Quote:
Originally Posted by Dragncar
Come on guys. If it were not for people like Nunzi, HO Racing, Butler, Whittmore and the rest of the Pontiac die hards of the 70s and 80s we would not be where we are today.
No freaking way, not a chance.
When I first started trying to build a performance Pontiac in the mid 80s all you had were cast iron heads, blocks and factory SD rods. No Crower rods were available. You could get custom steel billet or BME rods. The only "real" intakes were the T1 and the Warrior. No Victors available. Butler started playing around with using BBC 6.8 rods and custom pistons. I have a set of 455 SSD rods with over 1200$ in them.
This WHOLE THING got going with the Edelbrock head and the Eagle rods.(Jim Butler told me this) None of this happens without those 2 things. Then The IA1 folks made a block based on Beswicks factory race blocks. They made their block and was a tough block.
I know for a fact that Edelbrock called Dan Whittmore and asked him his opinion of what kind of aluminum head to build. He told them he wanted a aluminum RAIV head. but he wanted a version with smaller chambers so you could get CR out of a 400.
Everything the Pontiac world has today was built on the backs of the die hards before them.
If it were not for them the Pontiac would have went the way of Oldsmobile and Buick.
That means that none of you Pontiac "big dogs" would be doing what you are today without them.
History is history. Give them the credit.
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I'm sure there are a few here with stories of Pontiac guys that pushed things to the limit. Unfortunately with each passing year, these guys are no longer here to share with us.
Back in the late 60's, my dads 4000+lbs 59 Catalina ran high 12's with a 396ci Pontiac engine, 59 small valve (self ported) heads and the short block built by Ray Nichols. Even back then, guys like Ray Bisig had solid lifters, later teamed up with Dave Johnson, they had connections to the good parts and kept going faster. These guys always pushed for more, always went faster with limited factory parts.
Now we have big bore blocks, 400+ CFM cylinder heads and strong aftermarket parts selection. We still suffer from the limitations of the original design, a small bore space, a talk deck small block engine with big mains.
2.3 HP to CI may be in the future, but we still have a way to go.
Hats off to the dedicated loyalist that continue to invest in the Pontiac heritage.
Calvin Hill
Hill Performance
708-250-7420