30 No-Buck And Low-Buck Pontiac Mods

Unless you've been on another planet for the past several months, you already know the economy is in the crapper. Money is tight. Morale is low. What can you do to get through these tough times and still afford the pleasure of improving your Pontiac?

Try some of these no-buck and low-buck performance upgrades. Many of these mods have been around for years and will yield positive results with little or no cash outlay. Longtime hobbyists will recognize some-but not all-of these tips. Those who've gotten into the hobby in the last few years will be seeing most of these mods for the first time.

If you want to keep your project moving forward despite being cash-strapped, this is the article for you. Employing even a few of these ideas can make your Pontiac quicker and/or handle better without lightening your wallet too much.

Time It
Most stock-configuration, iron-head Pontiac engines generally work well with 32-38 degrees total timing. Now that you can read total timing, set your engine to 30 degrees, make two clean passes, and note the e.t. and mph. Bump the timing 2 degrees and make two more passes. If your Pontiac gets quicker, repeat the process. Continue until it slows down or detonates; then back off two degrees. If a hot-start problem develops from dialing in too much initial advance, the distributor will have to be recurved to add more mechanical advance. This is so you can reduce initial advance and keep the optimal total timing to maintain the performance benefit, while allowing for easy hot starts. Or you can just back off the timing again after each track outing.

Dare To Drill
If you need bigger jets but don't want to buy them, you can drill the ones you have to the desired size using numbered bits, available at hobby stores. But remember two things: 1.) If you drill too large, you'll have to solder them closed and start over. 2.) Jet manufacturers say drilling jets damages the entry and exit angles, so they won't have the same flow characteristics as a precision-made jet of the same size. Don't say we didn't warn you.

Dump The Weight
Cutting weight results in lower e.t.'s. For example, the passenger seat on the typical GTO weighs about 50 pounds. Remove it and the rear seat, and you'll drop a few hundredths in e.t. You've already jettisoned the seized A/C compressor, the spare tire, and the jack, right?

Drop The Pipes
Would you like free horsepower at the strip? Drop the head pipes and run with open exhaust at tracks that allow it. You'll probably go quicker, and you can gauge how good or bad your exhaust system is by making back-to-back passes open and corked up.

Valve-Lash Horsepower
Got a solid cam and want to squeeze out a few more ponies? Try experimenting with valve-lash adjustments and testing at the track or on the dyno. Tighten the lash to increase effective duration and top-end power, and loosen it to reduce duration and increase low-end torque. Use 0.004-inch increments and go no further than 0.006 from the cam-card recommendations in either direction. Try the same lash on the intake and exhaust; then more on the intake and less on the exhaust, and vice-versa to dial in the optimal settings.

Get Nailed
This is an old racer trick. In four-link street cars, a cheap way to stiffen rear control-arm bushings to thwart axle hop is to pound nails into them. Remove the control arms, use the nails without heads, and space them evenly around the bushing.

No-Buck Engine K.I.S.S. It...        read full caption No-Buck Engine K.I.S.S. It Better (Keep It Simple, Stupid) Laugh if you want, but we've seen people chase down performance drop-off issues for months before they realized the carb linkage wasn't providing true wide-open throttle. Usually they realize this when they go to swap the carb for a new one in an effort to cure the problem. The other typical situation is an errant floor mat stuck under the gas pedal that won't let it go to the floor. These are embarrassing but cheap to fix, as long as you check these areas first instead of last. With the engine off, have a helper press the gas pedal to the floor while you check at the carb for WOT.	To A Certain Degree Knowing...        read full caption To A Certain Degree Knowing the total timing spec of your engine is essential to achieving peak performance and longevity, especially if you drive your Pontiac hard. A free method to enable a standard non-dial-back timing light to read your engine's total timing is to mark the stock harmonic bal-ancer. To do this, measure the circumference of the balancer with a tape measure, convert it to a decimal from a fraction, and multiply by 360 (for 360 degrees). The resulting number is the inches per degree to mark the balancer. To mark the balancer at 36 degrees, if the number you arrived at in the previous calculation is, say, 0.0594 inch, then that times 36 for 36 degrees is 2.138, or 2.138 inches clockwise from the zero-degree mark already on the balancer. Use a hacksaw or at least permanent marker to make the mark. "Marking New Advances for Performance" from the Dec. '05 issue (look for it at www.highperformancepontiac.com) has the step-by-step procedure.	Shed Belts For vintage Pontiacs,...        read full caption Shed Belts For vintage Pontiacs, removal of accessory belts-such as those for the A/C, the power steering, and even the alternator-can drop e.t.'s in many instances. Just remember, it will steer like a truck, and you better hook up that alternator belt after the pass to recharge the battery.
Late-Model Egr Mod On pre-'01...        read full caption Late-Model Egr Mod On pre-'01 LS1 engines, the EGR tube protrudes into the intake manifold. Cutting it down increases airflow.	No-Buck SuspensionDestabilize...        read full caption No-Buck SuspensionDestabilize If you loosen the front sway bar where it mounts to the frame, the front end will lift more easily, thereby transferring weight to the rear more quickly. This results in better traction, better 60-foot times, and lower e.t.'s. How well it works depends upon the combo. The Pure Stock guys do it as standard practice-they place washers between the brackets and frame so the bar is held loosely, but the brackets are securely fastened.	Low-Buck Engine Jet Set Though...        read full caption Low-Buck Engine Jet Set Though aftermarket carbs are usually close in jetting right out of the box, most can be dialed in for more power with a jet change. Holley offers jet sets that feature 11 pairs in a case, available for about $15 through popular mail-order houses. Jet up or down in two-size increments.