At The Track
Dan Albright
Dan's LeMans wagon originally came with a 301, but he was ready to prove what a 467 in a 3,590-pound grocery getter could do on this NHRA track. He showed everyone its power on his first pass, an 11.88 e.t. at 112.78 mph, with a 1.72-second sixty-foot time. After pass No. 2,
he observed that the valve-cover stud had pulled out of the head and was spraying oil all over the engine. What did he do? He drove into town, bought a helicoil set, came back, fixed the problem, and enjoyed racing the rest of the day. He was sure glad he did, because his best times of the day were about to happen consecutively-an 11.84 at 113.15 mph, an 11.83 at 112.99 mph, and, on his fifth pass, his best time of the day, an 11.82 at 113.63 mph. Dan's tuning consisted of keeping 36-degrees timing, but he added a 1-inch HVH Super Sucker to his intake on passes 4-6. When asked what he liked about the event, Dan said, ". . . having the track all to yourself. I could run as many times as I wanted." He also added, "I hope that HPP never quits doing this event. It is the first thing I look for in the magazine."
Bill Black
Bill built his GTO as a fun street/strip car, but don't let its looks fool you. This thing is a serious bracket racer. His first pass was a 12.438 at 106.29 mph, on a 1.71 60-foot time. It was the benchmark he needed to beat by the end of the day. His fourth pass was the magic moment for him, although his 60-foot was a 1.75, he stampeded the traps at 12.435, beating his previous best run of the day by 3/1000-second.
Bill's tuning consisted of lowering his tire pressure from 18 psi to 16 psi for his last five passes. Of the event, Bill said he enjoyed, "plenty of racing time and the friendly folks." He thought the track was "well-prepped, but a little slick, and my GTO hooked well with lower psi. I think my tires are getting old."
Conclusion
It's unusual to find a LeMans wagon and a GTO produced 12 years apart that both have the same-year iron block and heads. That gave this story a great comparison on how the same engine performs differently with two different builds.
Each of these race cars was similar in weight-the GTO weighed 3,810 pounds with driver and the LeMans wagon weighed 3,870 pounds. That's a difference of only 60 pounds. So why was Dan's wagon quicker than Bill's GTO? We find the answer in each man's powertrain combination. The wagon is running more cubes, carb, compression ratio, converter, and rear gear than the GTO.
Dan reminded us how much fun grocery-getters are to watch as they push their weight down the 1,320. With times that ranged from 11.82 to 11.88, this LeMans wagon is also a strong contender in bracket racing. With less than 8,000 miles on its odometer, and future mileage measured a quarter-mile at a time (and occasional street use and cruises), this is one LeMans wagon that won't see its odometer roll over for many years to come.
Bill showed us that you should not judge a Goat by its paint-job. His '68 looked like it had just come off a backwoods car lot, but, fortunately, the quarter-mile doesn't critique you on exterior finish. This GTO was built to run on the street and the strip, and it performed within 5/1000-second of its best time on two additional passes. When he wasn't racing, Bill treated his GTO to some street action. "Every morning at the event, I plugged the exhaust, went to breakfast, cruised the scenic backroads and came back in time for test and tune. I didn't see too many other race entries doing that," he said.
"How good is Bill's GTO for bracket racing?" Two days after our Shootout, on the same track, he took it to a First Place victory in Street class at Pontiacs in the Park, beating out dozens of envious competitors.
This Shootout showed that the same block and heads can yield different performance levels based on the parts chosen and the desires of their owners. Whether you plan on building a street/strip GTO, a wagon that surprises everybody with its power, or an iron-head combo for the Pontiac that's special to you, the information provided in this Shootout will give you some ideas for your project.
HPP would like to thank the management and crew at Virginia Motorsports Park for their assistance in making this Shootout possible.