1978 Firebird Formula: Need Advise
12-02-2006, 05:58 AM
#23
Yea its all good, all in opinion.. but ill warn you.. if you find a huge Pontiac Buff your in for the arguement of a lifetime!! I work with a guy that eats,sleeps, and talks pontiac.. As an owner of a 02 TA i thought we would have some good talks..... hahahahahaha that was a mistake.. My car is a disease to his idea of a pontiac, If it dosent have PMD stamped on it.. its not a pontiac in his eyes..
12-02-2006, 10:41 AM
#24
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Originally Posted by smokin2002
Yea its all good, all in opinion.. but ill warn you.. if you find a huge Pontiac Buff your in for the arguement of a lifetime!! I work with a guy that eats,sleeps, and talks pontiac.. As an owner of a 02 TA i thought we would have some good talks..... hahahahahaha that was a mistake.. My car is a disease to his idea of a pontiac, If it dosent have PMD stamped on it.. its not a pontiac in his eyes..
12-02-2006, 11:14 AM
#25
Originally Posted by The Butcher
First off, GOaT CHEESE...I love you sig haha! And as far as pontiac blocks, the "corperate GM" took over officially in 1982 with the birth of the 3rd gen f-bodies. The 80s 2nd gens were even (very rarely) equipped with Chev 305's. I, personally, don't consider new engines that GM uses Chevy's considering Pontiac and Cadillac use them as well. If you look back Genesis, and I know ALOT of you guys may not agree with this but it's true, Chevy's always been GM's runt. Pontiac waas actually ahead of Chevy in the 60's and 70's as far as performance goes. They had the GTO in 64, ironic it was called "The First Muscle Car" isn't it? Then everyone else jumped on the G-body bandwagon (chevy with the Chevelle, Olds with the Cutlass, Buick with the Regal) and from what I read, GM passed "regulations" that kept cutting these cars off, but somehow Chevy could get away with bending the rules, putting them at an unfair advantage as far performance went. Chevy was kind of the spoiled favorite child. As sad as it sounds, I personally don't feel pontiac has much left in it as a company. Buick and Olds were in constant competition as they were both aimed for the step below Cadillac. Now look at Olds. Seems like GM is kinda cutting Pontiac out of the running yet again with the whole F-body return thing. I believe the GTO was just to improvise while GM was preparing the Camaros return. Kinda up the hyp sorta thing I believe. ut don't get me wrong, GTO's, Regals, Cutlass all were/are great cars throughout the lives. Somethings just aren't meant to be I suppose 
I definately agree on LSX engines not really being Chevy's. Cadillac does make there own engines though like the SLX or whatever it is. Otherwise they ALL use the same stuff, I mean the Solice (however you spell that) uses a Cobolt/Cavalier Ecotech.
Cadillac engines have to be smooth or something to justify the cost in research and development. 4.4 supercharged with 44 thousand valves definately has to have something going for it to be that complicated.
Anyway do they make "new" Pontiac engines anymore? GM performance parts doesn't have a big section for them at least.
Pontiac was ahead performance wise but Chevy is the bulk sales section. Chevy was the big slow puppy while Pontiac was the ittle bitty dull puppy with a nose badge (before the GTO) that grew into the BIG doggy (when they implemented MUCH wider chasis's, wheelbase whatever)... then sorta died afterwards.
Now they are supposed to be the respectable company comparable with BMW.
The 340 hp Grand Prix they showed awhile back looks promising and pretty cool but it definately doesn't look classy like a M3, more like a G35 with ground effects.
Really speaking though GM only makes trucks and SUV's. Chevrolet is the real company as far as numbers sold, but GM sounds better than Chevy.
12-02-2006, 05:57 PM
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Are you confusing GM with GMC? realize it's pretty much the same, but GM is the mother company and GMC is just a generic Chevy truck/SUV line. All the same nonetheless
12-03-2006, 03:21 PM
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Haha, just wanted to make sure. But as far as "new" pontiac engines, GM's pretty much all share the same lineup of engines. I can't honetsly think of any pontiac that has an engine that there isn't a chevy or caddy using. Or do you mean like new as in the way they make "new" 350's (ZZ4 etc)? Sorry, just trying to make sure I'm not rambling about the wrong topic haha.
12-03-2006, 10:28 PM
#29
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Originally Posted by The Butcher
Are you confusing GM with GMC? realize it's pretty much the same, but GM is the mother company and GMC is just a generic Chevy truck/SUV line. All the same nonetheless
12-04-2006, 12:57 PM
#31
Originally Posted by The Butcher
Haha, just wanted to make sure. But as far as "new" pontiac engines, GM's pretty much all share the same lineup of engines. I can't honetsly think of any pontiac that has an engine that there isn't a chevy or caddy using. Or do you mean like new as in the way they make "new" 350's (ZZ4 etc)? Sorry, just trying to make sure I'm not rambling about the wrong topic haha.
Yeah that's what I meant. Do they make "new" ones or do you have to find a 30 year old one in a scrap yard?
There is no way in hell I would buy a used engine. I don't care what it is, it could be a LS7 for $20 bucks. It would of course BE a $20 engine more than likely.
"Deals" end up screwing people in the end. I got a deal on a complete interior for 1.5k on a 99 Camaro interior. Yeah, no door panels and no screw or snaps. Extra $300.
Also it was from a 2001. Which of course meant that the back seat didn't line up properly and the right hook didn't go in properly.
Matched up great with those 2002 headers I bought. Yeah, they REALLY went great on my 1999 emissions legal car. Though the welder did a GREAT job putting the stock piping on the LT's. I mean people didn't even believe that it wasn't made that way in the first place.
Wow, sorry about the ramble...
12-04-2006, 02:04 PM
#32
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There are a couple of companies that produce aftermarket, "traditional" Pontiac engine blocks. Indian Adventures is one, and I think Kaufman Racing might be casting one as well. They are extremely pricey though, $3500 - $5500 for a bare block! All of the traditional Pontiac internals and cylinder heads are available new. You can essetially build a brand new Pontiac 455 using brand new parts, but it will cost you.
12-06-2006, 01:50 AM
#33
Originally Posted by GOaT Cheese
There are a couple of companies that produce aftermarket, "traditional" Pontiac engine blocks. Indian Adventures is one, and I think Kaufman Racing might be casting one as well. They are extremely pricey though, $3500 - $5500 for a bare block! All of the traditional Pontiac internals and cylinder heads are available new. You can essetially build a brand new Pontiac 455 using brand new parts, but it will cost you.
Faster to find, cheaper, more stuff available (used or new especially used).
I mean come on a BBC is pretty easy to work with and I doubt the guy is going to use the car for grocery getting.
I gave up on my Pontiac back in '99. That also seemed to correspond with blowing the engine in my '77 Espirit but what have you.
12-06-2006, 08:13 AM
#34
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keep it pontiac!!! 400's and parts arent too bad on price but its your car so its up to you to make the final decision. You could build a cheap 383 like everybody else and there grandma's or you could build a stump pulling 467
12-06-2006, 03:24 PM
#35
Originally Posted by 01FireTurd
keep it pontiac!!! 400's and parts arent too bad on price but its your car so its up to you to make the final decision. You could build a cheap 383 like everybody else and there grandma's or you could build a stump pulling 467
werd. SBC is next in line to mustang.. everyones got one
12-06-2006, 04:42 PM
#36
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I think, if you look hard enough, the bigger name brands like Eelbrock and stuff make the same parts for Pontiacs as they do chevys. It's just that chevys are so much more widely used they only advertise chevy parts.
12-06-2006, 05:25 PM
#37
Originally Posted by GOaT Cheese
One of my toys is a '67 GTO with a .060 over 428 (440 inches), I say stick with the Pontiac power. A few things to keep in mind when building a Pontiac, 1.) It's a Poncho, not a small block Chevy, so treat it like one. 2.) It's not a small block Chevy so don't treat it like one. 3.) Build it right, remember it's not a small block Chevy. 4.) Don't try and build it like a small block Chevy. And last but not least, a properly built Pontiac can put alot of Chevy guys on the trailer, scratching their heads, wondering what just happened. I love thumping big blocks with my 40 year old iron!
HAHAHA i couldnt stop laughing when i read this ****....good one bra
i have a 400 big blocked 71 formula myself so yeah that made me laugh
