Frosty

Stratman is correct. Pontiac Historical Services (PHS) is the authority on that sort of information.

Welcome to the forum. 86 Firebird you say? Huh, sounds familiar !

Congratulations on finding a set, the hard part is over with. I agree with notallthere and Ghost, write the check and buy the set of heads. For one thing, they are probably a matched set. So their casting dates are the same. That is something judges will look at it if you are going for a concurs style restoration on your car. You split the set, that might raise some eyebrows. Once you have this set, then you can see if the old can be repaired or go about find another single head with a casting date exactly or closely matching yours (at that point you can be fussy and take your time). Take these new heads to your machine shop and get assurance they that have hardened seats and valve guides installed. Without knowing what these heads were used for, it is money well spent to insure these heads can stand up to today's unleaded fuel. Don't assume that they are prepped properly before, let the machine shop do their magic. A three angle valve job and some gasket matching and port/polishing will definitely let these heads breath a whole lot better for not a lot of money.

Interesting situation we have here bundy. I agree with everything notallthere and JUSTA6 states. I am a fan of Clevite bearings as well. They are in my .30-over 455 (462) in my '72 Lemans. I run about 9.5 to 1 on premium pump gas. Also ARP bolts/studs inside, I use stock bolts only where they show externally (i.e. some head bolts are external along with the exhaust and intake manifold bolts) You have a numbers matching '70 GTO. So I will assume that you wish to keep it that way. Now you will have to search the internet, swaps, large Pontiac meets, etc. to track down a set of #13 heads. You are in luck (to some extent) that Pontiac used the #13 on both the GTO and the Grand Prix, so there should be more of them out there. Still I think you will have a difficult time find a set (I hope not but I am trying to be real here too). It won't be impossible, it will just take time and don't expect them to be inexpensive. The guys who are selling them know these heads are for Goats and Judges. Be prepared to buy the set of heads, not just one, when you find them, unless they are only selling - then ask why they are only selling one. Rotating assembly refers to all the moving parts of the engine - crank, pistons, rods, cam, and valvetrain. For a cam selection, the Pontiac stock cam profiles were pretty good. Malcom "Mac" McKellar was a cam guru at Pontiac back in the day. So his so called "grinds" are very good right out of the box. A McKellar #10 profile might the best choice. A know a lot of Pontiac guys that swear by that cam profile. All else fails ask your machine shop for an RV cam profile. The key is you want to be able to generate enough vacuum to run all your stock accessories. I would definitely run a hydraulic over solid lifter cam. I think Crane has a version of the McKellar profile in both hydraulic and solid lifter versions. Here are list of salvage yard you can try to contact for your #13 head - but obviously there is no guarantee they will have it. Desert Valley Auto Parts Frank's Pontiac Parts East West Auto Parts Inc Indiana Pontiacs.com CTC Auto Ranch I suggest going to the Trans Am Nationals in Dayton OH and the Pontiac Nationals in Norwalk OH in August, the GTOAA or POCI conventions in July. They have the largest Pontiac parts swaps meets. Also, eBay, craiglist, etc. whatever works.

Great photos....that's the first time I have seen a Delahaye actually being driven on the street and not at a Concours like Meadowbrook or Pebble Beach.

So have you made any mods to it? If so, what have you done?

Sweet looking Goat!

If GM puts a I-4 or turbo I-4 in a Camaro, they should call it a Vega instead.

Everything that notallthere and JUSTA6 said is correct. Externally, all Pontiac motors are the same except the 301/265 that came out in the late 70s and early 80s. So a 350 Pontiac has the same external dimensions as a 455 Pontiac, the only difference is the bore and stroke of the motor. So it should be a bolt in but the torque differential will create the need for a new torque converter, perhaps a tranny upgrade and the subframe connectors. The only other pitfall with a 455 into a Ventura is the age of the 455. The 455 came out in 1970, by the mid-70s Pontiac had made a slight change in motor mounts from two holes to three. So check your motor mounts and blocks of your 455 and 350. You may need a different motor mounts for the engine. One word of caution on header selection. Pontiac made two basic styles of exhaust ports- D-shape and round/oval. So knowing which heads you are running is good thing to know when trying to get matching exhaust gaskets and headers for your car. The head numbers are cast into the heads and are easy to read. 98, 66, 7M4, etc. Doug's Headers is one of the most popular maker of headers for Pontiacs. So shop around as JUSTA6 suggests. Look at Nova/Camaro subframe connectors and front disk brake options. The 1st gen Camaros were based on the Chevy II/Novas. That carried over into the 2nd gens too. So many X-body/F-body front suspension components interchange. Parts that fit a Nova should also fit the Ventura, Apollo, and Omega, key word here is should. Do your homework. Shop around and ask questions of these potential suppliers - will these fit a '73 Ventura? It most cases, it should - be certain though and ask before you shell out your hard earned money.

Yes and no. Yes, it would be a place to story. I am not sure how practical it would be since you don't have power, heat, or lights in these places. I currently rent one for the Lemans 1.5 miles from the house, just for that purpose. Its a huge pain given that I once had a 4-car garage. Canada is still an hour drive east one-way - not including the border. Yup....Iowa would be longer than that.

Agreed. You forgot to ask how much it will cost too. If the turbo I-4 cost the same as LGX 3.6L or more, then somebody in sales and marketting has a serious case of cranial - rectal inversion.

JUSTA6's radical 80 Sunbird

Nope, I didn't see. Of course, from Springfield Oaks I go left on Andersonville Rd to Davisburg Rd to Dixie to Grange Hall Rd to Ortonville Rd home. So if I had to turn right onto Andersonville, I never would have seen it.. Does anyone ever get a paddle? Ringo - don't I wish he know his way around rough carpentry. The sad thing is, I figure it would take 1-2 years to do this project. He has 3 years left before he graduates high school. I'd love for him to drive during his senior year at least if we can pull it off. A new garage build is probably at least a year away at best.....assuming I can get the land in the first place since I cannot build on my own property - thanks to my wife's own stubbornness. Its that same stubbornness that won't give up her spot in the garage either (her Traverse is the only car that parks in our 3 car garage - very long story). Do you think she'd give that up for her son? I ain't even going there...it gets me mad just thinking about it.

Glad to help. Let us know what you find out or if you decide to move forward, how you like it.

I get an email this week from this guy I use to work with. He tells me there is a '51 Chevy pickup for sale near my old middle school in my old school district. I send the email to my wife and she thinks I need to take the kid to look at it. So I take the kid on a surprise drive Monday night. We find the truck and look at it. It's pretty complete. The tranny is screwed but it is all there, one re-spray in its 63 year life and there appears to be mostly surface rust. Someone has already fixed the rear lower corners of the cab in the past. and converted it to 12V but I don't like the way it looks to be honest - looks more like a hack job to get it running. So we go through it thoroughly. Spend a good 30 minutes looking it over. Take photos, etc. Come home and show the wife. She asks how much - $5500. She asked how much would it cost to fix - I guessed somewhere between $15-20k. Were are we going to store and work on it? That's kind of important. Haven't gotten a clue since I don't have any garage space. She gets mad at me not coming up with a solution to that problem and for getting the kid's hopes up. Sigh....I'm truly married....I definitely can't win.

Think you can get a CNC shop to build you a custom fly wheel? Pricey I know....but what else can you do?

I will let Eddie answer - but I was working on the assumption that it was a Brewster Green 455 Formula, and not a SD-455.

Fixed the links for ya' Ghosty!

Welcome to the FP madness !!!! JUSTA definitely has a Sunbird problem.

Well boys - I bid farewell to the Avalanche today. Its gone! I pick up the new (used) ride later tonight..... Don't worry notallthere.....as I promised, I kept the true fire engine cover for wall art purposes.

Actually that is valid's avatar. Try again scooter.

Great bud. I may need you or JUSTA to get my annual Woodward souvenir sign too. I know - I sent the missus the link to my Photobucket album earlier today Heh! Heh! Heh! Would it be mean to say "Na Na A Poo Poo" ? Normally I would say "yes - IF you can drag your butt up here." However, if I let you drive it, I know damn well that JUSTA will snatch the damn license plate holder when you are not looking!!!!

I re-read Eddie's question. I think determining the exact number of Brewster Green 455 Formulas maybe best answered by Pontiac Historical Services. That said, some numbers I can give. There were 730 Formula 455s built in 1973. There were 43 SD-455 Formulas built in 1973, only one is known to be Brewster Green. So you already have a rare car, one of 730.

Sorry to hear about all the bad luck you are having Killer. The show was pretty much over by 3:30. Awards started at 2:30. JUSTA and Indymnajoe were gone shortly after 2:30. I stayed to help clean up but I was rolling by 3:40 myself. Sadly, I won't be at Woodward this year......and I am not the least bit happy about it either.

Bingo Ringo. There were several avatars for us to choose from too since I got in trouble last time using someone's face without the expressed written consent of Major League Baseball.