Pontiac Performance - Muscle Car Of The Week Episode 368

[@gmoney1592]

Man do I miss Pontiacs It’s cool that your showing some of the best that Pontiac has to offer so everyone can remember

[@hoss1947]

I turned 13 in 1960...what a great time to grow up and see the new factory hot rods every year.

[@rsstrazz6261]

You know it! I'm a year ahead of you. Did you & your pals ride your bikes to all the car dealers in the fall to grab all the brochures like we did? 😄

[@hoss1947]

@@rsstrazz6261 Yes we did, and on sundays we would go to the park, and watch the factory hot rods drive by....great times.

[@justinsanders2705]

My favorite car of all time will always be the Pontiac Trans Am. There was just something about them that got in my blood. Bandits, Super duty, GTA,TTA,WS6. I miss Pontiac.

[@johntechwriter]

My favorite Pontiac was a friend's de-contented 1970 GTO, a total sleeper with no wings, scoops or badging, a bland beige paint job, and bench seats. But the power train was the 400-series high-po V8 with posi and a four on the floor. That thing was EVIL.

[@georgeguttknecht1344]

Trans Am All That Power, the suspension was built to handle all that horsepower you could do some pretty incredible maneuvers that none of the other high performance cars could contend with, when you got in a Trans Am it was part of you.!

[@mikehatcher5369]

I drove a 1970 GTO Judge to high school and owned a 69 Firebird 400, 4 speed Muncie. Both great and rare cars

[@Cheops2112]

I don’t believe you

[@rsstrazz6261]

Whoa Daddy! 11th grade my 1st car was an 8 yr. old '55 Belair Powerpak 265. My Dad's 327 3-speed column shift Impala seemed like a Caddy 🙂

[@mikehatcher5369]

Cheops2112 , sure did. I got photos from old style camera. I live in south Mississippi where a lot of old muscle cars are and we cruise the coast every October in Mississippi

[@TheVenom8343]

@@mikehatcher5369 Hell yeah brother!! Hello from Tupelo my friend.

[@johnjacobjingleheimerschmi3857]

​@@Cheops2112 That Glass Of Your's Is Always Half Empty Isn't It.

[@seangoodman665]

Pontiac had the coolest cars period. There’s been nothing like them since. My first car was a 67 Firebird, second was a 69 GTO Judge. I’ve had 3 Formulas. I miss all of them. Perhaps I need to get another one. Long live Pontiac.

[@charlesdalton985]

Thank you, as always. Especially for mentioning Bunkie Knudsen. As soon as I started the video, I hoped he’d be credited for turning Pontiac into the performance division.

[@hiitsstillme]

Great show Kevin! Detailed subject material and information about some unique Pontiac features and lore. There were some great people behind Pontiac performance: Bunkie Knudsen, Herb McKellar, John Delorean, Russ Gee, Bill Collins, Herb Adams, Jim Wagners, Ace Wilson and others. It's no wonder Pontiac was considered by many to be GM's muscle car king in their day. You could probably do another show to cover the development of Pontiac engines, such as the early Super Duty and Ram Air engines, the mysterious still-born Ram Air V program and Tunnel Port 303, and of course the SD 455.

[@thefettfan3994]

Cool show, reminds of '70's tv series and movies!!

[@kurtzimmerman1637]

I've owned a 65 gto, a 69 Bonneville, a 70 firebird, (2) 71 grand prix's and an 08 g6 gxp. really miss the old ponchos i owned ! thanks for the video.

[@dukeman7595]

The 65 GTO was the best..

[@loneggebroten2484]

Got my 66 GTO in '88 for 1000 bucks, drove it home and never let it go no matter how much I needed money.

[@dukeman7595]

@@loneggebroten2484 Smart Move.. Is it a 4-speed ?

[@johntechwriter]

I've gotta admit, I keep opening up new episodes of this series not for the cars, but for the highly informed and entertaining narration.

[@ScarlettFire341]

Ram Air IV says it all

[@dukeman7595]

The 65 GTO in my opinion was the best looking GTO of them all..

[@dukeman7595]

@@hendricksonrunner5015 You're a good son to do that for your mom. Money well spent.

[@sergiojacquez2277]

Agree 100%

[@stephenhensley7004]

Good stuff. Thank you and the Muscle Car team.

[@MrCapi55]

That Idling reminds me of WWII Fighter planes, also Idling.

[@joequillun7790]

Great episode, MC. The 60s and 70s were good times for Pontiac. Maybe not "always" the fastest, but fast enuff, with GOBs of style. We were glad to have experienced it. The youth of today, will never understand what they missed.

[@jeffreyrubish347]

I miss Pontiac! Had a '73 Grand Prix and my buddy had a '79 Trans Am. Didn't know about "The Humbler."

[@samspade8612]

Owned a '70 Orbit Orange Judge 4sp, still kicking myself for selling it. Good video.

[@MuscleCarOfTheWeek]

Oh yeah, Orbit Orange!

[@dr.jiIIaIicecooper2587]

4:53 Very True I love them all Great episode as always

[@theodoredugranrut8201]

Oh yeah, love that poncho power, thanks Muscle Car of the week

[@allantaylor3288]

I loooove them all! They were and still are great cars and amongst my favourite muscle cars.

[@kenwalz7231]

You make the best car videos! Thanks for posting, I enjoy them all. I sure would like to see the Brothers collection some day...call it a bucket list dream.

[@MuscleCarOfTheWeek]

Thanks Ken!

[@karlx-1]

Thanks for reminding us about the cool Poncho performance of the day. There was a time in the 60s, when all the GM badges (except for Caddy) were challenging each other to be the top banana in the power wars. What a time to be alive!... even if I was only a baby. :/

[@poncho6784]

Love the show, and the concept of featuring innovative design and engineering elements from a particular manufacturer.

[@MikeBMW]

Always great stuff, Kevin! Love it! Though I'm now an older Bimmer guy, I had my fun in a '68 Cougar, a '70 Z28, a '65 Corvette, a '72 LeMans, a '80 Firebird, a '94 Firebird, a '95 Firebird ... it goes on ... I always look forward to a trip down memory lane with these videos! :)

[@ronyeahright9536]

I pretty much stole my Mom's '72 Lemans as soon as I was old enough to drive. I'll always have a soft spot for them.

[@LS1007]

Awesome! 👍🏻👍🏻🇺🇸

[@guyski666]

True story. In 1982 I bought a 1978 Firebird Formula off a 62 year lady. It had 29,000 Km on it. When I asked why she was selling it she replied "Because my mother is having a tough time getting in and out of it". This was in Edmonton and I paid $6,000 for it. Copper color and was fully loaded. Apparently her husband owned Stampede Motors in Calgary, and every year she got to pick any car off the lot she wanted, and he passed away in 1978. Feels funny telling this story now that I'm 64 years old.

[@pablocespedes5880]

That last convertible with the hot cam is super cool! No rear spoiler, even nicer without it!

[@mountainclimber48]

Even though the total production numbers are considered too small in comparison to the ‘64 GTO, I still think of the ‘62-‘63 421 Super Duty as the first muscle car. It’s performance would be considered great even today, nearly 60 years later.

[@plymouth491]

I'd have to say that the first real post war muscle car was either the Oldsmobile Rocket 88 or the Hudson Hornet, followed by the Chrysler 300.

[@mountainclimber48]

I don’t necessarily disagree, they were big V8s in midsize cars. But they didn’t have the compression or high lift cam from the factory like the SD. However in modified trim they were awesome in early NASCAR.

[@plymouth491]

@@mountainclimber48 The 1956 Chrysler 300 met those qualifications, which was the reason that, when properly equipped, it was the first car to beat the one horsepower per cubic inch benchmark. Even if you don't count that one, the Dodge and Plymouth Max Wedge cars were certainly up to par. www.hagerty.com/media/market-trends/muscle-cars-before-the-gto/

[@joequillun7790]

You guys could go back even further, and bring up the Duesenberg. Guaranteed to do 100 MPH...in the 30s.

[@plymouth491]

@@joequillun7790 Also very true. I don't usually include those cars, though, because they weren't anything resembling affordable, and I normally only look at post-war cars.

[@AccordionJoe1]

I had a 1970 GTO and, at the time, thought it was incredibly fast. But a Mustang or Camaro right off the showroom floor today will blow the doors off the quickest GTO from the muscle car era.

[@nickw7321]

Great show, really like the narration. Keep up the great work.

[@xr8rick]

As always, great content, well presented. Loved it.

[@rightlanehog3151]

Very educational.

[@kimzajicek7493]

Had a 70 ram air 3 w 3.90 and 4 SPD. Great car , handled well w away bar and interior was nice than most....also had 68 fire bird w RA 4 insane power and tough even w traction bars to hook up....loved Pontiacs....

[@stevenhagebusch9561]

As a pontiac performance guy as in tri power and the 421 s.d. stuff i hate the fact GM killed off the last real performance company they had....the G8s a great platform to build killer cars from.....but guess its water under the bridge.....people got to safe more of em so the company isnt forgotten like cord nash willys tucker and so many other companys that shuttered as yrs past.....its sad you only covered 10 but the 421 S.D.s the v.o.e. gto option and the hood tach has always been a special thing the company did pushing the envelope more then big wigs would knowingly allow.....kinda being the black sheep of the family so to say....but so many other cool things pontiac did many people dont know about....like the banshee concept car the ohc6 n the late 60s not a power house but ahead of the curve in ohc engines at the time or the sohc a dohc 389 and 421s in 63 that never made it past testing due to thrown timing belts at 7500 rpm or the 6 barrel carb when G.M. outlawed multi carbs on cars after 66 except the vette...didnt make to production either.....would love to see more company/model specific vids

[@breezy0037]

I was born 25 years too late!! What I wouldn't give to be in my early 20s back then with a huge stack of cash knowing what I now do about the old girls.

[@terryschnereger8531]

I was born 1974 just the tail end of an era. So, I couldn't witness them being built new but I still remember seeing alot of them on the road, tv shows, and movies back in the day as I was growing up. I'm 45 now and bought my very first car that I've owned since summer 1995, a 74 Charger that I've restified on my own.

[@toomanyhobbies2011]

Got a '66 Tri Power GTO with 3.55 gears in 1972. After a rebuild in '74, it went 12.9 at 110mph with slicks and a better driver than me. Without slicks and me driving, it did 14.1 at 110mph. Total investment: $1500.

[@johnjacobjingleheimerschmi3857]

Nothing Sounds Like A Pontiac At Idle!

[@scootosan]

I did not know of the Humbler Exhaust. Looking forward to the future episode after that car is completed

[@paullacey2999]

Such a sporty brand,sorely missed.

[@gtodriver341]

I cherish my ‘70 GTO convertible. RAIII, 4 sp (originally, now Tremec 5 sp with OD) pepper green with saddle interior and white top. Not a judge, but has a wing and Eyebrow stripes

[@jaypatterson6007]

I'm surprised you didn't mention the late 70's Trans Am's. Even with the detuning and all of the emissions stuff, you could get a 79 TA with the Pontiac 400 that would do 14s in the quarter mile - Bone Stock. That's not much different than the HOs from 73 and 74 that did get a mention.

[@cali2468]

Late 70's T/A was no match for a 1971-1974 H.O. or S.D. '71 & 72 H.O.'s ran high 13s @ 101-103 with the '73 SD slightly faster. Much better cam and the cylinder heads were based on the RA-IV.

[@rickj6048]

Great video. I just found your channel and subscribed. Not to nitpick but all 69 era GTO 400's (except for the 2 bbl 265 hp option) had 10.75 compression not 10.5. 7:56

[@ethelbarton6668]

Humbler exhaust ? please show pictures and diagrams. what was the mechanism ?

[@michaelmarks5012]

Those hood tachs were certainly cool but had a propensity to let water in them & fog up.

[@kenzaccaria7763]

What is the brothers collection you refer to ?? My 69 GTO ram air was great

[@hardwurk2012]

I love pontiac!!

[@quincee3376]

I'd love a 73 Trans Am 455.

[@sergiojacquez2277]

Quincee 33 Great choice. I'm 60 and had my 73 SD-455 4sp red Buccaneer since i was 19 i bough it used back in 79 and pretty much have rebuilt everything on it and still love it.

[@quincee3376]

@@sergiojacquez2277 omg. Wow ... nice!! The last great year of great performance. Plus it had the Endura nose. Never hated the 74's or newer but give me a 70 to 73 . So u got it in lste 70s? Was there many miles on it?

[@akajd5907]

☝️👍✊🤙👌👏What else is there to say about Pontiac? ❤️Pontiac forever..... 🇺🇲Stay well. Go in peace.

[@jasonstewart8973]

I miss em to man they made bad ass muscle cars I love this one .hell I love em all.the wrong one got canceled

[@leonardwashington9997]

Those were the days..!! Its so boring these days are.really love this show!!

[@romeotango58]

I owned a '69 Ram Air IV Firebird, VERY QUICK!!!!

[@gelandewagen4376]

all cars as always super and like put bro

[@stevecarmack6267]

Great video!

[@josephsperrazza3082]

I can recall buying my GTO Used for 350.00 , my neighbor sold his judge for 1200.00 , my Trans Am bought for 800.00 , A Hemi sold for 1200.00 Well that was the good old days of high Gas prices 95 cents , .

[@guyski666]

I pumped gas as a first job late 60's. 35 cents a GALLON - a CANADIAN GALLON :)

[@josephsperrazza3082]

@@guyski666 Used to work at a dealership as a teen on the back lot called the bull pen , the sales men gave it that name due to the bull when it came to trade in time.Rattle traps nothing but Rattle traps.

[@redlion9199]

When I started driving gas was 34 cent's a gallon, before the gas shortage. My Dad was pissed!!!! He said there was no shortage and we were being screwed!!!! What do you all think!!!!!!! Look at gas now a days so poorly blended. A carburator car in hot weather vapor Lock's from crappy gas.

[@josephsperrazza3082]

@@redlion9199 My dad had a full service Gas Station / before they became convenient stores Just cigarettes and sodas , And he stated it's all due to the Forigen Influence of everybody should drive a Volkswagen,. He stated if you notice it was mostly College kids driving smaller cars , that went to Europe for breaks and came back with the Volkswagen idea ,. Most people still drove large cars , Older cadallic, the new Chevy Caprice, The Large Dodge , Then Trucks became a trend after the pinto trend and the Vega trend faded out.

[@louiskats5116]

Goodday Kevin, Love my Poncho, debating if I should buy my friends, 1968 Pontiac Bonneville. 428 cubic inch HP , auto with all the bells & whistles. It's a 2 door hardtop, straight as a dye out of New Mexico, number matching one owner car with all documentations. Abit of patina on the paint, but whilst been transported to Australia the shipper pierced the fuel tank with a forklift blade. It has been garaged last 13 years & my mate wants $ 25K Aussie for it. I have to find a fuel tank, he has tried all these years but hasn't been lucky to find a tank. What do you think, including everyone out there in Poncho land. Your number 1 Fan in Australia Louis Kats from Melbourne Australia ☺ 👍 ❤

[@terryschnereger8531]

Now let's see a feature on Buick, and Olds.

[@ahack14]

I’m a LS guy, but when I build a old engine. It’ll be a Pontiac

[@bgh70]

SD 455 dry sump oiling system?

[@ONTHEEDGEFRED]

Yes Sir, check out KZbin 455 super duty stories and you can hear all about it. They did not come from the factory with it, but the blocks were tooled up to accept the parts and make it happen.

[@trackpackgt877]

Yeah I had a 98 LS1 T-top Trans Am for a little while bought it to flip and Pontiac built good fast cars even in 98 it's a real shame they don't make cars anymore GM needs to reopen the Pontiac division and make a modern Trans Am with a big V8 a 6-speed manual

[@24revealer]

I wonder why the Pontiac Rally 1 rims are never mentioned?

[@MH-53E]

That was a good one TKO...

[@mynameis9057]

So what was the "Humbler" anyway,was it a factory cutout? I wish Pontiac kept the 428 for more performance oriented applications,built correctly that was a hell of a screaming engine!

[@quincee3376]

Another cool vid !

[@HueGWang]

Jim Rockford would have loved this. 835OKG

[@peterhogan9537]

unleaded gas was not mandatory until 1975, these cars ran on regular leaded, because there was no cadlitic converter.

[@peterhogan9537]

I;m talking about the 73 T/A.

[@davidress8063]

With insane horsepower levels being all the rage today, I am really surprised GM hasn't brought Pontiac back. Of course, theyd probably be killed off by the bleeding hearts, etc. But, then again, 700 to 1000 hp new sleds are all over the net with no signs of slowing down, so....... Lol.

[@johntechwriter]

The current horsepower binge won't last. All that power is useless on public roads and the assholes who buy them for bragging rights will be busted by the downturn in the economy. And moreover, all the safety nanny software in the drivetrain plus the unavailability of a manual shift transmission removes the joy of driving a powerful car. Give me a '69 440 Road Runner with four on the floor any day over these Demons or Hurricanes or whatever the hell they are called.

[@231mac]

Haha! My 'like' was the 455th!

[@edstransitscott9186]

Great

[@broncorickenback1149]

I still have my 71 GTO

[@Richaag]

0:53 11 to 1 compression... and that is why these motors made so much power. Fast forward a decade and they were reduced to emissions laden, low compression garbage courtesy of government regulations.

[@byronmcelfresh2380]

Remove the epa crap, and even with too low of compression they were still 13 second cars

[@billydee9399]

Yinz forgot the T-37

[@tuanh_duong]

I still believe that GM could have made the Pontiac brand a competitor to Dodge.. a damn shame that the stars weren't aligned

[@wkanost]

“Give me your tired, your poor, your Ram Air IV yearning to breathe free!” Now that is American freedom!

[@clayton5584]

God I miss my TA

[@byronmcelfresh2380]

Pontiac was the best engines, best designed cars of thier day. Thanks Kenyon bashard, you finished killing the best car made. Of course bean counters at GM screwed up dropping the best V8 GM ever made, the Pontiac 400.

[@legobuildingsrewiew7538]

Why is this exact video uploaded on 2 channels?

[@BubbaSmurft]

Why don't you go to them and read the ' description?

[@daryllect6659]

Pontiac? Performance? *_Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!_*

[@maxthe222]

Oh that's cute, he thinks some other American made car were better performing than any Pontiac of the same year...

[@daryllect6659]

@@maxthe222 ...Uh, the MoPars would run _circles_ around the Pontiacs.

[@maxthe222]

@@daryllect6659 bahaha a Mopar can't even go in circles, they don't turn! Oh let's look at a 440 6-pack contrasted to a Ram Air IV. You motor is bigger, heavier, and more inefficient. Your car weights more and handles like a boat, which it is. R/A IV make the same if not more power in a smaller motor in a lighter car that turns. What is there to say? The hemi? Oh boy can't wait to rebuild the motor after every race since it was so unreliable

[@daryllect6659]

@@maxthe222 _"...a Mopar can't even go in circles."_ Yeah. Tell that to Richard Petty.

[@maxthe222]

LOL that's not a turn that's basically a straight road, you ever try taking a corner in a Mopar? Doesn't exactly turn now does it?

[@biggerdaddy2]

Always loved a hot poncho