Ramon Lowe 58 Pontiac

[Paul Ceasrine]

Rich,

I was always confused with those Pontiac Combinations,

As to what combination came from the Factory, what was the Dealer Installed Option, and what came in the 'Trunk'.

Factory Camshaft Applications for the Pontiac 370
Part #521357 -------- .373"/.373" Lift ~ 252*/252" Duration ~ 38* Overlap ~ Code '357'
Part #529472 --------.407"/.411" Lift ~ 273*/282* Duration ~ 55* Overlap ~ Code '472'
Part #522869 --------.406"/.406" Lift ~ 289*/298* Duration ~ 50* Overlap
Part #524886 --------.411"/.411" Lift ~ 283*/293" Duration ~ 60* Overlap ~ Code''886'

The McKellar #6 was introduced in 1958.

The McKellar #7 was introduced in 1960 {.404"/.405 ~ 300"/304* Duration}
The McKellar #10 was introduced in 1961 {.520"/.520" Lift ~ 306*/320* Duration}

The McKellar #7 and #10 Camshafts were 'Solid Lifter' designs, but later a Hydraulic 'design' version was offered.

[FED 387]

McKellar was the engineer from Pontiac that created/designed the OHV engine for Pontiac---- he was an authority on the subject of valve train/camshafts etc... Melling provided mamy the hi-po camshafts to GM and they had the "masters"--- Might check with Melling about McKellar cams & specs--FED387

[Paul Ceasrine]

1958 Chieftain

Wheelbase = 122"
Body Length = 210"

The 'Entry Level' Pontiac for 1958

[Rich Biebel]

Originally Posted by Paul Ceasrine

Rich,

I was always confused with those Pontiac Combinations,

As to what combination came from the Factory, what was the Dealer Installed Option, and what came in the 'Trunk'.

Factory Camshaft Applications for the Pontiac 370
Part #521357 -------- .373"/.373" Lift ~ 252*/252" Duration ~ 38* Overlap ~ Code '357'
Part #529472 --------.407"/.411" Lift ~ 273*/282* Duration ~ 55* Overlap ~ Code '472'
Part #522869 --------.406"/.406" Lift ~ 289*/298* Duration ~ 50* Overlap
Part #524886 --------.411"/.411" Lift ~ 283*/293" Duration ~ 60* Overlap ~ Code''886'

The McKellar #6 was introduced in 1961.
The McKellar #7 was introduced in 1962 {.414"/.414" ~ 301"/308* Duration}
The McKellar #10 was introduced in 1961 {.520"/.520" Lift ~ 306*/320* Duration}

The McKellar #10 Camshaft was a 'Solid Lifter' design, but later a Hydraulic 'design' version was offered.

All Pontiac std production cams were hydraulics. They never offered a solid on any engine.

They did have a long list of Hi Performance parts that you could order from your local dealer if they were interested in trying to get the parts for you.

It was not always an easy deal.....

They made special exhaust manifolds along with those Mckellar cams and the additional valve train parts like springs and retainers .....

The parts were designated with a T-for trophy......and the first ones I knew about were designated T-395A and fit cars like my '58 Chieftan

Better designed high flow cast iron exhaust manifolds with dual exhaust...

With a Tri-Power and a Mckellar cam and and a set of 4.10's or 4.30's your old Pontiac would run pretty strong.....Mine went in the 14's with an AFB.....and 4.56 gears with a mostly stock exhaust system....4 speed auto...

I tried to get those T-395A manifolds for my '58 but the parts were not available by the mid 60's.....Headers tended to leak and were too noisy to me for a street car.....although when I had 4.56's you could not hear anything but the engine screaming under the hood.....

Later parts for 389's were T-425A designated........

389's ran very well.....and again with a cam and Tri-Power carbs they could put one of those big tanks in the low 14's or quicker as a street car.....

They really needed to be hot rodded a little and they improved a lot....

Do the heads......distributer and carb(s) and add some rear gears of at least 3.90's and some Sunoco 260......

[Rich Biebel]

Originally Posted by Paul Ceasrine

1958 Chieftain

Wheelbase = 122"
Body Length = 210"

The 'Entry Level' Pontiac for 1958

Mine was white with a blue cove and roof....Very nice paint done by a well known local body shop in lacquer.......I waxed it every Saturday in 1965.....I loved that car! I installed an interior from a '62 Olds Starfire and it looked much better than the factory cheap seats......

[Dan Fahey]

Did Pontiac use the same FI on the Chevy?

A friend of mine had the 327/375 back in the days.
Said the injectors got fouled up on the leaded gas.
One of the reasons the gas became unleaded.

D

[Rich Biebel]

The Pontiac F.I. unit was made by Rochester just like the Chevy so yes they were similar but did not interchange in anyway,,,,

The Pontiac unit fit Pontiac heads...had a separate water crossover manifold and a mechanical drive type distributer.

I never worked on any F.I unit Chevy or Pontiac so my knowledge about them is very limited.

The Pontiac F.I. unit I had sat in my basement for a few years until I sold it.......I recall paying less than $100 for it and selling it for about $300. I can only guess what one would sell for today....but know it must be thousands of dollars....
They used very small copper fuel lines to nozzles in the intake as I recall.....and the distributer drove a pump....but I have zero hands on knowledge here and it has been about 40 years since I even saw one !

I had friends who raced them on Chevy's and had no problem with them but you had to know what you were doing with them for sure....and they did have a bad reputation on street cars like Corvettes......The rap was that they leaked and were hard to keep in tune and caused fires......

I worked on a lot of HP cars in the old days.....Never once worked on a Fuelie Corvette and never, ever saw a F.I. Pontiac on the street...very rare units for sure....

[Paul Ceasrine]

Rich B,

Thanks for the follow up.

From what I found in an old Magazine Article.

Part I

The 1958 Bonneville was to be made available with the
* 370/300 HP ~ '3 x 2' Barrel'
* 370/310 HP ~ 'Fuel Injection'

This combination was only to be available with the Bonneville Model.

Featuring;
* 10.5-1 Compression-Ratio Cylinder Heads {65 CC}
* High-Lift Camshaft


Part II

In March 1958, an 'Extra Horsepower' Nascar Certification version of the 370 was available.

Featuring the "Tempest 395-A' code.

PK Option = $233 {Available in all Models}
* 370/315 HP ~ '4-Barrel'
* High-Lift Camshaft ~ {Dealer Installed}

PM Option = $331 {Available in all Models}
* 370/330 HP ~ '3 x 2' Barrel
* Special High-Lift Camshaft ~ {Dealer Installed}
* Special Exhaust Manifolds

The 370/338 HP 'Fuel Injection' must have been an 'over-the-counter' performance add-on.

[Rich Biebel]

The car I got the F.I. off of was a SuperChief and it was a very rare model.

It looked totally stock.....and had the F.I. emblems on the front fenders and they looked like they were factory installed...

Pontiac made 2 different wheelbase cars in '58 I believe

The Bonnevilles and Super Chiefs were the longer wheelbase models

The base model Chieftans and Star Chiefs were the shorter wheelbase.

My memory is only so good after 40 plus years...and I do think the T part number for the HP parts was for Tempest and not Trophy as I posted earlier....

My local Pontiac dealer had a real great guy behind the parts counter and he put up with me inquiring about those T-395A manifolds and tried to get them for me....

A few years later I bought a very nice '60 Catalina Convertible from him...and also went to work at that dealership as a line mechanic and was there in the mid to late '70's......Not much of a performance era,,,,I did work on a lot of TA Firebirds but never saw the Bandit....LOL The only Bandit was GM......cause they sold some real junk in that era,,,,,

[Paul Ceasrine]

Rich,

Were those 'Fuel Injection' systems 'useless' on the street.

I remember nodody wanted them, especially the guys with
the 327 'Fuelie' Corvette's.

On the 1958 Pontiac's

Chieftain, Super Chief and Bonneville all were built on the
122" Wheel-Base, but the Bonneville used the longer 211.7"
body style.

I think they could just barely fit in a 18' Depth Garage.

1958 Bonneville 'Fuel Injection'

'Fuel Injection' emblems, located on front-fenders 'above molding' and trunk-lid 'lower right side'.