We both agreed it should be close with me edging me out but we both also agree that once the Heads and CAM are changed to more aggressive ones I should be toast.

GOD BLESS AMERICAN MUSCLE LOL

 

Yeah, my spec knowledge on the old Pontiacs is a little rusty, I built that 455 back in 91', but I knew they were close to the same bore size. It looks like Pontiac did bore the 400 30 over and stroked the f#@% out the crank to get 455 cubic inches. Pretty crazy. That's why when I read about Pontiac engines way back then, I was facinated about them. Warrior Racing was a big name in the Pontiac world back then and is the only place that I could find that did work on Poncho engines. That is where my block and cylinder heads came from. Pontiac did all kind of cool things like being the first with a true "air gap" style intake which isolated the intake manifold from being splashed by the hot oil of the engine. Man, all this talk about Pontiacs and muclecars makes me want to build a GTO Judge. That's my dream muclecar - a 1969 Judge with a nasty 455 and a four speed Muncie "rock crusher". I just don't have the money for a toy like that right now.

 

That could/could not be true. Engines are like jig saw puzzles, you need all the pieces to fit right in order to have a complete sucess. I don't know how "familiar" your friend is at picking the right components that will work with each other instead of working against each other but if he does not do it right, you will still beat him even after he does the heads and cam. There are many asspects to consider when choosing parts. Your friend will also need to pick the proper stall converter for the trans depending on what cam he chooses. Intake manifold selection is also very important. For just about any street cam selection the Edelbrock Performer RPM is an awesome dual plane intake. A single plane like the Victor Jr should olny be used for serious engines and only works in the higher RPM ranges. If your friend has any questions about what to do, I will be happy to talk and give options and opinions. I built that 455 back in 91 and was my only Pontiac engine. The Poncho drained me and after it twisted my car, I sold the engine and trans. I used the money to buy a 81' Z28 and I built Chevy small blocks for the next 11 years untill I bought my first import, a Phenoix Yellow Type R Integra, in 2001. I love old American V-8's, Indians in particular.

Also, tell your friend to ditch the air shocks. They are horrible for drag racing because they really don't allow the wheight transfer needed when launching the car. It is not advised to have the rear of a powerfull muclecar "jacked up". Instead you want the car to sit as level as possible. My Camaro ran Weld Draglite wheels. They were 15X8 in the rear with a 4.5 offset. I had to roll the lip on the rear fenders but I was able to run 10 inch wide M&H Racemaster with absolutly no tire rubbing. My camaro also ran regular gas shocks on the rear with no lifting devices. The rear sat like stock with the tire and rim totally inside the fender, nothing stuck outside which gave the car a killer stance to it. The 69 Firebird will need the same as my 70' Camaro a 15X8 rim with a 4.5 offset in order to fit inside the fenderwell. Your friend will also have to roll the lip on the fender also. Just tell him to get rid of the air shocks. More horsepower makes the effect worse and your friend will never hook-up. Not to mention massive amounts of torque have been known to literaly break air shocks in two.

 

Whoa. Thanks for all the Help Hannibal. My friend and I are both passionate about our own cars and each others, But I doubt I will tell him the benefits of ditching that air shock contraption plus he told me he liked it. The only problem is that he just spent a great deal of money on corvette suspension from a ZR-1 or something eqv. He needs to make a desicison whether to ditch the air bag susp. or switch in the corvette susp.
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any advise? ( it may not make it too him but I'd like to hear it )

 

Dude, your friend is spending money foolishly. The stock setup on a first gen F-body is fine. All that is needed is the Hotchkis front and rear springs which drops the front and rear about 1.5 inches. Team that up with a full polyureathane bushing kit and body mounts, Hotchkis front and rear sway bars, Koni front and rear shocks, and the correct wheels and tires and your friend will have a Pro Touring 69' Firebird - if that's what he wants. All he would have to do to go drag is to change the shocks to drag shocks front and rear and change the rim and tire combo to something suited for drag racing. My personal favorite is the tried and true Weld Draglite. Maybe 15X3.5 up front and 15X8 with a 4.5 offset in the rear with Micky Thompson ET Street slicks. Dude, that car has the potential to be so bad a#$.

 

I feel you he has a tendency to buy these based on magazine reviews. He doesn't use the internet so everything he buys, he buys because a magazine told him they were great. He wanted to Supercharge the Pontiac 350 in his old Firebird because he read about it in a magazine so he saved up all his money and then called the company to order without reaserching whether they made a kit for a pontiac motor, which they didn't

 

That's really a crying shame. As I stated before, your friends 69' Firebird has the potential to be one bad a#% car. I say to hell with car mags. Magazines like Car Craft and Hot Rod are good for getting basic info but the real gems of information are the old school hot rodders that have actually built many sick cars in their time. That is how I learned everything I know. Back when I was around 12 - 13 years old there many older guys in the neighborhood that built some wicked hot rods. Hanging around with them gave me the knowledge to build motors and cars that performed. There was this one guy, we nicknamed him Old Man Ron because he was like in his 30's. Anyway he taught me all the basics of proper cam selection, how to install rings on pistons, and basically how to tear an engine down and build it back up. He is also the guy that helped me build my Pontiac and set the Camaro up. Like I said, if your friend has any questions - I will be happy to use my combined 15+ years of experience being around and building real American V-8's that will perform. I hate to see people spend money on crap that don't work. I also believe in spending money on good stuff that works. If your friend wants a true 12 second or faster 462 powered Firebird, I can help him out. If not, I wish him luck on whatever concotion he mixes up.