At The Track Rick Unterseh...
At The Track
Rick Unterseh
Rick relates, "The track hooked okay early on, but it got better in the afternoon when it warmed up. I spun a few times by launching too high, but after dropping the rpm, it hooked great." He tested different downpipes and tuned the fuel pressure. Rick whittled away at the Bird's e.t.'s through the day, and his reward came on his sixth and final pass. With the large downpipe and 6.5 psi fuel pressure, the combo was dialed in. Launching at 3,400 rpm resulted in a 1.650 short time and a 12.35 e.t. at 108.88 mph-with a 301 Turbo! Regarding the event, Rick says, "I loved it. I had so much fun. I got lots of runs and lots of testing done. My mom finally got to see my car run, and I even let her make a few passes after the Shootout." Check the photo at right to see Rick's mom staging, as he coaches her at the starting line.
Conclusion
What can we learn from these two Second-Gens and their owners? How about how to have a great time at the track with a combo that won't break the bank?
Rick bought his '79 T/A for $65-the price to tow it out of a shop. Wanting to go class racing, he decided to campaign the car as an '81 Turbo 301 Formula-changing the hood and fenders-because he felt it would be competitive, and he could work a deal with his engine builder, Neil Smedley, to trade out for 301 engine parts. Then he got busy doing much of his own work to cut costs.
He built his own downpipe, weight box, subframe connectors, and traction bars. He rebuilt and tuned the Q-jet instead of sending it to a specialist and rebuilt the Posi unit instead of buying a spool. His rear wheels are swap meet specials, and the fronts are used. The KYB shocks are from a parts car, and the suspension was kept stone-stock. Then he got a paintjob and a sponsorship from his brother-in-law. The net result is a competitive class car for little coin.
Les wanted to blast around road courses in a vintage T/A, but he felt that they were too expensive and collectible, so he bought a base Bird that was an ex-SEMA showcar, already fitted with a Hotchkis suspension system, subframe connectors, and Koni shocks. He kept costs down by installing parts he already had in his stash, such as the "expensive-to-buy-today" 455 H.O. intake.
The engine is a garden variety '75 455 that he pulled from a Bonne along with its Turbo 400. He rebuilt both and did his own head porting. The shaker was bought at a swap meet in Texas and he installed an inexpensive dash cap instead of restoring the dashpad. The rear disc brakes came with a rear he had purchased for another project.
Though Les is the first to admit that his Pontiac isn't super quick on the dragstrip given its road-course setup, its restrictive exhaust, and hefty race weight due to options, and added sound deadener, he has an absolute ball with it at any race venue.
Isn't that what it's supposed to be all about?
Special thanks to Steve Barcak and the crew at Speedworld Dragstrip for making this Shootout possible.