Yes they have thick sidewalls but they are pretty small. made for 60 PSI. That means less rolling resistance. and drum brakes adjusted a tad loose don't have any rolling resistance like disk brakes do. and Ive got 65 full size car hubs with roller bearings & light grease. Im not going to run a hood 'front bumper 'grille' Headlights or inner fenders. relocated battery to the rear already' going to use plexi gl*** in the doors. Try to get the weight off the front. the 400 Pontiac mill will weigh a tad more than the small block chevy. ive got a aluminum intake that will help a small bit. The 69 GTO the engine came from should of had 430 rear gears. I thinking 430 or deeper with taller rear tires or 411 with shorter tires.
Ive ran those Bandag retreads on the back of semi trucks If they held up for 5,000 miles they would never come apart you could run them until they where bald. But some times they failed very quick. Everyone called them bandaids!
We ran Towel City caps on the stock cars, it was the track tire where I ran years ago. The ROC at Pocono around 1983, it was the street stock spec tire. I never had one fail for a defect. I had a couple that had a chunk come out of a corner of the tread.
Not sure how much power you're making, but My 57 Chieftain makes 557hp and the Towel City slicks work great.
I still wonder why everyone got ate up with the 57 chevy. In stock form the Pontiacs like yours would eat a 57 chevys lunch every time. And they certainly look great. My mill is a bone stock 69 Pontiac Q jet with 6X heads. I will be using hedders. a edelbrock torker intake and a 750 edelbrock carb.
Totally agree here. That 57 Pontiac, and a tan/white 55 Chevrolet Delray belonging to another HAMBER, are two of my favorite cars here on the HAMB. Stock appearing bodies/colors, but total hot rods underneath. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
I was 11 ears old and my uncle bought a new 62 catalina with a 421 super duty dual 4 bbl 4 speed. And he was never beat by any 409 chevy at the US 30 drag strip in Gary Indiana. And ive been a fan of Pontiac V8 engines ever since. For a half dozen years the 62 chevy did rival a 57 chevy in popularity.