Mark Weymouth of Rochester,...
Mark Weymouth of Rochester, Michigan, arrived with his '71 Trans Am with a 455 H.O., No. 197 round-port heads, a Muncie M22 trans, and 3.73 gears. His goal was to show a perfect example of a PS Trans Am, and prove that the 455 H.O. was one of the best street engines Pontiac ever produced. Since Mark was running his '70 Ram Air IV Judge for a future installment on that same day, noted Pontiac restorer and PS competitor Scott Tiemann piloted the T/A.
Pure Stock Series
It has been said that "the third time is the charm," and even though we had two rainouts at the track in Norwalk, Ohio, our third attempt at completing a Pure Stock Shootout was successful. After running four cars at the Ames Performance Tri-Power Pontiac Nationals the day after the second rainout, the remaining group competed at Mid-Michigan Motorplex in bucolic Stanton, Michigan, just prior to the annual Pure Stock Muscle Car Drag Race (PS).
Mid-Michigan Motorplex is a first-class family-oriented facility with a paved pit area, a fenced-in playground for the kids, and lots of grassy sections to relax in during a race. It also has a great quarter-mile dragstrip. The staff was friendly and very accommodating as we ran a bunch of Pure Stockers through their paces, all in an effort to capture their exploits for these stories. For Part II of this Pure Stock series, we have an eclectic variety of Pontiac models and famed powerplants.
Weather Report
The temperature at Mid-Michigan Motorplex rose from 55 to 71 degrees throughout the day. Humidity ranged from 41 to 100 percent and barometric pressure was 30.01 hg. Density altitude was 1,599 feet, so we will use a factor of 0.9822 for e.t. and 1.0185 for mph for 1,600 feet to chart the theoretical best performance at sea level. This will be done on the best pass only, based on e.t. Now let's get to the bias-ply burning action!
Paul Glasgo of Green, Ohio,...
Paul Glasgo of Green, Ohio, came with his '70 Magnum 400 Tempest replica. Its 400 powerplant is equipped with No. 13 D-port heads and the A-body features a Turbo 400 trans and 4.11 gears. He came to show how his tribute vehicle can duplicate the track times realized by Knafel Pontiac's original Magnum 400 limited-edition Tempest.
Bruce Hayes of Spring Lake,...
Bruce Hayes of Spring Lake, Michigan, competed with his '65 Tri-Power 389 GTO with No. 77 heads, a Muncie M20 trans, and 3.73 gears. His desire, after 35 years away from the hobby, was to recreate the fun he had racing a GTO in 1969/'70.
Thomas Glasgo of North Canton,...
Thomas Glasgo of North Canton, Ohio, brought his '64 421 H.O. Tri-Power 2+2 Catalina with No. 716 heads, a Turbo 350, and 4.30 gears. His objective was to challenge himself within the rules of Pure Stock drag racing with his favorite-year Pontiac.