[ponyakr]

before leaving the subject of elec power, i'll mention this. in order 2 reduce the amount of elec power you need 2 operate your racer, you can eliminate the elec fuel pump. as you know, cars with carbs, came with manual pumps-not elec. many of the old musclecars would run well into the 13 sec range with only a manual pump. i'm a witness--my ole goat was 1 of em. today there are manual pumps avail that can eliminate the need for an elec pump. the 6907 carter will probably do the job well into the 12 sec range & the robbmac pumps will supply your racer for much higher power levels. dirt trackers are doin it every weekend--cause elec pumps are illeagal--for obvious fire hazard reasons. now, this i picked up from a chevy racer. a few years back as i was strollin thru the pits, checkin out some of the rides, i noticed this guy pourin fuel in under the hood, instead of at the rear. so i eased on over for a closer look. he had a small vertical fuel cell mounted in front of the engine. so, with that set up, you have gravity & the forward exceleration of the vehicle, forcing fuel down, out of the cell & back toward the manual fuel pump. that means it will take less suction power 2 get fuel 2 the pump--so, a less efficient pump, such as the 6907 carter may feed a racer on down into the hi 11 sec range, or maybe even quicker, especially if you're runnin a holley with the big fuel bowls on each end &/or only run 1/8 mile instead of 1/4. there are options. hey, its food for thought, ain't it?

[ponyakr]

here's some tips for race only cars. if your car still has the 40 year old hood & trunk latches & they haven't failed yet--they will. for race only--don't even take the chance. remove the latches & use hood pins. i do suggest retaining the safety catch--i've seen hoods blow up goin down the track, because somebody forgot 2 put the retaining clips back thru the pins. you can buy all sorts of hood pin kits. i prefer 2 use lanyard wires so that i'll know where the clips are when i need em. you can buy kits with the lanyard wires or without. i prefer 2 make my own lanyards. you can go 2 the hardware sec of wal-mart & buy the covered wire, then cut it the exact length you want. the soft plastic like covering will be easy on your paint job. you can use elec wire type ring terminal ends with the correct hole size you need, 2 connect each end. i use wal-mart metal key rings 2 attach the hairpin style(my choice) retainer clips. small bolts will secure the other end 2 the top of the radiator support. when you drop em, they'll fall down over the bumper & be rite there at the end of the wire when you need em. lots of guys like 2 make their own parts when possible--some for $ reasons--some just enjoy it. hood pins are easy 2 make if you have the time. just cut the head off a proper size & length bolt & drill a hole in the top for the retainer clip. most dirt trackers make their own. but if you want the nice shiney chrome 1's, you'll have 2 buy--but they're cheap. 2 secure a snug, rattle & flop free fit, you'll need 2 put something over the pin 2 hold the hood or trunk lid up 2 the correct height. i used old valve springs with the steel hoods. for glass boods & lids, you'll want something a little lighter. you can buy light springs or do what most do--just cut off a length of rubber hose & slip it over the pin. you can use large fender washers if needed, 2 shim for proper fit. i like 2 use a similiar setup on the trunk lid. notice on the bird pics--somebody else had rigged these lanyards--i attach the ends 2 the top of the radiator support, so that the lanyards will help you lift the hood enuff 2 get your hands under it--the lid has lite hinges on the outside, but i had'nt got around 2 riggin the lanyard wires yet. if you want 2 remove every bit of weight possible, you can remove the stock hinges, springs, lid bracing &/or buy a glass lid if you have the $. all this may seem like far 2 much detail 2 some--especially if your an old hand & have done this a lot allready. but i can tell by some of the posts that there are several guys tuned in who are just gettin started & don't know all these details. so if i can help 1 guy with one small detail, it'll be worth the time & trouble 2 me. i sure wish i'd had somebody 2 tell me all this stuff when i was just startin out! would'a saved me lots of time, problems, $ , disappointing results & dumb, stupid mistakes!

[ponyakr]

nowdays, everybody seems 2 run 2 the hi $ braid covered hose, everywhere on the car they can. if you got the $--go for it--they look great! but they are not necessary. we won lots of races & i never bought 1 piece of braided hose. you can get by with cheap rubber hose if you follow a few simple guidelines. 1st, if your afraid the cheap stock fuel hose ain't strong enuff, you can buy the stronger type thats rated for use in fuel injection systems. but keep in mind, it does cost more. the main tricks 2 using rubber hose safely are: avoiding sharp bends; keepin it away from sharp edges; keepin it away from hot stuff(like headers); & using the correct clamps. you can use large wire retainers 2 route the hose away from heat & sharp edges. for the clamps--don't use the common narrow type clamp--buy the extra wide kind. they cost a little more, but they will spread the clamping force over a wider section of hose, which will provide a better seal. also they are not as prone 2 cut the hose as are the narrow type. i've seen the narrow type clamps which were tightened 2 much, cut the hose, & cause a fuel leak, which caused a fire under the hood--not good! so use the wider clamps & tighten them only enuff 2 seal the connection & prevent leaks. if you're in a hurry & don't have any wide clamps--use 2 narrow type as close together as possible, tightening them together--1st one & then the other, a little at a time so as not 2 cut the hose. you'll need 2 use at least 1 metal inline filter. i like 2 use 1 between the cell & pump & 1 between the pump & carb. if your carb still has a filter in the inlet, carefully take it out & chunk it. there are all sorts of super hi $ filters out there. i recommend a simple inline metal filter, such as the fram G15 or the wix 33033. they cost less than $5, on down 2 just over $2 with some volume purchase deals. i've found that most parts are cheaper from ebay/amazon unless you can get a free ride for them on a larger summit order. i always use 3/8 alum line from the cell forward, making all connections 2 cell, filters, pump & carb with rubber hose & wide clamps. most connections have either barbed fittings or expanded ends(like on the filters), so that extreme tightening is not necessary 2 seal them. but if this cheap, old school method gags you--pull out your wallet & shell out the green for braided hose & alum a-n fittings from front 2 rear. also check out the hi $ filter selection while your at it--mite as well go all out if you can! the choice is yours. also be aware that some tracks require braided line & a-n fittings for fuel & sometimes other items also. check the track rules before you decide which way 2 go. if the good stuff is required at your track, the front mounted, vertical cell set up i mentioned will save many $ on braided hose. well, thats all the old school tips i've thought of for now--so i'll back on outa here. good luck 2 all with whatever your wrenchin on!

[ponyakr]

as i looked back over the flack i got from the race forum boys, i noticed 1 item that i forgot 2 comment on(i think). somebody pointed out my obvious lack of intelligence, indicated by my sacreligious use of a '68 bird for dirt racin. well, as i pointed out in my story, i did not convert the car 2 dirt racin. i bought(or inherited) it after it had won many races & made lots of chevy boys mad, 2 the point, as i mentioned, that they protested his use of a second rad behind the seat, which caused him 2 stop runnin that track. so, when i got it, it was a veteran of many sat nite dirt battles against the chevy boys. i've mentioned this, but its hard for younger folks today 2 realize how thangs were back then. nowdays, almost any scrap of usable metal off an early bird is considered almost precious metal. but back then, they were just old wore out, rusty, beat up cars that nobody(except me) wanted. the most i ever remember givin for 1 was $350 for the very 1st 1 i bought 2 build TJ's 1st racer with. after that, the price was $300 for a runnin 400/th400 & less for those not runnin or less motor/trans. so, i wound up with an early bird junkyard. sure wish now id'a took some pics of it. but at the time, who wanted pics of a bunch of old junk cars? i ask TJ 2 look thru some of our old pet scrapbooks--we may have a few pics with glimpses of a junker or 2 in the background. mb's 2nd dirt car was a 2nd gen. he'd found out from the chevy boys that the suspension on a 2nd gen was much better suited for dirt racin than a 1st gen. this is the car he won 3 point titles in. i'll show the pics again. these old 2nd gens were just as cheap as the early birds, so i stacked em up in my yard as fast as i could. we raced em, sold em & used em fur parts--nobody cared. i had so many birds settin around that when i sold "oogene" the '68 i have now, he said i gave him a couple of '68 parts cars 2 go with it in case he needed em 2 help get his car on the track. i know a man that bought a super nice '68 a few years back. it was very streetable & ran 12's in the 1/4. but he cut it up & had it backhalfed. i think its been in the 10's & goin lower. i personally, nowdays, would not consider cuttin up a '68 that nice, but people still do it. i suppose, 2 some extent, history repeats itself in every generation. whats trash 2 some is treasure 2 others. ps: 1 more thought on the '68 dirtbird. i put a 428 out of a drag goat i bought, in the bird. it won its 1st heat race, easily whuppin all the chevys. but it apparently blew a seal in the mallory dual point dist that was in it & got oil in the cap, which as you can imagine, caused a significant misfire & smoke(which i thank you can see in the last pic), resulting in a poor finish in the feature.

[ponyakr]

featuring "speedy" & "barney", our resident speed barn "tigers"

[ponyakr]

every gearhead would like 2 have a shop of his own, in which 2 work on his favorite pontiac. but, unfortunately the price of that luxury does not always fit the budget of many households. so, said gearhead must make do, the best he can, with what he has. i'll refresh your memory with a few shots of my 1st outdoor race shop. you can see my "hangin tree" makeshift motor puller, which was nothin more than a piece of 6" channel iron, chained 2 a tree at each end. when needed, i'd borrow my dad's chain falls type hoist & snatch em out. it was around the tops of some of the trees in this little stand that, just a few years after these pics were taken, that we discovered roofing tin wrapped around. the hay barn pictured was hit by a tornado during the nite & the entire roof was gone! the only thang left was the tin in the treetops & a few pieces of rafters here & there. we finally found the rest of it scattered about thru a pine thicket, north of our test strip(hi-way). my dad let me use the corner of our carport for race car wrenchin. i'm pictured walkin toward the carport with some unidentified part. hey, it wud'n much, but i didn't care. i wuz 1 happy young man--doin my thang! --wrenchin on my old ponyaks every day(when weather permitted of course) & racin em on sat nite. hey, life don't git much better'n that fur a ponyak gearhead! ah, precious memories. so, even if you don't have a nice shop 2 work in, don't be discouraged or give up--just be real nice 2 your wife & maybe she'll let you use 1 side of the carport(if you got a 2-holer) 2 work on your project. if not, all is not lost. i spent many hours those 1st couple of years, wallerin in the dirt, under my ole ponyaks, tryin 2 get ready 2 go racin & beat some chevys--which they did! but i couldn't wait for the weekly sat nite bath--this outdoor hobby required nitely scrubbin after an outside hose down--yee haw! "you gotta luv it!"

[ponyakr]

well, i've told ya'll about my 1st "race shop" & a lot about my 2nd--but now i wanna talk about my current "shop". after my physical problems & resulting truck wreck in '04 ,which i've talked about, i could no longer, by law, drive a commercial truck for 10 years. so i was forced 2 sell my shop & several acres of land to raise "get by" cash. finally i was able 2 get on disability. but that only pays the house note & utilities. i eventually found a part time min wage job & was able 2 do a little racin. now, i rehearsed all this because its a big part of my story--its "where i came from". now, having a race car without a shop put me rite back where i started in '73. so, what 2 do? i began 2 thank it over & try 2 come up with a plan. the best plan was 2 build a nice brand new shop--but that was out of the ?. but i knew i at least needed a concrete slab 2 work on. the 1st choice would have been the slab that had been under our milk truck shed. it would have been almost perfect. i could have put some sides on it & made it into a real nice shop. there was only 1 thing that prevented me from doing that--the entire roof had been blown off of it just a couple of years earlier. i gave the materials 2 someone just 2 clean up the mess & uncover the milk trucks that were still under the rubble. so, the next best slab that was avail was under a large shed that was attached 2 the east side of our original milking barn. the original barn was built in the late '40's. this shed was added somewhere in the late '60's & the slab added in the 70's. these buildings & slabs are a big part of where i came from. i milked cows there from '55 thru early '61. & my dad was makin a living out of this barn before i was born. anyhow, i decided the lean-to shed was my best choice for my next "race shop". TJ said "well its definately a barn, so you won't have 2 change the name any, you can just call it speedbarn 2". when i began gettin it ready 2 move into it had at least 6" of dried cow manure left over from years gone by. at that time, i didn't have a front end loader 2 scoop the poop, so i just got a flat shovel & a bucket & went 2 work. it took me several weeks, but i finally cleaned it all out & washed it down & it was in surprisingly good shape. its a little ruff & uneven in a place or 2 but definately better than wallerin in the dirt. it slopes downhill slightly for water runoff which sometimes causes a creeper runaway--but you get use 2 it & adapt. & this slab is less than 100' from my 1st outdoor shop i used 40 years ago. so i reckin i've come full circle. so the gbt message in this post is--if you can't build a nice shop, you can get by in a barn if you have 2. i went today & made lots of pics, so i'll go thru em now & share some with ya'll. i'll start 1st with a few from the real good old days of the original speed barn then move on 2 the modern 21st century "hi-tech" facility my ponyaks now call home.

[ponyakr]

knocked out internet--will try again tommorow. nite ya'll!

[ponyakr]

can't get a single pic thru-- site must be busy this am. will try later.

[ponyakr]

moved in 1975--this was my pontiac paradise--lots of pleasurable moments & memories in & around this building!

[ponyakr]

this is where all the projects were processed--drag em in from the boneyard just outside, then thrash on em for a while, then take em out & kick some chevy butt! sometimes a finished racer could sleep inside, but more often it was 2 crowded with new projects & they had 2 sleep out in the barnyard--it was always full of goats, birds, dogs & cats--& occasionally an unwelcomed guest--pew-eeee(skunk) i just noticed--in pic #2 you can see the chain falls hoist i had borrowed from my dad 2 pull motors from the hangin trees in my 1st outdoor shop. i hung it off the main beam of the sb & pulled 2 many motors 2 count with it--told my dad he knew where it was when he needed it.

[ponyakr]

i always enjoyed loadin everthang up & gettin ready 2 go racin. the staging area was right outside our front door. we could always just look out the window & see all sorts of pontiacs, from junkers 2 race ready. & when we got back from a race late at nite, we'd just park the rig & unload the next day. hey, it was a great life!

[ponyakr]

here's the outside of my "new" facility. the last shot is inside the milking parlor where i actually milked cows from age 6 thru 11. so this is REALLY where i came from. it was originally built in the late '40's by my dad, uncle & grandpa. 3rd pic shows the small door in the corner, which is the main entrance 2 the shop area.

[ponyakr]

there are several reminders of the past just outside. the 800 ford was our biggest ever--22' box. i drove chevy, gmc, ford, international & last & least--a red stude pick-up. i learned how 2 shift a stick drivin these old "clabber wagons", as i called em. we use 2 get our water from a deep well drawn by an old sucker rod pump that was located between where the 2 trucks are sitting. it had a leather washer of some kind on the end of the rods which would have 2 be changed out every couple of months. i can remember it was all hands on deck when we had 2 pull out all those joints of sucker rods to change the gasket or washer or whatever it was called. had 2 be real careful not 2 drop em in the hole--we never did--thankfully. i enjoyed drivin them old trucks--but an added bonus was that i could drink all the cold choclate milk i wanted, day or nite. the small truck pictured is what we called a "retail" or "house 2 house" truck. the proper term would probably be "home delivery truck". it is sitting on all thats left of what use 2 be our 4-holer truck shed, after a tornado blew it down. this shot was taken from the milking parlor. before it was a truck shed, this slab was used as a holding pen for cows waiting 2 be milked.

[ponyakr]

if you have any doubts about what this slab was originally used for--these pics should settle it. looks like a few critters snuck in before the concrete was completely dry. the best pic with the deepest prints just refuses 2 upload for some reason. but rest assured, there are dozens of cow tracks still showin. this is the same slab i mentioned ealier that was 6" deep in dried cow manure when i decided 2 put some ponyaks on it. that was some fun grunt work--you gotta love it! its smooth enuff for a creeper, but slopes downhill slightly for drainage. not perfect, but usable.

[ponyakr]

rite now, there's a '79 ta, '74 vent 2, mid '80's safari wagon & some left over dirt racin stuff. my '68 bird just left 2 go have a 455 snatched from a dirt car & put in it. last year a '69 tempest also lived here. the original sb had plenty of 1st & 2nd gen birds, a wide variety of a-bodies, lots of big cars & probably a wagon or 2 were there just long enuff 2 cough op their 455/long tail th400. but i don't recall a vent ever entering the barn. & sb2 has had 1 other type of car that sb1 never had--3rd gen birds. back in early '08, i didn't think i'd be able 2 find a 1st or 2nd gen that i could afford.(i'd never used a computer, so i didn't know anything about racingjunk,com or py or anything else on the internet)so i started gatherin up 3rd gens. soon had a barn full & a good start on a 3rd gen junkyard in the barnyard--hey, just like old times. then i scored a 1st & sec gen, a vent 2 & a '69 tempest. so i sold all the 3rd gens 2 the same guy. all i have left of that deal is a mid '80's ta hood with a big $200+ scoop on it. the guy wasn't a racer, so he thought the $100 price tag i had on it was 2 hi. who knows, i may transfer that scoop 2 some of my stuff some day. by the way, you'll notice that everything in sb2 is covered with thick yellow dust. its peak pollen season down here--the pines(& lots of other stuff) are lettin it fly! i started cleanin some of it off for the photo shoot, but soon decided it was a hopeless case--it would have been after dark before i could have cleaned up all the cars. anyhow, this is my new playpen. notice the new shingle TJ made 2 hang on the wall.

[ponyakr]

i told ya'll TJ runs across lots of critters. any of you guys led such a sheltered life, you never seen a baby possum? it was sorta hard 2 get their attention so they'd pose for the pic--but they finally did. that reminds me--sorry 2 hear about the ole possum George Jones--he led a hard life, but he did put out a lot of big country hits, if you like that sorta thang.

[ponyakr]

i noticed there have been lots of tigers prowlin sb2, by all the paw prints they left in the pollen/dust.

[ponyakr]

i thank the 1st time i ever saw a woody was on 1 of the beach party shows of the early '60's. & some of the surfin songs mentioned woodys being used by calif surfers. but i never thought i'd have 1. i know its not real wood--i call it a wallpaper woody. of course, the name on the doors will be, what else?--"woody". i feel sure TJ can rig up some cool lookin peckerwoods that'll do Woody proud. i've always wanted 2 race a wagon, since i saw Jack Mullins snatchin the wheels & the gears in his big white 389 wagon. so its a double whammy-- a woody wagon. but it'll be powered by a(what else?) 455. rite now it has a 307? buick, bolted with only the 2 bottom bolts, 2 a chevy th350. hey, lots of ole ponyaks lead a cruel & embarrassing life. but that old life is over for woody. from here on out, its nothin but fun & games, surrounded by lots of little pontiac buddies! ps: i've got several projects goin on, so i don't know when they'll all be finished, but hey, it don't matter--i'm havin a hilarious time plannin it all out!

[ponyakr]

every good hi-end pontiac shop needs a good guard dog 2 protect the valuables & discourage any would be villians. i reckin i'm just blessed in that dept. how many of you guys have a genuine Black & Tan Coon Hound for a guard dog? he's a retired coon hunter, & is now more of a chow hound, as shown in 1 of these pics, as he tries 2 sniff out any crumbs he mite have dropped from the dog biscuit he just 8. & speakin of coons--here's another critter TJ ran up on.