[sixtee8gto]

Went to autozone the other day and there was a 72 lemans all chopped up and gutted. Set up for drag racing with a 454 in it and a one piece front end. Exaust ran under the rear axles. Well any way He was tinkering with it in the parking lot so I had to walk by it and say hello. Told him I had alot of parts for Pontiacs if he needed any. He tells me that he is interested in putting the original motor back in it. Which is a 396 chevy motor. Had to laugh, seeing he was about 18.

[sixtee8gto]

Went to autozone the other day and there was a 72 lemans all chopped up and gutted. Set up for drag racing with a 454 in it and a one piece front end. Exaust ran under the rear axles. Well any way He was tinkering with it in the parking lot so I had to walk by it and say hello. Told him I had alot of parts for Pontiacs if he needed any. He tells me that he is interested in putting the original motor back in it. Which is a 396 chevy motor. Had to laugh, seeing he was about 18.

[uneasyrider]

LOL!!!!!!! That's like when I tell these kids I have a 400 in my '74 TA and the real "gear heads" say "Well the 400 small block was always a piece of crap". Uh, yeah? They don't even know that there was any other engines in the GM line-up other than the Chevy. On top of that I've seen some very bad asp SBC's I don't know where that rap came from.

Uneasyrider

[nightwrencher]

Hey I'm a youngin (24) but I try to know what I'm talking about. You wouldn't believe how many 40+ year olds I have corrected on stuff. Given most of them are half-in the bag when they stop to check out my car, but If I had a dollar for everytime someone told me a 400 was a big block, I would be able to pay someone else to build my car. But given the stereotype is true. Usually by the time I'm done talking to someone my age about what I did to my car they go, "Oh....yeah...that's cool....I gotta go." and pull away in their chevy.

[nightwrencher]

by the way, their chevy was usually built by their dad. All you old-timers gotta start teaching your Kids right or nobody will even know pontiac made their own engine ten years from now.

[The Who]

^ Pontiac has been in my family since my grand-father, and then to my dad and now I'll carry on the tradition (I'm 18).

---

Usually when I reply back, its because I know what I'm talking about, if I don't know then I'll listen to the person and learn something about it. I learn a lot on these forums, but still have a lot to learn.

[Thumpin455_GTO]

I still get the "Put a 350 Chevy in there and you will go faster" thing. Yeah sure its lighter than a 400 with E heads, 4.25" eagle crank, 6.8 Eagle rods, and Ross pistons. Thats why it will go faster. I just show them the front of the car, since they wont be seeing it during the race.

We do need younger guys to get into Pontiacs, we also need older people to keep the Pontiac engine in there instead of dropping in a 350 or whatever. Why? That way we will still have parts for the engines we know are a better design, even if it is a bit more expensive to produce or build. For what you get from the factory in a Pontiac, you have to pay extra to get race stuff in a Chevy.

I guess the bigget thing is to not come off as a jerk, or a know it all. Be supportive not combative. Once you beat the kid with the 454 in his TA or GTO, you can then show him the nearly stock looking engine that doesnt look like his, then he will get the idea.

Im tired of the Car mags thinking we are a bunch of resto freaks who think it has to have the correct year and month exhaust manifolds. I race everything I build own and drive, I dont care what the date code is. Just give me CFM, CI, and RPM and I am happy. 36 btw...

[sixty8firebird1]

Dont think that all teens these days are a lost cause and drive rice, Im only 17 and I know more about Pontiacs and cars in general than some people 3 times my age

[Billy177]

yea i am 18, it seems almost everyone drives rice now. They actually think muscle cars are slow too because they are heavy.

they dont realize that a 455 with e-heads is gonna smoke their civic, or any v8 for that matter

[nicko72gto]

i got ya all beat im only 15 with a 72 gto powered by a 400 (soon 455) 4 speed

[cwolf]

I'm glad to see so much interest in pontiac's.I have had several differnt models since I was 17, I am 43 now have have been away from pontiac's for a long time.So I went out and bought a 74 ventura a little over a month ago. Today I had 2 of my sons outside helping me take out the interior,as they were taking things apart they would bring me the seats and trim parts into the bathroom so I could clean them up.After cleaning all the parts and parts they went to put everyting back in and I came out my middle son asked dad if you buy another car can I have the ventura,it made me feel good to pass on something I love doing.Also I have learned a lot in these forums and have started a interest in something other than a chevy or honda.I am disabled and more fun today than I have in a long time being able to do somethings and pass something to my sons that thay will enjoy all their lives too.

[nicko72gto]

i hate it when people say a 400 is a big block, or when they say a pontiac engine is the same thing as a chevy only painted blue

[gto312]

i drove a 2005 yesterday......man can that thing really get with the program!!!!funny thing though...no one really paid attention to it........but when i get out the 72, go around a corner, break traction.....just a little. everybody thats looking.....is SMILING!!!

[nicko72gto]

yea the older ones will defenitly get more looks

[Habanero]

My dad has been in to Pontiacs for as long as I can remember. His first car was a 57 Pontiac 347ci and he still has the car,and he is 60 years old now. I'm 28 and my first car was a Pontiac 74 Catalina with a 455. There's a story my dad told me about my 69 Bonne That I have with a 428. This car looks beaten down ( primer, rust, and cracked bondo ) He said that he was driving down a street here in town and a young kid was screwing around with him . kinda wanting to race , well finally my dad got mad and said i'll show him. he punched it burnt rubber, barked the tires going into second at 45 mph ,and was gone . He said that the kids eyes was wide open , jaw droped, the turned off at the next street. That showed that kid about an older Pontiac with tru Pontiac power.

[Bad Karma]

I got my first Lemans at 20 years old. It was the 400 ram air III engined One in my sig. The most fun I ever had was in that car. I remember one time on the highway a 79 or so camaro tried to race me but this is so funny. He started about a half mile behind me I let him wind up and try to over take me. I have a witness to this incident. The Car was a highway King with 2.56 gears. I dropped into 2cnd gear And He never made it past my front fender even with a 1/2 mile or so headstart. I took 2cnd gear to 110mph! Third Never new what it did but it was well past 140mph. I miss that power everytime i drive my chevy powered lemans. My ex wife sold my First car but I am starting over again with a more rust free car so maybe its better off anyway.

[soon2b2ltmp]

I had a incident at a car show, the first one I took my car to after I brought it home from Delaware. I had my Catalina parked, and was dusting off the car when I noticed a man looking over the car with a buddy of his standing next to him. He looks at his buddy, points to the 400 emblem on my grille and says, "A 400 engine in a police car? Bullsh*t!!!"

Here I am thinking "well what the heck did you think was under the hood?" What I did was walk around the car to the drivers door, open it then pop the hood. Then He says, "well it is a 400."

Well duh. Some other police cars came with a 428, 429, 440, 454, 455, and a 460.

[Mr. G]

That reminds me of the time I was selling a compltet 400 motor locally, and a guy came to look at it with his mechanic as a potential replacement for his tired motor in his 74 Ventura. The mechanic looked at it and said "Yep, that's what it looks like", and they proceeded to buy the motor. Two days later, the mechanic calls me complaining that the engine they bought from me wasn't bolting right in as I said it would. Finally, the mechanic mentioned that the Ventura that he was trying to put the motor in had a 260 V8 emblem on the fender. I told him that what he had done was to buy a Pontiac motor when he needed an Oldsmobile motor. The mechanic then said that they were "all the same". Then there was the time when I was at the gas station fililg up my Olds 442 when a guy pulled up next to me and asked of the car still had the original 442 ci engine in it. Not to make him feel like a fool, I said "yes, it still has the original engine".

[Colin]

Yeah, the 442 thing really screws people up. Like guys that think a Shelby Mustang GT-350 has a 350 engine

[musclebird69]

Lol... All of your stories are hilarious. I'm only 18 but have always been into muscle cars and recently purchased my own...69 Firebird 350. I am surrounded by kids/neighbors (actually all over 18) that don't know what a real car is suppose to be. They all drive around in their fart canned civics and actually believe that they have the fastest cars around...haha. The first day I got my car I pulled up to them and they just started trash-talking about how I should have bought an Integra or Civic. I told them not to worry about me because I was the one that knew what I was doing. They had the audacity to try and convince me that my car sucked. As soon as the "leader" finished his sentence an El Camino w/ a third gen Camaro front end conversion passed by and they began talking about how cool those "El Camino SS's" looked. THey actually tought that the El Camino SS's came stock with a third gen Camaro front end.
I just drove of laughing...GOSH I'm surrounded by idiots....