[ponyakr]

some of the best(& worst) back & forth mouth battles i've seen on this site are about heads. so let me say, before anybody chimes in 2 tell me how wrong they think i am--save your time--these are MY ideas on the subject & not meant 2 contradict or badmouth anybody elses ideas & opinions--OK??? once again let me remind ya'll--i'm talkin here about street &/or footbrakin bracket racin--NOT all out, heads up or 8-9 sec tranny brake bracket racin. i used the hi comp 67-70 heads on all our 455's--like 12,13,16,48,62,64, etc.--ya'll know all the #'s. but, back then, pump gas had more octane than now & lead additives were available at wal-mart--so thats what we used. 2 run that much comp today, you'll either have 2 run hi $ racin gas or at least a mixture of racin & pump. so if you choose 2 run hi comp, there are several options. most of the head #'s i've mentioned are now rare & expensive. but sometimes you can find decent deals on ready 2 run sets from a racer who is switching 2 alum heads. if you can't find any of the popular hp heads, you can have some just as good built from most any of the low performance, hi comp heads from the 67-70 time period. most will have small intake valves & press in studs. i want try 2 list all the #'s here. there are probably some on this site who have all these #'s & specs committed 2 memory & will be glad 2 share if you ask. the 455 racingjunk ventura 2 i have has #215 heads on it--not exactly hp. any good machine shop can install bigger valves & screw-in studs. however, for street/mild bracket, the bigger valves are not necessary--but there again the stock valves are 40+ years old & have been thru many heat cycles--1 broke valve can ruin your whole day!!!--so i consider new ss valves "gbt". before you buy, take time 2 add up the cost of the cores + all the parts/labor for the work you want done 2 determine if you want 2 have a set built or look for a ready 2 run set.

[ponyakr]

i've mentioned that me & TJ got winner & r/u several times. according 2 our scrapbook, the 1st time it happened was the 2nd race out with the goat in april of '75. she cruised 2 the win with a 12.89 that nite at our local track. here's how they looked in early '75--no stickers yet.

[ponyakr]

dug out a sack of old pics & found all sorts of interesting stuff. here's the famous "goose", who raced with us & his trusty pit boss(& cousin) "fitz". don't have any pics of his ride, but it looked just like ez without the lettering on the doors. ran 12.50's with our 1st 455 from the '70 goat, th400/stock conv. i could always count on him 2 be there for wrenchin or racin. he drove our 2 car rig & put lots of chevys back on their rig with that little ponyak. when we stopped racin for a while in '79, i sold him the truck he's sittin on & gave him the car. he sold the car, but later they built a 2nd gen bracket bird.

[ponyakr]

don't remember posting all these shots--i know i've posted the last 1--but, hey, i like it--she won the race that day. 1st pic is me comin back from a time trial at our local track--i musta got there 1st. 2nd pic is, of course, the trophy from the big race at prescott in '77. 3rd shows car on truck & street bird waiting for a cruise downtown.

[ponyakr]

lurkin in the back corner of the speed barn is TJ's only 2nd gen racer. we took it for initial shakedown runs at our local track--dialed a 12.40, as you can see--things cooled down & car speeded up in elims--broke out with a .28--raced the 1000' track at prescott after that--ran 10 teens, then changed gears 2 a 4.88--ran a couple of 9.85's, beat some more chevys, cut some good rt's, won a big race--but mostly just had some more fun with another old ponyak! notice the ford ramp truck. like all my other black tow trucks before it, i had 2 special order it. we used the '84 gmc i've posted til the ford came in & i could get the ramps on it. it had a 300ci straight 6. they were more than up 2 the task. it made a real good hauler, got decent milage, would keep up with interstate traffic & would easily excede the speed limit should you so choose(but of course i chose not 2 most of the time).

[ponyakr]

today, if i had 2 start from scratch & build a street/mild bracket 455, i would not go hi comp. there are lots of advantages 2 runnin less comp. 1st, you can get by with pump gas or a mixture with just a small % racin gas in the mix--so the fuel is cheaper. another advantage is less chance of head gasket failure. also these heads are much more common & therefore cheaper. they were used in various forms from '71 thru '79. the most common & popular today is probably the 6x--used on 350's & 400's from about '75 thru '79. they already have the large intake valves, screw-in studs, & all 6 holes for header bolts. they are readily available from cheap, bare, rusty 2 all out, ported big boy sets for nearly $2000. this is 1 area where i have a different opinion than the 1 held by most on this site. most seem 2 think that the iron heads are almost useless unless they have at least a mild port job. i never used more than a mild gasket match clean-up--not even that much on most--& we ran as low as 12.40's with a stock 13" convertor, q-jet, & 3.55 gears. those same motors with a little stall & 4.11 or 4.56 gears would easily run hi 11's in a '68 bird like we ran. so how quick do you wanna go? or, if you have a street only car, a non-ported head 455 will produce all the tire melting torque you could ever need. but if you know how & have the time--knock ya self out--port it. just know that you won't notice much difference in low end torque, nor any huge reduction in et. 2 me(just my opinion) its just not worth the effort--once again thats for street/mild bracket. i do have enuff sense 2 know that a properly ported head will flow more air & make more power than a non-ported 1--but my gbt is "as cast".

[ponyakr]

Exciting, recently discovered, secret lost manuscripts unveiled and revealed 2 the public for the very 1st time, here and now! Three, until now, forgotten, misplaced photos and secret scroll has been unearthed from their hiding place deep within the pages of an album of old pet pics. The images are remarkably sharp and surprisingly legible for their age. Depicted in these ancient images is the unmistakable form of a 1967 Pontiac Firebird race car...believed 2 be the very last car in which the famous race car driver known as TJ actually made the final 1/4 mile pass of her illustrious racing career...before retiring from the sport. The words contained in the scroll may hold another key 2 the significance of the images. These words include this quote from the celebrity herself: "New bird ran 11.82 at Monroe Oct. 1988." No other details were revealed. She had already done everything she wanted to do in racing, except 1 thing: she had never actually recorded an 11 sec. pass down the 1/4 mile she'd been down so many times. So with that feat now accomplished, she gracefully retired 2 a peaceful life, enjoying all her critters - horses, dogs, cats and of course all the wild critters she met along the trail - bunny rabbits, possums, coons, piney woods rooters (wild hogs), deer, fox, coyote, skunks (pewhee!) squirrels, armadillos, bobcats and birds of every description - wild turkeys, buzzards, owls, hawks, crows, giant woodpeckers, quail, doves...well, you get the picture. She lives way out in the sticks and loves it there!