Best Pontiac Powered Stockers

oldskool · 02-05-2020, 08:39 AM

Brought up this subject on the SS thread. Thought I'd inquire some more here.

Most all Stock class racers know about the "acid porting"(or whatever it's called nowadays) of Stocker heads, to increase flow and allow more power.

I assume that it was at one time illegal, but some guys got so good at doing it that it was sometimes hard for a younger, inexperienced tech guy to tell. So, I assume that NHRA just told the tech guys to let it slide. At that point, I assume that lots more guys started having it done, and head flow got even better, to the point that for many engines, if you don't have the latest, greatest head job technology applied to your heads, you can't hope to go really quick.

I also assume that's one of the reasons why the same combos that have been beat on for many years just keep getting quicker & quicker.

So, now that almost "everybody is doin it", aprox what is the cost to have the latest Stocker tricks applied to Stocker iron heads ? Are we talkin maybe $5,000 ? More ?

For you guys who have run Pontiac powered Stockers for a long time, how much difference in ET potential is there between as-cast iron heads, with the correct valve job done, and the heads that have had the full max-power Stocker head treatment done ?

Are we talkin a full sec ? 2 sec ? or ?

For the popular Pontiac 350, 400 & 455 Pontiac combos, what would ya'll say is the minimum head work that would have to be done to as-cast iron heads, just to make enuff power to run barely under the index ?

I know this seems like a stupid question, to many here. But, not everybody who loves Stocker racing has mega-bucks to spend on it. I know that the days of just driving your street car in the gate & being able to win a race are long gone.

But, I'm trying to see if there is a way to build a Pontiac combo that will not cost mega-bucks. I remember posting that I saw Don Turk's car for sale, for $10, 500. And, I've seen other race-ready, quick cars for less than $30k. So, for guys who can do most of there own work, there has got to be a way to build a slow Pontiac Stocker, for a very reasonable price. Obviously, $5,000 or more for head work, will increase the cost of that build, quite a bit. So, I'm just trying to see if one can be built without spending those big bucks on head work.

I remember the low budget build thread, that Brent Flynn did here, a few years back. I'm gonna go back & see what he did for heads.

http://classracer.com/classforum/sho...&postcount=222

So, as of early 2016, Brent did not have high dollar heads. Said he only had about $4k in his engine, with some cheap used rods/pistons. As mentioned, Adam Strang ran 10's with TRW pistons. They cost less than $350 now. And the legal 760g Eagle rods are less than $400.

http://classracer.com/classforum/sho...&postcount=228

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Speed-Pro-T...nd!71251!US!-1

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Eagle-CRS66...kAAOSwl7NaqCjn

At that time, he wanted to have some heads done, that would have cost $2-$3k.

Any useful insite into building a low(lower) budget, slow Pontiac Stocker, would be appreciated.

02-05-2020, 08:39 AM	#11
oldskool VIP Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: The Land of Bayous, Boudin & Crawfish Posts: 1,668 Likes: 223 Liked 747 Times in 362 Posts	Re: Best Pontiac Powered Stockers Brought up this subject on the SS thread. Thought I'd inquire some more here. Most all Stock class racers know about the "acid porting"(or whatever it's called nowadays) of Stocker heads, to increase flow and allow more power. I assume that it was at one time illegal, but some guys got so good at doing it that it was sometimes hard for a younger, inexperienced tech guy to tell. So, I assume that NHRA just told the tech guys to let it slide. At that point, I assume that lots more guys started having it done, and head flow got even better, to the point that for many engines, if you don't have the latest, greatest head job technology applied to your heads, you can't hope to go really quick. I also assume that's one of the reasons why the same combos that have been beat on for many years just keep getting quicker & quicker. So, now that almost "everybody is doin it", aprox what is the cost to have the latest Stocker tricks applied to Stocker iron heads ? Are we talkin maybe $5,000 ? More ? For you guys who have run Pontiac powered Stockers for a long time, how much difference in ET potential is there between as-cast iron heads, with the correct valve job done, and the heads that have had the full max-power Stocker head treatment done ? Are we talkin a full sec ? 2 sec ? or ? For the popular Pontiac 350, 400 & 455 Pontiac combos, what would ya'll say is the minimum head work that would have to be done to as-cast iron heads, just to make enuff power to run barely under the index ? I know this seems like a stupid question, to many here. But, not everybody who loves Stocker racing has mega-bucks to spend on it. I know that the days of just driving your street car in the gate & being able to win a race are long gone. But, I'm trying to see if there is a way to build a Pontiac combo that will not cost mega-bucks. I remember posting that I saw Don Turk's car for sale, for $10, 500. And, I've seen other race-ready, quick cars for less than $30k. So, for guys who can do most of there own work, there has got to be a way to build a slow Pontiac Stocker, for a very reasonable price. Obviously, $5,000 or more for head work, will increase the cost of that build, quite a bit. So, I'm just trying to see if one can be built without spending those big bucks on head work. I remember the low budget build thread, that Brent Flynn did here, a few years back. I'm gonna go back & see what he did for heads. http://classracer.com/classforum/sho...&postcount=222 So, as of early 2016, Brent did not have high dollar heads. Said he only had about $4k in his engine, with some cheap used rods/pistons. As mentioned, Adam Strang ran 10's with TRW pistons. They cost less than $350 now. And the legal 760g Eagle rods are less than $400. http://classracer.com/classforum/sho...&postcount=228 https://www.ebay.com/itm/Speed-Pro-T...nd!71251!US!-1 https://www.ebay.com/itm/Eagle-CRS66...kAAOSwl7NaqCjn At that time, he wanted to have some heads done, that would have cost $2-$3k. Any useful insite into building a low(lower) budget, slow Pontiac Stocker, would be appreciated. Last edited by oldskool; 02-05-2020 at 11:35 AM.