Fitzy

Thanks again TwoLane. I ended up googling it and saw that racers often change intakes depending on what their next race is. If I ever got to that point in my life, I'd be looking for a proper hobby! Like knitting scarves or basket weaving. Really? Changing intakes? Weirdoes. I already have a phenolic spacer and am in total agreeance with you. Engineers don't just add things to engines to keep themselves busy - there's always a reason. Still waiting for lifters to arrive - by camel, apparently...via Saturn. Re Bathurst racecars. Historically, Bathurst was one of many venues where cars you could buy were raced. In fact, many racers would pick up the car from the dealer, drive it to Bathurst from Sydney or Melbourne, race it and then drive it home! The old adage was "Win on Sunday, sell on Monday." Pop some decals on it, fasten your (factory) seatbelt, chuck on a helmet and drive the wheels off it. The rules have changed over the decades. The race used to comprise several classes of cars but the bogan (redneck) gorillas at the track were either Ford or Holden, and so the rules were changed so that only those 2 brands competed. With the demise of Australian car manufacture, it's now Camaros & Mustangs. Now, I haven't researched this info so if it's wrong, please feel free to correct me, but the last time I checked they used a 'control' 5 litre engine, control tyres and I think they run on E85? They are also proper racecars these days with all the mods you'd expect. Obviously, you CAN buy either car from a dealer but with their respective different engines. The race is now effectively a tool to keep the bogans happy in the faint hope that they might rush off to the dealer and buy themselves a new car.

Thank you JustA: surgery went fine and those are great ideas re anti theft. I shall certainly do one and will look into the other once I can contort myself again. Last Indian (I think) offered a helpful suggestion a long time ago: route the negative coil wire through the firewall to a hidden switch and then back to the distributor. Even if they hotwire the coil, the car won't start whilst the switch has interrupted the circuit. I THINK I read something years ago about how rife carjacking was in Johannesburg. Now this is only anecdotal but I think I recall someone managed to electrify the exterior of their BMW with lotsa volts. Anyone who attempted to enter the car whilst you were stopped at a red light or something either got a jolt or got fried. I like the sound of that - great entertainment whilst you're tooling about late at night. While I'm here, I have another technical question: I keep reading about people 'removing' the Pontiac intake coolant crossover. What's that all about?

Oh, I might tune in at some point. I have been to Bathurst to see the race twice and it was a lot of fun. To be honest, I enjoy the technical side of racing where they show what failed mechanically or when they have cameras in weird locations, like somewhere under the car and you can watch the brake discs glow red in a jiffy. As for the actual racing, not really my thing. Only about 10 years ago I would set myself up on the couch, snacks & drinks at hand and settle in for the day, but that was then. In fact, now that you have broached the subject, I will have a look tomorrow. I can't do much at the moment.

I did NOT expect such similar comments: it seems theft is on the rise. JustA, you say he was out the next day??? How does that happen? And as you know I've been to Kiwi's place and I would never have thought any sort of crime would happen out there. A sad indictment of our modern times. Up to about 6 months ago, we never locked our doors - a decision I reversed because I knew we were relying on good luck. It'd be refreshing to see a government official stand up and announce a tough stance on crime, but everyone's too terrified of losing votes and/or popularity by being branded a Nazi, a racist, a homophobe, blah blah blah. Our local 'correctional facility' is like a resort, where the crims can relax and eat properly and sleep in a nice bed until they are ready to be released to cause more havoc. Chain gangs, cleaning up graffiti, picking up litter or just breaking rocks. THAT'S how you scare 'em off. I'd love to say something Pontiac related but I got nothing. Once my wound heals a bit more I will throw myself into the engine dismantle. I found a secondhand Edelbrock dual plane intake to suit my car. I might talk to the seller today. Rocky Rotella says that any performance gains are minimal (I've fitted one to a previous ride and the difference was immense) since I keep the rpm pretty low but it's a nice piece of bling. That reminds me of a question: someone posted some time ago of a small coolant leak where the intake meets the water pump. Mine has the same issue. I'm damned if I can remember what the fix is. Any ideas? I do recall that my original intake had suffered some internal corrosion over the years but I deemed it serviceable after cleaning it up as best I could. The evidence of a leak is a tiny puddle sitting on the valley pan, just below the top radiator hose.

Thanks Wrong (Right) Way! Just got word that a car was stolen a coupla nights ago just down the road and someone at the local tavern was threatened with a knife. Great. This is the sort of area where this shit simply doesn't happen. I have taken all the precautions I can at short notice and let me say if they enter this property uninvited, they'd better be bulletproof. Another sleepless night comin' up, armed to the teeth, eyes red with coffee OD...All the cars are either modern enough to have factory immobilisers or I have disconnected the battery with a removeable isolator. These idiots are only opportunistic dickheads, not professionals. The pros wouldn't touch my motley collection of crap anyway. Here we go, into the breech..

You were very lucky, JustA. In Australia, the cops are so hungry for glory they would have impounded the car on the spot. You would have been fined thousands and been made to feel like a criminal. Speaking of criminals, they're the ones with the rights and are breaking into houses whilst you are pulled over for some misdemeanour. This is the unfortunate truth. Still a great country, but the standards are eroding at a rate of knots.

As I said before, a melanoma can grow anywhere - even internally. I used to work with someone and I found out that he died from one - he had no idea he even had one. Yeah - it's a bugger of a spot on the side of my foot. Oh well, it's gotta be done. I keep looking at the car and am trying to summon the enthusiasm to start dismantling the top of the engine. Still waiting for inspiration...

This is an announcement for the benefit of all FP members: Get a skin check either every 6 or 12 months. Men (myself included) are notorious for avoiding medical procedures. A spot detected early is a simple procedure. If it's the nasty kind of cancer that has tentacles, you're in for complex involved surgery along with the requisite amount of post op pain. Just go and get checked. I just got home from my surgery. He only had to take ONE out - turns out the rest can be treated with a topical medicine that I might be able to pick up tomorrow, with the exception of one on the side of my foot. He warned me it's a difficult location (skin is too tight down there to pull back together to close the wound and apparently a skin graft in that location will die due to the endless activity your feet endure.) I have been warned of a slow, painful recovery of at least 4 weeks for that one. That's a job for next year - his decision, not mine. Anyway, it was painless and not unpleasant. Believe me when I say this: get checked!!! Another obvious benefit is that beer o'clock can be as early as you like. Why have a Tequila Sunrise when you can have tequila AT sunrise. Cheers!

I'll answer this in my GP thread. This is the funny section and what I'm going to tell you ain't funny!

You're not a redneck? This isn't the site for you then.

I reckon that looks superb BUT the bed is too short. I understand that they kept the original proportions in order not to cut the chassis and lengthen the prop shaft and so on, but it just doesn't look factory with that very short bed. Apart from that - it's a beauty. I once got close & personal to a 59 El Camino - the ones with the fins and the teardrop taillights. Now THAT had the right proportions. This one is so close, but not the real deal. Come on, Kiwi. What else are you gonna do with your free time?

No - I'm due back next Tuesday. I seem to heal quite quickly, so fingers crossed. I've just come home from 3 weeks on and I feel doughy. I can only hope I remain doughy whilst on the slab!

I had a look at your link - there are some great photos in there. It's also refreshing to know that Kiwis are passionate about their old cars. The world in general has now realised that cars, trucks & bikes (& tractors!) are as much a part of our artistic landscape as are antiques, paintings, old buildings, etc. They represent an era that we'll never revisit. But...the world is also moving in a sinister direction where the minority nutbags get to have their say and inexplicably, people pay attention to them. Did you know that in the UK, they want to go all electric by 2030 - I think it's now been pushed out to 2035. They also want anywhere inside the M25 perimeter to be ICE free. There's nothing wrong with clean air in urban areas (or anywhere) and there are so many people in London that it will make a difference, but it's the speed of change that is concerning. I never thought I'd see such a thing as an American EV pickup in my lifetime, but they are on sale now. Anyway, planes run on avgas, bulk carriers run on fuel oil, trucks & heavy machinery run on diesel and you can be assured that won't change for a long time. It'll be ten bucks a litre for petrol, but at least it'll be available. And of course, unless you're magically generating electricity for free, you're just shifting tailpipe emissions to power station emissions, but we all know that. Thanks mate - I get sliced up tomorrow and will be hobbling about feeling tender for at least a few days.

Thanks TwoLane - that is excellent information and may explain the amount of apparent lifter issues I keep reading about. I also regularly see the sentence "Pontiacs aren't Chevys," and what you just shared sounds pertinent. FYI I ordered Johnson Hylift lifters from Butler. Scott from Butler recommended them as the best lifters for Pontiacs, so I went with his recommendation. Johnson & Johnson Hylift are separate companies (I didn't know) and since Johnson don't make hydraulics, I went with the other. Johnson seem to have an excellent reputation - anecdotally there are issues with all brands of lifters so I suppose it's luck of the draw- a sign of our modern 'squeeze every last dollar out of the consumer by selling cheaply manufactured products under an established quality banner' time.

This is nothing GP related, neither Pontiac related and especially not lifter related! New Zealand has introduced a road tax for EV owners: from memory it's 7c a km. Doesn't sound like much, but every 100km (60 miles) that's $7. It's because the uptake of EVs has been so prolific that the government is missing out on fuel excise! So anyone who wants to reduce their petrol bill by driving an EV is now slugged with a road tax. Victoria (here in Oz) has done the same thing and it's only a matter of time before the rest of the country follows suit. Of course, as EV numbers grow, petrol will become a luxury and the price will go through the roof. Diesel passenger cars have become most unpopular due to their apparent 'dirty' status and you just know the vegetarian leftie greenies are gonna lobby to get old clunkers (our cars) off the roads. Just something to ponder.

Yep - you're defo doing it the right way. Might have to change your moniker to Rightway.

I found a clue as to how lifters fail: apparently it's potentially sloppy internal tolerances.

Nobody knew back then. We were encouraged to get out in the sun - a tan was healthy. I hope his procedure is successful. I can only hope this is as bad as it gets for me too! My doctor told me that he's now seeing cases of Europeans who holiday at some sun soaked destination and basically deepfry for 2 weeks and are now showing signs of skin cancers. Be careful out there. We all love sunny days but it's gotta be done sensibly.

The thing with melanomas is they can grow anywhere - not only on parts of you that never see the sun but also internally. Be sun smart, people. Hat, quality sunnies, long sleeves & sunscreen are the minimum, even if it's cloudy.

I can't die yet - gotta fix the car first!

Yeah, well my mother had nice olive skin and my father had white Irish/Scottish skin. Guess which one I inherited? Decades of sun worship have come to this - I have at least 3 spots to be cut out and about 10 minor ones to be treated with a special cream. It's the price you pay for growing up in Australia thru the 70s & 80s when nobody knew about sun induced skin cancer.

New rockers came with a nut I haven't seen before - it looks like I was test fitting it upside down. Anyway, I believe it to be a self locking feature. I asked Comp Cams to be sure. Cannot use the 20 lb factory method - gotta use the pushrod drag method.

I KNEW you'd offer to! Nah - all good. I have ordered new ones. Thanks anyway.

Yes, that was what I assumed. Will order new lifters today and apparently I won't need polylocks but I WILL need all those friggin' gaskets when I remove the intake & water pump. Do you remember that film The Money Pit starring a very young Tom Hanks? Still very funny and I think I shall rename my car the same.