[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!

[ponyakr]

"you are my sunshine, my only sunshine"...these are words from a song made famous by former La Gov. Jimmie Davis, who was raised just a few miles from where we live. So our local festival is called the Sunshine Festival and this year we actually had wall to wall sunshine. Part of our humpteenth annual festival is called an antique car show. So, I'll start with some of what I call real "antiques."

[ponyakr]

yep, we had some old trucks 2. the 1 in the last 2 shots was my pic--guess the judges thought so 2--it won. i think it is a gmc(if not, i stand corrected)

[ponyakr]

comin at you is what i'm told is almost a pontiac. the motor appeared 2 be a mid '70's 400. i heard he use 2 tell folks it was a '73 455 HO--well we know that can't be & since it has d-port heads--who knows what it is--but who cares--it looks good & won its class! hey, whats in that suitcase on the back?

[ponyakr]

here's the pontiac muscle that was present. the puniest motor amongst em is a 455 e-head tire melter. of course, anybody whose read my story will not be surprised at all 2 hear that i have 2 give the nod 2 the old goat. there's just somethin about a '69 goat that does it for me(even if it is 1 of my least favorite colors). it was the only goat there--with dozens of chevys all around. it was a very familiar situation--1 in which i found myself at most of the races i've entered. but, as i found out, it only takes 1 goat 2 beat all those chevys! mine was never the best lookin car there--but wound up in the winners circle when the dust had cleared on many a nite! well, i witnessed a similiar situation today--the goat wasn't the best lookin car there(according 2 the judges)--but i can assure you--at 750+ dynoed hp--it was without ? the badest ride there. & the only hint of its potential was a tiger tale hangin out of the trunk. & it ain't no trailer queen either--this goat will cruise--if your clutch leg & shiftin arm are up for the job. the last shot shows this tiger as is prowls off into the sunset & out onto the highway, just like they use 2 back in the good old days. as i watched it drive away the words of 1 of the oldies that we heard earlier over the pa system came back 2 me "little gto, your really lookin fine".

[ponyakr]

yep, mb was the lone early bird there. he made a few additions since last year. there's a new steering wheel, mats & shift knob. & i don't know if you can see em or not--but he stepped up to 3" pipes. 2 get any lower i would have had 2 lay on the ground & then the guys would have had 2 help me up. he said it was no pic nic tuckin 3" pipes under a bird. mb has a new show-n-cruise buddy now. its actually his old racin buddy. & he's an mb 2(mikey bee)--so i'll call em the m&m boys! i'll show ya'll mikey's ride tomorrow, cause i'm out of time. nite ya'll!

[ponyakr]

yes, unlike last year, this year we had plenty of sunshine--maybe 2 much. when i got back from the show, TJ said ooh, you got some sun--yo face is red. i looked in the mirror & sho nuf, i wuz red faced. & today my nose still looks sorta like rudolph. maybe it won't peel--but hey, it was worth it--had a great time lookin at the rides & visiting with old ponyak buddies. there was a guy there wearin a ridiculous lookin hat, with a huge brim, almost a big as a sombrero. i jokingly ask him what he'd take for the hat. but lookin back on it now, i see he was the smart 1 & me the dummy--cause i have 1 almost that big at home, which i wear in the summer for mowing & bush hogin. mite wear it next year. anyhow, we had a good show this year, with lots of car clubs(more than i even knew existed around here) & individuals showing. & i noticed lots of younger folks who were not even alive when these old musclecars roamed the streets--they were checkin out these ancient machines. a lady came up 2 us, showing her kids the pontiacs & said she sure appreciated the guys building & showing these old cars so the young folks would know about them. 2 me it was just 1 of those little "feel good moments.

[ponyakr]

of course its a '64 lemans, 43k miles, 455, e-heads, th400 with a nice shifter that looks like a stick. by the way, i forgot 2 mention that mb's red bird now has just over 80k miles on it. mikey says he wants 2 get a goat hood for it , so they are scouring the area 2 see if they can come up with something usable. anyhow, nice ride mikey!

[ponyakr]

comin at you--what show would be complete without 1. it was the 1st car 2 greet you at the entrance 2 the main show area. i still think its 1 of the best lookin cars ever built! TJ's last street bird was 1 of these. & i'm sorta connected 2 this 1 also. if you've read my whole story, you may remember the pic & story of a gray primered '69 goat which i built for another boy 2 race. it was a 455 with the only set of ra4 heads i ever raced. this boy(bh) wanted 2 put a nice paint job on the goat(black, of course) so he came out 2 the shop almost every nite 2 work on the goat, driving the bandit in these pics. that sounds 2 me almost like a pontiac freaks dream. drive your brand new bandit 2 a shop 2 work on your 455/ra4 '69 goat racer--then when the nites work is over, jump back into the bandit & cruise around town awhile 2 see whats happnin. wonder how many folks that happened 2? anyhow, bh had some problems & recently had 2 sell the car. so he knew just the man who'd treat it rite--that man is pictured in my last pic here. his initials are ta & he owns at least 3 black ta's--so i reckin i could call him the ta man. by the way, this bandit is all original & low miles. also, 1 of the blackbirds he owns is a 3rd gen bandit that was TJ's nephews 1st car.

[ponyakr]

here's the newest pontiac at the show. the ta man bought it new. its an '81 4-speed 301 with very low miles. the gp got 2nd in 70's big cars. this was a nice '64 cat.

[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?