Hi all,
I have been on the road , just got back from 3 road trips picking up Pontiacs with my dually and 3 car trailer. 1st was to MI.I visited The Henry Ford just before Christmas, quite the place. 2nd was to extreme northern CA and this last one was to North Dakota and Kansas.
Good luck with your girdle. I respect and admire anyone who thinks up and makes stuff for our Pontiacs. About my lower ends ( I have made 3 so far) they were designed in the early 90s for my 577 program. That was superceded when the fueler became a reality. At that time the focus went to the smaller 389s that I made legal in my class. Now the 577 is a pet program. My lower end girdle is actually only part of the designed reinforcements to the block for the 577. There are side braces as well as top braces that bridge the top of both decks. It will be on display at Pontiac Heaven in April. It is actually well underway. Most of thee money has already been spent on it. I got both deck plates mounted and all the cylinders in one of the banks so it is well on the way. The Crower crank and rods have been collecting dust waiting to be used.
I have tried for a few years now to show the merits of '60 and older blocks but, it seems no one listens. Some here have been critical of it even though they no nothing about them. Ignorance must be bliss, go figure. If you are building something blown or very powerful and you don't need or can't use (due to class rules as an example) the benefits of the larger bores the aftermarket blocks offer than the '60 and older blocks have to be your best choice. The truth is, any block can break. Yes, even an aftermarket Pontiac block can be broken. It is easiler and cheaper to replace an early block than an aftermarket. I am not discouraging using an aftermarket. I am just saying there are applications were an early block is the best choice. I am planning on buying an aftermarket block or 2 myself when I have the money for some furture projects.
Pontiac even advertised that they took weight out of the motor in 61. The 60 and older blocks were over engineered and they are beefy. They are also cheap and there are also plenty to go around. They are expendable. How nice that is. They are also easier to fit into a tube car ( altered, funny or digger) too because the oil filter housing mount is closer to the center of the block. If you have ever tried to fit a regular Pontiac block in one ofthese chassis you already know this.
For other applications such as a door car or street car or boat, building an adaptor to mount a later bellhousinig/trans/starter would not be difficult to do either. it just takes a little thought and 'injun'uity.
My girdles will fit any Pontiac V8 including the MR1, IA. I cannot see a market for something like what I designed and built unless it is for nitro or very hard core blown/alky, or, perhaps some type of exteme endurance application.
$1,800 to build? I spent much more than that. The R&D alone, I don;t want to think about it. The other 2 cost less once the design was finalized. If I knew that guy could build them that cheap, I would have him do it instead LOL. Of course it costs MUCH less time and money to copy something that already exists than to create something from scratch. It takes a lot just to fit one to a block. If you think about main all 5 main cap placement on the block and how all the interlocking parts must fit properly, you can begin to understand. They are made modular so you can check bearings between rounds. The front caps were made from scratch, the others are from Program. All the fiitted pieces were done with the help of an EDM machine. If you have access to one, you are at an advantage.
Also, It may be difficult for some to inderstand but, I do believe that my girdle/lower end actually does strengthen the lifter area too. Think about it. If you look at a block from the front or rear. Think about the side loads placed on the block under power. My extra heavy duty lower end is designed extra wide to solidify the block structurally. I am not the best writer, but I think you get what I am thinking.
just some ideas.
Happy New Year. Steve Barcak
www.pontiacheaven.org