Last month in "Battery Boot Camp," HPP brought you a guide to the Delco-Remy tar-top batteries that powered Pontiacs from 1955 through 1966. While Delco-Remy was pleased with the speed with which it was able to market the 12V battery, the tar-top design was expensive to produce and maintain, and was inherently prone to an extremely short product life. Although there were technological advances in the engineering of the battery-primarily in the design of the internal separators-it became clear by the mid-'60s that the tar-top design itself needed to be retired.

Technology has brought a number of durable finishes to the hobby. In "Exterior Finish Education" (HPP, June '08), a professional shared his opinion of the products and trends commonly used in modern restorations. We followed that with "Getting Personal with Powdercoat" (HPP, July '08), which explored the powdercoating process and the durable finish it produces. We learned that powdercoat's high degree of visual appeal and low maintenance qualities make it suitable for components that live in harsh, but relatively low-temperature, environments.

Everyone wants to build a better mousetrap. Some like to compete in the high-compression horsepower chase and some look to push the boundaries of the pump-gas combo. For this story, Tin Indian Performance (TIP) and Kauffman Racing Equipment (KRE) set out to do the latter using a factory Pontiac block, KRE's D-port heads, and various new products introduced by both companies. Ultimately, the engine is destined for TIP's Kevin Swaney's 3,500-pound race car, in which he's intent on running mid-10s.

Part I: The Tar-Top 1955-1966
Your Pontiac battery is one of the most crucial components of a concours-quality restoration. One to five points can be deducted from your score in the Concours Stock Restored Class at POCI depending upon the degree of deviation from factory original or a correct-appearing reproduction. The right battery is an eye-catcher, too. Its presence is an important detail that allows you to go back in time and experience the joy an original owner felt when he looked down at his Pontiac's engine compartment for the very first time.

Over the first three installments of this story, you learned that Jason Korb of Middletown, Pennsylvania, wanted to rebuild the Pontiac 350 engine in his '69 Firebird for more power and easy cruising, but he didn't want to give up driveability or break the bank to do it. He contacted RaceKrafters Automotive Machine in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where Bob and Craig Wise scienced out a combination to suit Jason's requirements.

From mild to wild, "cam-only" cars, as they're known in the LS-series community, are very popular. Although traditional Pontiac hobbyists have installed headers, intakes, and camshafts for generations, the development of electronic fuel injection, hydraulic roller camshafts, and custom tuning have allowed the LS enthusiast the luxury of pushing the envelope on camshaft duration and lift, while still retaining a "near-stock" idle. With proper component and camshaft selection, increases in power and torque are possible across the entire rpm range. Forget the old-school adage that increased top-end power simply traded away low-end torque.

Many new Pontiacs are available with OnStar. If you aren't familiar with what OnStar can provide, it offers increased safety and security to your GM vehicle. Established in 1995 and operational in 1996, it has come a long way since its inception. It now comes with automatic crash response, emergency calls, stolen vehicle location assist, remote door unlock, roadside assistance, Turn-By-Turn Routes, GM Goodwrench remote diagnostics, and hands-free calling.

Most car enthusiasts have raced their car or someone else's at some point in time. For many, racing is the main reason why they're involved in the hobby, while others see it as icing on the cake to owning such a great-performing car. Whatever your reasoning may be, racing is a great part of this hobby and there are many different types you can become involved in.

Though junkyard pickin's for muscle-era Pontiacs are almost non-existent these days and Fourth-Gen Birds are a little too new to be relegated to the recyclers, there is still a good supply of Third-Gen Firebirds, T/As, GTAs and Formulas from which to choose. Hobbyist interest and aftermarket support for Third-Gens continues to grow, albeit slowly, as many love these cars for their great value, hearty performance-when properly modified and tuned-and great budget upgrade potential. Although junkyards and specialist recyclers offer up a banquet of excellent parts, how does one know which to harvest and which to let the reaper till back under? To that end, we did a bit of footwork in an effort to provide a sampling of practical upgrades to benefit your project.

Increasing displacement is an easy way to extract additional power from an engine. While enlarging the cylinder bore diameter certainly increases overall size, its effects are usually limited to about 10 to 12 cubic inches during a typical rebuild. This is because excessive cylinder boring can lead to a number of concerns, ranging from compromised integrity to cooling issues, if the walls get too thin.

If your Poncho suffered from any cooling system problems before storing it for the season, you still have time to address the issues and ensure that overheating becomes a distant memory. For those of you lucky enough to have a top-notch cooling system, maybe it's time to shift your focus to how much additional horsepower can be gained by reducing the parasitic drag of the factory water pump and engine cooling fan.

As you gaze out your window and wonder when winter will finally break-at least enough so that you can safely open up the garage and fire up your Pontiac without fear of engulfing it in a swirling maelstrom of snow and ice-take solace in knowing that there is a way to test the effectiveness of your "winter" performance upgrades without hitting the dragstrip.

Many Second-Gen Firebird owners have installed tubular headers because they typically allow an engine to produce maximum power over a wide rpm range and are a popular "speed part" choice amongst performance enthusiasts. Though there are a large number of headers on the market today, some low-cost units are cheaply made and fit poorly, while it seems that higher quality (and more expensive) offerings fit best and provide the least amount of installation headaches.

Any hobbyist who's owned a Firebird of any generation is likely familiar with its unibody construction. The design incorporates a vehicle's sheetmetal panels and rear framerails, creating a single, stress-bearing body shell. An independent subframe containing the engine, front suspension and steering components is then bolted to the shell, yielding a complete vehicle that's typically lighter and more compact than one with a traditional frame.

In the previous issue, we spoke with a number of well-respected companies that market high-flow Pontiac cylinder head packages, and each shared with us the detailed specifications of those aimed at enhancing the performance of moderately-sized street and street/strip engines. We also learned that the round-port castings Pontiac produced during the late '60s and early '70s were each designed to complement its specific application.

Modern technology has vastly improved the ride and handling characteristics of vintage Pontiacs, and the various high-dollar packages we see today often combine coil-over- and/or air-spring-type suspension systems with large aftermarket wheels and tires.

You may recall the article entitled "The Slippery Truth About Oil" from the June '06 issue of HPP (also available at www.highperformancepontiac.com). In it, we discussed the negative effects some modern motor oils have on flat-tappet camshaft engines, and explained the organizations that categorize motor oil, the category designations, and the key anti-wear additives that were reduced, which are thought to be behind many of today's camshaft lobe and lifter failures.

With winter starting to rear its ugly head in the colder regions of the country, the steamy days of the past summer may seem a distant memory, but not for those among you who suffered from cooling system maladies in your favorite classic Pontiac. Though it may seem counterintuitive to discuss engine cooling at this time of year, the truth of the matter is that most of you finally have the time to do something about your poor-performing cooling system since your Pontiac won't be showing or cruising for a while.

Most of the used components hobbyists select for their vintage Pontiacs typically require at least a slight amount of refurbishing in order to provide reliable operation-and the ignition distributor is no exception.

Besides an air compressor and wide array of hand tools, what else separates a professional repair garage from that of an average hobbyist? There's certainly any number of answers to that question, but an automotive lift will likely be among the replies most commonly heard.

Part I: Street/Strip Pump Gas Applications
While it's true that an engine inhales and exhales through its cylinder heads, simply enlarging the intake and exhaust ports does not always yield airflow improvements. Such action can, in fact, degrade airflow and/or port velocity so much that a casting can be rendered useless in short order. Fortunately for hobbyists, a number of performance-oriented options exist today, and we'll explore several in our two-part story.

Part I: The Installs
Although publishing a cooling system article as the weather starts to turn cold and blustery may seem inappropriate, it's the perfect time to reflect on the happenings of summer and plan to correct or avoid future cooling system problems in your Pontiac. By employing the latest technology, your Poncho will be prepared on the street and the track to handle anything that Mother Nature can dish up when the mercury rises. Besides, magazine publishing lead times being what they are means that in order to test in the superheated temp-eratures and oppressive humidity of August, the story will hit the newsstand in October or later.

A Cure For Squeaking PulleysI have a '66 Tri-Power four-speed GTO that is restored to stock. It has power steering and I have a problem with the fan belts: they squeal all the time. I have tightened, loosened and replaced the belts. I have also tried belt dressing, but nothing works. Do you have any suggestions?Frank SheffieldTallahassee, FL

The creaks and groans of advanced age-us older folks know them well. It's the same with our vintage cars, and it's those types of noises that help give the impression of "old," and often, "too old."

Though LS1-equipped '04 Goats were certainly stout, the bar was raised even further when GM rolled out the evolutionary Gen IV LS2 engine for the '05-'06 models. In addition to a host of improvements, the bore size was enlarged to 4.0-inches, resulting in an 18 cubic inch displacement increase to 364. Output was increased to 400 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque.