Quote:
Originally Posted by Billy Nees
The biggest issue that you're going to have in building the "cheapest" Pontiac combo is going to be finding a body. Where are you going to find a "cheap", decent (not needing to spend 5K and a year in body shop prison) car?
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Yeah, that's a good point.
My thought is that anybody who'd attempt to build a really CHEAP Pontiac powered Stocker, would have all the basic skills to build a car from the ground up.
For example: My neighbor is a long time Pontiac guy. He's built & raced quite a few Pontiac bracket cars, including a couple that went well into the nines. He also restores old Pontiacs, including complete frame-off builds. He can do just about everything, including building the engine. If I had the money, he'd probably be all in on building a Stocker. Another Pontiac neighbor would also help. There are probably Pontiac friends all over the country who could get together on a Stocker project. Some of the Pontiac clubs probably have members who would enjoy a Stocker club project.
Our local track don't run Stock. So, we'd have to tow several hundred miles, to run 'em. Would have to be a dual purpose car, running mostly local bracket races, to justify having a Stocker.
There was a family in a nearby city with the last name Cardwell. They had several competitive cars, for years. Many of the older div 4 guys here will remember them. You can still find their name on some of the DRC race result lists. One brother's name was Ronnie, the other Doug.
The reason I mention them is because they built a '69 350HO Tempest, as a Stocker. Don't have a clue why( I think I'll ask 'em), since they were always Chevy guys. I have the dyno sheet showing that it made 434hp. Anyhow, after it was built, it didn't show enuff potential for them, only running mid 12's, before doing any serious tuning & tweaking. Had they known anything about Pontiacs, they would have chosen a better combo.
So, they sold it to a local Chevy bracket racer. He immediately wound it up too high & broke a stock rod. He had another short block built, & got it running, then put it up for sale, That's when I bought it, for $7k, in 2009.
Had 2 bracket cars. Bought a 7.3 diesel crew cab dually, & a 2-car gooseneck, & planned to race a lot at our local track, in 2010. But, our local track did not open at all in 2010.
So I sold the truck & trailer. Sold the Tempest to my Pontiac neighbor, and sold my other bracket car as a roller. I assumed my local track was history, just as most of the other tracks we use to race are.
I began foolin around with a little dirt racing, at our local track. Then the drag strip opened back up. Kept running for a few years, so I decided to put another bracket car together. The neighbors helped & it would have been ready for the 2017 season. So, I bought a nice open car trailer & a used 2500 HD GMC, & was ready for 2017.
But, the 2 track owners had a fallin out, and the track was sold to a bank, at auction. No racing in 2017. So, I sold my '68 Bird as a roller. The track is on good river bottom land. So, I assumed it would be sold & farmed. Not so. One of the former owners bought it back, & resumed racing.
So, I bought an '80 Bird, & put my 455/TH400 in it. Hope to make a few passes this year. The only reason I'm telling all this is to let ya'll know a little more about me. I'm not some flake trying to impress a bunch of serious racers.
Below are some pics of the '69 Tempest, as it was when I bought it, then as it looked after my neighbor did a frame-off rebuild into a sort of a modified "ET" tribute car. For those who don't know, the ET was a prototype of a car that was never put into production. It is said to be the forerunner of the Judge. It was to be on a basic Tempest/Lemans body, and use a 350HO for power.
The 1st few paragraphs of this article tells the ET story.
https://silodrome.com/pontiac-gto-judge/
http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2009...ontiac-et.html
Some here may remember the Don Turk car that was for sale, for $10,500, IIRC. That was a bargain, IMO. I think the new owner won a couple of div races with it last season. If I'd had the money, I'd have bought that car.
Anyhow, it don't have to cost a fortune to build a decent Pontiac powered Stocker. But, if you must pay to have all the work done, including $5k plus for body/paint work, then the price will obviously be high. As for the body, I figure there are still a few usable bodies for less than $5k. And if you can do all the body work, quite a bit less than $5k, will probably buy something usable. Guys here are always talkin about how Stock/SS guys should know how to work on there cars to make 'em faster. Well, I think most guys who don't have big bucks must have good car building skills, in order to build a Stocker for a reasonable price.
Hey, these are just my thoughts & opinions. And, as we all know, opinions differ.
