Do any of you guys out there remember back in the early 60's when Pontiac put an OHC 6 in the Le Mans or the Tempest? I just never see that engine for sale. Was it a poor design? I was just thinking it could make an interesting powerplant in a hot rod or a 51-54 Chevy fastback. Mike
I was talking to the old Pontiac dealer that lives here in town about them a few months back. They had decent power, the sprint models had a 4 barrel. He said he rememberd that the few that his dad ordered from the factory used a lot more oil than they should have. He would often just order a 2 barrel 326 v-8 for those people wanting a car with fuel economy. He joked by the time you got done buying the quart of oil that you bought with the tank of gas you could afford the mileage of the 326.
Interesting, i wonder where the oil was being used? Rings or valve guides?? Wonder if tighter tollerences or better materials available today would fix that? Mike
Not sure where they were using the oil at I didn't ask. I will ask him the next time I see him. Other from that he said they were a good idea and rand pretty strong. They do look kinda neat with the aluminum valve cover.
I did a little research a couple of years ago, if I remember right they were a 250 Chevy 6 with a head and front cover change. The reason I checked into them is a friend 's dad has one setting under his bench ,seems in 68 or 69 he decided he wanted a v8 and took it out and stuck it under the bench. No he won't sell it ,says maybe someday find a Lemans to put it in.
One of my friends in high school had a '66 Pontiac Sprint. Basic 250 ci Chevy six with that OHC aluminum head 4 bbl Rodchester carb and a full synchro 3 speed. It was VERY quick. The cam ran off a Gilmer toothed rubber belt and nobody wanted to replace the belt BEFORE it broke. After it broke most of em went to the junk yard. Good idea but was ahead of it's time. I put one out of wreck in a '64 Nova with a Muncie 4 spd. Ran like stink till the cam belt broke.
I had a new 67 with the Sprint package.. I put 4:56s /cheater slicks on and raced the snot out of that car with no issues, shifted at 6300... Had more fun with that car... wish I had it today
You are testing the old memory cells. I worked for a Pontiac dealer during "The Golden Years" of the '60's. As I remember they had a problem with the cam bearings. The Sprint version with the 4 BBL and 4 spd was very quick. It handled better than the V8 'cause it was a bit lighter in the front. One guy put 3 Webers, a slpit (maybe tri-Y) header and a Cliiford(?) cam on one. That car would give a 400 a tough run.
I had one in a 68 Firebird. They came in Firebird's and LeMans's Mine was the 4 bbl version. They made a 2 bbl version also. It had a split manifold and a Y pipe. I eliminated the Y pipe and ran dual exhaust on it. I wasn't overly impressed...it's still a 6 cyl. I'm sure if you hunt you will find that guy that loved them and bought up all the ones he could find. It seems that there are guys like that for every car and engine ever made. Just don't expect a stock one to be a tire squealer. Mine was an automatic.
Some of the basic architecture of the block was based on the Chevy 6, but it was a different engine. http://www.overheadcammerschapter.150m.com/history.html
worked in a Pontiac Dealership in the late 60s. Our experience wasn't too good we had way more warranty work per capita on those than on the rest of Pontiac Cadillac lineup. Oil consumption was one issue I remember cam bearings another I think there was a problem with inadequate lubricaton on top end!
Tom Langdon -Of the stove bolt engineering, and the engineer behind the 230,250,292 design(GM) , ran the hell out of one in a anglia . Name of the car was Hole Shot 6. I have the carcraft issue from 1970 I think , that had the entire deal covering the car. I actually emailed tom about it and he confirmed everthing. It really didnt take that much to fix all the little problems, and it was killer.
That is a great link there Stuart! Thanks a lot!!! And thanks to all the other posters, i never knew the OHC 6 was in Firebirds. I may start looking for one for a future project. Mike
Every now and then, something strange appears in my yard.... (that's not me, it's a friend, and since then he bought another poncho OHC engine)
The first year or so they were available my father built one for a limited sportsman car at the local oval track and that engine was a real screamer. I believe he installed a positive oil seal on the intake guides and removed what I recall was either a check valve or restrictor for the oil feed to the head. There were no problems at all with that engine for 3+ years of racing. After my ex bro in law squatted at the house I finally got back from my POS ex-wife (now that was a stream of NY sarcasm) and I got him evicted I discovered that a complete OHC 6 and extra cam tower assembly was gone, he probably scrapped it. GRRR. The engine has a real nice cool factor about it and since the engine was Chevy 6 related there is a lot of potential to make a hot engine.
My 67 Firebird had a 2bbl OHC6 and 3-speed when i bought it. Nice little engine which would move the 'bird along better than I thought it would. I sold the motor & trans when I replaced it with a 455 and a Muncie. That moved it along MUCH quicker. If you ever get the desire to build a Sprint 6, I have a factory 4bbl intake, quadrajet, and exhaust manifold (complete with Y-pipe).
I had a 67 firebird with one in and had trouble with oiling of the upper end,seems the passages were sort of plugged up and we could not get them clean enough. Dropped in a 3 carb 389, MUCH BETTER. Gary
I bought a new Pontiac with the 250 OHC 6 and full syncro 3 speed (FoMoCo) in 1969. I never had any oil consumption issues with it and drove the car for years until selling it to my nephew who also drove it for years. Most people were surprised to find out it was a six.
Go over to bangshift .com (the old Freiburger site) and root around in the project section. There's a guy from Nevada or Utah doing a build on one of these OHC 6 cylinder engines. I think he's turbocharging it. He's got some good history. The engine is similar to a pushrod Chevy, but not much parts comonality if I recall.
I see a few "Sprint" Lemans and Firebirds around at local Pontiac Car shows. The guys that own them tell me that they run well and have no problems with them. My Ma had a '67 Tempest with a OHC6 and 3 on the tree. It was always reliable and could give the V8 cars a run for the money.
I had a '67 LeManns Sprint with the 4 bbl. and 3 speed. It ran really good. I had no oil consumption problem at all. No other problems except a fuel pump. Great car and fast for a 6 !
never owned one but a friend had one. Not the fastes car I'd been in but I was very impressed with it.
------------------- No aluminum head. The OHC-6 heads were cast iron. Mart3406 ========================
I was thinkin the 66 had an aluminum head. I also been divorced 3 times, so this ain't my first mistake.
If they used oil, it stands to reason they would have cam bearing issues. As soon as it gets low on oil the cam would probably be the first thing that would starve. I remember a friend of mine and I took one off a used car lot for a test drive. We raced it around for at least an hour. Nice running car, 4 barrel 3 speed all synchro with a Hurst shifte, bucket seats. I thought is was like a poor mad's GTO. I also know a guy who has one in a Jeep pickup. His grampa bought it new. It must be about the last of the older 50s style Jeep pickups.
The Jalopy Journal
