TWO LANE BLACK TOP

Good looking car...Gotta love the ragtop.....

Unfortunately yes..Or you could remove the intake manifold instead...To replace the O ring between the timing cover and the intake manifold.... Either way you would have to replace the gaskets... Timing cover gaskets or intake manifold gaskets depending on which way you go.....Personally I would JustA remove the intake manifold....(Whole lot Easier and quicker)....

I completely agree...That is a very sound strategy....Hard to go wrong by doing so...If the heads are in decent shape to begin with...Could be a very economically viable option....

The thing that have noticed is the lack of cash..Most of the retail outlets at least in my area do not have enough cash available to make change for even a $20.00 bill... So you have to pay for everything with a debit/credit card..As far as classic car prices...Pretty much everyone watches the cars go for high dollar on the Barret-Jackson auctions in TV and then they think that the rusty piece of junk with half the parts missing that has been sitting out in the woods behind their house for the last 25 years is worth a mint and seem to think they can retire off of What they unrealistically think they can sell it for...

Unfortunately the political climate here has drastically changed as of late...And has completely divided us more than anytime in our history...It's getting worse everyday...Everyday average ordinary people are being branded as Domestic terrorists...For simply holding traditional American values...What's really going to set it off is When they start squelching our second amendment rights (Firearms) Which I fear will set off a rebellion the likes we haven't seen since the American Civil war of the 1860s...This the one time that I truly hope that I am wrong... By the way..Is it true that when water goes down the drains in the southern hemisphere it rotates the opposite direction...??? I traveled to Perth Australia once in the early 80s while I was in the Navy and was to busy doing Sailor things (Chasing girls and other associated stuff)and didn't really pay any attention to that.... 🍻🍻

If you can post a clear pic of the data plate... I'm sure that accurately decoding it will be no problem.... Welcome to Forever Pontiac...

I'm happy to know that I'm not the only one that sees the Big picture... Have lots more to say about it..But that's for another forum another time...🇺🇸

I realize that this is not the forum for this...But I'm going to say it anyway...The fear of climate change that the gullible masses ( The ones who just smart enough to do what they're told without Question or hesitation...But dumb enough to think by doing so makes them smarter than everyone else) are the ones buying into it...The "climate crisis" is merely the vehicle being used to gain control of every facet of our daily lives from cradle to grave... Unity = Submit and Obey..or we will crush you...

The price of Gas started going up here In NC..The day after the election...Right at 50 cents per gallon so far and rising daily... Non ethonal 93 octane has gone up even more than that....There also legislative talk here about a mileage tax.... Welcome back to the Paris climate accords...

The Turbohydramatic 400 transmission is a very economically viable upgrade from the Super turbine 300 (Jetaway) trans and can be done easily without major modifications or specialty parts.....The TH-200-R4 is also another good upgrade if you want overdrive for cruising down the highway looking cool with the top down...

This probably isn't the place for this... We are all going to have things to Thank Obiden for in the near future... Have been "collecting" ordinance for the last several years...🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

Upon further review after looking at the picture closer... I am 100% sure....The car in question is a 1969 Buick Lesabre.... The chrome trim (Buick portholes) on the fender is what gave it away... Looked on line..Typed in 1969 Buick Lesabre and found some pics that matched up perfectly...But I couldn't figure out how to download it to my phone and then post it here... As I am an old guy and not really computer savvy.....

Thanks for the input... My main concern is taking the plugs out of the Aluminum heads after 20 plus years...Without the threads in the heads coming out with the spark plugs... Have seen lots of them that were seized through the years...When they finally came out the threads in the heads were galled/damaged....And required the spark plug holes to be helicoiled... Which is almost impossible to do correctly without removing the heads from the car due to the tight confines...Also by the same token have also removed them from Aluminum heads with absolutely no issues at all if the engine was still hot at the time of removal (although that is no guarantee they will come out with no issues) plus I do NOT want to be forced to repair damaged threads....So I figure it's pretty much luck of the draw as to which ones come out easy wth no thread damage as opposed to having to fight with them and still wind up with damaged threads....Guess I'm probably being paranoid about changing them...And I'm not looking forward to doing it....

Great car... Sold my all original 79 TA (Had it since 1981) back in 2016... Someone made me a stupid high cash offer... Couldn't refuse it..... Have kicked myself in the ass ever since.... Welcome to Forever Pontiac....

Free stuff rocks....

Thanks Frosty.. Seems Like I remember reading about the Impvoved gaskets too...I'm 95% sure that those are the ones that are sold new Nowadays..... Will be doing the work starting in the next few days....When I Have a couple of uninterrupted days..Will also Replace the plugs and wires (Has never done) even though car still runs great...Just hoping I don't have any issues removing the original Spark plugs from the Aluminum cylinder heads..After 20 plus years...and 100,000 miles.. Any input on removing the plugs from the Aluminum heads would also be welcomed....All the spark plugs are pretty much only accessible from under the car and they're still a pain in ass to see/get to...Combined with fact that my hands don't work as well as they once did. (Getting old sucks).....If the engine was out of the car I wouldn't really be worried about it...

1969 Pontiac VIN.... 223679N105×××××× First digit 2 = Pontiac 2nd..3rd..digits 23= Firebird 33= Tempest 35= Custom S 37= LeMans 39= Tempest Safari 42= GTO 52= Catalina 56= Executive 62= Bonneville 76= Gand Prix Fourth and fifth digits 27= 2 dr Sport Coupe 35,36=station Wagon (2 seat) 37= Hardtop Sport coupe 39= 4dr hardtop 46= Station Wagon (3 seat) 57= Hardtop coupe 67= Convertible 69= 4dr sedan Sixth digit.. 9= model year (1969) 7th digit = assembly plant 1= Oshawa,Ont...Canada A= Atlanta Ga. B= Baltimore MD.. C= Southgate,Ca E= Linden, NJ.. G= Framington,MA L= Van Nuys, CA N= Norwood, OH P= Pontiac, Mich.. R=Arlington, TX U=Lordstown OH.. X= Kansas City, KS Z= Fremont, Ca.. Last six digits.... 1=V8. Then the rest of digits=Sequence #s 2=six cyl..sequence #s Hope maybe this will help satisfy your curiosity....

The day the new car warranty expired..First thing I did was Get Rid of the DEX-cool...Have seen several GM engines with the Aluminum cylinder heads/blocks...Heater cores.... Pretty much internally destroyed because of it...

Back in the day..When these cars were new...There were alot of warranty claims for the oil leaking at the front and rear (mostly at the rear) of the intake manifolds...It is a very common problem...With these engines to the point that it was just a matter time before they all started leaking..They were only used for five years 92..96 Corvette...93..97 for the F bodies..Although they were used in various full size Buicks...Oldsmobiles..Chevies and certain Cadillacs during that time period.. But without the Aluminum cylinder heads...GM put out A TSB..That said to use the copper sealant (shown in Frosty's pic) that instead of what had been originally used at the factory.. GM never really worked out the issue or made any design changes throughout the production run to address the issue...I think their reasoning for that was....They were coming out with LS series engines anyway and focused their attention on that..Instead of the soon to be obsolete Gen2 lt1/LT4 engines...personally I think the main design issue is the difference of the expansion rates of the Cast iron block and the Aluminum Intake manifold... GM Rather than machining a groove across the top of the the sealing surfaces of the block with a corresponding groove on the sealing surface on the bottom of the intake manifold...To put a flat O ring type gasket between the two...Just blew it off and moved on to other things....There is really no internal pressure in the valley under the intake..Unless the PVC system is clogged as Frosty pointed out...I will definitely look at that.... and address any issue that May be present...If I ever pull my engine or ever redo another one I will use a ball type end mill... And cut a shallow groove in both the intake and the block and take some of the material and instead of gluing it together at ends to form an O ring..I will just take a piece and lay it flat in the groove and sandwich it between the manifold and the block along with a coating of RTV...(I think that would be permanent fix..??) But in the meantime I will remove the intake and just use RTV.. If there is any commercially available RTV that will better cope with the different expansion rates between the dissimilar metals I Will definitely give it try... Thanks....

Last indian.. Thanks for the response... The Gen2 LT 1 engine block and intake manifold are of a different design from the old school small blocks and instead of having the traditional cork/neoprene gaskets across the front/rear of the block...Between the cylinder heads...The Gen2 block and the bottom of the intake manifold are machined flat and fit tightly together with zero clearance between them and they are sealed with a copper type Rtv sealant...The only gaskets are the ones that seal the cylinder head intake ports and the manifold...Unlike the traditional small block No water flows thru the intake manifold..Instead there is a pipe that connects the Cylinder heads together for the coolant flow on the rear of the engine...(The engine has a reverse flow cooling system) with the water pump driven off the camshaft... So I guess what I'm asking is..Is there maybe some kind of a nuclear space age super sealant RTV that will last for millions of heat cycles...and cope with the different expansion/contraction rates of the cast iron block and the Aluminum intake manifold....(Which is the point where the reoccuring leaks are happening) That is commercially available...??

My 1997 LT1 Firebird has developed an oil leak again...From the rear of the intake manifold..I've fixed it correctly with great attention to detail twice already ...Once in 2005 or 06...Then again in 2014..Now it has started seeping again...This is common problem with these engines...So I'm going to pull the intake (pain in the ass) again... Was wanting to know If anyone out there has come up with a permanent fix for this issue...?? Or am I just destined to have to redo it every few years...?? Any input or suggestions would be appreciated.... Thanks..TLBT

If you ever make to North Carolina..We will crack open a jar...🍻

At least 100 Proof... I generally don't drink alot..But when I do... Straight is the only way to drink it...It is definitely not for the faint of heart..!!

Kiwi.. The jars contain old fashion homemade ( By some of Mrs. Two Lanes kin folk ) Genuine Wilkes County North Carolina...Corn Linker..Moonshine...Sour Mash...Tiger Piss...Pop Skull...Sugar head..Etc..Just depends on who you ask...Some of the jars that I still have around here are at least 30 years old...It was stilled by her 88 year old Grand Pa...Worely Capps..Who passed away in 1994...The younger generations still use the same recipe...And only occasionally do runs...Up in a holler (hidden away from the revenuers) not too far away from where Junior Johnson lived....The jars pictured were made around five years ago..And Maybe someday I might even drink them.... TLBT..