Pontiac Read End Upgrade Planning and Parts Acquisition! To Jegs!

Well despite the fact that almost everyone thinks I'm nuts about trying to make a 350 Pontiac in a 1968 Pontiac LeMans run a 12 flat, we're still staying the course on this Pontiac build! Time to solve another piece of the puzzle, this time it's the Pontiac 8.2 rear end, and what rear end gears we need to put in there. Oh, and making sure we have a fully functioning posi trac or in Pontiac terms Safe-T-Track rear gears.
So, doing the math on the back of a napkin at lunch, I think I've got this figured out. Guessing this car will be around 3800 pounds, we're aiming for around 400hp, factor in the size of the tire, what approximate RPM we'll be finishing the quarter at... that gives us our 4.11 rear end gear. Perfect, off to Jegs 11th Ave store to talk with "Uncle Terry" of Street Racing Channel and The Old Man's Garage fame to secure the parts we need!
Almost everyone will tell you the answer to how to make a Pontiac 350 fast is to throw it away, and drop in a Pontiac 400 or Pontiac 455, or heaven forbid something from the Bowtie Boys! That's certainly the easy way to do it, you'll find vastly more support for a 400 Pontiac or a 455 Pontiac, but why do things the EASY way? With a good gear, a solidly built 350, a little bit of weight savings, and a good tail wind... I think we'll trip ourselves a low 12.. maybe even a 12 flat! We're sure as heck going to try!

[@haroldcaldwell2225]

Fiberglass bumpers maybe think about glass doors also

[@vettegreaser6590]

Spot on,Austin. Love the realism here. Bought my 70 Corvette that sat in a pole barn for 28 years. So far I’ve replaced the entire brake system, master cylinder, line, hoses, calipers, pads. The fuel system, new gas tank and internals, lines, hoses. I’ve had her two years. I work on it as I can in my driveway. Many factors involved, weather, funds, work, and family. I just keep plugging away as I can. I’m always trying to score parts on the cheap. Checking CL, FMP and eBay. I scored Hooker ceramic coated headers for $200 that sell for almost $1200. I have to keep her as cheap as possible. Unfortunately any part that’s for a Corvette is ridiculously expensive even small plastic interior parts

[@GrandPitoVic]

It isn't cheap brother lol. Anyone that does this knows well. I have 4 grand in my engine and I'm not done yet. I'm am doing like you. I am building what I want. I'm not settling. I can't afford 7 grand for a new Ls3 so I started out with the block and went north lol. Block is finally done and now onto the heads. Keep it going brother.

[@nigelpowles369]

love the whole project idea, not everyone wants a blown 1000 hp STREET car, keep the videos coming. You dont know how lucky you are to go down the road to see Uncle Terry and shop as easy as you do. In Australia its not so easy and cost is crazy

[@rolliefoster2837]

Love this content, man - I have traded, modified, & upselled for a solid 4 years to do a car for my gearhead daughter - probably have a solid $25,000-30,000 of parts in the garage & still not at a point where I think we're close to start assembly - you are keeping it 'real'...

[@davidbisnette7673]

Thanks for emphasizing how much time it actually takes to get anything done in a project

[@VATION3RD]

I wish we had a local Jegs here in Mississippi

[@SammyKurts-ku2ht]

Keep going bro!!! Im down for the ride ! Much respect from Baltimore

[@WiSeNhEiMeR-1369]

= MEMORIAL Day Weekend = mow - Mow - MOW = 3 1/2 acres of "FUN" COOP ...

[@HeadFlowInc]

You’ll have to know the “converter contribution” aka slippage to estimate top end rpm. 400hp crank is only +- 308 wheel hp with an unlocked converter. Which equals maybe a 13.50 @100 mph 4.11 x 100 x 336= 138,996/28”= 4932 rpms ZERO slippage. Let’s assume the converter adds 10%, 4932 x 1.10= 5425 rpm. Be careful not to run outta gear before the finish line. 🏁

[@deanefoxsr5732]

Just keep swimming Austin we know your pain 😂

[@jesseduke694]

I must say i am skeptical of 12 sec 1/4 mile with a car that heavy & from a pontiac 350. But i do enjoy seeing you take on the challange!

[@HeadFlowInc]

It would be much cheaper to build a 455 to run fast in a heavy car. I wish you could still get the Pontiac 383 kit for the 350; it was offered by Pacific Coast Pontiac iirc back in the early 2000’s. The Pontiac 383 used a 4.00” stroke crankshaft 😎

[@AutomotiveAdventuresWithAustin]

Definitely appreciate you guys paying attention to this project build, we've got a whole lot of work ahead of us for sure! Since you're in the "head game" yourselves, have you done any semi serious porting jobs on these types of Pontiac heads to see what kind of CFM you can get? That's certainly going to be one of the biggest challenges since we aren't throwing cubic inches at it!

[@HeadFlowInc]

@@AutomotiveAdventuresWithAustin The oem d-port heads are limited to around 250-260 cfm do to the thin spots in the ports, core shift and back side coolant deterioration in the coolant passages making it dangerous to get aggressive. * Back in the day getting 270+ was done but has to be carefully monitored with a sonic depth gauge/meter to avoid holes. Torque is your biggest friend with a Pontiac, like building a fast Train! 👍😎

[@gilbertwashburn7095]

Back in 1979 I built a 69 Camaro drag car it had a four link a Dana it was tubbed big tire turbo 400 reverse manual valve body stall converter power plant was 421 Pontiac Super Duty dual quad yeah all my friends thought I was nuts people at the track freaked out in big gold leaf letters on the rear quarter panels said chief I was Big Chief way before Big Chief you know what I'm saying the fastest past that ever made was a 1023 pretty good I thought my Chevy buddies hated it I wanted to be different I guess that was different all right have a great day I love Pontiacs custom fender well headers that was a lot of work I was young and ambitious ran on race gas high compression have a great day I'll keep watching the progress I'm old now I can't build cars anymore but I can sure enjoy this channel

[@lonnyself3920]

oh come on 350 Pontiac in a fairly light body making boat loads of torque lol 12 with a shot of NOS all day just remember bob has all the tricks in that machine shop to make the 350 a monster on the cheep for the body start cutting and get that hole saw working . lol

[@wilga80]

Have a good weekend Austin.

[@brianblithe2271]

Jegs is owned by greenbriar equity now, if you dont know thats the fourth global company buying up automotive parts and tool companies. You do know whats going on as we speak right, they have even caught complete counterfeits with (only left american part makers small but great businesses) names actually on them. Just letting you know, i get your into high performance but just a heads up.

[@rustyrobinson8027]

👍🇺🇸

[@hydroy1]

With no NO-2 juice just motor with 11"x 28" slicks----- your lookin at 13:40s ET with 4:11 gears, even if you use the cam I told you about. Add a 100hp shot of juice 12:90s ( MAYBE?) However, to go mid 12s you got to us 4:30s to 4:88 gears in a 3,600 pound car and the motor has to pull min of 415hp that's very hard to do unless you bore the block to 4.15 ( .030 over a 400 piston size). Remember, all them Pontiac cranks are very heavy so you got to run as much converter stall as possible to help make up for the lack of bottom end pull. You will find this out on the dyno as Pontiacs do not pull nothing under 3,200 rpm. But from 3,000 to 7,000, LOOK OUT ! as the chevy guys jaw hit the floor on the dyno. You watch, my predictions will be just about right.

[@SweatyFatGuy]

Its obvious you have never built an iron headed Pontiac that ran a decent number. There is NO way to bore a 350 block to the 455 bore of 4.15, not enough meat in it, if you get REALLY lucky a 350 might go to 4" but usually they won't. I've never seen one that did. The standard 350 bore is 3.875, that is damn near 0.300" to go 4.15, its not happening, the block would lose all its structural integrity. Pontiacs are ALL bottom end engines, including the 350, he can spin maybe 6300rpm if he gets some forged rods, then the heads are going to be done, even on a 350. A big stall wastes all the power a Pontiac makes, so does a cam larger than 240@.050. 4.30 to 4.88 gears are going to make it run out of RPM around the 660 to 800ft mark and he won't get close to the 12s with those gears. He will be VERY lucky to get 220cfm from his porting, going more than that takes a lot of time and effort. If you are building Pontiacs and spinning them to 7000 with 4500 stalls and 4.88 gears, you are probably spending twice as much and going around two seconds slower on the motor than I have with a highway gear and a 2400 stall shifting at no more than 6000. Thats what all the guys I met who did their engines ran, and they had to spray a 250 shot to run what mine did through the mufflers with a 3.08 to 3.42 gear. Pontiac engines are NOT rpm engines, the weight of the crank is not a detriment, because they are NOT small chevy. If you build a Pontiac like a chevy, you will spend a lot and go slow.

[@mark8lifestyle322]

Techno Fest?

[@AutomotiveAdventuresWithAustin]

Yes Sir!

[@andrewstoffel1170]

Expensive? Try this I Europe and you’ll find out what expensive is!

[@danlaperuta6916]

You must be new to the Pontiac world.There are guys running 12 second passes with 301 Pontiacs, and few mid eleven second passes with stock -headed 350 P and Steve Caldwell s pump gas 455 powered 72 Ventura runs 8.80s on juice with 350 rear gears

[@danlaperuta6916]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/mIbcknqihr2olc0si=A6Zb_h_2DZOr7l21

[@SweatyFatGuy]

That silver and blue Ventura of Steve's is a beast, he runs over large bumps most times he launches it (wheelstands). Getting a 350 in a nearly full weight A body to run low 12s will take a lot, but he could lighten it like I have with my 68 LeMans. With home ported 62 heads and 4.10 gears, its going to be a tall order.. but a 68 LeMans is surprisingly light, especially compared to the 70-72 A body. It can be done, but its going to take a lot of work refining everything.

[@vr6swp]

Former Hot Rod mag editor Pat Ganahl did a kind of weird tech article for the mag, where they took a stock Coupe DeVille (16.07 @ 83.90) and made it run 13.55 @ 100mph without touching the engine. They cut something like 2,000 lbs off the car. Ganahl called it free horsepower. Article is called Caddy Hack and was published in the February 87 issue of HRM. So yeah, Austin, if you want to make a heavy car go fast with a limited amount of HP, you'll want to look at lightening it up some. I think it was Colin Chapmann that said "To increase speed, add lightness"

[@hk45c62]

I don't think Austin wants to kill Uncle Bob by taking advice from crazy HOT ROD MAGAZINE editors.

[@vr6swp]

@@hk45c62Guess you formulated this comment without reading the HRM article. Your opinions mean zero

[@hk45c62]

@@vr6swp, depending on which drag and drive class you competing in, the vehicle must adhere to rules , and if those drag and drive events are held at an NHRA affiliated race track, your vehicle will be tech inspected per NHRA rules. No formulation needed.

[@SweatyFatGuy]

@@vr6swp yes the caddy hack article showed that losing weight works as good as making more power, but at a certain point losing more costs just as much as making more power. Also I don't think he wants to drive around on a bare frame with part of a cowl attached to it. I have the original issue in my collection from my subscription back then. I pulled 800lbs out of my 68 LeMans, including the front bumper, radiator support, heater/AC box, and lots of other parts. I replaced them with aluminum and fiberglass. My 68 is a bit beyond the one Austin has, but it also has a Butler engine that is considerably larger than a 350.. but I tell everyone its a 326. Currently I have a factory bumper on it, but I have fiberglass parts for it too. That reminds me, I need to build a hood for it. My 68 would be hard pressed to run a 12 with a 62 headed 350 in it. Funny enough, I have an untouched completely stock 350 from a 72 LeMans and some 62 heads sitting here, been thinking they should go in my 72 Ventura to see how it runs vs Austin's car.

[@WiSeNhEiMeR-1369]

HOWdy AUSTIN, ... PONTIAC = GM 8.2" not Not NOT my favorite Buick, Oldsmobubble, Pocho REAR-END ... Thanks COOP ...

[@ricknorris6943corvair]

Dang, no guns allowed at JEGS?? Can't shop there....

[@AutomotiveAdventuresWithAustin]

They already have enough issues with hooligans in that neighborhood... or maybe it's BECAUSE they don't allow them there ;)

[@gatorred157]

i was checking a guy dvd collection on ebay for sale how about run your car on water this guy made a generator thing that change water to burnable hydrogen! is this worth 9 dollars? or 11 dollars for Nikola Tesla 325 paton's & invetins & work & some books he had! i getting sick of electric house bills & gas use i got paid for solar & it just not enough with ac & stuff! that why Nikola Tesla & his work!

[@gilbertwashburn7095]

Forget about 12:00 you'll run 11s easy

[@SweatyFatGuy]

4.11 might be a bit deep, but a 28" tire would make up for some of it, and probably run like a 3.70 with a 26" or 27" tire. Its definitely too much gear for a 455, but the 350 has a little more RPM capability and a lot less torque. Don't touch the short side of the port. I'll be interested in seeing what it runs. Might end up stuffing one of my 350s with a pair of 62s in my 72 Ventura to see what I can get out of it. Stock bottom end will drop the compression almost a full point compared to even an old TRW forged slug, so yours could have a little more power than mine. I probably won't be hauling the 72 to Sikeston, planning to bring the 68. We can line them up if you get it running in time, I will give you a few lengths.... for science.