[Dragracertoo]

Updated car pics. Getting closer! www.cruisintigersgto.com/arnie_returns.htm Rich

[Dragracertoo]

Updated car pics. Getting closer! www.cruisintigersgto.com/arnie_returns.htm Rich

[Thumpin455_GTO]

Its a shame it has to have BBC power to run the number. It would be nice if it could be done with a real Pontiac instead. otherwise it looks great, I want one!

[Wareagle]

Looking good-to bad about that chevy engine .That Twin turbo Pontiac engine-2,886 hp from JBP would kick butt .

[Dragracertoo]

I would love to put a Pontiac engine in the car for him if I had the resources. Anyone want to help? Any SPONSORS ? Rich

[J.C.you]

sponsors? he he, sell the chebby engine and install a poncho. that simple.

[pro-tour79]

you make it sound as if building a pontiac motor was sooooooo expensive

[bmpmdf]

A call to ALLPONTIAC would cure that engine thing. Maybe a little later he will call them? I'm guessing he is using as much as possible of what he already had. Just think, a blower on a new IA2 BLOCK with the Tiger heads, and he'd have a nice combo.

[Steve Barcak]

I'm disappointed with Arnie. He made himself a reputation for NOT switching to other brands of power in the 60s, he stayed with Pontiac and THAT is what made him a Pontiac hero.
He has run cheby power now for over 15 years. There is no reason for that. let's face it, he wants to run the chev. Sure, he is a gem of a person and he has been influential to many of us but, he flys the Pontiac banner and he runs cheby power (in his faster cars).
He has had one weak excuse after another for not switching over the years. Let's review some. First was his issue with Pontiac blocks not strong enough to go real fast. Well, that has been proven wrong. Marty P and others have done it. Bes' said he would switch over when this aftermarket block came out. Well, it came out over 5 years back and he still runs a cheby year after year.
In some ways, Arnie is riding on his past like Pontiac itself is. Problem is many see right through that and don't buy it. Arnie is and always will be a good draw, he sells a lot of shirts and trinkets when he is at an event (I know this first hand), people love him for what he did, not for what he does.
Arnies last lame excuse is it is cheaper to run the cheby.
Yes, he is a dissapointment to me for running cheby power year after year. I am sure companies would give him parts a dPontiac fans would donate time and effort for him to run a real Pontiac. For whatever reason, he is a cheby man with a Pontiac cover.
New generations of Real Pontiac people like the Butlers, Kauffmans, Spotts, etc, etc are the ones to admire for thier efforts to promote Real Pontiac performance, not Arnie.
My 2 cents, I'm sure some may disagree but, I bet others stand with me on this. I love Arnie and I wish him well always but, he has decided to be a Pontiac man in the past and NOT the present or future. that is really too bad.
Poeple like Miek Garblik and Eric Larson have done great accomplishments with their Pontiac powered Pontiacs. Fact is, most don;t even know who they are. For some reason they have decided to duplicate Arnies cars. Arnie has benefitted as the cars go fast and have Pontiac motors but, they are not Arnies. Mike and Eric lost their own identity by doing that in my opinion. they both deserve more recognition for their accomplishments but, Arnie gets it. Now they are building another Beswick car, the Boss Bird. I have confidence in these two men, I admire them, and I am sure they will do good with the car but, again the effort will go to Arnie.
Years ago I was discussing the 60s and Pontiacs with some friends. One guy said, wouldn;t it be cool to create or restore an old Pontiac and realy make it run again? I said sure it would, but it would be better to build your own deal and make it run. I'm still working on that.
Steve www.pontiacheaven.org

[Region Warrior]

I met Arnie about 10yrs ago. While in the pits with him, i asked what valvetrain he used on his Pontiac. He just smiled. Imagine my disappointment when i saw a Chevy motor in his ride. He said it's just to expensive to use and keep that many hard to find Pontiac parts. You have to have several backup parts. Cant disappoint the fans by not making a run.

[tstevea]

NOTHING AGAINST ARNIE I GO TO PONTIAC EVENTS TO SEE PONTIACS RACE RE@L PONTIACS I LIKE THE NEW BREED BUTLERS THE KAUFFMANS YOU KNOW THE GUYS THAT GO SIXES IN A RE@L PONTIAC POWER.WITH THAT SAID PONTIAC PROMOTERS SHOUD NOT PAY SHOW UP MONEY TO RUN A NON-PONTIAC POWERED CAR!!!HE IS A LEGEND TO SOME AND NOT OTHERS.I RE@LY GET FROSTED WHEN OTHER PONTIAC VENDERS HAVE ARNIE ON THEIR WEB SITES PROMOTING QUALITY PONTIAC PARTS HE DONT EVEN USE IN HIS RACE CAR!I HAD TO GET THAT OFF MY CHEST..

[crossbreed455]

I have to agree with steve it is sad he does not have a Pontiac motor in his car. Sh*t i have a pontiac motor in a buick. Does arnie not get the chevy motor from sponsors?????? Who would sponor his pontiac motor?????

Mike M.

[J Brady]

Steve, I respect your desire to race a True Pontiac on nitro on the nastalgia circut, but the truth is until the new Indian Adventure 2 block was produced you really could not race a pontiac and make the number of Passes that Beswick made with the amount of nitrus that he uses to run the numbers that he does. I am not trying to take anything away from you but have you ever made a full pass with your combo without tearing something up. You have to realize that Arnie is 70 + years of age and I don't think he probably wanted to spend the money and time it would have taken to keep a real Pontiac together. Yes Butlers and Kaufmans run fast, but can they go and make 10 passes on a weekend without hurting parts. No. It is as simple as that. Rex and Gadosh are the closet thing to that and Hey I really give them credit as they bracket race their cobo's and do very well. Again they are in their late 20's early 30's. I think Arnie had the desire when he was that age too. Give him credit for what he has done for the hobbie and leave it at that. My old buddy Frank Parks runs Jr fuel with a small block Chevy with Iron heads and stack injectors on alcahol and has run 7'0s. I don't no of any Pontiac on nitro or any other fuel that has dominated a class like Scotty and Frank have with their combo. You will see their new car at the March meet and I am betting on some 6 second passes.

[Brian Baker]

You guys forget that when Arnie came back at this level, the IA-1 wasn't even out yet and the only aftermarket head available was the Wenzler. At that time, there wasn't a Pontiac door car out there running low 7's, not even with nitrous assist. And no, Arnie did not have alot of sponsor help to get going like some would think. His BBC makes good enough power to put on a good show, doesn't require high maintenance, and doesn't break parts. This is what is needed when you're operating on a franks and beans budget and making another pass as a booked in racer means the difference between eating and having enough gas money to get home or not. He's not making a killing at these appearances. Truth be known, he's probably breaking even, at best. This is the reasoning behind his BBC combo. Granted, as time has passed, there is now a window of opportunity for Arnie to change back to a Pontiac, but at what cost? Never mind the initial up front cost, what about maintenance? What about parts attrition? Ask Maichle, or Rex, or Gaydosh about making that kind of power with a traditional Pontiac, and ask them if they were getting $750 a pass for a booked in event if 3 passes would pay the bills for the weekend. I'd like to see Arnie go back to a Pontiac, but I'm not going to bust his balls about it if he doesn't.

[Brian Baker]

Thank you, J Brady. To continue with what you said, has anyone seen Butler, Mellot, Kaufman, etal make more than 2 passes on the same day at any track without tearing something up? Do you guys think Arnie would get many booked in shows if his performance were this poor?

[warriors revenge]

hello, i am sure this subject will offer great debates!! i have worked on arnies car for several years, there is no big money sponsorship for any part of the program, he does get several things form companies yes, but not several thousand dollar parts. if you look at his engine and trans. they are 10+ yr. old used up pro-stock pcs. not state of the art new stuff! it doesn't mean there is anything wrong with them, just that he doesn't get as much for free as people think, as for selling things at the races, he probably gives away almost half as much stuff as he gets paid for, i don't think there is one of us that won't keep watching him race no matter what motor he has in the car! there are several people doing very impressive things with pontiac power, and i hope they all get recognized for their efforts. don't think arnie doesn't want a pontiac in the tiger! i am happier that he still has the desire to keep driving showinig people he is still a legend(not living off glorified stories like some others!!) than what kind of engine he has in the car, i would go see him if he had a mopar engine in the car!!

just my 2cents worth,
p.s. how many years has it been since you have seen arnie at a super chevy show?????



kal
www.xtremefabrication.com

[Goathead]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">NOTHING AGAINST ARNIE I GO TO PONTIAC EVENTS TO SEE PONTIACS RACE RE@L PONTIACS </div></BLOCKQUOTE>


So I take it that you would not like to see the new "GTO" run at any events?

[Brian Baker]

Kal, I think you and I may have met. Several years ago at Mason-Dixon dragway, Arnie came out to make some exhibition runs at an Outlaw race. I think he had a race the week prior in Richmond and stopped in Hagerstown on the way home. Arnie blew out the 3rd member on the 2nd pass and it was replaced in record time to make the 3rd and final pass. I was the big guy that cooked those nasty burgers and dogs for you guys (sorry they got burnt).

[herdswoman]

I should probably walk away from the computer right now.....but I won't.

How dare any of you belittle Arnie's comeback!!! As if his Chevy vs. Pontiac was the important thing - bull****!!!! The day this hobby puts that as paramount and puts respect for those who built the hobby with Pontiac power a distant second is a sad day indeed. Y'all have no idea or appreciation how close we came to losing our dear friend or the very long and painful road he travels!

How many of you have seen his hands up close and without the gloves? He doesn't have most of his fingertip joints. His fingers just sorta stop where the joint used to be. Watch him closely when he signs his name; his pride makes write well, even if it takes three times as long. Never mind that he underwent like eight amputations on his hands, five different graft surgeries to his left hand and I've lost count of grafts done to the right. And all that skin had to be peeled and carved off from somewhere....

How many of you have seen him try out different shifters...looking for one that he can use with upper arm and shoulder strength instead of hand and finger grasp!

Do you have any idea what kind of pain he has been through? Know what kind of pain he is still in? Every day, especially at the track in the heat, when the majority of his body is one donor site scar after another - never mind the places that are grafted? Ever had a really bad sunburn and stood out in the sun the next day...well, multiply that to the tenth power, let yourself sizzle real good and maybe you'll get a clue.

Out of respect for my friend, I will not go into the mental pain, etc. that went along with this accident. Along with recovering, with this type of injury there is also a great loss of control and complete loss of independence. Just imagine if you had no use of your hands for months and then had to learn to dial a phone, brush your teeth or button your shirt. Believe me when I say that there are very, very few among us who could heal mentally, physically and spiritually enough to rebuild that car and put himself back in the driver's seat. Shoot, most would learn to brush their teeth, buy pullover shirts and that's as far as it goes.

Do you think you could EVER be able to get back in a racecar after suffering the kind of devastation? Now in the prime of your life, how many of you would be able to tough it out to being able to button your own shirt and even drive to church on Sunday after that kind of injury?

And how many of you think you could do that at age 74?

The engine in the car is the least of the rebuild and as far as I'm concerned, it just isn't important. If that man can get himself back in his Tiger and make his dream come true, well, there's nothing else that matters. I don't care if it's got a bastardized AMC Pacer engine under the hood!

If y'all want Arnie to run Pontiac power, put your dollars together AND SPONSOR HIM. Put up or shut up.

Steve, I bet he's really looking forward to going back to your event in Arizona now

I'm probably not done with this rant yet.

[herdswoman]

see above