Things Pontiac Guys need to Get Over.
 

There are wrongs out there in the world that have been committed against Pontiac, and us- the Pontiac faithful. The biggest, of course, was GM killing off Pontiac... and before that the Pontiac V8. But, there are smaller wrongs... things that, though they may annoying, Pontiac guys just need to let go!

These two immediately come to mind, but I know there are others. Feel free to add to the list.... Or tell me I'm stupid and these things deserve to be hung onto, to complain about all the time.:poke:

Big Bock Pontiac. Yes, I know it's wrong. You know it's wrong. I don't need to hear you rant about it every time some doofus says it in the Craigslist ad for a rusty hunk of crap that's been sinking into his front yard for the past 20 years.

Air Cleaner Displacement Stickers, aka "Buick Stickers". Again, I know they are not "correct". Why does it matter so much to some guys if a car owner put a sticker on his air cleaner lid? Sure, if you're judging at a concourse show, mark off a point for non original equipment, otherwise who cares? "Gee, that '69 Judge on Ebay looks real nice- too bad I won't buy it because it has a sticker on the air cleaner lid". :rolleyes: I see people bitching about this so much on here that I want to start putting them on my cars just to piss people off! :p

Agree. I never comment on those two things anymore...I don't even correct people. I just shake my head,

Dave

Points well made! Next should be the guy that puts a GTO hood on his LeMans. If I had a Tempest/LeMans I would.

These are the important points................:D

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...dictback-2.jpg

The elusive small block Pontiac denoted by the orange color.......................:D
Very rare, and only came in Canadian chevies.............LOL

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...bac67f29_n.jpg

What the letters P-O-N-T-I-A-C really stand for.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...tb09fb-1-1.jpg

I think it's interesting and instructional to be correct about the cars and the hobby. No to be insulting, not to be a know it all. It can be tricky, especially today with the internet completely full of dead wrong information and now two generations using it as their only source for information. When someone is standing in front of their Pontiac extolling the virtues of it's "big block engine", I guess you can jump in and try to educate or walk away. That's an individual choice. It's painful to listen to total incorrect information about our traditional Pontiac engine. The truth is much more interesting in that the Pontiac engineers designed a masterpiece of an engine in the mid 1950's that handled stock displacements from 287 CU IN to 455 CU IN with the same basic block. As far as incorrect stickers go, fake GTO's and engine transplants, that's up to the individual. If someone wants to argue their "LS engine swap is the modern alternative to the engine that came in their classic Pontiac", I will be happy to argue that logic all day. I would agree it's the "lazy way to ruin your classic Pontiac". But that's what provides passion in the hobby. In the end the owner can put whatever stickers and engine they want into their car. If they misrepresent a Tempest as a GTO, that becomes a legal matter if buying or selling.

Goatless, what do you say when someone says "Nice Chevelle!" or "Nice Camaro!" when looking at your car?

:confused:

I have never heard of people referring to Poncho engines as Big Bocks until this thread :)

Never had that happen. I must associate with a higher class of people than you're used to. ��

To be clear, my original post has to do more with guys on here or the countless Pontiac pages I've been added to on Facebook. Invariably, someone will post a link to a car for sale and a dozen guys will start ranting about how there is no such thing as a Pontiac big block and the seller must be a total idiot for saying it. I have to admit that when I see it in ad, I think that the seller must not be Pontiac knowledgeable, but I don't feel the need to rant about it every damn time!

When it comes to real life- it depends on who I hear saying it and the context. If it's someone young or just getting into the hobby, I'll explain it to them... If they are a know-it-all, blowhard type I'll generally ignor them. Life is too short to deal with them.

I have never heard of people referring to Poncho engines as Big Bocks until this thread. Don't get out much, do you? LOL

I've been asked if I had the big block 455 and have been complimented on my Chevelle.
I generally make one shot at a brief explanation and then move on.

On here, folks should know better and should be subject to merciless harassment....... :D

Usually out in public, so it's basically everyone?
Usually the same ones that call the Pontiac engine 'big block' and have the decals on the air cleaners.

:)

"Camaro" spoilers on first gen birds. Deck lid or front. . A whole lotta "what's up with the snowplow?" Remarks. I don't have a problem with either. That rear spoiler is a styling cue chevy got right over Pontiac IMO.

We should also get over the fact that every 69 Camaro was a Z28....

Interesting thread. I never knew about the "Buick" decal on my air cleaner lid, until someone told me about it. Regardless, I still like it and I'm going to leave it there. Even if I knew, I would do the same again. It's very natural looking. Just like it belongs there, Carmine.

Pontiac people need to get over the fact that GM did not kill Pontiac alone. People who ran Pontiac did plenty to throw dirt on the brand as well. The Aztec is/was one of the ugliest vehicles ever made. The marketing strategy to try and lure BMW guys to the modern GTO/Pontiac was a total fail. The 4th gen 2002 35th Trans Am, Yellow and black paint scheme paid tribute to what car..........a taxi cab maybe a bumble bee???????
Does it sound cool to walk up to another Pontiac guy and say "Hey Bud nice intermediate block you have there." I don't think so
Lets face it in the world of cars there are many cars that had a big block and small block vehicles and so someone to use that term is fine.

Well, based on the one star rating this thread has gotten, I've found at least one guy that likes to bitch about people saying "Pontiac Big Block" and the air cleaner stickers. :pound:

Pontiac never made a big block.

I did on my 66 Tempest Custom back in 1972. Looked even better with the 65 GTO hood, 66 GTO grills and parking lights. I do know it was the only Pontiac in Rochester and Massena, NY that was done that way. :D

Got a lot of good comments on it too. Back in the mid 90s I even saw it again in a guys front yard a few miles from where we lived in Ft. Covington, NY with current NY plates on it. Before I could talk to him he moved and I never saw it again.

Jeremy,
I don't have a problem where I would comment on a Craigslist ad. But I do have issues with magazines that do. I let my subscription end because of this faux pas. Criticize me all you want, but "they" are the problem when they should be the solution.

A magazine saying it is waaaaaaayyyy different than some schmoe in an online ad! Obviously they should be held to a higher standard.

I'm not saying that we need to forgive the usage- just that we don't need everyone to make the same comments every time it shows up!

Another thing that Pontiac guys need to get over, the fact that 1967 was the year of the best GTO. (Even though a big block would not be offered for a few more years.) :poke:

Things I hear, and I just turn away.
1. Its a Big Block 454
2. Its got a 3/4 race cam
3. Pontiac makes small blocks and big blocks
4. Yep, its got a M22 Stone Crusher trans.
5. I put a 350 in where the 327 was, it barely fit!
6. After I put the 4.10 gear in, its too fast for the street.
7. You cant use Nitrous on aluminum pistons.
8. I think I blacked out from too much traction, I dont remember the green light.
9. A 9 inch would not fit, I had to use a 10 bolt.
10. I put in a Ram Air V cam, but I had to use different rocker arms.
11. The bleeders go on the bottom, to drain the air out (brake calipers)

I think more people think it's correct then know the truth. It's one thing if a guy is putting it on there because he just likes the look, it's another if he's putting it on there because he thought that's the way it came from the factory.
As far as big block small block, it is important to educate people on this subject, how else are they going to know? I guess I'm just to passionate about the 60's-70's Pontiacs to let it go.

I think this went right over everyone's head... :D

Must have been outside of your hearing...believe me, they've done it. I even had my '68 called a Road Runner.

From Car Craft magazine about Pontiac people....

The fans are as dedicated as the Mopar nuts, and serious political strife between the Pontiac specialists breeds even more strong opinions and loyalties. There are enough new Pontiac enthusiasts that the crowd of old-timers can be heard, "I was into 'em before they were cool."


.

Sounds interesting...is there a link to the article somewhere?

I like when Pontiac people complain about the Trans Am conversions on the 5th/6th gen Camaros. Their argument is usually "It's not a real Pontiac because it has a Chevy engine in it". So by that standard, every T/A from 1982 onward isn't a real Pontiac. :doh:

I also like when Pontiac guys squirm when mentioning the 89 TTA. It was a flat out ass kicker, and it did it with 2 less cylinders (and a non Pontiac engine).

Right? I'll take all those 98-02 WS6s and not feel the least bad about it.

I will say the downside is it confuses the hell outf eBay. There are ton of sbc parts listed as "Fits Pontiac"

Greg- Sorry no link, just a tid bit I wrote down. In part because of the comment about political strife between the Pontiac specialists.


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I would like to add.

What about all the high dollar GTO rotisserie restorations with the exhaust tips placed upside down?

Things Pontiac guys
 

Over 30+ years of being a Pontiac enthusiast/hobbyist I've learned that it is now more trouble than it is worth to try and correct most Pontiac blunders that I hear, since it almost always seems to go in one ear and out the other of the offending party. However, there is one exception to this. For some reason it feels like nails on a chalkboard or an icepick in the eye when I frequently hear people refer to Tri Power as "a Six Pack". That is one that I just can't let go.

A friend of mine has a data sheet style plaque that he sits up in front of his 63 Le Mans. One of the items on the plaque is a tongue in cheek statement "Big Block 4 cylinder". He has a lot of fun when people nod their head and agree.
I second the gripe of calling my Tri-Power a Six Pack. If the guy is not acting like a know-it-all, I will say that the Six Pack is Mopar, the Pontiac name is Tri-Power.

Tri-Power/Six Pack corrections and Big Block corrections should be politely made IMO. Many don't know and would prefer to know going forward. The same can be said for the decal.

I can tell you that I wasn't always a Pontiac guy, although I love them now. I started off with a Mopar, then learned all I could about them (before the www came about). I moved on to a 72 GP with a Tri-Power, but after that I was into newer metal cars for a long time which always served as a DD'er as well as a hobby.

Then after many years without a classic muscle car, I got back into it with a 68 LeMans (with a GTO hood and Judge spoiler I might add). I learned A LOT about Pontiacs, and I just might know more than most (present company excluded). It's what I do, I love stuff, so I want to learn all I can about them, especially when that stuff IS MINE!

If no one ever told me that the air cleaner decals were not a Pontiac thing, I would have assumed they were (based on all those ebay ads at least! LOL) Many folks want to learn, but we need good teachers. Hell, just read all the threads on here started by average folks like me that are filled with answers from knowledgeable and very experienced folks. I want to hear all that first hand knowledge while it's still readily available!

So teach your children well!

ok, sorry, soapbox dismount now.

are you sure that one isn't true...? :cool2:

I had a guy look at my motor at a car show and ask if it was a 454. I told him no, it's a 455, the 454 was a Chevy motor. He tells me "Well, they're still the same motor though." At that point, I know he's convinced he knows more than I, so I told him "Well technically, no. The Pontiac 455 has one more cubic inch." He nods in agreement, crisis averted.

i like the response "as far as you know, they are. you're correct."

That reminds me of when a guy did a U-turn when he saw myself and another guy peering under the hood of my '74 Trans Am. It had a base 455 but it had SD stickers on the scoop. The guy says, "I just wanted to see a real SD engine" He looked disappointed when he looked at it. I told him that it was the standard 455. He says, "Yeah, I can tell. A Super Duty has valve covers on it about 'Yay wide'..." and he's holding his hands nearly a foot apart. Yeah, those Super Duties are big blocks.

What did Pontiac call the setup with 8 carburetors? (This is a LOL, not a real question)

I had a lady tell me once at the gas pump that "they" had a 69 GTO with a special engine and 8 carburetors on it from the factory. They were gonna "go Nascar" with it but they didn't have a cage. She said they sold it to Dale Earnhardt's mechanic because it "cost too much" to put a cage in it.

I chose to nod my head and say "cool", rather than engage that conversation.......

When I had my 66 2+2 421 HO 4-speed convertible, this was a very common comment. "I had a Pontiac just like that one". This would generally apply to any full size Pontiac from 1963 through 1970. I would typically say, yea, they sold allot of them in the 60's , very popular and let it go at that.

lolz - what a big bock should look like...

http://www.alecoq.ee/wordpress/wp-co...-PET_pudel.png

naaaahhh....68 was the best. Motor Trends "Car of the Year".

65 GTO earned that one as well... :p

I think the '65 GTO was the best year. The first year of stacked headlights which I like a lot. It also seemed to be more streamlined then other years. The '67 would be in second place along with the '71, Carmine.

Most all of these misnomers are just people wanting to sound knowledgeable. Using buzz words they really don't understand. The harder they try the more ignorant they sound. Every time someone starts talking about what they had or what their brother had or their friend had I just wait for a break in the conversation tie it up and move on. Some people do say some of the most rediculous things. You can't educate world.

A guy saw my Judge in the garage one year during a neighborhood garage sale. He told me he once had a "Plum Crazy" purple Judge with a 440 six pack.

I think that is the automotive equivalent of a mixed metaphor.

What about the 12 bolt main rear?

To be fair, the Judge was supposed to be the cheap, lightweight Road Runner fighter, so he's almost right, sorta. :Ithink:

I always see them advertised as "12Volt" rear. And it's gotta have 4:11's!

Enduro bumper.