ventura My-Way? Because if I were to own a 1961 Ventura, one of my personal favorites, I would want it equipped the same way. As editor, I can get away with artistic license like that.
Front end styling was very aggressive by 1961 standards. The grille resembled flared nostrils as you can see on the Bristol Blue example. In the rear, styling was a bit subtler. VENTURA letters mean that this was no stripper Catalina that just blew by you. Note the reproduction Police rear stabilizer bar visible under the Bamboo Cream model. | 
8-Lug wheels consisted of a steel outer rim that bolted to a finned cast-aluminum brake drum with an iron liner. The idea was to add both style and improved braking by exposing the drum to the air stream to dissipate heat faster. They were offered as an option with different trim from 1960 to 1968. | 
Save the carpet headliner and bucket seat swap, the remainder of this blue Tri-Tone interior is original. Ed did add the gauges though and the Ventura was converted to a floor-shifted 4-speed by a previous owner. |
Starting life as a code RC4 318-horse Tri-Power engine replete with a 273/282* cam and standard exhaust manifolds, this engine in the Bristol Blue Ventura now has the hotter #6 cam with 283*/292* duration and '67-69 Firebird long branch exhaust manifolds. Both engines used the same Tri-Power carbs with a #701964 center carb and #7013063 front carb and a #7013065 rear carb. | | |