Keeping the Pontiac Tradition Young & Alive

[87_FieroGT]

Interesting article on a very nice Sunbird. It's in amazing shape too. Thanks for posting that Larry.

[super]

I enjoyed the write up on the Sunbird. My friend Ben Ruwwe has an original GM book showing off all the new models Pontiac had to offer. It recently received damage when his basement flooded. Sure wish Ben better luck next time. He is really a great guy. Talk about a Pontiac nut!!! Him and his brother probably own over 50 Pontiacs. He picked up the book because he likes the newer Grand Prixs. It had a two page ad or layout for the Sunbird Formula. It had the styled steel wheels. I can scan and send to you Larry if you would like.

Believe it or not, I own an '80 Sunbird too. My wife would kill me if she new all the crap I owned. I am still not as bad as the Ruwwe boys. I picked it up this past year. It is a red 1980 hatchback with the 2.5 and automatic transmission. I am sure some have noticed I am looking for a rear bumper filler panel for the car. If I can find a fiberglass replacement, maybe the same company will offer the rear spoiler. I found as set of styled wheels.

Great little car. I would love to see more features on these little Pontiacs. I think they were a great little car in their time. Very economical!!

Jeff

[bencar]

[super]

Hi Ben,

What transmission and rear gear does your '76 carry? By the way, beautiful car you have.

Jeff

[bencar]

3:23 Posi, and a Turbo 350. See http://bencar.freeyellow.com/76TAPage.html for all the specs

[super]

Ben,

Just checked out your website. I was noticing the intake and carb set up you were running. How did you attach the shaker scoop to your T/A hood? Is it a factory shaker scoop or did you purchase an aftermarket scoop? You have a beautiful T/A.

Seems like a lot of T/A's in '76 carried 3:23 gears. I have a friend from Washington, MO that owns a 12,000 original mile '76 T/A. This car is absolutely stunning(original paint....still has the original tires, etc.). I plan on sending in some photos to Larry this spring. The only deviation from stock, which is a BIG ONE, is a 455 Super Duty engine. The engine was installed in the T/A in 1976 only after a week of its life away from the dealership. Talk about power!!! It is a black 455 4-speed car with 3:23 gears. I really like the 76 bodystyle. Steve's car was the first year for the black T/A and the last year for the 455. Neat car.

Have you ran your T/A through the 1/4-mile? If so, what kind of times did it run?

I own a '74 T/A. It is an original super duty car. I have this heavy car running 11.80's in the quarter with street tires through the exhaust. It is very streetable. I generally wake up the crowd when I take it to events. I am running the stock turbo 400 with a 3000 stall and the stock 10 bolt 8.5 rearend.

Have you ever seen the transcoops H.O. Racing made back in the 70's and 80's? I am desperately trying to locate one for my car. It will work great for intake and carb clearance. If I can not find one, I will have to find another alternative.

Thanks Ben.

Jeff

[super]

Very neat Pontiac you posted Larry. I like it because it is different and the body style is cool. The wheels look great on the car and I like the use of the rear spoiler and paint scheme.

Remember seeing 1980 sunbird racecars back in the 80's and 90's? Pete McCarthy has a few neat sunbird photos in his book. Selden owned a tube chassis Sunbird in the 80's. It was powered by a Ram Air V (yes, a ram air V). I will have to send in a picture of it. It was a sharp Pontiac. The 400 was fairly mild and the light Pontiac turned low 9's in the quarter. With one of Selden's hotter Pontiac engines, this small rocket ship could have easily ran mid 8's.

Hope to see more of these special little Pontiacs.

Jeff

[bencar]

That's a factory Hood Scoop on my T/A, and it's suspended from the underside of the Hood. While a 400, it is as potent, if not more so than the optional 455 of that year as modified. I haven't run the car since the days when it was stock, and at that time, it ran 15:5, at around 92mph in the 1/4 mile. I would assume it can do much better now, these days, due to NO money, I have avoided the Track. I do play around though with it on the street, as it witnessed by the Video clip I have on Youtube.com http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6FujwdT8gs.

[bencar]

Hmm, just tried that Link, it didn't work, so let's try that Youtibe.com Link again http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6FujwdT8gs .

[Larry]

Jeff,
If you can scan the Formula pages when you get a moment, just e-mail them to me. I would like to share them with everyone.
Seems like the little Sunbird had/has some following. Let's encourage others to find them, fix them, and share them.
Thanks,
Larry

[bencar]

They were especially fun when someone dropped a petroleum gulping V-8 in them . Oh, and here's real fun newsflash, and a bit off topic, sorry , but I saw some Trade Magazine recently, where they were chortling with glee over the prospect of $105.00 a Barrel Oil real soon. That ought to ruin our fun.

[duncan2plus2]

That Sunbird is very nice. It was a pleasant change of pace to see it in the magazine... another reason I like this web page & club so much.

My Dad had a Phoenix...'80 model if I remember correctly. It would be fun to see more people bringing out those "80's cars that have been overlooked or worse yet ignored by the members of clubs that are way too focused on pre- 70's cars. Even though I'm personally in to ( in more ways than I like to count) two 60's models, I still think and wonder whatever happened to so many of the late 70's and 80's Pontiacs...many of which were very cool and some very unique cars.

This is the core of the very issue that I raised early-on...EVERY Pontiac guy or gal should feel welcomed and encouraged to bring their car out & show it...I can't help but think the shows would be MUCH larger and a heck of a lot more fun if we made everybody feel like they had a part of the Pontiac craze...which they do!
I get a kick out of talking to others about how they go about finding parts and getting work done on their cars, and have also learned a lot by listening to these people.

To me it's a real shame that some Pontiac lovers feel abashed or intimidated about bringing their car to a show...if ANY place is safe for them it should be be a Pontiac show! These shows should be places where anyone can check out what the other Pontiac nuts have done or are doing and to be able to ask questions from people who may have tackled some of the same technical issues they face. It should also be a place where they can bring out their projects that they have worked so hard on and be able to show off their accomplishments and not hear a boat load of baloney about all the reasons their car isn't a concours museum quality resto.

I feel very confident Larry has put together a mechanism for all of our dreams and ideas to come to reality, and think it's great how many people are in this club now. I wonder if PMD is watching??

[Larry]

Hi Duncan,

I noticed some duplicate posts, I deleted the last two. I hope there wasn't something in them that I didn't notice (I compared them carefully).

I would hope that PMD is noticing us. I have sent a few messages to Jim Hopson who is in their PR department and never received any response.... not the first time I've been ignored. "Hey honey, what's this bill from Penney's for? Huh? You there? Can you hear me...?" See what I mean!?

I've got an idea. Why not everyone who reads this send Jim Hopson a note and ask him to check us out? His e-mail address is: jim.hopson@gm.com I have been able to get permission to repost the PMD promotion pieces they e-mail in our "PMD News" section, but would love to have some more information flow from them to share with everyone else. Let's face it, a lot of us Pontiac lovers are starving for information of what PMD is up to. I have even offered to put up some of their ads.... chirp, chirp.... cricketttsville!

Oh well, we'll keep doing what we can to promote what they build. To get thier attention up in GM is like standing on the ground and waving to the people in an airplane flying over at 40,000 feet. I'm never disappointed if I don't see them waving back!

Keep the faith!
Larry

[duncan2plus2]

Hi Larry,
You sure know the PMD team! I think the one thing they are forgetting is that a lot of us old Pontiac nuts are also new Pontiac nuts. I want to definitely be the first kid on my block to have the new Firebird or GTO in my garage.

Several years ago Dean & I went to one of the eight Super Chevy shows held across the US to get ideas about how national shows worked and how people did their cars, etc. It was heavily sponsored by a number of auto after market suppliers as well as Chevy, and went strong for a long weekend, and included drag races, car shows, technical demonstrations, etc. The turnout was amazing and the customer loyalty even more amazing. I have often wondered how much value Chevy derived from their participation and advertising.

I think it would be super if PMD would ever consider sponsoring a similar type of event series. It would certainly be a way to tie us together coast to coast.

Given the fact they have re-establishing themselves as a performance division, you would think this type of event would be just what they are looking for. If I remember my Pontiac trivia, it was an early years PMD exec who said something to the effect of "race them on Sunday and sell them on Monday".

You can definitely count on me to send an e-mail...and I figure Dean will too!

Duncan

[Larry]

Hi Duncan,

Your observation is right on. PMD has pretty much washed their hands of the hobby community. I remember even on the local level when a dealer owner said (in response to our request to sponsor a Pontiac car show) "I'm interested in new cars, not old ones." Well, that mentality has seemed to have come from top down. Perhaps that will change one day.... I hope.

As for Pontiac being the new "Performance Division", after the original announcement, has anyone seen or heard anything else? I haven't. Scary!

Let's all keep our fingers crossed that good things are being planned... and PLEASE PMD, count on the Pontiac hobbyists to loyally support your efforts.