History Engine

Did Pontiac ever make a big block 400


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I owned a couple of them in Firebirds and they looked pretty big to me.

 

If you hit the search ****on you will see a bunch of great Pontiac threads, but the short answer is forget everything you know about Chevvie engines, they do not apply to Pontiacs. There is no big or small block Pontiac, they are all the same basic architecture from the lowly 326 all the way to 455s. Yes, there are some differences, but generally speaking, they are the same size and most parts interchange between them. As a side note, Pontiac engines are about 50 lbs heavier than a small block Chevvie and only a tiny bit larger in physical size.

Pontiacs rule, by the way....

-Abone.

 

Here is what they look like installed. They fit in everything.



-Abone.

 

I think the only odd engine for Pontiac was the 301.

 

They even built some 305 inch motors for the original trans am series that was based off the production size block that they used in everything. No big block, not even the 455.

 

At 650 lbs I would not call it a small block

 

It's a medium block.

 

Okay thanks for the info. My brother said that the car has a big block 400 in it and I told him that I had never heard of one. This helps clear it up. Thanks again.

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Most folks don't know squat about engines...don't worry about it.

 

There were a few years of Firebirds ('78-'80-ish?) that might have been built with an Olds 403, I believe... Maybe not a Pontiac engine at all.

 

If the question is "Did Pontiac make a 400 cubic engine?", then the answer is yes, they did.

 

not 305 but 303 pontiac.

https://www.hemmings.com/magazine/m...nashamed---1969-Pontiac-Firebird/3186091.html

 

Pontiac never made a big block or a small block.They were just engines of different cubic inch's.

 

400 Pontiac's rule. I had one in my first car, 68 Firebird, with Ram Air IV heads. It was such a blast on the street. And i love the sound. Pontiac's sound killer.

 

Pontiac 400 has Sammy Hagar's stamp of approval "We go out driving in my 6.6, byp*** the city head straight for the sticks..." My baby's on fire. Ram Air IV heads X2.

 

x2 on '68 400 Firebirds. My first "real" car that I could jump in and drive without problems starting it. It was a lot of car for a 16 year old know-it-all kid, and I bet the cops are still looking for it 40 years later

 

To Gerrys. I know they were 303 's What I meant was to fit the 305 inch motor rule that trans-am had.
Picky,picky. One of my former co-workers owned an original Trans am vintage road racer that he restored to run vintage races.

 

The 389 that they cut in half (slant four?) for the rear transaxle Tempests was probably a bit more odd.

 

What size is this Pontiac?

 

What are the 2 letters stamped on the front of the block by serial number ?

 

Well now that is relative. Its a huge block compared to a gas plane motor but it would definitely be a mouse compared to a locomotive.

As has already been suggested, Pontiacs are rated by cubic inches and not block size.

 

Also interesting to note that the stamped steel rocker arms were invented by Pontiac, but the small block chevy also got them at the very beginning.

So we've established that there really are no "small" or "big" pontiac blocks----just one block.

i'd like to propose another important question to everyone, especially since "Uncle Don" is in charge......

.....Could Pontiac return as a brand?

i see no legal or financial reason why it couldn't.

 

If he's got a Pontiac big block 400, ask him how it differs from the regular block Pontiac 400 engine or the Pontiac small block 400. Then ask him how the 326 is different from the others up to 455. Post up the answers

 

I think the Tempest four would bolt right in where a V8 had been. Can anyone verify this?

 

And could easily be converted to a Ram Air four too.

 

No..Bellhousing and starter mounting is different.

 

Don't want to get too technical here, but the 301 and 265 P's were low deck blocks, so I suppose you could call them small blocks.
But that's not the subject here .When someone says big block Pontiac, he's probably a Chevy fan.

 

Pontiac had a change on there engines. 1955 to 1964 that's why things are different like starter, heads ,intake. Rocker arm oiling.

 

The 301 and 303 had a 1 inch shorter deck. But still the same bore to bore center measurement