Pontiacs

[oldskool]

Well, some of the oldest Pontiac class cars I've seen are '56 models. So, I'll show '56 thru '64 models on this post.

The '56 thru '63 models are full size Pontiacs. The '64 is obviously a GTO.

[oldskool]

The A/FX Pontiacs were quite unique. They were '62 & '63 model Tempest bodies, with the 421SD engine.

In '62, a Mickey Thompson A/FX Tempest won the class at the Winter Nats & at Indy.

A '63 M/T Tempest won the class again, at the '63 Winter Nats.

But M/T was not the only 421SD Tempest owner. And, there were a couple of wagon bodies used.

The FX classes didn't last long. So, some of these 421SD Tempests were then used to run in other classes. A/MP was one of those classes.

[oldskool]

I've posted lots of pics of Pontiac A-bodies & Birds, on this site.

But there have also been quite a few Pontiac Stock & SS wagons. Many have been big race winners & record holders.

Here are just a few of 'em.

[oldskool]

Most guys know about the common Pontiac Stock/SS combos. In this post, I'll mention some combos I've run across that are not real common.

The 1st one I'll mention is the '66 Tempest, powered by the Pontiac OHC Six engine. Knafel Pontiac fielded 2, a hardtop & a ragtop. I actually knew a guy who had a ragtop 4-speed street Tempest. Went for a ride in it once. It was pretty spunky.

This engine was also available in 1st gen Birds. I still have the body of a '69, which came with that engine.

But, other than those engines, I'll stick with Pontiac V8 powered models. Other than wagons, most Pontiac Stock/SS cars were 2-door models. After '63, there were not a lot of Pontiac "big car" bodies used for class racing. So, when I run across a '64-up big car, other than a Grand Prix, running Stock or SS, it seems kind of rare to me.

Right now, I can only think of one '64-up 4-door Pontiac big car Stocker. I think it may be a '73. It's big & ugly & named "Tijuana Taxi'. Have already posted enuff pics of it on this site.

[oldskool]

For the most part, the quickest Pontiacs from around 1959, thru '66, have had more than one carb. The 421SD engines had 2 AFB's. Quite a few cars came with three 2-barrels, which Pontiac called Tri-power. I think Tri-power came in 370, 389, & 421 versions. Not sure about any others. I'm not a Tri-power expert, by any means. I'm a Q-jet guy.

In '66, the GTO could come with a 389 Tri-power. I suppose the most famous was the Knafel Pontiac car, I call the "Trophy Car". Knafel actually had at least 2 of these cars. Below are pics of their 2-car rig, with both cars aboard.

Royal Pontiac also raced this model. And I'm sure there were probably quite a few other Pontiac dealers that sponsored 1. No telling how many '64-'66 Tri-Power GTO's were raced, all over the country. From what I can find, it looks like most of 'em ran either B/S or C/S.

Currently, I only know of 2 Stockers that still run Tri-power. Bob Michael has a '62 389 GP. And Norman Warling has a '62 Catalina, with that same engine. Norman actually tried a 421SD in his car for a race or 2. This past weekend, with the Tri-power 389 engine, he was #1 qualifier at the 1st race & #2 qualifier at the 2nd race of the div 6 doubleheader.

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2021#indextop

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2021#indextop

[oldskool]

When lookin back at the race results from the '60's, it's obvious that one of the most competitive Stock Pontiacs was the '58 model.

These cars ran a 370 cube engine. Tri-Power was an option. F.I. was also available on some models, in '57 & '58. I assume that most of the higher classed '58's ran the Tri-Power, & lower classed cars ran a single carb. Not sure of that. Don't know if there were any who had good success with the F.I. system, for racing, or not. Some probably did.

The biggest name in '58 Pontiac racing was Ramon Lowe. He was involved with several cars, which won races, set records, & got class wins.

Another '58 racer was Gene Brown. Noticed "Lowe & Brown" on a '58 that Ramon drove. So, I assume that maybe those 2 guys shared info to help make both of their '58's quicker. But, I wasn't aware of either racer back in the day.

Another famous '58 was named "Tokyo Rose".

Another was driven by Lindy Lindholm. In recent times Lindy raced a '77 GP, then a pretty strong '74 Formula. A few years back, the '74 was stolen. So, Lindy moved to another brand.

The '58 that Mary Ann Foss drove was a class winner & record holder.

The last 2 pics are also of strong '58's. I think Jay Hamilton won the div 7 Stock points more than once.

[oldskool]

Haven't found many pics of '57 & '59 Pontiac drag cars. So, I decided to put 'em all on this post.

The '57 engine was a 347. I think Tri-Power was available. F.I. was available in a Bonny ragtop only, if my info is correct.

But, some guys ran it in HT models. It was eventually banned in all models that couldn't be factory equipped with it.

The biggest name I've found, who raced a '57 was John Thropp.

'59 was the first year of the 389 engine. I only have pics of 3 '59's in my files.

[Stan Weiss]

Ramon Lowe 58 Pontiac


http://www.classracer.com/classforum...ad.php?t=44070


Stan

[oldskool]

Looking back at old nat records & class wins, it appears that the 1960 Pontiacs were very competitive.

The 1st one that comes to mind is the Royal Pontiac "Hot Chief #1", which Jim Wangers drove to victory at the '60 Nats.

One of my favorites was the black "Big Iron" car. It was a nat record holder, driven by Rod Kister.

Ronnie Broadhead was a class winner & div champ.

The Lowe & Beardsley car was a record holder, as was the Samuels car. I have pics of several other '60 Pontiacs. So, I'm guessing that there were LOTS of 'em, at tracks all over the country, back in the '60's.

[oldskool]

There were LOTS of '61, '62, & '63 Big Pontiacs, running on tracks all over the country.

The 389SD & 421SD engines were VERY competitive. So, these cars got lots of class wins & set lots of nat records.

Then, after '63, there was very little factory help. So, MOST of the heavy hitters switched brands. Mopar went "whole hog" into drag racing, giving LOTS of factory support to lots of racers. That, along with the 426 Hemi engines, gave the factory Mopar cars a big advantage. A quick check of race results beginning in the mid '60's will show how dominant Mopar was.

Same thing happened in NASCAR. The dominant 389SD & 421SD Pontiacs gave way to the Hemi Mopars & 427 Fords.

But, in the early '60's, Pontiacs did a lot of winning, on drag & circle tracks. And I love to read about what many call Pontiac's "Glory Days".

There were some crazy classes in '61-'63. NHRA made classes for cars running some factory over-the-counter HP parts, & for very limited production models.

There were classes like S/S, S/SA, OS/S, SS/S, A/FX, B/FX, etc. For a time, those classes, plus A/S were called Top Stock, and classes below that were called Junior Stock.

One of my favorite '61 Pontiacs was raced by div 4 racers, the Moore family, with Gary Moore driving. He set a national record, won class at a nat event, & was div 4 champ, with a '61 Pontiac.

There were lots of dealer sponsored '61's. Another of my favorite '61's was driven by Carol Cox. She won the S/SA class at Pomona & Indy with it. The hottest '61's ran one of the SD engines.