[Steve Barcak]

I haven't followed this board for very long so this may have been brought up. I wish not to be redundant but, this is a valuable improvement. I live in Phoenix, Az and drive Pontiac powered vehicles on the street, strip, tow and even in my boat. Our summers are among the most intense there are.
About 15 years back while trying many ideas to improve cooling the Real Pontiac I found something that helped. I drilled a 5/16" hole in the block and in both heads. The location was directly above the center head bolt on the lower row. This is a hot area on the Pontiac where the 2 exh ports are next to each other (except Ram Air V). Pontiac actually did this at the factory from 1955 until about 1959 or 60 (another virtue of the early motor). For some reason, Pontiac stopped drilling out this hole. This was the same time Pontiac dumped the reverse cooling. This modification improves water circulation at that critical area and will also help extend the life of head gaskets under extreme conditions. Most head gaskets actually already have the hole in them including the popular #1016. To perform this improvement, use the gasket as a template and center punch it. Then use a small, high quality drill and slowly drill it through. The first hole is the hardest, be careful not to catch the bit and snap it off in the block. I have well over 200,000 miles on different Pontiac engines with this modification. Steve Barcak www.pontiacheaven.org
Real Pontiacs only......NO corporate nonsense!