Hot Rods Pontiac 350? Who's Running one in their Hot Rod?

Found a pretty good deal on a Pontiac 350 locally, need some input on this. Goods? Bads? Ups? Downs? Parts? Opinions?
If I do get it, it will be put in a fenderless hot rod just for your information, just want to get some good advice and opinions on these engines thanx!

 

Those are ok for a stocker... I had one in a '74 Lemans...

 

thanx, anymore???
bump for the night!

 

Nothing wrong with a 350 Pontiac.

Architecture is the same as all the other v8's (265 and 301 excluded) so any of the speed parts you see listed for 400/455 will work.

The 350's are gaining in popularity a bit since 400's have gotten expensive.

Shawn

 

Cool thanx Lotek! Anymore opinions? Bump for friday!

 

bump for the friday online lunch breakers!!

 

ive pulled 2 pontiac 350's. im running a 400 in mine but the 350 is just as good and not a belly button motor, the higher torque is a plus also. if your going to run it on a open wheel car is very easy to make it look older than it really is since pontiac didnt really change the look thru out the years

 

Yep! Chrome valve covers and a tri-power intake with small carbs should do the trick...

 

Like stated above they are physically the same as a 326 400 428 455. So once built and installed finding a 455 would be a easy swap.what heads r on the 350. It's a great start to a easily upgradable drivetrain. Wish I still had all my old pontiac stuff.

 

I'd run it. I've got a 350 HO out of a firebird right now in my GTO while I build the 455.

 

I've got one, but haven't really driven it much yet.

Lots of info here
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=224124

 

1) Pontiac simply rocks; i insist that you get it and run it. i would run pontiac myself, but i don't have the time/money or talent to do so right now. So i will continue to run chevy. Not saying that if you run chevy you're an idiot---just me.


2) i consider the demise of the pontiac brand to be tragic and a glimerring example of mismanagment and stupidity.

So you---obama "administration" forced gm to kill pontiac, yet you "forced" chysler to merge with a foreign company fiat? How the hell is the supposed to help the economy? Kill american brand and bring in a foreign brand?

COME ON!?!

 

Awesome , thanx for the input guys, Thommyknocker thanx for the link lots of great info! Deuces, those engines do have that unique look to them thats why Im intrested in it and also for its performance and reliabillity. But I think I got all the answers I was looking for, thanx again!

 

As the rest said, lot of interchangeability with the rest of the Pontiac V8's (326, 389, 400, 421, 428, 455). All Pontiac are the same size block (except the 301 oddball, avoid them), no such thing as small or big block. The weak link in almost all Pontiacs is the cast rods. Just keep the revs below 5500 and it will run forever. It will give you a not-part-of-the-crowd engine and appearance. The Pontiacs are good for lower end torque.

The bellhousing bolt pattern is the same for Buick-Olds-Pontiac-Cadillac, so any turbo 350 or 400 from those will bolt up. A 200-4R OD auto will also bolt up. A stick bellhousing is pretty easy to find and will have the std GM pattern, so any Saginaw, Muncie or T-5 could be bolted up.

 

Define what you consider a "pretty good deal" on a P350. In most cases you'll be way ahead starting out with a 389 or larger Pontiac engine if you're planning on a rebuild or want the best bang for the buck performance-wise.

If you just need something to drop in your car and make it move, that's another thing. Nothing wrong with the P350, there are just better options out there (and that is why you can usually get 326/350s so cheap).

 

Pontiac v/8's are good solid performing engines and parts interchange almost as well as chevies. Make sure it doesn't have a plastic covered timing gear tho. It'll make your ride unique and not just another sbc.

 

Oh and no burnt plug wires like Chevy. Just p.I.t.a headers

 

I run a Pontiac 400 in my altered but picked up a 350 to build really mild down the road for my son when he is ready to race. Good engines and make plenty of grunt with a basic cam and 6X 98cc heads.

Jon

 

Good strong motors as stated, lots of dress up goodies out there . My 76 GP got 17/18mpg .
Put new timing set in and HP oil pump and it should live long time, they have a unique sound too when tuned properly ; p

 

I have run lots of Pontiacs, but never really considered anything smaller than a 389 at least as far as later model ones. Unless the 350 is ready to go as is, I would think it would make more sense to look for a 400. By the way...I actually have one I need to get rid of...

 

The 350 Poncho is a damn fine little motor. You can get an Offy 2x4 manifold if you're looking for a nice display on an open wheel/engine car.
Ace at Pacific Performance Racing, in California, has a neat kit that puts a 428 stroke crank (4") into a 3" main motor (326,350,389,400) to turn it into a serious torque monster. The 350 becomes a 383 and then the li'l motor just becomes a monster!

 

It will look good, run good, and make people scratch their heads.

By the way, even though the 301 is a tad different, the front cover, oil pan, and distributor will interchange to other Pontiac engines.

 

Please excuse my ignorance, but I am trying to learn.
I have heard that stock Pontiac heads do not breathe terribly well, but also that they do not require much valve lift. Has anyone here bored out a 350? If so, how far?

 

My 370 {Bored .125" 1957 Pontiac 347 engine} going into my 34 ford coupe...will use a T-5 and a big 'ol fat Winters quick change..has big cam, Jahns pistons, roller chain, worked #96 heads, headers Schiefer aluminum flywheel and 2 carter AFBs with an electronic "Bubbas" distributor. Can't wait to fire it up!

 

There's lots of different Pontiac head out there some breathe better than others.

These engines aren't your SBC350, you don't wind the hell out of them to make power.

Pontiac V8's are stoplight brawlers, they make all their power below about 4500 RPM. You don't need huge ports for that, smaller ports can make more torque in the bottom end because of the increased charge velocity.

Look at how much torque the old Buick nailheads made, same principle.

Shawn

 

Like most engines .060 is about it for an overbore on a Pontiac 350. You can't bore it out to 389 spec's. The heads breath fine at lower rpm's which is where most street or street-strip engines run. No they don't run a lot of lift but they run a little more duration than some other engines. Most aftermarket cams have a split duration with more on the exhaust side to help get the fumes out. As mentioned earlier the stroked 350 crank making a 383 makes these engines stout. The best part is Pontiac inter-changeability...both for parts and engines.

 

I'm with everyone else: in stock or nearly-stock good running form it's a great buy. A 350 Pontiac has more power than a same-year 350 Chevy and as everyone keeps mentioning, much better low-end torque. And they look better than a Chevy motor.
(And this is coming from someone with a Chevy motor in his car! I've had a couple Chevies and several Pontiacs and I like the Pontiacs better.)

One double-bonus everyone forgot to mention: they have a valley pan under the intake and you don't have to pull the distributor to change the intake manifold. If you cut the water crossover separate from the intake you don't even have to drain your antifreeze! I've watched guys at drag races change the intake manifold on their Pontiac in about 2 minutes without hurrying too much! And I know a guy who used to switch from 3-twos to Quadrajet depending on how he wanted his car to sound that weekend.

 

Thanks for all the additional info and WISDOM guys , this is what makes the Hamb so awesome!!!

 

I have a70 350 with a turbo 350 behind it in my truck and it runs really good.

 

Glad to hear all the positive support for the Pontiac 350. I'm presently installing a similar Buick 350/TH350 in my '41 Ford Tudor.