Geeto67 Posted January 21, 2015 Report Share Posted January 21, 2015 ok, so here is a bit of a fun time waster. In the next two years I need to clean out my father's and brother's garages in NY because my folks are probably going to sell their Office/house and I am going to lose the garage space. In addition to a huge collection of old motorcycle racing parts which I am selling off I have to figure out what to do with some of the odd crap I have collected over the years. One of those things is a complete, running when pulled, 60K mile 1966 Pontiac OHC inline 6 cylinder engine and trans. It was in my 2 owner 1966 60K mile 4 door tempest and in that car with a 2 speed trans and a dead leg 3.08 rear the car pulled 25mpg on the highway at 70 all the time. I pulled it out because one of cam followers began to get noisy and I managed to win off of ebay a completely rebuild 1968 OHC6 pontiac for less than the cost of top end parts ($200). So I put the engine on an engine stand, filled they cylinders with oil, and wrapped it in pallet wrap, 1bbl carb and all. Same with the tranny, but I also have a BOP Turbine 300 and an M21 4 speed I was saving for when I want to convert my GTO to stick. And there is has sat. If you want to know more about these fantastic engines here is a good writeup: http://overheadcammerschapter.150m.com/history.html At first I wanted to build something stupid simple with it. Maybe a t-bucket or old school hot rod. Easy enough since the Pontiac uses the same engine mounts as an L-head six chevy. It isn't like there isn't a precedent for this engine, the real life red baron show car used one (the model kit used a jag 4.2L inline six). http://i418.photobucket.com/albums/pp263/eldo6770/100_0617.jpg But then I got to thinking...I love six cyl powered GT cars, esp British ones. and you know who loved those also? John Delorean. So much so that he commissioned the OHC6 specifically for his jaguar competitor "Banshee" in 1965: http://images.thecarconnection.com/lrg/1964-pontiac-xp-833-banshee-prototype_100321457_l.jpg Now an accurate replica is out of my league, but I figured a C3 chassis and body with maybe some of the baldwin motion body mods would make a nice touring/GT car: http://corvetterepair.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/1969MotionGTIII-e1338329298613.gif C3's are dirt cheap right now, esp as projects where it was running but someone ruined the body (there is a $4K obo 1977 on CL right now where someone backed into the nose of an otherwise really nice car). Of course I wouldn't keep the 6cyl stock. Over time I have collected a Sprint cam, triple weber carb manifold. Goal would be to strip the car to a sub 3K lbs curb weight and get the engine to make about 250hp (which the sprints did stock with a cam, intake, and 4bbl carb and there are 400 hp ohc6's that race at Bonneville). Then I thought that sounds like too much work and maybe I should just look for an old 2 door 50's/60's chevy 6 powered car and plunk it in there. Maybe a 1951 chevy with the OHC 6 and bell flowers. So this is kind of what has been going through my mind and all the ways I justify keeping the OHC6 and assorted bits. But if you were in my position, and a pretty loyal old school Pontiac fan, what would you do with it? I want to hear all suggestions as maybe there is some thing I haven't thought of yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted January 22, 2015 Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 After having V8 Chevy teeruks from the '80s, I now thoroughly enjoy my 1982 Ford F100 with a bored-.030 Ford inline-6 with a milled head and a Comp Cams 252H cam (RV grind). There is something great about the simple design of an older inline-6, and the torque/fuel economy can't be beat for the money (when talking about old mills). Do you have a pick-up truck? That would be my vote: get an older truck for that inline-6... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geeto67 Posted January 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 You know, I hadn't considered a pickup. I've driven many but never actually owned one (el caminos don't count). Maybe I shoukd start looking for early 60's chevy/gmc since they will already have the 6cyl mounts. Plus I could use something to haul bikes around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avenger1647545502 Posted January 22, 2015 Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 Find a decent 3rd gen Firebird and get everyone REALLY scratching their heads. Or a Grand Prix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig71188 Posted January 22, 2015 Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 Firebird Sprint convertible...or a "Fitchbird" (John Fitch creation) http://www.oldcarsweekly.com/car-of-the-week/car-of-the-week-1968-firebird-sprint http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=108400 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geeto67 Posted January 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 The prices for 1st gen Firebirds makes this prohibitive. I wish it wasn't the case but man did those firebirds get up there in price. I thought about a 2nd or 3rd gen F-body but there are 2 problems. 1) The quality on those cars is so bad I don't want to have to remake the entire car. 2) I would still be driving a 2nd or 3rd gen Fbody. 2nd gen cars came with inline 6's so I know they fit, 3rd gens it is going to be a bit of a strech. Also I am pretty sure everyone who sees it will just hate it (not that I care) and I will hate it because I will be stuck driving a slow F body, which I could just do by buying a 305 powered formula or z28. both are good ideas though, maybe for someone who hasn't been rained on through the t-tops of a 1986 formula 305 many many times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geeto67 Posted January 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 if only he was asking half as much it would be perfect: http://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/4843614676.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig71188 Posted January 22, 2015 Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 if only he was asking half as much it would be perfect: http://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/4843614676.html If it's as solid as it looks, it's not too bad a price. An old Nova/Chevy II came to mind, but they're almost as bad as the Firebirds anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig71188 Posted January 22, 2015 Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 Perhaps something like this: http://chillicothe.craigslist.org/cto/4852413469.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avenger1647545502 Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 If you could find a decent Ventura, that would be a good candidate too. It's harder to get the weight out of a disco-era car, but it can be done. Or the Sunbird, which was the Pontiac version of the Monza. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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