Ever try removing the timing cover on a Chevy smallblock, at least on the earlier ones? You will have to loosen the front of the oil pan to get it off, it was designed to be installed before the oil pan goes on. Pontiacs have a nice flat flange between the cover and the pan, easy to remove for service.
How about pushrod guide plates? All Pontiac engines built since '67 have them. Even screw-in rocker studs that only came on high-performance Chevy engines came on every Pontiac engine since '74, and on many common 4-barrel engines since '67.
Best of all, in nearly all cases you can directly swap a smaller displacement Pontiac (326/350) with a bigger one (389/400.421/428/455) by merely bolting it in! No need to change exhaust manifolds/headers or accessory brackets to a different type for the big injuns, unlike a Chevy. The Pontiac V8 was/is the first truly modular engine.
Pontiac engines have many nice design features like Chevy engines have and
then some.
