aftermarket block availability
 

pleasantly surprised to find All Pontiac having a run of blocks close to shipping. there is at least 9 more iron blocks and some aluminum blocks available as of this afternoon. If anyone is interested.
I fully expected these to be a covid, supply chain, no machine shop help, victim
I hope all vendors are able to fill our desires

Good news for a bunch of All Pontiac Block Buyers.

Tom V.

allpontiac has some of the best customer service i have ever seen. great guys, we are lucky to have them in our hobby.

Totally agree

I agree too...Frank was awesome to deal with.

Agree 100%. I called Frank a few weeks back to ask if he still had the “sonic sheet” for the 3 1/4” main IA2 in my Trans Am. Unfortunately they lost a good deal of the sonic sheets for older blocks during a move years back.. but I didn’t stop him from dropping everything he was doing and searching through all the sheets he still had.

AllPontiac IA2
APSJB09040028

I’ll add that Bob was great when I ordered my first IA2 block and scat forged crank back in 2007. He promptly answered every time I called. :3gears:

How much is a iron block ?

http://www.allpontiac.com/standard.html
3495.00

I agree on Frank's customer service being the best in the business. Goes out of his way to do what is right and is always a pleasure to work with.

the website prices have not been updated in awhile i think a 'standard iron block' in a few bore sizes is $3800ish plus freight

i wish there were larger bore options, along the lines of the aftermarket BBC's 4.5-4.625
is that even an option/possible in a traditional pontiac block style? (not a reference to a stock block, but overall stock block size if you get what i mean)

Bore spacing between centers of each cylinder is only 4.625" so those bores are not possible with the Pontiac V8.

If I have my info correct, most of the OEMS went to larger BORE SPACINGS with their engines over the years. Pontiac came up with the 4.62 bore spacing in the 1950s with the current design blocks, at the time this was a large change from what others were doing. The bore spacing did not change over the years of production.

Some in the Pontiac World feel the Pontiac 4.62 bore spacing make it the only unique thing about the Pontiac Engines. Everything else changed over the years. Heads, Cam designs, Rocker Arm ratios, Distributor signaling, HEI vs points, Intakes, carb sizes, ................................................

Also for years, some advocated going to a bit larger bore spacing block design. The "PURISTS" said then it will not be a Pontiac Engine any more.

Arnie B. ran a "Pontiac sold" Chevy engine with a cast in Arrowhead (Pontiac)
on the block for many years in his race car.

So the Purists say "Don't change the Bore Spacing" (Some have done it creatively and got a slightly larger bore engine.) Mostly in a "STOCK" NHRA class.

99% of the very fast racers, OUTLAW PRO MOD for example have been running Cubic Money aftermarket blocks for years. Now Billet Blocks are available. Not a single GM designed part on the engines.

But they can run 275+ mph in the quarter too with a door car.

So people have slightly stretched aftermarket Pontiac blocks to run in given classes for at least 20+ years. But you are not going to get a 750 cid engine out of a Pontiac design. So you want the larger bore spacing engine so it can pass for a traditional block?

Just my opinion.

Tom V.

thanks Tom
i was just wondering if a bigger bore aftermarket would be possible, which it seems it can't, well... lets just say within a reasonable amount of $

There was some talk a few years back about making a run a IA blocks with the outside bores moved out more but all sorts of issues come up. You can only move things so much before things do not line up with crank,rods, pistons, lifter bores and the chambers.
It would be a whole new engine designed made to "look" like a Pontiac.
Also talk of making a Pontiac engine based on a BBC crank. Then what do you have ?
None of this is ever going to happen. Not enough of us left and our group is shrinking everyday.
That said, Frank is great to deal with. Man of his word. Answers his phone, helps you out with honesty.
A fine asset to the Pontiac community.

IMO, the most cost effective way to get the larger bore spacing would be to have a billet block made. Then you could incorporate all the individual desired changes you want with very minimal additional cost. No real additional pattern or core changes and so forth. Just design charges and a tool path code. Then the hand full of people who care can stand around and drink beer and bless it as a "Pontiac", or condemn it as the work of the devil. Eric and I drew our line in the sand on the stock bore spacing, a cast block that would except ALL stock block components and we went racing with it. Many would say we have always been cheaters with Nitrous Oxide, Nirto Methane and a Roots Blower. I can live with that.

We had a IA 2 Iron block made with a .040 additional bore spacing for a project for Frank G.It found its way to a AP customer and was finished as a very big power NA engine.

Interesting! Was it a one off casting? Or was the additional bore spacing from machining only?

Just moved in the machining program.It can be done again..

Did the change result in a larger bore than 4.375? Or was it done to unshroud the valves?

A standard bore spacing cast iron block should be about to go to 4.4X I would guess the 0.040" over bore spacing in a race application could be run very close or at 4.500" bore.

Stan

We ran a stock iron IA II at a 4.425 bore. It was very thin at that bore. It did not crack any cylinder walls and ran OK at that bore. We began at 4.375 and as we killed it numerous times learning how to tune 600 HP nitrous stages, it ended up at that larger bore from many, many rebuilds. I am not recommending this bore size, but it worked for us.

Larger bore to unshroud valves and more cu in.