[JMB36TA]

Originally Posted by azbirds

Nice!! I do think selling the hood to a person with a real T/A is a good idea. They are worth a lot of money that could go toward your build, and you'd be doing a great service to a car that needs it. I've bought one of the repop hoods and they are pretty good looking. I'm building a tribute convertible to sit next to my hard top, like you, I cant afford a real T/A convertible and that is my dream car. That engine would have been perfect for a boosted application with those pistons!! Are you planning on Pontiac Heaven later this year?

I don't know about selling the hood. I get your point about doing a real TA justice but it's kind of nice having something on the car that's the real deal, and the hood is a big deal!

Not sure about Pontiac Heaven. I've never been there and would like to go but there are personal responsibilities I have that make it hard to get out of town. When is it?

[tom s]

Having owned a real one and having the repop no brianer to sell in my mind,just sell the bare hood and keep the real inlet pieces.JMO,Tom

[OCMDGTO]

Very attainable horsepower goal that Paul will have no problem with. Coming from a guy with a 400/#16 head setup I wish I would have spent a little more on porting and cam to get another 50 horses.

[JMB36TA]

Originally Posted by OCMDGTO

Very attainable horsepower goal that Paul will have no problem with. Coming from a guy with a 400/#16 head setup I wish I would have spent a little more on porting and cam to get another 50 horses.

A few of my friends said the same thing. If you're tearing it apart you might as well get as much as you can out of because you'll regret it later. I was originally going to go with a hydraulic roller cam but $500 for a set of lifters was out of my budget once I knew I needed pistons.

[JMB36TA]

The build is going good so far with only one ring that needed to be filed because the gap was too small, and one broken thrust plate bolt. Good thing Ace Hardware is only a mile away and open on Sunday...lol

I ran into an issue last night with the rocker geometry. The push rod is measuring 1/2" too long and the studs are 3/4" too short. Gotta figure this out with Paul hopefully today. I'm taking off for a long weekend tomorrow and I should be painting it early part of next week.

[Squidward]

Cool build! Pontiac Heaven is an annual event put on by Steve Barcak, an Arizona Pontiac fanatic. Go to http://www.pontiacheaven.org/

I hope to see your car there! I like to park my POS's next to high dollar show cars at the end of the day, and get pics as if my junk was something special. I have a few pics of my primered beasts next to a few T/A's. Maybe I'll make an exception for your basic bird!

[JMB36TA]

I made a little progress since I got home from CA on Sunday. I got the oil dip stick tube in, the oil pan is fitted, and I put in the spacer/washers to raise the rocker studs to the correct height. I still have to pull the oil pan and put the gasket in. I wanted to fit it since it's after market and they usually don't fit well. Good thing is that I won't have to elongate any holes to get it to fit. I'll do that before I paint. I got everything taped up and ready for paint which I'll probably do Saturday morning when it's not 95 degrees in my garage. I did get the pulleys painted though. It's good to see some color again.

[unruhjonny]

1967 intake?

[ponyakr]

Just curious about those pistons. Forged ? Brand ? Price ? Other specs & details ?

You probably already know this, but don't forget to plug off those exhaust heat riser holes under the carb. Open holes can cause problems. I assume that's why it was a 1-year-only Pontiac intake feature.

https://www.gtoforum.com/f12/carb-gasket-34799/

Chevy also used these "Hot Slot" or "Smiley Face" style intakes.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...d-problem.html

[JMB36TA]

Originally Posted by unruhjonny

1967 intake?

Yes it is. 67 intake, 68 heads, 73 block.


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[unruhjonny]

ok fair enough.

my opinion is that if you are trying to make it look correct, the intake nad heads are what everyone can see - the block almost no one looks at (aside from the application code - if it's still there)...

[JMB36TA]

Originally Posted by ponyakr

Just curious about those pistons. Forged ? Brand ? Price ? Other specs & details ?

You probably already know this, but don't forget to plug off those exhaust heat riser holes under the carb. Open holes can cause problems. I assume that's why it was a 1-year-only intake feature.

They are already blocked off.
The pistons are forged Oldsmobile pistons that were reasonably priced. I have more specs at home that I can post later.


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[JMB36TA]

Originally Posted by unruhjonny

ok fair enough.

my opinion is that if you are trying to make it look correct, the intake nad heads are what everyone can see - the block almost no one looks at (aside from the application code - if it's still there)...

Agreed but this is what I have to work with right now. Maybe down the line I’ll get a RA IV intake but I’ll leave the heads. Most people won’t know the difference unless they’re a Pontiac purist. Besides, I’ll have the RA IV intake pans on that will cover most of the intake and take their attention away from it.


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[ponyakr]

"...The pistons are forged Oldsmobile pistons that were reasonably priced..."

So, that brings up the question of what rods you used ?

Looking at forged 455 Olds L2323F30 pistons. They have a 1.735 pin height. That's more than 400 Pontiac pistons. But, the Summit pics show these to have a center marking which your pistons don't appear to have.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/s...ake/oldsmobile

They look different on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Sealed-Power-.../dp/B01BNX1K4W

The cast SP pistons are smooth like yours, & have a 1.725 pin height. Just wondering if there is some other brand of cheap forged 455 Olds pistons.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/s...ake/oldsmobile

So, for you engine builders, when using stock length 6.625" rods, how much pin height can you get by with, without the top of the piston sticking out of the hole ? This is assuming no more than a minimum deck square & clean-up cut. I ask this because most of the stock replacement 400 cast pistons I've seen have a 1.700 pin height. And, many say that some Pontiac engines came with about .023 deck height. So, if a 1.700 piston has a .023 deck height, by my math, that would put one of those forged L2323F piston tops .012 above the deck(assuming factory stock stroke). So, does anybody know FOR SURE, exactly what the pin height of a factory 400 Pontiac piston was ?

[JMB36TA]

Originally Posted by ponyakr

"...The pistons are forged Oldsmobile pistons that were reasonably priced..."



So, that brings up the question of what rods you used ?

The stock rods were used but there was one problem. The rod was too wide for the piston so it had to be ground down to fit. It was no problem. The reason we went with Olds pistons is because that’s what was in there and assumed new ones would fit like the old ones. And they had the right dish with the right cc’s, and were $340 for the set.


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[JMB36TA]

Originally Posted by ponyakr

"...The pistons are forged Oldsmobile pistons that were reasonably priced..."

So, that brings up the question of what rods you used ?

Looking at forged 455 Olds L2323F30 pistons. They have a 1.735 pin height. That's more than 400 Pontiac pistons. But, the Summit pics show these to have a center marking which your pistons don't appear to have.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/s...ake/oldsmobile

They look different on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Sealed-Power-.../dp/B01BNX1K4W

The cast SP pistons are smooth like yours, & have a 1.725 pin height. Just wondering if there is some other brand of cheap forged 455 Olds pistons.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/s...ake/oldsmobile

So, for you engine builders, when using stock length 6.625" rods, how much pin height can you get by with, without the top of the piston sticking out of the hole ? This is assuming no more than a minimum deck square & clean-up cut. I ask this because most of the stock replacement 400 cast pistons I've seen have a 1.700 pin height. And, many say that some Pontiac engines came with about .023 deck height. So, if a 1.700 piston has a .023 deck height, by my math, that would put one of those forged L2323F piston tops .012 above the deck(assuming factory stock stroke). So, does anybody know FOR SURE, exactly what the pin height of a factory 400 Pontiac piston was ?

Looks like the 369P30 pistons from Summit are close to what I have. The other 2 have the larger dish which is going to lower your compression. My pistons are around 14cc’s and those larger dishes are like 20 something I think. Mine may be cast and not forged, I’ll have to check. I’ve had them for over a month and can’t remember...lol


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[RAJ7395]

69 TAs with automatic transmissions didn't get the power steering cooler line on top of the radiator. Only the 4 speeds.

[JMB36TA]

Originally Posted by RAJ7395

69 TAs with automatic transmissions didn't get the power steering cooler line on top of the radiator. Only the 4 speeds.

That's interesting, I didn't know that. I thought it was standard on RA IV cars.

[JMB36TA]

I got lucky yesterday and a monsoon rolled through and lowered the temperature enough to paint the engine. I jumped on the opportunity and got some primer and color on it. I used Hirsch Auto engine enamel that resists heat up to 700 degrees. http://www.hirschauto.com/ I didn't have to use primer but I wanted an extra layer of protection. The color is as close to original Pontiac blue that I've seen in an engine enamel. It's so good to finally see it back in color! I'm expecting the push rods today, once those are in I'll be getting ready for the install.

[JMB36TA]

I got the final parts installed last night. She's ready to be buttoned up and dropped in. I just hope my valve covers fit over those rockers. I'm hoping for an exciting weekend.