Ramon Lowe 58 Pontiac

[Hemi Moose]

Ramon Lowe's '58 Pontiac...

[Rich Biebel]

I had a friend who raced a '58 Pontiac and knew Jay Hamilton and Ramon Lowe......Craig Muller....He built and raced a '58 with F.I.

I bought a shortblock from him that supposedly came from one of those men.

It had Jahns pistons.....and I think it was too big to be legal and the pistons were cracked....I had it bored bigger and put new pistons in it.....but the engine never got used....

I also at one time had a complete F.I. unit for a '58....Sold it for what I thought was good $$$ back then......Not much compared to what one would sell for today.....

I had a '58 street car......and wanted a '57 Safari wagon....

[Rich Biebel]

Originally Posted by Hemi Moose

Ramon Lowe's '58 Pontiac...

That body looks like a Star Chief sedan. Longer wheelbase than the cheaper base models. Similar to a top of the line Bonneville....

They made a bunch of different body styles. Hardtops, sedans, convertibles and wagons....

and with the over the counter stuff a lot of different engine combos..

338 hp would have been with an over the counter McKellar solid lifter cam.
Can't recall whether that was with a Tri-Power or a Rochester Fuel Injection unit.

Trans was a 4 speed hydro but they had a reputation for breaking and I broke mine....

I Loved those cars.
I had a 58 Chieftain.....was my first nice car and it had fresh laquer paint. White with a blue cove and roof......370 cubes 2 barrel hydramatic.

I did the heads...added a 4 barrel (AFB).....borrowed a 4.56 gear form Craig Muller and had a hokey exhaust with cutouts...Craig also did my trans and it shifted very hard....too hard.
Drove it to the track and ran high14's a few times around 1966.

I loved that car and unfortunately it ended up as scrap.....

[Hemi Moose]

Originally Posted by Rich Biebel

That body looks like a Star Chief sedan. Longer wheelbase than the cheaper base models. Similar to a top of the line Bonneville....

They made a bunch of different body styles. Hardtops, sedans, convertibles and wagons....

and with the over the counter stuff a lot of different engine combos..

338 hp would have been with an over the counter McKellar solid lifter cam.
Can't recall whether that was with a Tri-Power or a Rochester Fuel Injection unit.

Trans was a 4 speed hydro but they had a reputation for breaking and I broke mine....

I Loved those cars.
I had a 58 Chieftain.....was my first nice car and it had fresh laquer paint. White with a blue cove and roof......370 cubes 2 barrel hydramatic.

I did the heads...added a 4 barrel (AFB).....borrowed a 4.56 gear form Craig Muller and had a hokey exhaust with cutouts...Craig also did my trans and it shifted very hard....too hard.
Drove it to the track and ran high14's a few times around 1966.

I loved that car and unfortunately it ended up as scrap.....

Rich,
Would you happen to have any old pics of your Pontiac or perhaps a link that I could take a look at, maybe I could add some of them to this thread.

[Alex Denysenko]

Correct me if I am wrong and I very well may be , but I always thought that Jay Hamilton had the baddest 58 poncho stocker back in the day?

[Hemi Moose]

Here's another old shot of Ramon Lowe vs Jay Hamilton...

[Rich Biebel]

Jay Hamiltons car is a Bonneville.....and I think both cars were pretty well known and did well on the west coast.

I had a fondness for those old Poncho's and worked with Stu Rogers for a short time. He was partners with Bill Izykowki on the first Biscayne Bill raced and knew his Pontiacs very well. We worked on Pontiacs a lot. Street cars, race cars......Stu had a '62 Catalina convertible and then a '62 Grand Prix....We swapped the driveline from the convertible to the GP in one day....428 4 speed....Stu knew Jess Tyree a Pontiac powered funny car racer.....

No I have No pictures of my '58.....and I wish I did......

[Hemi Moose]

Here's one of the 'Tokyo Rose' Pontiac...