I have a couple of technical questions about he 1957 Pontiac motor lineup. I've searched the internet, and for the life of me I can not find some engine specifications. The shop manual is also of no help. I have a 270hp motor. A 290hp, 315 and 317hp motor also existed for 1957. Maybe others. Can the addition of 3x2 barrels actually be the only change to gain 20 more horsepower over the 270? It is, in effect, only a 2 barrel more. Also, how in the world did they get 317hp? From what I could find the head cc's and the valve sizes were the same in all of these motors, and the compression ratio was only 1/2 difference in one. Help!
The 317 HP engine was referred to as the NASCAR certified engine.... Dual point distributer, tri-power, McKeller solid lifter cam and possibly a few other tweaks. There was also a 227 HP low compression 2 barrel engine, and a 244 HP 4 barrel low compression engine for the stick shift cars, pretty rare. KK
Not the correct carbs... but this is "D" part numbered manifold Sent from my SM-G975U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
As I recall, only the 630 Bonnevilles had the FI setup, and it was generally not as good a performer as the high output tri-power setup.
Wallace racing has head casting numbers, cam specs, as well as other stuff. Between them and the Pontiac guys in the H.A.M.B. I’ve had most of my questions answered. Scott Your Pontiac in your avatar is pretty nice! Do you have any more pictures? Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I'm looking for exactly what came on these cars to provide 290, 315 and 317 horsepower. The things that you would expect to be in a shop manual. Actual distributors, timing, cam, carbs, etc. I find it amazing that the shop manual doesn't even mention these motors. Some specs are available different places, but unfortunately incomplete. Chevy on the other hand had/has a ton of info on everything even in the 50's.
Why don't you check out the Ames Performance site (cool links /Pontiac forums). It's an all Pontiac site. Maybe you can get more answers there. Just a suggestion.
Wallace racing shows 2 heads for 1957. The FI heads and then the heads they used on everything else. I found this online. It doesn’t tell you much but if you know GM stuff from that era it gives you an idea. If the heads are the same, then your differences would be induction and compression. More than like Pontiac didn’t have 2 different hydraulic cams but one of the Pontiac guys might no better. Plus your not likely to get a solid cam in an automatic. The pictures leave off the low compression 2bl option because I couldn’t get it on the screen. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Chevy on the other hand had/has a ton of info on everything even in the 50's.[/QUOTE] As a 57 Chevy guy that is working on a 60 Pontiac and a recently acquired OT 60’s Mopar I was recently reminded by a friend when he said “your not in Chevyland anymore Toto! Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Pontiac never installed solid cams on the production line v-8 motors intended for the street. SD motors were different (possibly). I believe the cars came with a cam in the trunk to be installed by the owner (racer). The hydro cam only deal was company (Pontiac) policy to get around warranty failures
Good info--I believe we got a hotter McKeller cam for my 57 about 59-60 from the dealer but long ago. Was a tripower car. My folks had a 57 Olds Fiesta with a J2--my Pontiac would outrun it.
You'll find this to be the norm when comparing Pontiac to Chevy. At the time from what I recall, Pontiac didn't even assign an actual HP rating for the fuel injected engines at the time. It was simply stated as "more than 300". All of the higher HP engines were limited production and while it can be done, good luck finding the original parts. I know a person locally that says he has a 370 fuel injected engine (1958). I've never seen it but I've had others tell me he has it. It was only advertised at 310 I believe. Only appx 200 were made.
Here are the tune up spec for a tri-power equipped 57 Pontiac. I have the 1957 Pontiac shop manual that covers most everything plus specs for most mechanical aspects. KK
In 58 you could get the FI engine in other models than just the Bonneville. When I was a kid I remember seeing a 58 Chieftan convert (all black) that had the FI emblems on the front fenders. Not sure if it was still FI as I've heard that it wasn't unusual to replace the FI with carbs, as getting them properly serviced was an issue. Also the 58 FI was a little different than the 57 version.
Pete McCarthy's book "Pontiac Musclecar Performance 1955-1979" list 2 cams for '57. The 529472 or "D" cam which is better known as the '066 cam. The 524886 or "6" cam which was a hotter cam & likely the McKeller cam? Really smart Pontiac people tell me that the '068 cam is the Cat's Pajamas in the 347. Viva Los Ponchos!
https://books.google.com.au/books?i...QAQ#v=onepage&q=1957 pontiac camshaft&f=false Lots of good info here as well
Good info--saw a 58 FI unit for sale at the Auburn swap meet two yrs ago-Some didnt know what it was but was already bought. I recognized it as I had my 57 FI Chevy at the time. Guy got it for $500 and would not sell it.
That makes me cry! Lol. But good for the guy who got it! Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I can't add anything to the conversation, but here is my completely restored 57 Pontiac Tri-Power that now resides on my desk in the office! God Bless, Bill https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ar-transport-hauling-open-or-enclosed.614419/
An injected 58 I took pictures of years ago her in Bakersfield. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
The NATIONAL SERVICE DATA book for 1957 mention the horsepower listing as above EXCEPT for the fuelie at 315. Also has camshaft info,carb numbers,distributor numbers and more. Lotsa good info there. Oldmics
Love the 58 Bonneville!! Bought one in 1967 for $350. Got it running and sold it for $500 wow. Was a two tone green and single 4 bbl Took that money and bought a 59 Impala with dealer installed ac--nice car kept it for a while and sold it too,\.
The book mentioned above is THE reference for information such as you seek. It is in paperback, and thus should not be all that expensive. If you have a choice, get printing 2 rather than the first printing. Pete had some issues with the company doing the binding on the first printing; and since he had the book reprinted, added some information he did not have when the first printing was done. In the "for what its worth" category, Carter sent 6 sets of dual quad WCFB's to Pontiac for testing in 1957. Unfortunately, tripower ("the hotrodders in southern California have tripower, so we will have tripower") won over the much better performing dual quad units. It wasn't until 1961 when Pontiac found how much superior were the dual quads; but STILL offered tripower on production cars (and dual quads for racing). I have seen only one of these sets; occasionally wondered what happened to the rest. Jon.
I want to thank everyone for the info. I should have enough resources to find out most everything about these motors at this point. I copied and printed the page that KK sent. I noticed that is was from Sun Electric for a 3 speed motor. Interesting. Are there other informative pages? Also, one thing is not clear to me. KK mentioned that the info is in the shop manual. I don't understand why the factory shop manual that I have doesn't even mention the higher horsepower engines. To try to pay back some good advice to someone else who might need it, I found out that the March 1957 Pontiac Service News has a lot of info on the tri-power engines.
One interesting feature of the 1957 tripower engine: the slotted throttle body gaskets on all three carburetors. http://www.thecarburetorshop.com/Hotidle1.jpg I think (not certain) this was the first usage of the slotted gaskets, which sparked a wave of misunderstanding and argument among mechanics and enthusiasts that still exists today. If I had a dollar for everyone who has called about a vacuum leak (not possible) from these gaskets, and explained; I could buy Hawaii and retire! Jon
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