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#1 |
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Here's some '72 A-body pics.
The 1st is a clipping which shows that Charlene Wood won a race, driving the "Tons-a-Fun" '72 Lemans wagon. The 2nd is of the Wood '72 GTO Stocker. Charlene said she drove it some, too. The 3rd is the "Pontiaction" '72 SS/JA GTO. The 4th is of the Pontiac sponsored '72 SS GTO that Truman Fields drove. He set at least 1 nat record with it. Pic 5 is of the multi nat event winning '72 GTO record holder that belonged to Sonny Ray. Pic 6 is of Sonny's GTO, with a new paint job & driver. It was David Rampy's 1st nat event win, at the '83 Cajuns. We attended the '78 Cajuns & got a close-up pic of Sonny & his Goat. Pic 7 is the '72 GTO that Todd Hoven drove to the G/SA class win at '08 Indy. He qualified #7 at that race. Todd also had a nat event win in the car. Pic 8 is of the the White bros & their Indy class winning SS '72 GTO. These bros also ran some strong Stock class Pontiacs. Pic 9 is Larry Maxwell in his '72 Lemans Stocker, back before he sold it. It qualified near the top of the list, quite often. He has switched over to SS, running a 350 Pontiac powered '68 GT Bird. His Lemans is still active, under the new owner. Last edited by oldskool; 09-16-2021 at 04:30 PM. |
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#2 |
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'73 brought a couple of more big changes to Pontiac.
(1) The SD455 Pontiac engine. (2) The complete redesign of the A-body. Quite a few drag racers welcomed the SD455. John Clegg bought a stick Forny & won class at Indy that year, with it. As most here know, he later switched it over to SS. They recently updated it & J.B. Clegg has run some mid 9's with it. Not sure, but it MAY be the quickest regular SS class Pontiac powered car ever. Another famous '73 SD455 car is the Herslow & Morlock E/SA T/A, "Celluloid Hero". It was the SS&DI "Cover Car", in Mar '76. At some point, it was switched over to SS. It was a multi year nat record holder, which was later raced by Phil Szupka. Bob Michael built & raced an SD455 powered '73 Formy, which he sold to Don Kennedy. Jack Mullins also built & raced one, which he sold to Glen Tinsley. Another famous mag "Cover Car" was the depiction of a '73 SD455 powered GTO. The mag named it "Car of the Year". But, the SD455 engine was NOT released to the public in a GTO. Only available in Trans Am & Formula Birds. However, for some reason, NHRA also allows the SD455 to be run in several A-body models & a Grand Prix. I've posted a pic on this site, of the H-O Racing Specialties newsletter which featured a Clegg '73 GP, which ran an SD455, for a time. There have been a few guys who ran an SD455 engine in a GT car. I think 2 of those guys were Lynn McCarty & Don Kennedy. But hey, those SD455 parts are just too rare & expensive to race, nowadays. Right now, the only active SD455 powered Stocker I know of is the '73 Formy that belongs to Michael Brand. He just switched it over in the last couple of years. His wife does the driving. A 455 D-port powered '73 Formy that runs real good has changed hands a few times in recent years. It started out in Fla. Michael Brand helped get it goin. It's now being raced out on the West Coast, by C.W. Hoefer. The '73 A-body cars were NOT very popular, either on the street or track. The only serious lookin '73 GTO Stocker I have any pics of belonged to Mick Leiferman. Here are 9 pics of '73 Birds. |
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#3 |
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Only posting 1 pic of a '73 GTO & 1 of a '73 GP. So, I'll post some more '73 Bird pics.
Notice in pic #6, the name Osteen, on the rear. IIRC, James Osteen did some wrenchin on some of the Gay Pontiac drag cars. Gay Pontiac was in Southeast TX, as was Glen Tinsley. So, it makes sense that it was the same Mr. Osteen that was helping Glen. Googled the name & found this. "...He worked as chief mechanic and shop foreman for Gay Pontiac for 30+ years. His career highlights include his position as crew chief for Gay Pontiac Racing Team..." Last edited by oldskool; 09-16-2021 at 09:23 PM. |
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#4 |
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I suppose the big change at Pontiac, for '74, was moving the GTO to the X-body platform. They also reduced the engine size to 350 cubes.
The Bird bumpers were changed, front & rear, to meet federal regulations, IIRC. For some Birds, A-body, & larger cars, the D-port 400's & 455's were still available. The SD455 was still an option for Birds. . Those '74 400's have been very competitive, thru the years, & still are. The strongest '74 400 powered Stocker I'm aware of was the Mulry & Aceves Bird. Ran a sec & a half & more under, qualified #1, many times, and set a record in J/SA & K/SA as a Formy, & in L/SA in T/A trim. The SD455 powered H-O Racing Specialties T/A set the SS/KA record in '77. If I have the facts straight, Glen Tinsley ran it for a while, then John Clegg got it. J.B. Clegg raced it for a while, with an auto trans. Then they updated it & switched to a 4-speed. J.B. got it down into the mid 9's. Don't know if their '73 or '74 has turned the quickest time. Thru the years, there have been lots of A-bodies & Birds run a '74 400 engine, in Stock & SS. Carroll Warling held the SS/MA nat record for a while, a few years back, with his '74 A-body. There is still quite a variety of '74 Pontiac powered Stock & SS cars in competition. There have been so many, I may split 'em up into 3 posts, to get all the pics in. Will post 9 Bird pics 1st. Will put X-body cars on the 2nd post, then the A-bodies & others. If I can't come up with 9, I may find enuff Bird pics to fill up the 9 pic limit. Last edited by oldskool; 09-17-2021 at 06:45 AM. |
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#5 |
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Occasionally, I run across a Pontiac that just deserves special recognition. This is definitely one of those cars. It's the Mulry & Aceves '74 Firebird Stocker.
Back in the early 2000's, this car qualified #1 at lots of races. Sometimes it would be more than 1.5 seconds under it's index. Here's an example from a nat event at Vegas, in '04. It was #1 @ 1.544 under ! Notice also that Scott Burton was not far behind, @ #3, & John Schloe was #7. https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2004#indextop In '04, it qualified #4 at Indy. 9 Pontiac Stockers qualified in the top half of the field that year ! https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2004#indextop It also got the K/SA class win that year. https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2004#indextop BTW, that was an All-Pontiac class final, against Don Holmes' '77 Bird ! K/SA index was 12.95. Mulry ran 11.562. Holmes ran 11.571. https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2004#indextop On May 17, 2003, the car set both ends of the K/SA nat record. On July 5, 2003, it set both ends the L/SA record, this time in full Trans Am trim. And, on May 1, 2004, it set both ends of the J/SA record. That Bird has quite a record of performance ! ![]() Last edited by oldskool; 09-17-2021 at 05:24 AM. |
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#6 |
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I'm gonna split this post up between '74 A-body & '74 X-body Pontiacs.
The most popular '74 A-body Stockers I'm aware of are the Grand Am models. The 2 that have been active the longest are probably the one raced by Don Elgin, up in div 6, & the one formerly raced by Don Turk. Another name linked to a '74 GA is Mike McGinley. Right now, I can't remember the history of that car. I suppose it could be the same car that Don Turk later owned. Sorry, I just can't remember the entire history of every Pontiac class car I've heard of. Maybe some of you guys who know, can fill in some of the history of these cars I miss or get wrong. Anyhow. at the 2003 US Nats, the car won class. https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2003#indextop It was #40, in '04. Was the quickest car in it's class, but got a red light in class elims. https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2004#indextop At Indy '05, it was #35 & won class. https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2005#indextop https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2005#indextop In '09, it was #30 & won class again, this time with a holeshot. https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2009#indextop https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2009#indextop In 2010, I found a race where Mike was driving something else & Don Turk was driving a '74 GA. They were also listed as being from the same town, So, it's a good bet that it's the same car, passed on from Mike to Don. The next owner has also won races with it. So, it's been a strong runner, for quite a few years. In 2000, Danny Ashley is listed at #15 & as N/SA class winner, in a '74 GA. I'll take a guess & say it's the same GA. Don't know if Danny built it or bought it already set up. https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCStory.asp?ID=65596 https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCStory.asp?ID=65595 Tommy Brown still runs a '74 Lemans Stocker, out in div 7. The quickest '74 SS A-body I know of was Carroll Warling's car. It held the SS/MA nat record for a while. He's run both a Lemans & a GA nose on it. It now runs GT, with, I think, an iron head 428. At Indy 2004, it's listed as a GA, @ #21, & was the SS/MA class winner. https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCStory.asp?ID=2269 https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCStory.asp?ID=2266 I'll also mention Gary Riley's '74 Lemans wagon Stocker. He won a recent Mile-High Nats with it. As for the X-body cars, Bill Rink's GTO has to be the most famous. Ran strong for years, as a Stocker, and is still running strong, in SS. Bill has posted here that he & his GTO were responsible for the huge hp hit NHRA gave the combo, they made a big Western swing one year. Was so big that he switched the car over to SS. Has won class at Indy in SS, several times. Just found it on the 1998 Q-list at #47, & #7 in '99. https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r1999#indextop There have been several '74 GTO Stock nat record holders, thru the years. I have pics of one which had "Duttweiler Automotive" on the door. Also claimed it was a nat record holder from '91 thru '95. Al Vanis won Stock at the '74 US Nats, in a '74 Ventura. At that race, Rock Running got the O/S class win, in a '74 GTO. The Shekell bros GTO also got an Indy class win. The Jack Matyas '74 X-body was also an Indy class winner & nat record holder. The quickest Pontiac X-body Stocker is still active, & driven by Brad Koivisto. Has run some high 10's. The high hp factor has driven most away from running a '74 X-body Stocker. The '74 400 engine combos are much more competitive. Here's 5 '74 A-body & 4 X-body pics. Sometimes it hard to narrow 'em down to just a few. Last edited by oldskool; 09-17-2021 at 11:03 PM. |
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#7 |
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For '75, the SD455 was gone. The NHRA specs for the D-port 455 made it non-competitive. Don't remember ever reading about any Stock or SS car running a '75-'76 455.
The Birds still had front & rear similar to the '74 model. But, it was the 1st year of the "wrap-around" rear windshield, and there were park/turn lights in the grills, similar to those of the '74 GTO. The 400 was still fairly competitive. Ryan Warter still runs the only one I know of, in a '75 Formy. He's won several big races, including the 2018 Northwest Nats. That was an All-Pontiac final, against Randi Lyn Shipp. ![]() https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2018#indextop I've only known of one '76 Stocker. It was raced by Mike Morgan, for several years. He won the K/SA class at Indy, in 2014, running more than a sec under, in the final. Kevin Love owns the car now. https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2014#indextop I got to wondering why so few guys had run a '75 or '76. A quick look at the NHRA engine specs, on the Class Racer Info site tells why. It's compression, or rather LACK thereof. That's why there have been lots of '74 & '77 400 Stockers & almost no '75 & '76 models. If a guy decided to build a '75 or '76 Pontiac Stocker, he'd be handicapping himself, by several hp. Just not a smart thing to do. Anyhow, I'll post 8 pics of the '75 & it's wins, & one of the '76. Last edited by oldskool; 09-17-2021 at 10:19 PM. |
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