I have a 51 pontiac. I really hate that there is no love by the aftermarket for the straight 8 or the car in general. I know about the companies that do make some stuff but nothing like its chevy counterpart. It just makes it harder for us Pontiac guys. I think if the aftermarket stepped up, we would see more Pontiacs! Anyway, here is mime. Sent from my SM-G935V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Sweet car but it is not financially prudent for someone to tool up to produce something that you might sell five or six a year of when you need to sell a thousand to break even and two thousand to show a minimal profit. I'd have to look at them to make sure they were worth the cost of shipping but I have three hubcaps that should fit that car that I have no use for. They came out of the back of a car that passed though one of my buddies hands and he wasn't into stock anything.
Old Pontiacs are awsome! I always have loved that they came from the factory with the big chrome "racing stripe." I'd love to get an early 50's Silver Bullet one day.
I have been a Pontiac guy ever since I was old enough to drive. My current project is a 50 Silver Streak fastback with the straight 8. I have seen some companies advertising Pontiac stuff in Street Rodder magazine but I haven't checked them out yet.
I think if a company made some stuff, all the Pontiac guys would buy it. We are waiting for it! Sent from my SM-G935V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I have a Pontiac 400 that might make it in there one day. Sent from my SM-G935V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
your real problem is, they didn't make as many of them as chevy and olds and there aren't to many around now. i come across chevy's more than either of the other two. i had a '50 chevy coupe once but it wasn't stock. i also had a '50 olds coupe too. both 30 years ago before they got expensive.
That car is gorgeous and just waiting for a .60 over 455 Pontiac,4000,convertor, turbo 400 and a 8.5" GN rear with 3.73's yowwwwwwwwwwwweeeeeeeeeeee
Here's a nifty dual manifold, made by a HAMB'er. The stocker is already partitioned ("split"), with a common dump, so it should sound great. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/1951-pontiac-straight-8-split-exhaust-manifold.605805/ Milling the head and a Pertonix ignition should provide a slight power increase.
A ton of parts are the same on both. When I was getting glass for my '50 Chevy fastback, the one yard I was in had a Pontiac from which I removed both quarter windows, the rear window, and the one good windshield half and put all right in my car.
Nothing will make yours a power-house, but if you're re-building... I don't know whether the Pontiac has cast iron pistons, but aluminum pistons are a must. A chopped flywheel will help as much in the "Whoa" department as in the "Go" department. (Have the flywheel balanced, and re-balanced with the pressure plate as a unit.) A performance cam might help. Call Delta Cams and ask for a recommendation for a very mild regrind. (Don't go overboard.) Be sure to have them re-surface your lifters, as well. You may need increased carburetion. As mentioned before, mill the head, and increase the spark. Not a lot of bang for the buck, but well worth it to help keep the old barge drivable in today's traffic.
I would try to keep the Hydro.. They make a car so cool!! The 64 was the last year for the Hydro. I have a Super Hydro behind a built up 455 (462) in this Bonneville..
Ya, don't hold your breath. I did frame off on '68 firebird 20 years ago and there was nothing, no quarter panels, only poorly made glass front fenders and no front signal lights. Some Camaro stuff worked but never anything I needed. Around 2008 some firebird parts started to appear in repops.
Not sure if i would want to rebuild the straight 8, but if i did, that is sound advice. Sent from my SM-G935V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Is the hydro the automatic or the standard? My car has the synchro 3 on the tree Sent from my SM-G935V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
The rubber crankshafts in the straight 8's won't tolerate high RPMs or massive power increases. I've found one of the best modifications to the old Pontiacs is a rear gear swap to 3.23 or even 3.08's. First gear in the hydramatics is really low so you'll still have good acceleration off the line and the engine will thank you for not having to turn so many RPMs on the highway. 55 and 56 Pontiacs with the automatic will have the higher gears and it's a bolt-in swap. A taller rear tire helps also. I've had a 41 with a six and a 48 with the straight 8 and did the gear swap. Put many interstate miles on them driving all over the western U.S. BTW, That blue 42 coupe in the photo above was built by a friend of mine in Malvern Iowa. Such a nice car!
Is not the manufactures it's customers create a market they will come. As far as a swap 215 hp 1968 250-6 if you could find one would be cool.
I don’t think that in the 44 years I’ve owned, restored, hot rodded and driven dozens of old Pontiacs I’ve ever complained once about not having been able to find anything I needed or wanted for one. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
No one is born knowing stuff......we all begin with a blank slate. True, people are born with varying aptitudes, but for the most part we become what our interests, choices and efforts produce. It has minimally to do with luck.....but "Chance favors the prepared mind"..... It's never too late to adjust our course if we want to learn more or something new.
So true. I am very capable of fabricating stuff needed and learn how to do stuff i do not know how to do yet. I was just saying that the aftermarket is alittle lacking in the Pontiac department. No need for that guy to say i am complaining. Sent from my SM-G935V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
It is what it is.....and that aint bad. Pre-'54 cars in general (there are exceptions) are in different world than post '54. Really these are 1930s cars with some updates. It's unfair to compare "performance" before and after that milestone year. Again. it is what it is. So what is is it? I'll sum up pre war and even pre '54 performance in one 4 letter word....... F O R D...... Yep the Ford V8. I know someone will cry about the few high performance pre-'54 cars so I will get those out of the way... High end Luxury Performance Class....Packard...Duesenburg.....Cord.....These were high end cars, movie star and oil man stuff. Luxury Performance....Cadillac...Lincoln...Sometimes other brands would visit here. Upscale...Pontiac.... Buick.....Oldsmobile...Mercury....Hudson.....DeSoto.....Chrysler...Studebaker...Lasalle Basic...Ford...Plymouth....Chevrolet...Dodge... In the Ford V8 you had a basic or economy level car that could perform as well as the higher end cars. What about the OHV V8s pre-'54... Olds Rocket...Cadillac 331....Early Chrysler Hemis.... Cadillac and Chrysler were higher end. Olds was GM's little toe testing the water. Oldsmobile has always been GM's experimental brand. The Rocket, the Toronado to the Quad 4, Oldsmobile always got the new gadgets and do-dads....The '48 Rocket for the sake of this conversation is more akin to post '54. You may ask...., Just what does this have to do with my '51 Pontiac?? Your Pontiac is a higher grade car. Your Pontiac is a better performer than the wheezy Chevrolet. Although it may share the same Fischer Body The Pontiac is an all around "better?" car compared to the Chevrolet. To get a Chevy to run like a Pontiac...the Chevy needs all those aftermarket do-dads. Welcome to the world of Real Traditional Hot Rods. It's a world where performance does not come in a box from Summit! Step 1. Get your Pontiac right. In the 1961 version of Popular Mechanics..."How to do it Encyclopedia" the Hot Rodding Chapter says this... (paraphrase from memory) 90 percent of new cars come from the factory "out of tune". The first step in higher performance is tuning the car to it's full potential. This is easier said than done. The General Automotive Public had trouble keeping their cars in tune, that's why EFI was invented. I dare say most pre-'54 cars; even restorations, with their original engines and running gear are the automotive equivalent to the Living Dead. An undead mummy or zombie wrapped up in new paint. The first step is to make the engine really live again in stock form. Step 2. You have tuned the car and it's amazing but you want a little more. Milling the heads aluminum pistons, cam shafts and playing around with induction. Do the research. Gains will be small. Sometimes there will be set backs but the cumulative effect will be worthwhile. Step 3. Have realistic expectations. Remember it's really a early 30's car. The Pontiac is a very good engine. Learn it. Know it. Know what it likes. Know it's strengths. Know it's weaknesses. Improve the car where you can. Don't ask the engine or car to be something it's not. It's up to you to find the love for the Pontiac. It deserves it.
Just thought I'd mention; I went the whole nine yards (+) on a couple of Chevy 216's. Now, there's an engine with no love! (And I'd do it again. )
If it was easy everybody would be doing it. This is a site for doing things, for asking for help, advice, and parts. 1-800-HOTRODS May not have everything you want for that, but it doesn’t mean you can’t, with little investment in time and effort get the job done. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
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