This is my first Pontiac build and I notice that the driver's bank of cylinders are staggered closer to the firewall and the p***enger side farther away. This is opposite from Chevy. Is there a specific reason for this, and which other engines share this configuration?
One side has to be ahead of the other....so the designer picked the right side.... That decision was probably made in 1953. It's hard to say now why it was made that way. It is odd how the pistons are not in order like they are on most GM engines. But you'll get used to it
The original block core pattern maker was dyslexic? One side of most V engines is staggered forward the thickness of a connecting rod big end because they usually run one piston from each bank off a common crank journal so they have to be side by side, staggered. Just be glad the crank rotation isn't reversed too! (Some engines are! lots actually...)
They built a giant atomic power genorator here in California. Just before it was finished on the outside they realized that the prints were backwards and the whole thing was a mirror image of what the stuff for the inside had been made to fit. Maybe that happened at Pontiac.
In the March 1955 issue of Hot Rod, Racer Brown wrote a technical ****ysis of the then new Pontiac V8. In it he mentioned this particular feature: "A couple of small points in the block ***embly are worthy of mention and show that considerable thought was given to some not-so-obvious details. First, each main cap is doweled to the block in two places which insures positive location in operation and facilitates ***embly. The second point is the unusual staggering of the cylinders in the block, the right hand bank, as viewed from the back, being forward of the left hand bank. "Unusual" because in all other production V8 engines, the left hand banks are forward. Either way, staggering of the cylinder blocks is necessary because two connecting rods are clamped to the same crankpin and in order to center each rod in its respective bore, each bore must be offset from the bore on the opposite bank. It's a small point but this allowed Pontiac designers to locate the ignition distributor on the right hand side of the engine at the back so that the resultant thrust of the camshaft drive gear on the distributor gear is upward, which is quite the reverse from most other designs." Now, I'm not sure why that's better, but apparently that's why it was done.
Welcome to the world of Pontiacs. Even the most mundane of Pontiacs can make stupid amounts of torque with the right cam. I always thought the cylinder bank format was to accomodate the distributor lay-out and was also due in part to packaging of the engine. A couple of things to remember: Always remember that the distributor rotates counter-clockwise. I have seen this feature trip up many people including some big name engine builders. I think maybe AMC is the only other American made V-8 to use the counter-clockwise distributor method. Make sure you and the machinest are on the same page as far as the numbering sequence of the reciprocating ***embly goes if any of that task is split between people. The natural tendency is to number the rods/caps by cylinder number, but a lot of machinests will number the rods in the order they are on the crankshaft. In an SBC and other designs, they are one and the same. In the Pontiac, it will can cause major problems as you've discovered, #2 rod is #1 on the crank journal. Before you put the motor in the car double check the hidden oil galley plug by the distributor. It's often left out and is almost impossible to install when the motor is in the car. That missing plug will result in reduced oil pressure but not necessarily low oil pressure. That also has tripped up a lot of the people over the years.
Amen to the above, and I'm here to add that even with the WRONG cam, Pontiacs make stupid torque! I picked WAY too much cam for the 455 in my old Catalina convert, and even with the Cat's long legged rear gear, it was fun, fun, FUN!
huh? the chevy V8s have the dist on the right side of the engine, with upward thrust on the dist gear, and they have #1 where it should be.
It may just be because according to one story I read somewhere, the Chevy V8 was actually designed by Pontiac people and GM moved it to Chevrolet, leaving them to start over again, so they did it the opposite way of the last design on the new one. Of course who knows how true that story is, I don't remember where I read it.
One thing I forgot to mention on the hidden oil gallery plug by the distributor. Drill a 0.030" hole in that plug. It will positively lube the distributor gear. I think it was DeLorean who said it best, "A rebel is likely to drive a Pontiac".
[ Always remember that the distributor rotates counter-clockwise. I have seen this feature trip up many people including some big name engine builders. I think maybe AMC is the only other American made V-8 to use the counter-clockwise distributor method. One day I noticed that a "B" block MoPar distributer looked the same as my 392 distributer. I thought it would work fine. Turned the wrong way. In the Army I noticed that the distributers ib our GMC duece and a halfs was almost the same as our Reos. Turned the other way. really kills the top end when you have centri***le retard. The point of this is some of those must have turned counter clock
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