[Brian Baker]

Originally Posted by ho428

Oldsmobile engine.

Valve covers with the two center bolts always throw me off. Blowers like this were the norm in the late 50's to early 60's...technology transferred from the aircraft industry. Can anyone pinpoint when they first mounted a roots blower overtop the cylinder heads?

[440GP69]

yep thats a potvin blower! very cool thread i don't think i have smiled this much in months!! man i wish i was around back then!

[Steve Barcak]

Yeah, that's a 394 ( family ) Olds. The front mount blowers were popular because they did not effect visibility but, it was difficult to overdrive them. Plus, you can imagine trying to get the fuel mixtures even with a set up like that ( this was from an era before port nozzles which would have helped a bunch ). I think Art Chrisman was the first to be successful with a top mounted blower.
M/T did sell and use front mounted blower set ups on Pontiacs.

[Steve Barcak]

Here is a Thompson Pontiac twin 4 wheel drive gas burner. I am guessing it is Fritz sitting in the car.

[Steve Barcak]

Here is one of my Hemi Pontiac engines in a sand rail- blown on fuel in 1967.
Second pic is the same engine today in my 18' Hondo v-drive flat bottom ( Jim Taylor pic ).

[Brian Baker]

Steve, got any shots of M/T twin cylinder Pontiacs? I understand he experiemented with a few of them for midget cars? I remember seeing a pic or two but it's been a long time.

[Jack Gifford]

Originally Posted by ho428

... Back when men were men, but not for long if the ring gear let go.

What- me worry? It's got the requisite ring gear shield- a sort of "bikini" shield that was rules-mandated for the banjo-style Ford rears.
Thanks for the photos.

[Jack Gifford]

Brian- you're probably thinking of the two-cylinder Pontiac Mickey built for going after acceleration records (U.S. and FIA- standing start mile, kilometer, etc.) at March AFB. I think he did capture some records with it, but I'll have to look it up. I'll also have to look for what issue of Hot Rod Magazine had a feature article about it. The little that I do remember- it was 90 c.i. and made 257 HP on 25% nitro with a little (3-71?) Jimmy blower. Or, I should say, it was making 257 HP at the highest engine speed they could manage without shaking the dyno apart- I think just a little over 5 grand!

[Jack Gifford]

Steve- yeah, that sure looks like Fritz. Isn't that car still complete and with Steve Van Duyn? I wish the photo showed a little more of the '58/59 GMC's fender, to see if it had the V8 emblem- if so, it also would have been Pontiac-powered!

[Jack Gifford]

Originally Posted by 440GP69

yep thats a potvin blower!...

Potvin didn't make blowers, but made the front-drive adaptors for GMC blowers on popular engines- I think not just V8s, but also GMC sixes, etc. Potvin-mounted blowers found good homes in many "lakes" cars, where low frontal area was important.

[Bill Eveland]

Another , does anyone know this car?

[speedshopmike]

that's how blowers were done back in the 20's/30's on exotics like bugatti, duesenburg, mercedes, etc.
at our local cruise last weekend a guy had a rod with a tripower small chevy very nicely disguised as a olds motor; he'd welded studs onto his SBC valve covers and bolted the olds covers over them, used translucent colored fuel lines, etc - i had to look at it for several seconds to realize it.


9quote)re the norm in the late 50's to early 60's...technology transferred from the aircraft industry. Can anyone pinpoint when they first mounted a roots blower overtop the cylinder heads?[/QUOTE]

[triathlonx13]

"This GTO was a drag car most of it's life. It had originally raced in the upper New York State area. When we found it the owner was going to scrap it. The everything except the engine machining was done by us. There is over 200 hours of bodywork in the car. The drivetrain is a Pontiac 400 bored .30 over with a turbo 350 trans. Front axle is a Econoline."

http://rides.hotrod.com/ride/1003677...gto/index.html


.

[triathlonx13]

http://www.draglist.com/artman2/publ...Part_III.shtml

[triathlonx13]

"This '68 Firebird was once owned/raced by Jim Wangers.once raced by Jim Wangers. The car was street raced, and as a 10second car in the '70's was one of Detroit's fastest. Eric has painstakingly restored the car. Shown here at the Woodward Dream Cruise. Eric also raced the car at Norwalk and Milan "

[Old Man Taylor]

Originally Posted by Bill Eveland

Another , does anyone know this car?

I believe that is Jim Data's car. I know it ran in the 8's, and he might have gotten it into the 7's. I also know that he crashed it once, but I don't know if it got fixed after that or not. He lives in the vicinity of Santa Paul, CA.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by triathlonx13

"This '68 Firebird was once owned/raced by Jim Wangers.once raced by Jim Wangers. The car was street raced, and as a 10second car in the '70's was one of Detroit's fastest. Eric has painstakingly restored the car. Shown here at the Woodward Dream Cruise. Eric also raced the car at Norwalk and Milan "

Eric is a member of this board and is also Founder/President of the Royal Pontiac Club here in the Detroit area.

K

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by pontiac jack

What- me worry? It's got the requisite ring gear shield- a sort of "bikini" shield that was rules-mandated for the banjo-style Ford rears.
Thanks for the photos.

Makes me think of a story

Actually, we've come full circle, as I posted it on this thread already (Post #249) but I will re-include it here for continuity's sake:

My dad had a buddy that ran a fuel dragster back in the late 50's/early 60's. He was in it as a hobby, not a lot of capital, so his equipment was pretty rough. He made a pass one time and somehow the nitro fumes got to him, so when dad and the rest of the crew chased him down he was throwing up at the big end. He told dad "...Van, I don't think I can ride back in the car. You'll have to sit in there and we'll tow you back".

Dad said he got settled in and they started back down the return road. Of course, you are sitting right on top of the diff housing, and the rear end in this thing is going "BANG! Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, BBRRRRRRR BANG! Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, BBRRRRRRR..." all the way back to the pits.

Dad said he didn't feel safe in that thing going 25 mph down the return road; he couldn't imagine going down the racetrack...

K

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

... He was in it as a hobby, not a lot of capital, so his equipment was pretty rough...

Incidently, back then Don Garlits and Chris Karmasines were good friends. Garlits would come up from Florida and he and Chris would run around, racing in the Chicago area and the southern part of Michigan. Connie Kalitta would run, too, and the equipment he used would make you feel sorry for him (three or four odd pistons, just whatever kind of parts he could come up with)*.

You might recall stories of them scavaging parts off a Dodge truck (or passenger car) in the pits in order to keep the racecar going...

K

*One of my buddies grew up here in Mt Clemens, which is where Shirley Muldowny lives. He said he used to pick some cool stuff from her garbage on trash day!

[Steve Barcak]

Brian- "Steve, got any shots of M/T twin cylinder Pontiacs? I understand he experiemented with a few of them for midget cars? I remember seeing a pic or two but it's been a long time."?
Yes, I do somewhere. It was published, probably in Hot Rod year book ('61 or '62). The coverage is pretty extensive as I remember and it shows how it was done. Very interesting.

Jack- "Isn't that car still complete and with Steve Van Duyn? "
I don't know anything on its current where abouts.

" I wish the photo showed a little more of the '58/59 GMC's fender, to see if it had the V8 emblem- if so, it also would have been Pontiac-powered"
I agree, I am sure it probably was considering the attachment with Pontiac at the time.

Bill- Yes, Jim is correct, It is Jim Data from Ca. However, this car is corporate ( chev) powered, does not have a Real Pontiac engine. It is a type of pro stock engine.