TWO LANE BLACK TOP

Vacuum dashpot...??? Are you referring to the vacuum brake on the front of the carburetor...??? Does the car have Air conditioning...?? If so...When the AC is turned on..The plunger extends...To adjust the idle speed to compensate for the drag of the AC Compressor...It can be adjusted by turning the plunger with the proper sized wrench on the hex head on the carburetor end of the plunger... Counter Clockwise will idle the engine faster...Clockwise will slow the engine down...Must be adjusted to the proper idle speed with the AC Compressor running... TLBT..

Hope this helps...

Interesting find... Do you know what company did the coach work (body)...?? It is more than likely that it rides on a long wheelbase Pontiac commercial chassis (ambulance/hearse/airport taxi..etc) which can be substantially different than the standard Pontiac station wagons... Any detailed pics/specs...?? They would be helpful in determining what chassis/frame you actually have...Then can go from there...

Y'all are welcome... I've always liked the Reatta's too...I think they're really cool cars...Wouldn't mind having one myself...Coupe/Convertable either one would be OK with me... The owner of the Solstice added the hood scoop to it...It also had the trunk lid from a Saturn Sky added to it because he liked the Saturn rear spoiler better than the Pontiac... Have been seeing a Northstar powered Cadillac Alante..Around the area here recently too....Will try to snag some pics of it...When/if I see it again....

Attended the local Cruise in today....Besides me there were only two Pontiacs in attendance...Of course 97° temps 90% humidity really didn't help the turn out today... Have to recognize The Buick Reatta... Don't see them around much anymore...

14 to 15 inches of vacuum at idle is really not a problem...Do the Power brakes work OK. ?? Just for my own curiosity...What Are the cam specs @ .050... intake..duration -n- Lift.. Exhaust..duration -n- lift.. Lobe separation angle (LSA)...

Frosty.. Thank you for the history lesson...Found it very Interesting/Informative... So from what info that I have been able to gather...I've found that both the Bendix and Delco-Moraine systems were used on Pontiacs until 1965...?? Although the Bendix system used a different style/designed master cylinder in 1965...And was used only on full sized Pontiac cars... Whereas the Delco-Moraine system was used exclusively on the Tempest/GTO car line from 1965 forward... As far as I can tell both the Bendix and the Delco-Moraine systems were used by GM across the line until midyear 1966...?? When all GM Cars started using the Delco-Moraine system exclusively....Starting in 1967 All GM cars used the dual circuit Master Cylinders... So based on the history/info you provided...plus what I found...It appears that it just depends on which Manufacturing Plant/Supply chain..Luck of the draw...At any given time as to which cars got the Delco-Moraine system as Opposed to the Bendix system during that timeline.... Any other thoughts/comments on this subject would be welcomed... Thanks.. TLBT

Frosty... Just to satisfy my own curiosity...And think you may able to enlighten me..Bonne61 has a thread...Brake Upgrade Advice...and I have a question sort of related to that thread... GM used two different power brake systems...The Delco-Moraine set up...And the Bendix set up...Both the systems were used simultaneously across all/some the brands for a few years in the early 1960s...So my question is...What determined which cars got the Bendix system as opposed to the cars that got the Delco-Moraine system...Was it determined by which assembly plant the cars came out of...Certain production dates...Certain shifts...Supply pipeline...ETC..??? Any insight that you may have to this question would be appreciated... Thanks.. TLBT

From what info that have able to gather....In order to upgrade to a dual circuit Master Cylinder...you would have to swap out the Bendix power brake booster...For a Delco-Moraine power brake booster...As far as the brake pedal assembly...I'm unsure if the Bendix unit would properly work with the Delco-Moraine booster...As it is very possible that the brake pedal ratio/angle on the Bendix system would be incompatible with the Delco unit and would require the brake pedal assembly from a car that was originally equipped with the Delco power brake assembly in order to maintain the proper geometry and pedal ratio for the system to work correctly...

GM used 2 different power braking systems...During that time period The unit shown in your photo is the Bendix power brake system...Identified by the square reservoir/4 bolt Master cylinder... The other unit used...Is the Delco-Moraine power brake system...Identified by the round reservoir/2 bolt master cylinder....As shown on Kiwi Cadillac... Both units are designed to be fully serviceable and can be rebuilt if you can get the parts...

Did a little further research...I was wrong...Cadillacs started using the dual master cylinder in 1962...Not in 1959/60...Sorry for any confusion that I may have caused...

For what it's worth... I'm 99% sure starting in 1959/60 forward...That all Cadillacs with power brakes used a Delco dual circuit master cylinder as standard equipment...Of course you would have to use the matching Cadillac portioning valve...Could very well be a direct bolt on...

Great car...(rare and fast) I Especially like minimalist Stripper Pontiacs...

When the engine timing Marks on the damper/timing tab are lined up to zero (TDC)...Have you Physically verified that the engine is actually at TDC...?? (Both the intake and exhaust valves fully closed and the piston is at its highest point in the #1 cylinder)...The reason I ask is...Because the outer ring on the damper/balancer can/will slip around on the center hub...And the timing mark will NOT be accurate...Even though the timing mark on the damper indicates TDC....In actuality the engine timing can be several degrees off...Possibly causing your detonation issue...Might be worthwhile to check out...

What sized jets do the Carburetors have in them...?? When the engine was redone was the cam set straight up or 4 degrees advance...?? Are there any flat spots..When accelerating through the RPM range...??

Frosty... Thank you for the kind words and great photos....I'm certain that our paths Will cross again in the future...Look forward to it... TLBT...

The car in the pic appears to be a base V-8 Firebird...With Throttle Body Fuel Injection...(TBI) The Firebird letters on the fender is what gives it away...(Formula/TAs are badged differently) The Trans Am version would have the air extractor in the lower fender behind the front wheel...The Formula/Trans Am version will have 4 wheel Disc Brakes...16 inch wheels and a 140 MPH speedometer...And of course (305/350 CID) Tuned Port Injection....The base V8 Firebird will have Thottle body injection (305 CID)... Drum brakes on the rear...With 15 inch wheels... The same company...Choo Choo Customs...Also did a different 3rd gen Firebird conversion known as the Bandit II...Kind of the same as the Pro Am...With a different hood scoop that simulates the 2nd gen Shaker...With specific Bandit II graphics/wheels...They also did an El Camino SS conversion with the 80s Monte Carlo SS style aero nose on it...With special El Camino SS Graphics/Wheels...Have seen in person a few Bandit IIs and SS El Camino's...through the years...But have never seen a Pro Am... Cool car..

Welcome... Cool car..

Especially like the Cale Yarborough Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II....The Gran Sport Buick Skylark is bad assed too...

To remove the intake and exhaust valves/valve guides on a straight 8 side valve Pontiac engine....Requires special tools that used be very common but are now hard/impossible to come by...Unless you know an old school mechanic who may happen to have one laying around somewhere in the back of their shop buried under 60 years of stuff stacked on top of it...That being said...There is a way to do it...And it can be done...You will need a large pair of curved needle nosed pliers similar to these... I will try to explain how to do it as best I can...You will have slip the pliers thru the access cover to between the lifter/tappet and the valve spring/retainer with the pliers open as shown in the pic..They need to open wide enough so that they clear the valve stem/tip... Slip them in with them pointed up like in the pic..Then make sure that the tips are only touching the spring retainer and not the valve itself then push up on the retainer/spring using the lifter to push against....The valve should move/open...When the valve has opened about a 1/4 inch or so...Carefully Use a light soft faced hammer and squarely tap the valve back down toward the block....With the pliers holding the spring/retainer in place...The valve will slide back through the retainer releasing the valve/keepers/locks...Be very careful catch the locks/keepers with a magnet or something so that do don't loose/drop them inside of the engine...Once the locks/keepers have been removed let the pressure off the valve spring...and simply pull the valve out of the top of the block and pull the spring/retainer assy... out the bottom...Then you can remove the tappet/lifter by rotating and pulling up on it...If the tappets/lifter have a screw in top center... That is what is used set the valve lash/clearance upon reassembly...Please keep us posted...I will also be happy to help as best I can if you have any other Questions/issues.. TLBT..

Old Car City USA... Great Pics...I'm surprised that I have never seen/heard of the place before...Very possibly... Future road trip...

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