Why do Pontiac engines suck ??

Yep, they picked one to make a corporate engine. Nothing better about it.

 

My Pontiac Story:

As a "car ignorant" (at the time) marine in So-Cal I accidentally bought a 1973 Ventura. What I learned about Poncho 350s was this: "Ditch it, get a 400". So I did. I eventually got a '69 Firebird to put the mild cam, holley 750 (vac), 413 (bored .060 over) 400 engine into. Yes, I had the 2.11 / 1.77 heads, but I ran stock exhaust manifolds because I could not afford the cool "Ram Air" aftermarket cast iron units. Intake manifold was a Large Runner, Dual Plane, older Edlebrock.

I got a new Switch Pitch Kenny-Bell turbo 400 trans (2000 / 3000 stall converter) and I had a 3.08 12 bolt rear end built.

This entire combo was made of "mild" parts. The overall effect was not mild, it was AMAZING.
I let some close friends drive it.
They were all stunned.
"Dude, that car pulls for DAYS!". The highway cruise RPM was 2500. Perfect to "roll on" the power and pass without making an effort, no high RPMs needed. Ever.

My favorite part - I could drive from Portland to Seattle on one tank of fuel.

 

Maybe the 301 gave them a bad rep. Those things were pieces of shit, I blew one up and wasn't trying to - just started it up on a cold morning and right off it was hammering what turned out to be a rod bearing blowing out.

But I had a bone stock '60 with a 389 - nothing special, 2bbl, 10:1 compression motor with the hydramatic. I think it even had a burned or cracked valve, compression was about 1/5th lower on one cylinder and it used to backfire or pop a little once in a while.

That car ran like a bastard, though, it would go fast without even trying. The manual said if you left it in 3rd it would shift to 4th at 65, but I found that to be closer to 75 in actual practice. It had like a 3.08 gear in it and still when you hit the pedal it would jump. I never really raced it but the one time I did have some prick trying to pass me in a Mitsubishi Eclipse, I had no problem keeping next to him up past 90 MPH.

And being a wide track with a 121" wheelbase, the car handled like it was on rails.

The fuel milage wasn't even too bad, for a 4000 lb car I could pull close to 20 out of it on the highway.

I've had 400 cars and 455 cars (a 455 in a 4400-lb Grandville is still pretty fearsome, you can light up the tires without trying too hard), but that '60 will always be my favorite.


I'd say Pontiac has the biggest aftermarket and fan following after the Chevrolets, of all the GM cars. Guys use Chevrolets instead because they just don't know any better and are too lazy to learn, I think. The Chevy isn't a bad motor, I run one now in a truck and I've seen them do amazing things, but given the choice make mine a Pontiac.

You can find them cheap if you look, too, I have a good 400 put away I paid $200 for a couple years ago.

 

Poncho's DO suck... this one sucked the doors off of everybody in 1960 running 406.6 mph at Bonneville...

Fricken junk!

 

this is the most closed minded BS ive ever read here.....

 

you know very little why anybody builds a car

 

It's an electric poncho motor thats the charging cord to the inverter

 

so that the chevies can keep up

 

They Suck the doors and the headlights out ! ! !
nice pic...thanks

 

That car ran at norwalk I do believe.......eagle motor ? Just plain wicked !

 

I built a '69 pontiac 350 in highschool. It had a windage tray in if from the factory, pretty basic rebuild .30 over, 2.02 intake valves, 1.60 exhaust, little bit of cam, edelbrock intake, with a 650 holley double pumper. Replaced a 301 in a 1980 trans am. That motor was incredible. Torque for days, and with 3.73's and a posi rear end, it would get sideways at will.

 

I have a siezed 400 out of a 68 GTO. Might be good, may be crap. Need to tear it apart to see. #16 heads are a plus that came with it.

 

That car runs all over the midwest, and he's not afraid to flog the crap out of it.

The motor was built by the Mckay boys in Springfield and has the first set of Edelbrock alum heads. 800+ horsepower iirc

 

They don't really suck, just not the easiest motors to get speed parts for. Unlike there cousin the sbc, which you can get anything for.

 

So you can run a "pontiac" on the dirt tracks.

 

You look at an older summit racing catalog, you think the only engines that exist are the sbc and sbf. It's getting better but the perception is still out there about small block engines . Thats really what this is all about IMO, Percection why spend the extra time and money to build the engine thats supposed to be in the car when a sbc is cheaper and easier plus the parts availability. Doesn't make it right though.

Pontiac didn't really help or gm for that matter, having Pontiac call there 354 a 350 because it was an already a familiar engine size, than getting rid of their engine totally.

 

Nothing wrong with a Pontiac V-8,a fine engine that can make serious power .
We used to call Pontiac 389-421's "Track Oilers". They held 6 quarts of oil rather than 5 like most other engines.So when they blew up,more of a mess for the track crew to clean up.

 

They suck because there not a MOPAR!

 

Looks like you musta got beat by one. That's why you think they suck

 

Yeap, this guy is just another notch on the "Poncho Peace Pipe"

 

your spelling sucks like your mopar..there...

 

We who have worked with pontiac engines know and love the low rpm high torque design. The engines are not hard to find and parts are easy to find but not from a chevy focused shop. Find a shop that knows how to build a pontiac and you will be hooked by the torque rush when you tromp on the gas. It is easy to build a 400 with 400 HP with out of the box stuff. After that its just a matter of money per HP.

 

Post a dam pick a that tiger gold 67 bud ! them things is sexy.......had one that exact color in high school. dual gate, hood tach, dash tach, 400, 12 bolt.

 

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$plus weight.

 

A Pontiac with an aluminum intake and front cover and an HEI distributor doesn't really weigh much more than a small-block Chevy. Seems to me going to the aluminum intake knocks about 40 lbs off alone. The motor itself is what, 675 or so for a factory fully dressed non-AC motor? Going to headers knocks some weight off, too.

A 400 is a little more money to rebuild than a Chevy, but not that much more, and there's no substitute for cubic inches. A 400 is more than enough to propel a 3800-lb car well over 100 MPH. Other Pontiac engines the price goes up for a rebuild kit, though.

 

I love the "weight" logic... if weight is so pivotal, why aren't these guys building caddy 500's? they weigh the same as a small block, aren't astronomical in price, and well...it's 500 cubic inches in a relatively small package.

and as far as price is concerned, I don't know who was the last guy here to build one, but I recenly put a bad ass together for under 4 grand, and it has aluminum heads!

considering the power output, You would have to spend a helluva lot more on an s.b.c. to keep up, and more than that to pass it.

 

Oh yea? Watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1wgyVlWyOg

 

Chicken is a big inch Cad guy.

 

Back in the day I drove a sbc powered 68 Camaro RS, nice car, ran great and wasnt stock......then one day a friend took me for a ride in a smogged over 100% factory stock 78 TA.....GOD I LOVE TORQUE!!! Wasnt long before I hopped on the poncho bandwagon...and I havent looked back.....I have 462" Pontiac in my GTO, and plan on running an early 389 in my A.....bring them BOWTIES on.......everybody knows little boys wear Bowties anyway...Ill take all of them old junk pontiac engines they pull outta their birds and goats, hell I will even swap ya for some 350 4bolt mains...Been around cars all my life seen alot more sbc fly apart in the bottom end then I have PONTIAC or BUICKS! LOL go ahead wind that sbc puppy up to 8grand....Ill still blow past ya in 3rd and be well below 6thousand at the end of the 1320

 

I like the idea of the Caddy engine. I read that if you put on 472 heads on the 500 the compression jumps up and they make great low end grunt. that would have been neat in my altered with the TH350 and a 3.25 gear, that thing would have pulled really hard.

Like I said in my other post, I always wondered what a 400 sbc built with the same amount of money and the same brand & style of pistons and a decent set of factory cast iron cylinder heads how it would run. people are talking about cost to build a Pontiac like it is super high price, but the machine work on the block and heads were the same as a SBC. I am sure the pistons were a little more and the stainless valves were to but in general it was not tons more.

I do like the low end of the power of the Pontiac, and I have it set up to run the 1/4 mile in its r.p.m. range. When it comes down to it build what you want or have to work with and if you like then thats cool. Hot rodding in my mind is about being different and having a good time no matter if it is a sbc, bbc, bop, cad, ford, chrysler, v8, v6, inline 8, inline 6, 4 cylinder, just enjoy yourself.

Jon