Best Pontiac Powered Super Stockers

[oldskool]

Just looked over my list of SS Pontiacs, that have raced in the last couple of years.

There are only a couple of dozen, about equally divided between GT cars & reg SS cars. And, quite a few of these cars run a very limited schedule.

So, compared the the many hundreds or thousands of active SS cars, Pontiac powered SS cars are an extremely small percentage of the total.

To me, that's one of the main reasons why it's such a big deal when a Pontiac wins it's class, sets a record, wins a race, or qualifies near the top of the list. And, as I've probably said, it's one of the main reasons for even having special threads devoted entirely to Pontiac V8 powered Stock/SS cars.

Another reason for taking a closer look at what Pontiacs have done, & are doing, is because there are now so many different brands/combos that are so much more competitive, many of which are much cheaper to build & maintain.

But, for those with enuff money to spend, there are still a few Pontiac combos that can be competitive, in heads-up runs. And there are quite a few combos that can run under the index without major funding.

The thought just crossed my mind: What would make a good "dime rocket", Pontiac V8 powered SS car, using a 350 or larger engine ?

I've mentioned the Larry Maxwell '68 GT Bird that runs a '74 350 engine. Don't know how cheap it was to build. Don't even know what the min total cost is, that would be considered a "dime rocket" SS car. Just thinkin about it, I can't see that it would cost any more than building a Stocker that would run a half sec under.

Assuming that the correct roller cam, alum intake, converter & rear gears would get a car down to the index, or very near it, without major expense. But hey, I could be wrong.

So, for you Pontiac guys, what are some Pontiac 350 & larger Pontiac V8 combos you'd consider the easiest/cheapest to get at least even with the SS index ?

A few possible 400 engines might be a:

(1) '69 350hp GTO engine, with a 306hp factor in SS & 310hp in GT.

http://www.classracerinfo.com/Engine...4&MAKE=Pontiac

(2) '74 225hp with a 290hp factor in SS & GT.

http://www.classracerinfo.com/Engine...1&MAKE=Pontiac

(3) '77 180hp with a 285hp factor in SS, 289hp in GT/auto.

http://www.classracerinfo.com/Engine...4&MAKE=Pontiac

I suppose the best 350 prospects for SS are:

(1) '74 200hp with a 250hp factor in a SS Ventura, or 256hp in GT/auto.

http://www.classracerinfo.com/Engine...8&MAKE=Pontiac

(2) '77 350 with a 246hp factor in a SS Bird, or 250hp in GT/auto.

http://www.classracerinfo.com/Engine...3&MAKE=Pontiac

Possible 455 engines might be a:

(1) '70 360hp GTO with a 335hp factor for SS & GT.

http://www.classracerinfo.com/Engine...0&MAKE=Pontiac

(2) '73 & '74 250hp with a 310hp factor for SS & GT.

http://www.classracerinfo.com/Engine...9&MAKE=Pontiac

http://www.classracerinfo.com/Engine...2&MAKE=Pontiac

Not saying these are the ONLY choices. But there are cars out there that run these combos. I purposely left out the round port engines.

For a lower cost engine, I assume the '77 400 might be a little cheaper, because of the price of 6x-8 head cores. A 350 might be a little cheaper, because a good core block is real cheap. Some have been given away. And some have been scrapped, because nobody would buy, or even pick up for free. Most Pontiac street guys just will not settle for a 350 block engine. They gotta have more cubes.

So, with all the other correct parts, how much head work would be required just to run the index, with some of these combos ? From what I've read here, that seems to be the big cost item, to go really quick. So, how much is a Go-Slow, head job, that will make enuff power to just barely run under the index. ?