CLASS RACER FORUM - View Single Post - Project - NHRA Stock and S/S results 61-68

oldskool · 11-01-2021, 10:24 AM

"...point out the glaring errors..."

Don't know if that's a serious statement or just a little humor.

If it's serious, I'll have to say this: What's "glaring" to some, may be very minor, & not worth mentioning to others.

This is especially true for guys that are very familiar with a particular car brand.

For example: When you say stuff about Fords, Mopars, AMC, Olds, & Buick, most of the time, I wouldn't know if what you were saying is so, or not. I have never bothered to learn hardly anything about the details of those cars.

But, although I'm NOT a Pontiac expert, I HAVE read about, owned, raced, & wrenched on quite a few Pontiacs, since around 1964, when I first began reading about the new GTO.

As I mentioned, most Pontiac guys call the Pontiac 3-carb set-up "Tri-Power". Others may call it "3-deuces", of "trips", or "3 x 2", or whatever.

Since Chevy guys, and many others are familiar with "small block" & Big Block" Chevy engines, lots of 'em will ask a Pontiac guy if he's running a "Big Block" in his Pontiac. That usually means a 455, or maybe a 428. Those guys might consider a 400 Pontiac engine a small block. OR, some might only consider 350 & smaller Pontiac engines as small blocks. But, since most Pontiac V8's are basically the same size on the outside, Pontiac guys don't call 'em Big or small blocks, and lots of Pontiac guys will let you know about it if you refer to a Pontiac engine as a Big or small block. Some Pontiac guys are really mean about it, especially online.

As for Mopars, I know only the very basics, such as that some of the popular race engines were 340's, 360's, 383's, 413's, 426 Wedge, 426 Street Hemi, 426 Race Hemi, & 440. I know the names of a few of the car models, but can't pick all of 'em out, by just lookin at pictures. Haven't bothered to learn any more about 'em than that, & probably won't. Same goes for the other brands.

But, I'm always open to learn more about Pontiac V8 powered drag cars. And, when I see something like a Pontiac round port head being called an "oval" port, it just automatically triggers something inside that says that don't sound right. Does it really make a big difference ? NO ! Although an oval isn't perfectly round, some ovals can be almost round.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oval

I suppose it's not that calling something by a wrong name is anything bad, or anything that really makes much difference, but rather it's that it makes the one who used the wrong word or term seem like they are not very knowledgeable about that particular part or subject. So, I suppose the bottom line is: If you wanna sound like you really know about something, always use the correct words or terminology, when talking about or describing something. That way, people will think you really know what your talkin about & will be more likely to believe what you say.

Example: When a guy begins the conversation asking if your Pontiac engine is a "Big Block", my 1st thought is that this guy knows very little to nothing about Pontiacs. Same would go for someone reading a book. If the author uses the wrong terminology, most readers will assume the author don't know much about that particular subject.

In your case, you don't really need to know about all the different brands of cars & the exact terminology for each brand's equipment. But, the more correct terminology you use, the more informed you'll seem, to the reader.

Therefore, if I was the author, I'd wanna get all the terminology correct, even if I never planned to learn all the details of all the different brands. So, with this in mind, if I discovered mistakes I'd made, no matter how minor, & could correct those mistakes, I'd welcome the opportunity.

Some might call that a perfectionist attitude. Well, whatever. LOTS of times I'll see mistakes I made & overlooked in a post I made. Even though the mistake is very minor & everybody reading the post will know what I meant, I'll usually edit & correct the mistake. One forum I'm on only gives you 1 hour to edit a post. I've found mistakes after that 1-hour limit. Some were so bad that I made a 2nd post, in order to point out the mistake & post the corrected info.

But, I've noticed that LOTS of guys just let their obvious posted mistakes go. Maybe those folks are just a lot busier than me & don't have time to proofread & edit posts. Then I suppose their are some who just don't care, especially if they think others will know what they meant to say.

Buy hey, I appreciate all the research you guys have done, to put all this info together !

THANKS !

"...Ive stolen the 2nd pic mate..."

I got it out of the SS book.

11-01-2021, 10:24 AM	#176
oldskool VIP Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: The Land of Bayous, Boudin & Crawfish Posts: 1,668 Likes: 223 Liked 750 Times in 361 Posts	Re: Project - NHRA Stock and S/S results 61-68 "...point out the glaring errors..." Don't know if that's a serious statement or just a little humor. If it's serious, I'll have to say this: What's "glaring" to some, may be very minor, & not worth mentioning to others. This is especially true for guys that are very familiar with a particular car brand. For example: When you say stuff about Fords, Mopars, AMC, Olds, & Buick, most of the time, I wouldn't know if what you were saying is so, or not. I have never bothered to learn hardly anything about the details of those cars. But, although I'm NOT a Pontiac expert, I HAVE read about, owned, raced, & wrenched on quite a few Pontiacs, since around 1964, when I first began reading about the new GTO. As I mentioned, most Pontiac guys call the Pontiac 3-carb set-up "Tri-Power". Others may call it "3-deuces", of "trips", or "3 x 2", or whatever. Since Chevy guys, and many others are familiar with "small block" & Big Block" Chevy engines, lots of 'em will ask a Pontiac guy if he's running a "Big Block" in his Pontiac. That usually means a 455, or maybe a 428. Those guys might consider a 400 Pontiac engine a small block. OR, some might only consider 350 & smaller Pontiac engines as small blocks. But, since most Pontiac V8's are basically the same size on the outside, Pontiac guys don't call 'em Big or small blocks, and lots of Pontiac guys will let you know about it if you refer to a Pontiac engine as a Big or small block. Some Pontiac guys are really mean about it, especially online. As for Mopars, I know only the very basics, such as that some of the popular race engines were 340's, 360's, 383's, 413's, 426 Wedge, 426 Street Hemi, 426 Race Hemi, & 440. I know the names of a few of the car models, but can't pick all of 'em out, by just lookin at pictures. Haven't bothered to learn any more about 'em than that, & probably won't. Same goes for the other brands. But, I'm always open to learn more about Pontiac V8 powered drag cars. And, when I see something like a Pontiac round port head being called an "oval" port, it just automatically triggers something inside that says that don't sound right. Does it really make a big difference ? NO ! Although an oval isn't perfectly round, some ovals can be almost round. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oval I suppose it's not that calling something by a wrong name is anything bad, or anything that really makes much difference, but rather it's that it makes the one who used the wrong word or term seem like they are not very knowledgeable about that particular part or subject. So, I suppose the bottom line is: If you wanna sound like you really know about something, always use the correct words or terminology, when talking about or describing something. That way, people will think you really know what your talkin about & will be more likely to believe what you say. Example: When a guy begins the conversation asking if your Pontiac engine is a "Big Block", my 1st thought is that this guy knows very little to nothing about Pontiacs. Same would go for someone reading a book. If the author uses the wrong terminology, most readers will assume the author don't know much about that particular subject. In your case, you don't really need to know about all the different brands of cars & the exact terminology for each brand's equipment. But, the more correct terminology you use, the more informed you'll seem, to the reader. Therefore, if I was the author, I'd wanna get all the terminology correct, even if I never planned to learn all the details of all the different brands. So, with this in mind, if I discovered mistakes I'd made, no matter how minor, & could correct those mistakes, I'd welcome the opportunity. Some might call that a perfectionist attitude. Well, whatever. LOTS of times I'll see mistakes I made & overlooked in a post I made. Even though the mistake is very minor & everybody reading the post will know what I meant, I'll usually edit & correct the mistake. One forum I'm on only gives you 1 hour to edit a post. I've found mistakes after that 1-hour limit. Some were so bad that I made a 2nd post, in order to point out the mistake & post the corrected info. But, I've noticed that LOTS of guys just let their obvious posted mistakes go. Maybe those folks are just a lot busier than me & don't have time to proofread & edit posts. Then I suppose their are some who just don't care, especially if they think others will know what they meant to say. Buy hey, I appreciate all the research you guys have done, to put all this info together ! THANKS ! "...Ive stolen the 2nd pic mate..." I got it out of the SS book. Last edited by oldskool; 11-01-2021 at 10:43 AM.