Best Pontiac Powered Stockers

[oldskool]

"...It would really help history if we knew the real story on the Swiss Cheese cars running in NHRA (maybe in B/FX?), how they ran, what class this car ran its 12.27 in, etc."

I just read that post. Probably can't answer all the questions. But, I'll share some pics & info I have that might shed some light on it.

Have pics of the Royal Pontiac car that Jim Wangers drove. In one of the pics, he is running against a Stan Long Pontiac B/FX Pontiac, probably running for the B/FX class win, which Jim won, at the '63 Nationals. I'll post the list which shows his ET, which was 12.59. Also have a pic of what appears to be that same car, with A/FX on it.

Also have pics of the Anderson Pontiac car, with Arlen Vanke driving. I don't know how many cars these big dealers had, that looked exactly the same. So, I can't say if they had different cars for different classes, or just made changes to meet different class requirements. Also don't know how the different tracks classified the cars. I'm guessing that some track tech guys probably put the swiss cheese cars in a Stock or SS class, if they weren't running the FX classes there, so all the cars could race. There were probably lots of mis-classed cars before that time & since.

The last pic shows Arnie's car, with A/FX on it. He ran lots of different classes, with several cars.

Note: Bottom line is that you can't believe everything you read online or in print. Also, this stuff happened almost 60 years ago. So, who can say EXACTLY what's true & what's NOT true about all the details from back then.

Here's some stuff about the 421SD engine that some may enjoy.

https://www.nhra.com/news/2021/421-n...orever-footage

[oldskool]

Sorry to see that Bruce Noland is NOT driving his '69 Bird at Indy. His ride is listed as a '71 Vette.

Hope the DRC info is wrong. Bruce is #100.

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...er=30#indextop

[oldskool]

Bob Michael just won his L/SA class @ Indy ! It's not his 1st class win, by any means. BUT, I think I'd be safe in saying that it's the first time a 1977 Catalina has ever won a Stock class, anywhere in the world ! It's the only '77 Cat race car I've ever seen.

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...er=30#indextop

Bob has built & raced LOTS of competitive Pontiacs. Glad to see he's still doin it. Yeah, he's one of my Pontiac heroes !

[oldskool]

Randi Lyn Shipp was RU in the Stock Jegs All Star race. She left a hair too soon.

Even tho Bruce Noland's car is listed as a Vette, he was actually driving his '69 Bird.

The only way I know is because somebody posted a pic of it in the staging lanes.

It ran a 10.706, which was good enuff to get him safely in the show, @ .694 under.

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2021#indextop

[oldskool]

Today at the Mopar Nats, Bruce Noland ran a 10.684, with his '69 T/A, which is .716 under & good enuff for #40, on the Stock Q-3 list. Adam Strang is at #6, with his '68 stick Bird, & Lauren Kanuik is #24, with her '77 GP.

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...er=30#indextop

[oldskool]

Anybody wanna build a one-of-a-kind competitive Pontiac Stocker ?

Here's a '77 Lemans wagon. Should be a good candidate for O/SA, with the small cam 400 engine @ 260hp. 13.15 index.

https://inlandempire.craigslist.org/...381160289.html

http://www.classracerinfo.com/Engine...spx?ENGINE=764

http://www.classracerinfo.com/NHRA_Classes.aspx

Gary Riley won the '19 Mile-High Nats in a '74 Lemans wagon, in an All-Pontiac final.

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2019#indextop

There have been several very competitive Pontiac Stocker wagons thru the years. The 1st that always come to my mind are the 2 that Gary & Charlene Wood raced. They got event wins, class wins, & set records with 'em. And there were others, before them, many of which have already been mentioned in this thread.

https://www.motortrend.com/features/...ontiac-history

[oldskool]

Was lookin back over this thread, from earlier this year & realized that I made no mention of a Michael Brand Stock win.

The race took place at South GA Motorsports Park, in March. It was called the "Southern Sportsman Showdown".

One thing that stands out, to me, from the Q-list is that Brad Koivisto ran a 10.821, in his '74 GTO Stocker. That's quick, ya'll. By far, the quickest ET I've ever seen a '74 GTO Stocker run. I'm adding a pic of the car at this race, with the flat hood it's running this year.

Anyhow, Michael Brand won the Stock portion of the race, but lost in the Stock vs SS $40,000 final.

His Bird is running an SD455 engine. Ran a 10.529. They had some really good, cool air at that race. Everybody appeared be wearing a jacket, or at least long sleeves.

https://dragchamp.com/2021/nhra/stoc...sman-showdown/

[DeuceCoupe]

Originally Posted by oldskool

"...It would really help history if we knew the real story on the Swiss Cheese cars running in NHRA (maybe in B/FX?), how they ran, what class this car ran its 12.27 in, etc."

I just read that post. Probably can't answer all the questions. But, I'll share some pics & info I have that might shed some light on it.

Have pics of the Royal Pontiac car that Jim Wangers drove. In one of the pics, he is running against a Stan Long Pontiac B/FX Pontiac, probably running for the B/FX class win, which Jim won, at the '63 Nationals. I'll post the list which shows his ET, which was 12.59. Also have a pic of what appears to be that same car, with A/FX on it.

Also have pics of the Anderson Pontiac car, with Arlen Vanke driving. I don't know how many cars these big dealers had, that looked exactly the same. So, I can't say if they had different cars for different classes, or just made changes to meet different class requirements. Also don't know how the different tracks classified the cars. I'm guessing that some track tech guys probably put the swiss cheese cars in a Stock or SS class, if they weren't running the FX classes there, so all the cars could race. There were probably lots of mis-classed cars before that time & since.

The last pic shows Arnie's car, with A/FX on it. He ran lots of different classes, with several cars.

Note: Bottom line is that you can't believe everything you read online or in print. Also, this stuff happened almost 60 years ago. So, who can say EXACTLY what's true & what's NOT true about all the details from back then.

Here's some stuff about the 421SD engine that some may enjoy.

https://www.nhra.com/news/2021/421-n...orever-footage

I think I missed this reply, it's awesome!
So
1. The Swiss Cheese Cat ran in A/FX, sometimes. Probably didnt fare too well against the little Tempest. Great pictures of that.

2. It also ran in B/FX and won (I knew that part already).

3. Note the 671 Vanke picture actually says A/FX on the door but S/S up front. Maybe that's the riddle - some local meets let the Swiss Cheese Cat into S/S. That would jive with the 12.27 at 114mph or so, which could well have been an S/S record in early 1963 (records were changing fast back then). So maybe in the USATODAY article, it's a typo, not a C/S record but an S/S record. The Cat would have to be lighter than 3523 lb to fit into S/S but that makes sense for a Swiss Cheese car. Maybe when this "record" went up the chain it got erased as the national NHRA knew the Swiss Cheese car wasn't stock class legal?

4. That picture of the Swiss Cheese frame is great, it's actually making me hungry.

[oldskool]

In race #1, of the div 1 doubleheader, Bruce Noland has survived 4 rounds of Stock elims. There are 6 cars left. Also, he ran a 10.545, in E-1, which is .855 under. I assume that's the best time yet, in competition.

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...er=30#indextop

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...er=30#indextop

He apparently had mechanical problems in E-6. But congrats to Bruce for winning 5 rounds.

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r=100#indextop

[oldskool]

I just found a pic of the 1971 Indy H/S class winner. It is the "White Lightning" '71 Bird, driven by Max Sterling. He had at least 2 big Pontiacs, which were also named "White Lightning". The '62 was a nat record holder. Don't know about the '61.

I've posted pics of the H/S RU at Indy '71. It's the "Acre Maker" '71 Bird, driven by Gary Moore. I've probably already posted pics of the big Pontiac "Acre Maker", in this thread.