help with 79 firebird with 71 0r 72 455 engine

[mox24]

hi my names josh and i just bought a 79 firebird t/a clone with a 71 or 72 400 block with 455 rotating internals so a 455 engine. i really need help. im tearing the engine down and rebuilding it. i want to get as much HP and torque out of it that i can. can you tell me what parts and brands i should buy to get this engine to peak performance while still being street legal. i kinda want to put a supercharger on it but i also dont. so i dont know weather i am or not. also what kind of hood scoop should i put on it i was thinking a true shaker or tri slot blower


other things it has:
411 posi rear
turbo 400 trany
bnm shifter
it has headers just dont know what kind i want to get new ones
holly intake
600cfm carb i want a better carb
2 1/2 inch flowmasters with cat in it

Id really apprecite some help. i work on cars and grew up around muscle cars just dont know alot about pontiacs

[MrPbody]

Josh,

Welcome to the upper crust of GM performance cars! Chevys are the hot rods to "the masses", but Pontiacs are a "cut above".

First things first. Get Jim Hand's "How to Build Max-performance Pontiac V8s", published by SA Designs. This book was released Summer of '04 and is by far, the most current study of the old' Injun (Pontiacs are affectionately refered to as "Injun engines"). Once you understand more the philosophy and techniques of building a high performance Pontiac, it will make a lot more "sense" what you read and hear from "non-believers". Most of what is known about Fords and Chevys must be "forgotten", as it simply doesn't apply.

Pontiacs are "tractor" engines, making their power at a much lower RPM range than others. Those 4.10 gears have got to go! For a 455, 3.42s are a much better street/strip gear than any other, using "conventional" transmissions.

Steps must be taken to identify exactly what your engine is NOW, before parts can be changed. The stroke in a factory 455 is 4.21". The crankshaft will have a casting number, usually ending in "103". Most "strokers" today are using aftermarket cranks, either from Eagle, Scat or Ohio. They are marketed by several Pontiac "specialists" (including us). Those are ALL Chinese imported cast cranks. There are a few forgings available now, too, from Scat and Ohio. They too, are Chinese imports, but the quality of the cast and forged cranks is quite good. The stroke for the aftermarket cranks is 4.25" and they use BBC rod specifications (except "length", which is usually 6.800").

We also need to know which cylinder heads you have to determine the suitability for a high-powered street engine. For use with 93 octane gas, Pontiacs require a static compression ratio of under 9.5:1 with iron heads, and 10.2:1 with aluminum. Due to the very efficient design of the chamber, Pontiacs are notorious for detonation problems when not set up right for the octane being used. This same chamber, though, is one of the reasons the Pontiac makes so much usable torque and can stand higher "loads" of nitro than Chevy heads of the same era. Of course, nitro is of no concern here, but the implications of its successful use must be made clear.

It's plenty easy to make 600 HP and 650 lb. ft. on pump gas, under 6,500 RPM. We have customers going mid 10s in daily-driven cars, that have spent less than $10K building from "scratch". Hard to beat that with a BBC (price anyway, BBCs make plenty of power). The heavy car ('79s are pretty beefy) can really benefit from a well-built torque-monster, too.

There are several blower combinations available, too. ProCharger seems to be the most effective for a street engine.

Once you get the book, and feel you understand the rationale behind a good Pontiac "build", feel free to ask more questions! And in case you're wondering if I'm "qualified" to answer your questions, our shop (Central Virginia Machine) is responsible for the quickest/fastest Pontiac on the planet today! "Dirty Bird" (FKA Drunken Injun) has been 6.59 and over 209 MPH. .03 seconds and .3 MPH "ahead" of the previous "record holder". Pontiacs are a "world" unto themselves. We've rapidly closed the gap in developement (25 years worth of being ignored) versus the BBC and Hemi. Another 500 HP and our car will rival the TA/FCs currently running in NHRA. We're workin' on it!

Jim

[Chad82]

"And in case you're wondering if I'm "qualified" to answer your questions, our shop (Central Virginia Machine) is responsible for the quickest/fastest Pontiac on the planet today! "Dirty Bird" (FKA Drunken Injun) has been 6.59 and over 209 MPH. .03 seconds and .3 MPH "ahead" of the previous "record holder"."

I wasn't aware of that, congrats. I never looked into it, but I figured like Butler would have that title.

[mox24]

thanks alot pbody il look into getting the book

[MrPbody]

Chad,

Butler Performance is still a good Pontiac shop, but have fallen "behind" in recent years. KRE had the "title" before we took it. They'll have it again, as soon as the snow in Ohio melts. All they need to do is put more boost in the engine they have. Jeff Kauffman's car is about 1,800 lbs. with a 565 CID engine. We feel pretty good about that, as our car is 2,455 lbs. (race weight) and has a 475 CID engine. We're DEFINITLELY making more horsepower, and so far, the engine hasn't missed a beat!

One of the reasons I believe Butler has been struggling with the top-level engines is their involvement with high technology. They have several turbocharged/electronic injected engines that are VERY powerful, but are woefully unreliable. And it seems it's always the fuel system or ignition that lets them down. Even modern FCs don't use electronic injection or turbos. And while a turbo is more efficient, it is NOT more capable. If it were, NHRA "fuel" teams would be fielding turbo cars, not blower cars. There are a handful of ProMods using them, but they haven't shown the sustained performance the nitrous or blown cars show.

Our goals aren't to be "the fastest Pontiac", though. We want to field a Pontiac-powered car in the pro ranks again, after all these years. It's not common knowledge among racers, but the last engines to give the Hemis any sh!t at the highest levels wasn't Chevy, but Pontiac. If we CAN make it go 5.90s, we could actually put it in a field of TA/FC cars. It would be the first time an iron block/wedge headed engine did so in over 20 years. Considering the gap in developement, we're closing in fast!

Jim