Pontiacs

[oldskool]

I'd say if you want a SS Pontiac, GT is the way to go. You can find a good buy on a used GM SS roller, then put your Pontiac engine in it.

https://www.racingjunk.com/Pro-Stock...89&from=search

Or, if you can live with a '77 350, you can probably get by with a good Stocker roller. The '77 350 hp factor is only 250, in GT. I think Larry Maxwell is running 9" slicks on his '74 350 powered '68 Bird.

And there are lots of Stockers running low 10's on 9" slicks & legal Stock suspension. Should be lots of 3rd gen Stock & SS rollers for sale out there, especially when the season is over. Should be able to find a Stocker roller for a reasonable price.

If you wanna stick with an older Pontiac body, for GT, you can use an X-body that didn't come with a Pontiac motor. I assume that will include anything form '71 thru at least '79, & would also include a Phoenix.

And, since the engine & body don't have to match, you can use a '79-'81 Bird body. I think more '79 Birds were sold than any other year. So, it makes sense that they will be more plentiful & cheaper. Have also noticed that the '80 & '81 Birds are usually pretty cheap. I personally don't like the '79-'81 nose. But hey, looks ain't everything. And, I know the nose can be replaced with a '77-'78 nose. I'm assuming the tail can also be replaced with the earlier tail, so that one could run it as a '77-'78.

Anyhow, for GT, there are LOTS of body options.

[Mark Yacavone]

Real Pontiac V8 ( no corporate nonsense) in the S/G final at Indy !!

[oldskool]

Originally Posted by Mark Yacavone

Real Pontiac V8 ( no corporate nonsense) in the S/G final at Indy !!

And so it was !

Thanks for that info ! I most likely would have never even looked at the S/G final.

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...er=30#indextop

Just a word about the winner of that race. My wife & I use to run against him, bracket racing at I-20 Dragway, in Tyler TX. They called his dad "Fast Eddie". So we called him "Little Eddie". IIRC, he was just a teenager, back then. I think he was driving a Mopar -- maybe a GTX. ? He was pretty good, even then. We couldn't beat him every time. Anyhow, he went on to make a big name for himself, in drag racing. Hey, that's just a little drag racing trivia for ya'll, from days gone by.

By the way, for those who don't know, the '68 Bird that Julie Biermann drove at Indy belongs to Tim. He also ran a real nice '68 GTO, a few years back.

[john corcoran jr]

A few things to think about if building a GT car. The first would be the cost of the core car and parts availability.. The cheapest would be the 79-81 Birds. Parts are readily available for 67-81 cars. 82 to 92 cars require more work to find parts and cost more but you can find aluminum hoods and front bumper bars.

Aerodynamics play a part in this. In GT you would be likely running up a against a jellybean car like a Cobalt or a Sunfire like Don Kennedy's during class eliminations. Sorry DK but your Sunfire doesn't have the cool factor that your last Firebird had. I have been told that the 91-92 Birds were the most aerodynamic cars Pontiac ever sold. 2nd gen Birds were GM's first computer designed car with at least thoughts about aero.

Body and engine fitment should be looked at. Pontiac had to redesign its air cleaner housings and intake manifolds because of the low hood line of the 2nd gen cars. Do you avoid a shaker hood or jack the carb on up in there? A Qjet and a Victor intake will fit under the hood of an 82-92 car. If you ever changed spark plugs on a 67-81 Pontiac, you would be amazed at how easy it is on a 82-92. In the 1980's people complained about the increased cost of chassis work on an 82-92 but now consider on a gen 2 car will you have to replace all the sheetmetal from the spring pockets back while moving in the framerails? I wouldn't even think about doing a 4th gen car even though I know some have been done. A more interesting choice would be a modern GTO with traditional Pontiac power. Good aero, was built with a Chevy v8 and donor cars are out there. Did you know if you put a 6x 400 with a manual trans in, the class designation is GT/O.

[oldskool]

"... A more interesting choice would be a modern GTO with traditional Pontiac power. Good aero...and donor cars are out there."

Now there's an Idea I hadn't thought of. Anybody seen or heard of a Pontiac powered GT car, using a late model GTO body ?

I like it !

[Mark Yacavone]

Originally Posted by oldskool

"... A more interesting choice would be a modern GTO with traditional Pontiac power. Good aero...and donor cars are out there."

Now there's an Idea I hadn't thought of. Anybody seen or heard of a Pontiac powered GT car, using a late model GTO body ?

I like it !

No, and the wheelbase is quite long, by comparison.

[oldskool]

From a quick Google search, looks like it's shorter than the earlier GTO's, but longer than Birds.

So, is that a bad thing ?

I mean, is it a "shorter is better" deal ?

Took a look at the GM GT cars on the Indy Q-list. Looks like most are Cobalts, Cavaliers, & 3rd gen F-bodies.

There were a couple of late GTO Stockers there. They were both running in the 10's, with 9" slicks. So, with a '77 Pontiac 350 engine, there shouldn't be any problem running in GT, with a Stocker suspension set-up .

Looked up some prices. There are some higher mileage cars for around $10k. This 1st one is the cleanest lookin one I've found that is well under $10k. It's $8,599 (OBO). So, there should be some decent race car candidates out there for $5k or less.

https://classiccars.com/listings/vie...-florida-33317

$7k

https://www.carsforsale.com/vehicle/details/77303073

This one is $6490, with a bad auto trans.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/20359441260...=&toolid=10050

How 'bout a '74 ? If you have to start from scratch, starting with one of these or a 2nd gen that came with a Pontiac engine might save a little work & money.

https://cars.trovit.com/listing/1974...ck.J1ZZ1O14h0Q

https://cars.trovit.com/listing/1974...r.1is1oEh18i1i

https://cars.trovit.com/listing/1974...iles.0185HXyNU

https://automotive-classifieds.com/d...premium-trovit