Best Pontiac Powered Stockers

[oldskool]

Originally Posted by Todd Hoven

My old combo from 10 years ago. 1972 LeMans/GTO 455 250hp rated at 315. I ran 10.83 with this combo in testing at the end of 2009. Still a great combo.

Yeah, Ryan Schloe even ran a '71 Bird with a D-port 455. The guys on the PY site posted how bad those #66 heads were. Ryan did OK with it. Ran safely under the index. He was .929 under, at the 2005 Pomona finals.

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2005#indextop

So, there are quite a few Pontiac combos that can run well under, if built correctly & the car is set up right.

Speakin of your '72 D-port combo, Gary Wood said they did just as good with it as with the 455HO, in their Tons-a-Fun wagons.

http://www.hotrod.com/articles/0212hpp-pontiac-history/

Of the '71 & '72 cars running now, I don't always know which ones have D-ports & which ones have the 455HO. Since weight can be added or removed to run maybe 3 different classes, it's sometimes hard to tell, by the class they're running, exactly which engine they have.

I think Scott Burton was the last guy to run RAIV heads, in Stock. So, since he & John Schloe no longer run 'em, I suppose there is nobody currently running them, in Stock. But, there are several cars still running the 455HO engines. Brad Burton is the first name that comes to mind. We've mentioned how much he's won with that car, including 2 nat championships. Don Turk now has a 455HO powered T-37, as does former record holder Scott Underhill. I think Larry Maxwell's old car has the 455HO. A lady from Canada now drives it.

The 71 and 72 Combo is different. 71 combo can be run in an F Body and A Body and is rated at 325. The 72 is A Body only and rated at 315. It uses a 7M5 head that has a bigger intake runner.

Originally Posted by oldskool

Yeah, Ryan Schloe even ran a '71 Bird with a D-port 455. The guys on the PY site posted how bad those #66 heads were. Ryan did OK with it. Ran safely under the index. He was .929 under, at the 2005 Pomona finals.

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2005#indextop

So, there are quite a few Pontiac combos that can run well under, if built correctly & the car is set up right.

Speakin of your '72 D-port combo, Gary Wood said they did just as good with it as with the 455HO, in their Tons-a-Fun wagons.

http://www.hotrod.com/articles/0212hpp-pontiac-history/

Of the '71 & '72 cars running now, I don't always know which ones have D-ports & which ones have the 455HO. Since weight can be added or removed to run maybe 3 different classes, it's sometimes hard to tell, by the class they're running, exactly which engine they have.

I think Scott Burton was the last guy to run RAIV heads, in Stock. So, since he & John Schloe no longer run 'em, I suppose there is nobody currently running them, in Stock. But, there are several cars still running the 455HO engines. Brad Burton is the first name that comes to mind. We've mentioned how much he's won with that car, including 2 nat championships. Don Turk now has a 455HO powered T-37, as does former record holder Scott Underhill. I think Larry Maxwell's old car has the 455HO. A lady from Canada now drives it.

[oldskool]

Originally Posted by Todd Hoven

The 71 and 72 Combo is different. 71 combo can be run in an F Body and A Body and is rated at 325. The 72 is A Body only and rated at 315. It uses a 7M5 head that has a bigger intake runner.

Yeah, that's why the PY guys badmouthed those #66 heads.

And, because of the better heads & lower hp factor, that '72 A-body combo would obviously be more competitive.

But, as Ryan Schloe proved, the '71, with #66 heads can run well below the index. Wouldn't be as good, for heads-up runs. But, should be just as good for the dial-your-own rounds.

If built correctly, there are lots of Pontiac combinations that will run under their index. But, most guys wanna run as far under as possible. So, if you begin with a combo that has a favorable hp factor, that means that you don't have to get as serious with the build, just to run the index.

BUT, for those who wanna build a Pontiac that will run a sec under, they have to be more selective in their engine choice. Have to weigh the engine potential against the NHRA hp factor, for that engine, in the body you wanna use.

As mentioned, some body styles have already been hit real hard. The '77 Birds, using the 180hp 400 engine is a good example. The '74 GTO is another.

So, for anyone planning a Pontiac Stocker build, all these things must be considered. For just building something that will run under, there are LOTS of Pontiac combos that will work. But, for running a sec under, there are a few combos that offer more potential.

Stocker guys have been playing with this system for a long time now. That's why you see so many vehicles on the track that were not considered High Performance, at all, in factory form. BUT, because of NHRA hp factoring, an ugly, plain Jane car, that no Musclecar guys ever liked, may be a killer combo, on the track, especially if they can keep from getting a big hp hit.

Pickup trucks immediately come to mind. Then there are all the wagons, & other real heavy cars. And, there are the 4 cyl compacts. We remember a guy named Dave Botkin. He had a little pinto named "Tumbleweed" that ran strong. He won a div 4 title with it.

[oldskool]

Here's a short Pontiac slide show, with lots of Pontiac history, including quite a few race car pics.

Anybody who wants to watch will want to turn your audio volume off, because it is some sort of elevator music, or something that does not fit the video in the least.

It goes past the last Pontiac V8 engine, & depicts the very sad end of the Pontiac Motor Division.

[oldskool]

Found some more old Pontiac Stocker pics.

I've looked at so many pics lately, I can't remember all I've used in this thread. Maybe I should have kept a list. But I didn't. So, I'll rely on the mechanism on this site that tells you if you've already used & pic, & in what thread.

This 1st batch are '69 Birds.

Well, I'd already posted 3 of 'em. So, I'll try some other models.

Found 3 '68 pics I haven't posted yet.

[oldskool]

I'll try some more.