Pure Stock Series
If you've ever been amazed by how Pure Stock Pontiacs are able to produce high 12-second e.t.s with stock engines and drivelines on bias-ply tires, this is the Shootout series for you. Through this installment, and the Pure Stock tech story on page 66 in this issue, you'll begin to learn how it's done. Successive issues will cover more Pure-Stockers and other Stocker secrets.
Due to the guidelines of the race series, all of the Pontiacs in our Pure Stock Shootout series adhered to stricter rules than in our regular Pavement Pounder events. Each of them must be equipped as they were from the factory, except for the addition of gauges. No head porting, stroking, power adders, aftermarket wheels, or tires are allowed, and although an overbore is not preferable, it is acceptable. Compression ratios must be equal to or less than NHRA Stock Class rules and exhaust modifications past the manifolds are allowed. The purpose of racing these Pontiacs is to fully realize the performance potential that was built into each one, thereby improving upon its "as new" quarter-mile capabilites.
HPP was invited by Summit Motorsports Park management and Super Duty Promotions to hold this Shootout during the Ames Performance Tri-Power Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, in which the following four Pure Stockers participated.
J.B. Mattison, of St. Clair Shores, Michigan, arrived with his '67 Firebird Ram Air 400 with iron No. 997 heads, a Turbo 400 trans and 3.90 gears. His goal was to show how a Pure Stocker performs over 30 years after Pontiac designed it as the fastest Firebird available to the public in 1967.
Jim Mino,
of Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania, came with his '68 Firebird Ram Air II. Its 400 powerplant is equipped with iron No. 96 round-port heads, an M21 four-speed trans and 3.90 gears. He wanted to show how Pontiac's round-port Firebird was history in the making when introduced in May of 1968, and that in stock form, it's still unbeatable today.
Bruno Beltrame
of Richmond Hill, Ontario, competed with his '69 GTO Ram Air IV 400 with round-port No. 722 heads, a Muncie M21 trans, and 4.10 gears. His desire was to have fun in his special-order factory racer, and to show our readers that round-port Firebirds aren't the only game in town.
Mario DiMonte
of Richmond Hill, Ontario, brought his '701/2 Trans Am Ram Air III 400 with No. 12 heads, a Muncie M20 trans and 3.55 gears. His objective was to duplicate the quarter-mile times that his Trans Am was capable of in 1970.
Weather Report
The temperature at Summit Motorsports Park rose from 64 to 79 degrees during the day. Humidity ranged from 77 to 96 percent and barometric pressure was 29.86 hg. Density altitude was 1,675 feet, so we will use a factor of 0.9809 for e.t. and 1.0199 for mph for 1,700 feet to chart the theoretical best performance at sea level. This will be done on the best pass only, based on e.t.