[ponyakr]

the oakland, stude & vette all won their respective classes. the vette is owned by the man who built TJ's steel frame house about 10 years ago--but she lets me live in it 2. ain't that nice of her?

[ponyakr]

and the winner is----hey, its mikey! & mb's red bird is 3rd. congrats guys--ya'll really put it on them chevys--just like in the old days. TJ loves the color of mikeys car--as he was holding his trophy, he said "you know, i didn't much like the color at 1st, but now its beginin 2 grow on me".

[ponyakr]

ok, the shows over. so now its time 2 head out on the hiway & make the scene at the mickey d's cruise-in about 50 miles away. mb leads the way & mikey falls in behind, as they slowly drive off 2 have a little more fun with their old pontiacs. & as mb put it, nobody was mad at em & cussin & wantin 2 fight because of some incident on the dirt track. maybe not quite as exciting as racing, but a lot of fun & much more peaceful. ps: as we sat behind the cars & talked i'd noticed the hard street tires on the cars & thought about how helpless they were behind the 455's, so i asked the boys "ya'll ain't out there doin burnouts & leavin black marks up & down our public hiways are you?" mikey said "naw dandy don, you know we wouldn't do anything like that"---i say r-i-g-h-t !

[ponyakr]

while we were talkin at the show, i managed 2 get mb 2 relate 2 me 1 of his dirt racin tales. he said he'd tell about his best ever dirt performance. this was his 2nd dirt racer. his 1st had been a '68 bird. i bought both cars from him, when he was thru with em. he thinks this car may have been a '73--not sure tho. he ran a 400 with ra4 heads & cam, rhoads lifters, a st300 tranny, 12 bolt rear, & 2 radiators--1 behind the seat. the carb was a hawged out 650 holley 2-barrel--i think they flowed something like 890 or some rediculous #. ok he'd already won the points champ 2 years runnin at this track & the points chase was over--it was an end of the year race. he said he would have 1 the points champ at another local track, but they shut the track down with 2 races left. anyhow, back 2 this race. mb won his heat, but it was the sec heat which put him on the front row, outside. there were 12-15 cars in the feature which can be quite a crowd on a short narrow dirt track. the flagman trys 2 keep the field bunched up tite instead of spread all around the track. so there is always lots of bumping when coming towards the flag for a start or restart. this time was no exception. after the green, wb pulled ahead, but was still on the outside. the 2nd car on the inside row hit the 1st car & knocked him over into wb, cutting down a tire & bending a wheel, so wb went 2 the pits 2 change it. when something like that happens before a lap is completed, they usually give the pitting cars time 2 get back out into their original position. but mb's wheel was bent so bad they couldn't get the lug wrench on 2 of the nuts, so they had 2 use a crescent wrench 2 loosen them. so the flagman decided 2 go ahead & restart the race without wb. by the time he pulled back onto the track, the entire field had just passed him heading for the restart. all he could do was just fall in behind & play catch up. he said if he had still been runnin for points, he would not have done this. but with nothing 2 lose, he decided 2 just let it all hang out & see what the old pontiac would do. said he drove like a wild man(remember he was still known as wild bill at this time) said he passed em rite & left, hi & low, whatever it took. finally got up 2 4th behind the #2 & 3 place cars which were battling it out for 2nd. he was on such a tare, he passed both of them with 1 move, which put him in soul possession of 2nd place. so he set his sites on the leader---then he came back into his rite mind & remembered that he had a 12 bolt car rear end with stock axles(of which he'd broke several) he knew that as hard as he'd run comin 2 the front, 1 of those axles mite be just about ready 2 pop--so he reasoned that 2nd would be much better than last, with a dnf. so he just fell in line behind the leader, a safe distance ahead of the 3rd place car, & followed him 2 the checkered(about 4 laps). he said that with truck axles, or hi dollar car axles, he could have easily won, but just didn't wanna take a chance that nite. so he considers this 2nd place finish his best race ever. & it was lots of fun 2, cause all them cars he passed wuz hi winding small block chevys. i just love a good "1 pontiac beats all the chevys" story--don't ya'll?

[ponyakr]

there are lots of other heads you can use 2 build a lower comp 455. the 4x & 5c are just 2 that come 2 mind. any of the heads that came on 350's & 400's will raise the comp of a '71-'76 455 with original heads. but be aware that some heads along in the '72-'73 period either did not have all the exhaust bolt holes drilled or didn't even have a boss cast in the heads where a bolt hole should be. again, if you want these head #'s just ask on just about any forum on this site--there are lots of guys here who know all the #'s. i would just avoid these heads totally. now--here's another area where my opinion will differ from most. starting in '71 455 heads had huge chambers 2 reduce the comp down into the 8 range. these heads are useless on a 350 or 400 & are considered junk by most. now i'm not talkin here about '71-'72 455 HO heads or '73-'74 455 SD heads, but only '71-'76 455 d-port heads. the 6H is an example--probably around 124cc chambers. these don't make much comp, but you still have that long 4.21 stroke for low end tire melting torque/starting line jump. of course, the big advantages are that you can use pump gas with no additives & it should be very easy on head gaskets. naturally, it will produce less power & higher ets--but with the rite combo of parts--still no slouch. 1 more advantage i just thought of--initial purchase price of cores should be extremely low. if you can find a pontiac guy whose been using 455 blocks for very long--he probably has a stack of these big chamber heads(if he hasn't sold em for scrap) in the corner of his shop & may give you a set, just 2 get em out of his way. there was probably a time when i had at least a dozen sets--cause every single 455 i bought had a set on it. i never used any because i had plenty of hi comp heads 2 race with. i would consider a low comp 455 a good, low budget gbt motor, which would probably run hi 12's to mid 13's in a lite bracket car like the '68 birds we raced. at our local track, there is no min et required 2 run in the no-e footbrake class--so 2 run 10's & 11's is just spending $ you don't have 2 spend 2 be competitive in the class. but if you just wanna go quicker & have the $ 2 burn--pull out your wallet & make it quicker! just know that you don't have 2 go fast 2 have fun & win races. we won dozens of races running in the 13 sec range against lots of 10 & 11 sec cars. all ya have 2 do is learn enuff about it 2 beat a few chevys!

[ponyakr]

now, here's something i know many will disagree with. 1st let me say that i think d-port iron heads that cost in the $1500 range is rediculous unless you need 2 make every last bit of power you possibly can, runnin in a class that requires iron heads. otherwise, when you get that close 2 the $2000 mark, i think its time 2 switch 2 alum heads. that was not an option for me in the old days, but now it is. here's another fork in the road where i'll take the 1 less traveled. for street & any bracket racin down into the hi 10's, i say a d-port alum is plenty & is definately good gbt--they're a little cheaper initially, but get cheaper quick when you buy new headers. as most know, round ports are now around $600+. a hedman d-port is around $250 new & there are lots of cheap used 1's out there. i'd suggest that if you insist on round ports you find a good used set of headers before you buy the heads. again, if you've got the $ buy k hi-ports & new dougs & go rite on down the road. but if your budget is not unlimited, d-ports will save $$$. as for the choice between k or e d-ports--i don't know. i've read that e's have heli-coils in some of the bolt holes, instead of threaded alum. but, they have the heat riser 2 warm the intake on cold mornings. i don't consider this a drawback. i never filled a single heat riser--just used mr.g 502g intake gaskets with the thin metal block off plates--never a problem. but, if your race only, fill em if you like. if you got a little more $ & wanna go on down into the 9's--k hi-ports will getcha there for less than $3000. but its the rest of the 9 sec stuff that will cost ya! convertor, tranny brake, hd rear, dom carb, intake, roller cam set up, lifter bore brace, 4-bolt caps, extra hi-$ machine work, etc, etc, etc. 9 sec everything is hi-$ & is definately not gbt. but if you got the green--go for it! & if you really wanna have some fun entertainment, get yourself a big bowl of popcorn, or your favorite snackfood & a big soda pop(or your favorite tasty beverage), then pose this ? on the race forum--"whats the best way 2 build a 9 sec bracket car on a limited budget?" then just sit back & relax & enjoy the show!

[ponyakr]

well, its time for me 2 admit my ignorance again. some things are just so simple that once you learn how--you wonder why you didn't know that long ago. ex: lately i've had problems gettin pics 2 upload from my camera card during hi usage times on py. many times i had quite a bit of text typed before i tried 2 upload the pics & when they wouldn't go thru--i lost the text & had 2 retype the whole thing later. i asked for help. the solution somebody offered was 2 just upload the pics 1st. if they go thru--THEN add the text. so, why didn't i think of that? it is so simple! well, here i am again--1 of those simple things i did not know but had wondered about. i'd seen some of those neat little smilies people put at the end of a post & wondered how they did that. then i saw 1 of them under the post text space & decided 2 click on 1 & see what happened--low & behold it magically appeared at the end of my text. but some, like the popcorn, i didn't see--assumed those who posted those got them off of some program on their computer. i mentioned it 2 TJ yesterday & she took a quick look & quickly said "why don't you just click on the word "more" under the other smilies". now--wasn't that difficult. i coulda been using all those cool smilies all this time & was just 2 dumb 2 know it. have ya'll ever done anything dumb? boy, it really makes me wonder what other simple things i don't know about & which one of them i'll discover next. anyhow, now that i've seen all the smilies, i can think of so many posts where i would have used certain 1's. but i just found out you can't go back & edit old posts. but some are just crying out 2 me for a certain smilie so instead of recalling the whole post--from time 2 time, as i recall some i may just mention the post # or the jist of it & show the smilie i would have used if i'd have known about them. all this may sound silly 2 ya'll, but i've always had a good sense of humor i suppose & it'll just make some posts a little more fun for me.

Edit: I also just learned how to "copy and paste" - saves me a lot of retyping! Better late than never to learn new tricks, huh?

[ponyakr]

Originally Posted by ponyakr

while we were talkin at the show, i managed 2 get mb 2 relate 2 me 1 of his dirt racin tales. he said he'd tell about his best ever dirt performance. this was his 2nd dirt racer. his 1st had been a '68 bird. i bought both cars from him, when he was thru with em. he thinks this car may have been a '73--not sure tho. he ran a 400 with ra4 heads & cam, rhoads lifters, a st300 tranny, 12 bolt rear, & 2 radiators--1 behind the seat. the carb was a hawged out 650 holley 2-barrel--i think they flowed something like 890 or some rediculous #. ok he'd already won the points champ 2 years runnin at this track & the points chase was over--it was an end of the year race. he said he would have 1 the points champ at another local track, but they shut the track down with 2 races left. anyhow, back 2 this race. mb won his heat, but it was the sec heat which put him on the front row, outside. there were 12-15 cars in the feature which can be quite a crowd on a short narrow dirt track. the flagman trys 2 keep the field bunched up tite instead of spread all around the track. so there is always lots of bumping when coming towards the flag for a start or restart. this time was no exception. after the green, wb pulled ahead, but was still on the outside. the 2nd car on the inside row hit the 1st car & knocked him over into wb, cutting down a tire & bending a wheel, so wb went 2 the pits 2 change it. when something like that happens before a lap is completed, they usually give the pitting cars time 2 get back out into their original position. but mb's wheel was bent so bad they couldn't get the lug wrench on 2 of the nuts, so they had 2 use a crescent wrench 2 loosen them. so the flagman decided 2 go ahead & restart the race without wb. by the time he pulled back onto the track, the entire field had just passed him heading for the restart. all he could do was just fall in behind & play catch up. he said if he had still been runnin for points, he would not have done this. but with nothing 2 lose, he decided 2 just let it all hang out & see what the old pontiac would do. said he drove like a wild man(remember he was still known as wild bill at this time) said he passed em rite & left, hi & low, whatever it took. finally got up 2 4th behind the #2 & 3 place cars which were battling it out for 2nd. he was on such a tare, he passed both of them with 1 move, which put him in soul possession of 2nd place. so he set his sites on the leader---then he came back into his rite mind & remembered that he had a 12 bolt car rear end with stock axles(of which he'd broke several) he knew that as hard as he'd run comin 2 the front, 1 of those axles mite be just about ready 2 pop--so he reasoned that 2nd would be much better than last, with a dnf. so he just fell in line behind the leader, a safe distance ahead of the 3rd place car, & followed him 2 the checkered(about 4 laps). he said that with truck axles, or hi dollar car axles, he could have easily won, but just didn't wanna take a chance that nite. so he considers this 2nd place finish his best race ever. & it was lots of fun 2, cause all them cars he passed wuz hi winding small block chevys. i just love a good "1 pontiac beats all the chevys" story--don't ya'll?

here's a well earned trophy for a great finish in a hard fought battle!

[ponyakr]

rocker studs--you can probably get by with the stock 3/8 bottleneck studs up 2 , but no bigger than a ra4 cam w/1.5 rockers. i can say this because thats what i did--with never 1 broken stud. i ran stock rockers w/the cheapest poly locks i could find--at the time i think that was mr. g brand. i don't know if 40 year old rockers & studs will hold up or not--20 year old stuff did. but i feel safe in saying don't try using 40 year old valves--2 many heat cycles. i personally know a local pontiac man who tried 2 get by with original valves & 1 broke, causing extensive damage--& that was at fairly low, supposedly safe rpm. pushrods--i ran stock pushrods with pipe cleaners in the hole--no problems. bought some chrome moly(don't remember the brand) for the cc .525 lift cam i mentioned--stock length with stock rockers. now--with all things considered, here's what i would recommend as get by head tech for a 12 sec bracket car. an as cast 6x, 4x, 5c or similiar head 2 keep comp in the 9's. new ss valves with a common 3 angle valve job. exotic super 5 angle, hi $ jobs won't help much without a full port job. surface the head only enuff 2 make sure its flat. use the cheapest 7/16 studs you can find--new arp's are among the highest. use steel 1.52 roller tip rockers(less wear on valve tips) cc are highest, prw may be cheapest. buy stock replacement pushrods--summit sells em for under $30. put pipe cleaners in the pushrods--they worked for me--1000's of passes. these pushrods will work for a cam up 2 my gbt choice--the spc8 melling ra4. if you insist on a bigger cam that requires stronger springs, then you'd better buy the hi $ pushrods with a restricted hole. they are well over $100, but you can get any length you want. "if you want more go, it'll take more dough!" if your gonna spend more than this on heads, you should probably just try 2 find a good set of ready 2 run heads or go ahead & switch 2 alum. most good used alum i've seen aren't much cheaper than new 1's--& BUYER BEWARE of stripped threads & other damage on used alum--in case you haven't found out yet--not everyone is honest & forthcoming! 1 more thang--since the head bolts may also be 40 years old--new 1's are probably a good idea. i'm sure others on this site would do it different, but thats how i'd do it--& i have no quarrel with anyone who has a different opinion!

[ponyakr]

when i 1st discovered the py forums site thru a pontiac racer friend, i was delighted 2 find so many pontiac guys talkin about pontiacs & racin. as i went down the list of forums & subjects, the race forum caught my eye. i saw the street forum, but i thought "i don't have a street ride anymore, just race(in my mind) cars". so i started tuning in whenever possible. i thought it was great that guys could trade info about racin pontiacs. i thought about how great it would have been if i'd had this source of info when i 1st started racin. would have saved me lots of $, hard work, frustration & lost races. as i thought about this more & more, i thought, "why don't i share some of what i learned thru trial & lots of errors, with guys on the race site who may be just getting started in bracket racin or wanting 2 learn more about it". so i began 2 think of what i'd learned, that had allowed us 2 win lots of races, that i could share. i decided that there was so much info involved that it would take several small posts 2 share it all. so i decided 2 call the series "how 2 win more races"--then began 2 post em--thinkin it would help some & would be welcomed info by many--you know, like advice from somebody whose been there & done it. but what i did not realize is that i was treading on "Holy Ground". wow, i was like the lamb 2 the slaughter. i had no idea what i was about 2 encounter. 2 me, it was what i would call a tramatic experience. it definately must be included in my pontiac story about "where i came from" so i've looked back over some of those early posts for facts 2 relate in my ongoing story. if you haven't already & your interested, you can read all about it in my posting history.

[ponyakr]

Originally Posted by ponyakr

ok, the shows over. so now its time 2 head out on the hiway & make the scene at the mickey d's cruise-in about 50 miles away. mb leads the way & mikey falls in behind, as they slowly drive off 2 have a little more fun with their old pontiacs. & as mb put it, nobody was mad at em & cussin & wantin 2 fight because of some incident on the dirt track. maybe not quite as exciting as racing, but a lot of fun & much more peaceful. ps: as we sat behind the cars & talked i'd noticed the hard street tires on the cars & thought about how helpless they were behind the 455's, so i asked the boys "ya'll ain't out there doin burnouts & leavin black marks up & down our public hiways are you?" mikey said "naw dandy don, you know we wouldn't do anything like that"---i say r-i-g-h-t !

here's the smilie i'da used if i'da known about it. would've also used it on post 331 & all those from earlier in my story where i talked about gear grabbin in my ole goat. & it'll probably come in handy later on down the road!

[ponyakr]

Originally Posted by ponyakr

and the winner is----hey, its mikey! & mb's red bird is 3rd. congrats guys--ya'll really put it on them chevys--just like in the old days. TJ loves the color of mikeys car--as he was holding his trophy, he said "you know, i didn't much like the color at 1st, but now its beginin 2 grow on me".

i would like 2 now officially present the m&m boys with their show trophies.