Ok, I'll admit it. This installment has no theme--no badge is applied to deftly market it as a must-have product to the faithful readership. No catchphrase--no hype. I'd be bounced off Madison Avenue for this if I worked in advertising. No, it's not a 455 shootout since we just did that, and because we have a 400. It's not an A-body versus F-body (even though it actually is)--we already did that, too, in the first installment of this series. Pure Pontiacs versus corporate? Nope, no corporate. Front drive versus rear drive? No, for obvious reasons.
We got it! It's a four-quick-Pontiacs-that-look-great-shootout--not very catchy, but quite true nonetheless. Why? There are four of them, they're quick, and they look great so they don't need no stinkin' badges anyway! I know it was a long way to go for an old movie reference, but we did it!
If you've read any of the first three installments, then you know that through the combined efforts of Jim Zeek, VMP, and HPP, the Pontiac Pavement Pounders shootout from Virginia Motorsports Park became a reality. Our final four consist of a pair of F-bodies and a pair of A-bodies--three with 455s and one with a 400.
From the mean streets of Chester, Virginia, comes Rick Schabener with his '68 Firebird 350 convertible. Now outfitted with a 0.030-over 455, a Turbo 400, and 3.55 gears, Rick is hoping to put down some impressive numbers. But with a 4,025-pound race weight, will his goal of 12s even be possible?
Our next entry is Joe White of Severn, Maryland, who brought his beautiful '70 GTO, packing a 0.040-over 400, a Turbo 400, and 3.73s. Though seemingly short on cubes, Joe is out to prove that Pontiac's 400 engine can perform with best of them. Are 11s possible? See how he fares.
The race car of the bunch--a '70 Firebird Formula--belongs to Winchester Indiana's Jim Ullom. Equipped with a 0.060 over 455, a Turbo 400 with a transbrake, a 4.10 rear, and mile-wide rear meats, this Formula is built go 10.50s. Will it? Keep reading.
Jeremy Benson rolled in with his 0.030-over, 455-powered, '69 LeMans convertible from Newtown, Connecticut. This Pontiac should be enticing to anyone who can appreciate a street buildup that is attainable on a sensible budget and can be driven anywhere. With a smooth Summit cam, an iron intake, and log exhaust manifolds, Jeremy's LeMans puts the M in Mild yet it can still run with the pack. Let's see what kind of numbers it can put up.
There you have our list of eager entries, now let's go to the races.