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#1 |
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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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#2 |
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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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#3 |
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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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#4 |
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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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#5 |
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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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#6 |
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That brings us up to the model year 1977. Have been lots of '77 Stock/SS Pontiacs. The '77 & '78 Birds are very similar. I've noticed that back in the early 2000's, there were quite a few Bird Stockers, listed as '78 models. In recent years, they're all listed as '77's. This is probably due to changes in NHRA hp factors for the '78 model. Anyhow, until the hp factor for the Firebird '77 180hp 400 was jacked up to over 280, the '77 Birds were real competitive. Nowadays, those '77 Birds are obviously not near as competitive as they were.
http://www.classracerinfo.com/Engine...4&MAKE=Pontiac Going back & lookin thru the DRC files for the US Nats, reveals several real competitive '77 & '78 Birds. The 1st one I see was driven by Bob Michael in '98. He was #12 & won the M/SA class. Don Holmes was #29 on that list. https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r1998#indextop https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r1998#indextop 2 of the quickest '77-'78 Bird Stockers were driven by Dave Edwards & Don Holmes. The Dave Edwards T/A may have been the same one Bob Michael ran in '98. Somebody may have posted that on the Pontiac Stocker thread. Anyhow, those 2 were near the top of the Q-list, several times. Also got several class wins. Here's an example. They qualified in the top 5, & both won their class at Indy, 2000. Notice also that there were 5 Pontiacs in the top 15, including 3 class winners. Hey, that means that Pontiac powered cars made up 1/3 of the top 15 ! Kyle Riley was also on the list, with a '77 Lemans. https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2000#indextop https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2000#indextop There were some competitive '77 Lemans Stockers, as well as a GP & a Catalina. Don Himes won the P/SA class in '03, in a '77 GP. Dave Edwards won J/SA. Scott Burton & Mike McGinley also won class that year. https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2003#indextop Some other Bird drivers I saw on the Indy Q-lists were: Dave Batta, Peter & Sal Biondo, Dave Ribeiro, & Paul Dilcher, just to name a few. I also noticed that Ryan Warter drove Bill Edgeworth's '77, in '08. Was #10 & won the K/SA class. I think that car was a nat record holder. https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2008#indextop Think I counted 12 Pontiac powered Stockers on the '04 Q-list. https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2004#indextop Mike Morgan has done good with the Sal Piacentini 350 powered '77 SS Bird, having won class & RU in class, to Bill Rink, a couple of times. Possibly the winingest SS Bird was the '78 T/A, driven by Ken Shawver, Monte Howard, & Jack Good. Ken was #1 qualifier & SS/KA class winner @ Indy, in '05 ! https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2005#indextop Last edited by oldskool; 09-18-2021 at 01:53 PM. |
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#7 |
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As mentioned, there have been some competitive '77 Lemans, GP, & Catalina models.
I mentioned the GP, driven by Don Himes, now driven by Lauren Kanuik. She's actually driving at the Dutch Classic, today, & picked up the O/SA class win. https://www.nhra.com/results/2021/lu...-eliminator/c1 Bob Michael built & raced a Lemans & a Catalina. He sold the Lemans to Dave Ribeiro. Kyle Riley drove a Lemans. I think it was one of those cars which has changed hands several times. Seems that the story has been told that Kyle's Lemans was damaged. Dean Ribeiro sold him a nice body, which he used to rebuild his Stocker. I think the Stephenson family had one, maybe the same car ? Jack Larson ended up with the Kyle Riley car. Then he sent it down to one of his kin, in Louisiana, who later passed away. Don't know who has the car now. Will put together some pics of these cars, & any other info I find. Last edited by oldskool; 09-18-2021 at 08:38 PM. |
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