Pontiac Pavement Pounders Shootout: "E" Town

I know that we've done most of our shootouts with a theme in mind and this one is no different but are we splitting hairs here? Not only are all the cars 455-equipped; but they are all A-bodies (GPs became known as G-bodies in 1981). Before you pass judgement, read on because despite the fact that there are similarities in platform and engine size, the difference in e.t.'s range from 13 seconds down to 9 seconds and race weights vary by 1,000 pounds. Yes, this shootout runs the gamut from street cruisers to street/strip bruisers on up to dedicated race cars.

We had been trying to get a large group from the Gaithersburg-based Outlaw Pontiac Drag Racers Association (www.OutlawPontiacDragSeries.com) since 2002 but 4 rainouts postponed the festivities. So for this shootout we've assembled a group of 5 competitors, who may belong to different clubs but all have the A-body platform and 455 engine in common. As it shook out, we had competitors from 2 Maryland-based Pontiac clubs. Bob Coleman helped gather some members from OPDS, even though he was unable to personally attend. Other racers represented The Royal GTOs club (www.royalgtos.com).

Participants included Jeff Reynolds from Colmar, PA and his '70 LeMans that features a bored over '70 455, full street car weight and low-11-second aspirations. John Richard's Dumfries, Virginia-based '79 GP puts a weight reduction plan and a 12.1:1 455 to good use in his hunt for mid-11-second time slips. Phil Ponder brought his pristine 455 H.O.-powered '65 GTO street car from Laurel, Maryland, and showed why slicks are needed with a healthy Pontiac engine and a stick trans--even in street tune. Then came the sinister black '66 GTO of Don Crimmins from Greenbelt, Maryland, who wanted to push his Goat just a little bit harder. Finally, Jon Gunter trailered in his '65 Tempest (GTO clone) from Pasadena, Maryland. It sports a 2,840-pound race weight and is dressed for the 9s.

What does it take to run anywhere from 13 to 9 second e.t.'s with a 455 and an A-body? How does race weight, engine component choices and chassis design play into the mix? You are about to find out.

Owner: Jeff Reynolds
Jeff Reynolds was the only attendee who wasn't part of either club. Rather Jeff was a hand picked choice of Paul Spotts (Spotts Performance), and as expected he put on a good show in his gorgeous Carousel Red '70 LeMans Sport. The name of this restoration game was to keep it as real-street stock as possible. That meant keeping the full interior and all the steel panels including hood and factory chrome bumpers. That also meant retaining more weight. Even so, Jeff and Kelly, his wife of 17 years, not only got this LeMans looking good, they got it running good! They also own a '72 455 H.O GTO and '70 400 GTO.

Owner: John Richards
When someone can knock out the 60-foot marker in 1.55 seconds on their way to low 11s, you know he's not having beginner's luck--especially with a muffled 455. John Richards, a military vet, shares that he's raced everything from go-carts to stock cars to SCCA roadcourse race cars. Maybe that's why his Pontiac stable consists of corner-carving Fieros and a GTP. Or maybe that's why he's gonna drop a supercharged 3800 in one of those Fieros.

Owner: Phil Ponder
What do you do when you like the handling of the '70-72 GTO but want the look of the '65? You could build your own. Or travel to North Carolina and pick up a 5-speed '65 GTO that's already been restified like Phil Ponder did. With all of the well-chosen modifications previously done to this '65 GTO, it may be more enjoyable to cruise in than even his restored '72 4-speed 455 H.O. GTO. As this was Phil's first time at the track he failed to keep track of his launch techniques or shift points, however he did update us that after swapping the Q-jet for a Holley 780 (#65/85 jets) he picked up a heck of lot more top-end and hopes to prove it on the strip.

Owner: Don Crimmins
Don Crimmins is the president of The Royal GTOs club (a chapter of GTOAA), which boasts a membership of 114 and covers the Northern Virginia, Maryland, and DC metro area. "The '66 GTO is what I had 37 years ago in '66. It was my first car--Barrier Blue with a black vinyl top. I have 2 '66s now. Both were Nightwatch Blue until I turned them black." The GTO you see here scooped up a First Place win at the 2003 GTOAA Nats.

Owner: Jon Gunter
Now before you purist go into how it's a tragedy to make an all-out racer from a perfectly good GTO, know that Jon Gunter's GTO is really a Tempest and this is a far better life than it was otherwise destined to have. "The '65 GTO is my favorite car. I got this as a '92 birthday/Christmas gift from my wife--it was a $800 basket case. All my friends had street cars. So I wanted an all-out race car." Seven years of dedication and hands-on fabrication and he had one mean looking Pontiac. Jon also has a '74 Firebird and '77 Special Edition T/A.

At The Track
You couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day to race with a 51-degree average temperature, a total precipitation of nada, and a hardly noticeable 2.99 mph median wind speed.

Our only hiccup was meeting Raceway Park's stringent sound requirement for our race cars. They were fitted with mufflers just for that purpose and Raceway Park's own Paul Bailey helped us out a great deal as the state police dropped in to make sure all was up to snuff. However, adding mufflers to a few of these Pontiacs did hurt performance in some cases.

Everyone praised the sticky track and weather conditions, which allowed all to run consistent numbers. No one broke anything and the Pontiac owners figured out some tuning tweaks to help in the battle against Bow-Ties and Fords back home!

Jeff Reynolds
The fact that many of the factory components remained, meant that the rollcage only added more weight to a chunky 3,600-pound LeMans. Even so, the original 350 was replaced with a plenty capable Spotts Performance-built 455. Sadly, despite a cool day, the mufflers required to meet E-towns sound requirements, suffocated the mighty Pontiac. Jeff was happy to later report that after running open headers, he was rewarded with an 11.01 e.t. at 121 mph at Maryland's Cecil County racetrack a month after our E-town event. Unwilling to reduce weight, Jeff is determined to get into the 10s. We're confident he'll find his .02 second by spring '04.

John Richards
John reports to us that he bought this '79 GP pretty much as you see it from Walker Pontiac of Bowie, Maryland. Apparently the owner's daughter only raced it a few times and couldn't seem to get it past 13.9. "I think she was afraid of it. After I got it home, I changed the oil and the plugs. The first time I ran it, I ran a 12.1" We're not surprised considering his racing history. Two complete engine rebuilds later, a tranny and rearend freshening and John was in the 11s. Even though John thought having to put mufflers on his GP would greatly hurt his performance, he was able to match his best prior time identically at 11.30/116.86. "It runs even better with mufflers. I was surprised." A roller cam/lifters set along with a Victor intake go in this winter so he can get into the 10s by spring. Look out!

Phil Ponder
The only way to describe Phil's '65 Goat is...AWESOME. Unlike the other runners who more or less had a hand in the build of their Pontiacs, this '65 was picked up ready to go. Don't get me wrong, Phil added his own touches to the GTO cruiser and he pushed his GTO as hard as anyone else there. However, due to the vague history and simple build specs of the 455 H.O. engine, he just couldn't get it properly tuned. The engine compression was a modest 8.7:1, a mildly worked 850 Q-jet was on top, and 3.08 gears were in back. And all this while running through street tires, a very low first gear, and full exhaust at a race weight of 2 tons. Oh yeah, and this was Phil's first time at the track. 13.49's isn't looking that bad after all is it?

Don Crimmins
Don was especially pumped to be here with his '66 GTO, not just because of his club presidency, but because it was his first time getting his GTO to the track since some serious modifications. While it ran admirably on its maiden voyage, Don didn't anticipate the engine's power and the great track conditions, so he didn't optimize his air bag adjustment. Even so, he is proud to inform us that lifting his front tire on launch was a first.

Jon Gunter
This '65 GTO clone was by far the Pontiac of the bunch with the most attitude. From its jet-black color to its fat rear tires to its Pro-Stock stance, this Pontiac meant business. Few stones were left unturned in its customization to be a dedicated track burner. Even if you should think that it was just for looks, you'd know otherwise once you popped your head under the hood and saw a trick digital ignition system or heard its demented 1,300-rpm idle. But even if you won't take my word for it, Jon himself says, " On the first pass I spun badly in second gear and it got sideways so I let out of it, but I came back a while later and I ran my best time. I've since gone a 9.70 at Cecil County Dragway, Maryland."

Conclusion
This particular event was special to yours truly because it was my first HPP Pontiac shootout, hence my first opportunity to really get to talk to and know Pontiac racing people. So after an official inspection by NJ 's finest and thanks to a wonderful crew at Englishtown's Raceway Park, the gang was allowed to let it all hang out on the track while we captured it on film. We had pizza. We had fun. And it was a great way for me to cut my teeth here at HPP. I look forward to many more shootouts.

Special thanks to Paul Bailey and Jim Taylor for their help.