DAY ONE – Pulpaddict

’70 PLYMOUTH SUPERBIRD: WINGED WARRIOR

Not to be outdone by Dodge, the ’70 PLYMOUTH SUPERBIRD: WINGED WARRIOR continued Mopar’s assault on the Musclecar marketplace and NASCAR’s Super Speedways!

Plymouth’s ’70 PLYMOUTH SUPERBIRD: WINGED WARRIOR was basically a midsize Road Runner with a wing and a nose job. Also produced by Creative Industries, the Charger-Daytona-influenced Superbird proved to be a more complex build than the Charger Daytona. It required Dodge Coronet front fenders and a hood to work with the steel “nose cone”. The Superbird’s unique, tall, raked wing was proprietary. A vinyl roof was used to hide many of the seams around the backlight. It filled the void left when ’69 ½ Charger Daytona production ended.

Designed to cheat the wind on Superspeedways, Superbirds and carryover Charger Daytonas dominated NASCAR. Pete Hamilton drove his Hemi Superbird to wins at Daytona, Atlanta, and Talladega 500s and, together with Richard Petty, gave Plymouth 21 wins. Dodge clinched the Manufacturers’ title, and Bobby Issac won the Drivers’ Championship.

’70 PLYMOUTH SUPERBIRD: WINGED WARRIOR Sox & Martin accounted for 75 percent of Mopar wins in NHRA Pro Stock competition in the 1970-1971 seasons. They also campaigned a Hemi Superbird in C/MP, driven by Dave McCandless. It was on the cover of Hi-Performance CARS, September 1971.

’70 PLYMOUTH SUPERBIRD: WINGED WARRIOR

Of the 1,935 Superbirds produced, only 135 (77 automatics; 58 four-speeds) models were fitted with 426 Street Hemi engines. The 426 Street Hemi engine received a new hydraulic camshaft and valvetrain. It replaced the previous solid-lifter camshaft and had the following specifications: 284/284-degree duration with .490/.480-inch lift and 60-degree overlap.

For more information about the ’70 PLYMOUTH SUPERBIRD: WINGED WARRIOR and Plymouth’s midsize lineup for 1970, please visit OVER-DRIVE magazine @ https://over-drive-magazine.com/2024/03/04/1970-plymouth-mid-size-cars-fact-sheet/

The Motown Musclecar scene from 1962 to 1974 is documented in DAY ONE, available at https://www.amazon.com/Day-One-Automotive-Journalists-Muscle-Car/dp/0760352364/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1493561421&sr=1-1&keywords=Day One by Martyn L. Schorr

’66 OLDS TRI-POWER 4-4-2: SERIOUS SUPERCAR

One of the finalists for CARS Magazine’s 1966 Top Performance Car honors was the ’66 OLDS TRI-POWER 4-4-2: SERIOUS SUPERCAR!

’66 OLDS TRI-POWER 4-4-2: SERIOUS SUPERCAR

In 1966, Olds Engineers in Lansing finally developed a big-engined midsize car to compete seriously with Pontiac’s GTO. After revealing the latest 4-4-2 with a four-barrel 400/350, they upped the ante with a late-arriving Tri-Carb version conservatively rated at 360 horsepower. It was Oldsmobile’s first use of three-two-barrel induction since the legendary 1957-1958 371-cube J2 Rocket V8s, rated at 300 and 312 horsepower respectively.

We found that an L69-option Tri-Carb 4-4-2 with four-speed and 3.90 Anti-Spin gearing was quicker and faster than the 360-horsepower Tri-Power GTO we tested for the March 1966 Hi-Performance CARS. GTO styling was refreshed in 1966 and it became a distinctive model series, no longer a Tempest option. The best time we ran with the GTO was 100 mph in 14.50 seconds, compared with an L69 Olds’ 13.80s and approximately 105 mph.

Oldsmobile engineers in Lansing worked on the L79 W-30 engine project in late 1964 and 1965, and Tri-Carb packages first surfaced on ’65 4-4-2 Mules.

The Lansing Engineering facility was down the road from Demmer Tool & Die, a GM supplier. There was a lot of “information” sharing between Olds and Demmer drag racing engineers. Demmer raced a Tri-Carb 4-4-2, RECTIFIER-2, and worked closely with Oldsmobile. In 1968 Demmer built the 455-inch Hurst Olds. Unlike GTO Tri-Power with vacuum-operated linkage opening the end two Rochester 2GC carburetors, the ’66 OLDS TRI-POWER 4-4-2: SERIOUS SUPERCAR L69 Tri-Carb utilized smoother, progressive mechanical linkage.

With a choice of Anti-Spin gearing up to 3.90 and dealer-installed 4.11 or 4.33 gears, plus close or wide-ratio Hurst-shifted four-speeds, the Tri-carb 4-4-2 was a serious Supercar. Taking it up a notch, it was available with a W-30 option that didn’t change the factory power rating, but unquestionably improved quarter-mile performance. Key W-30 ingredients included a chromed Tri-Carb air cleaner with four-inch hoses ducting fresh air from front bumper openings, a high-lift, 308-degree-duration camshaft, and relocation of the battery to the trunk. The majority of W-30 engines were in base model F-85 4-4-2 Club Coupes.

’66 OLDS TRI-POWER 4-4-2: SERIOUS SUPERCAR

For more information on the ’66 OLDS TRI-POWER 4-4-2: SERIOUS SUPERCAR, and all midsize products for 1966, check out OVER-DRIVE Magazine @ https://over-drive-magazine.com/2023/12/30/1966-oldsmobile-mid-size-cars-fact-sheet/

For complete coverage of the 1960s-1970s Motown Musclecar scene, add a copy of DAY ONE to your library, https://www.amazon.com/Day-One-Automotive-Journalists-Muscle-Car/dp/0760352364/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1493561421&sr=1-1&keywords=Day One by Martyn L. Schorr

1970 PONTIAC GTO – MUSCLECAR MAGIC FROM MOTOWN!

The new year ushered in bigger, more powerful engines, and a slicker, more sophisticated 1970 PONTIAC GTO – MUSCLECAR MAGIC FROM MOTOWN!

1970 PONTIAC GTO – MUSCLECAR MAGIC FROM MOTOWN!

In many ways, 1970 was the storm before the calm. The war in Southeast Asia continued casting a pall over a much-divided country and thinning the ranks of young enthusiasts. Carmakers’ racing budgets were being drastically cut and engineering resources were reassigned to prepare for restrictive emissions and safety legislation. Ponycar sales had been plummeting and would register new lows at the end of the model year.

Pontiac started it the Musclecar Revolution with the GTO in 1964 and it was still an image leader, thanks to a winged Judge and 400 and 455-inch engines. The hottest engine option was the 400-inch Ram Air IV rated at 370 horsepower at 5,500 rpm in the GTO.

We tested two GTOs, a Ram Air 400/366 Judge for the July 1970 issue of Hi-Performance CARS, and a 455/360 for SUPERCARS ’70 ½, both with Hurst-shifted four-speeds and 3.90 rears. Pontiac supplied both GTOs and we suspected that the 455/360 had been “massaged”.

Our best time with the 400/366 Judge was 100 mph in 14.45 seconds and 0 to 60 mph in 6.6 seconds. The 455/360 GTO was a GM Milford Proving Ground vehicle and ran 103 mph in 13.90 seconds. It was quicker to 60 mph, taking just 6.1 seconds. I wanted to buy that one!

1970 PONTIAC GTO – MUSCLECAR MAGIC FROM MOTOWN! A new option was the 455 HO, a 10.75-to-1 compression, long-stroke engine rated by Pontiac at 360 horsepower at 4,600 rpm and 500 pound-feet torque at 3,100 rpm. The camshaft used in the Ram Air 400 and the GTO 455 HO were the same, but the 455 HO had the torque advantage.

For encyclopedic coverage of the 1970 PONTIAC GTO – MUSCLECAR MAGIC FROM MOTOWN! Please visit https://over-drive-magazine.com/2023/03/14/1970-pontiac-mid-size-cars-fact-sheet/

’64 PONTIAC GTO & THE SUPERCAR REVOLUTION

An option turns a midsize Tempest into the ’64 PONTIAC GTO & THE SUPERCAR REVOLUTION, and a decade of GTO-badged high-performance Pontiacs.

Pontiac called it “A Device For Shrinking Time & Distance.” Magazine editors called it a “Supercar”. And, from coast to coast, enthusiasts flocked to Pontiac dealers see the new GTO, an option that breathed life into a Tempest. Pontiac – not Ford, Chevy or Plymouth – essentially created the option that ignited the Supercar Revolution and an almost cult-like movement. The GTO’s extensive performance, comfort and convenience “menu” was the envy of the industry. It was the Supercar for all seasons – and reasons.

GM Design created a dynamite follow-up GTO for the 1964 auto show circuit -the tri-power Flamme. Fitted with Cibie rectangular headlamps, below, and under-fender exhaust cutouts and, of course, painted Flame Red, it debuted at the 1964 Chicago Auto Show. It was first shown with a white interior and wire wheel hubcaps. By the time I saw it at the New York show, top, its interior was also red, and trendy chrome-reverse wheels had been installed.Because the GTO became an overnight sensation, fiction often gets in the way of reality when discussing responsibility for its concept and creation. Pontiac’s primary players were Pete Estes, General Manager and John DeLorean, Chief Engineer. DeLorean’s staff included a number of racing enthusiasts. The concept of putting a 389-inch engine from a full-size Pontiac into a Tempest evolved from meetings DeLorean had with two performance-savvy guys – Bill Collins and Russ Gee who headed up the Experimental Engineering Department. One of the key meetings was not, however, about creating a high-performance street car. It dealt with building a slightly longer wheelbase Tempest to replace the NASCAR Super-Duty 421 stockers that had become history!Gee revealed that since 326 and 389 engines shared the same motor mounts, a 389 could be shoehorned into a Tempest in about a half-hour. With NASCAR in mind, Russ Gee’s team built a ’63 Tempest 389 prototype with a three-inch longer wheelbase – 115 vs. 112 inches. It worked and it was fast. But DeLorean couldn’t find any support for stock car racing at Pontiac. All efforts shifted to creating a product that would appeal to performance enthusiasts, preferably young ones. That proved to be a far better route.

During the discussion of a unique 389-engined Tempest, Jim Wangers, right, who was a successful Pontiac drag racer and account executive at Pontiac’s advertising agency, McManus, John & Adams, got involved. He also had a relationship with Ace Wilson, owner of Royal Pontiac. Wangers presented youth-market-targeted GTO concepts to Pete Estes. Estes passed them along to DeLorean and the 389 Tempest GTO program was greenlighted. Ferrari originally used the model designation GTO – Grand Turismo Omologato – for its 250 GTO. It means that the vehicle meets the standard specifications for racing in the Grand Touring category.

Prior to the GTO option, the most powerful engine you could get in a Tempest was a 326-inch V-8 rated at 280 horsepower. A GTO optioned Tempest could be equipped with a standard four-barrel 389 rated 325 horsepower at 4,800 rpm or the optional tri-power 389 rated at 348 horsepower at 4,900 rpm. Both engines generated 428 pound-feet of torque. Buyers could choose from three or four-speed manuals with Hurst shifters or a two-speed automatic and limited-slip rears with 3.08 to 3.90 gearing.

Since no GM division had done this before, Pete Estes was apprehensive about how the marketplace would receive the new car. While he did sign off on producing 5,000 units, Estes voiced concern: “If Pontiac doesn’t meet its GTO sales target, it will not be around in 1965.”

Jim Wangers did not share Este’s concerns. McManus, John & Adams came up with advertising for the GTO’s launch. It was the first of many years of GTO campaigns that set the standard for high-performance car advertising. The ads spoke to young enthusiasts – and they responded. By January 1964, dealers had already taken orders for more than 10,000 GTOs, securing the model’s future. Waiting lists were growing longer each day. The GTO emerged as a huge success, with total 1964 GTO production of 25,806 hardtops and 6,644 convertibles.

Check out OVER-DRIVE magazine’s’64 PONTIAC GTO & THE SUPERCAR REVOLUTION fact sheets @ https://over-drive-magazine.com/2022/12/28/1964-pontiac-mid-size-cars-fact-sheet/

To track the ’64 PONTIAC GTO & THE SUPERCAR REVOLUTION, and a decade of GTO-badged high-performance “muscle”, DAY ONE has the story @ https://www.amazon.com/Day-One-Automotive-Journalists-Muscle-Car/dp/0760352364/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1493561421&sr=1-1&keywords=Day One by Martyn L. Schorr

THE GREAT ONE: 1968-1972 PONTIAC GTO.

Hagerty’s Greg Ingold guides us through the second generation of the Supercar that started it all in THE GREAT ONE: 1968-1972 PONTIAC GTO.

THE GREAT ONE: 1968-1972 PONTIAC GTO.

Pontiac called it “A Device For Shrinking Time & Distance.” Magazine editors called it a “Supercar”. And in 1964 enthusiasts flocked to Pontiac dealers from coast to coast to see the new GTO, an option that breathed life into a Tempest. Pontiac, not Ford, Chevy or Plymouth, essentially created an option that ignited the Supercar Revolution and an almost cult-like, youth-market movement. The GTO’s extensive performance and comfort and convenience “menu” was the envy of the industry. It was the Supercar for all seasons and reasons and started a performance revolution in Motown.

The musclecar genre actually predates Pontiac’s launch of the 1964 GTO by many years. There were a number of earlier cars built on midsize platforms that had engines originating in larger, more powerful cars. Oldsmobile built midsize 88 models with big OHV V8 engines in 1949 that could be had with three-speed-stick or automatic transmissions. And, they were successfully raced. But the GTO, an option offered on Tempest models in 1964 had an almost endless option list that covered performance as well as appearance upgrades. It was the total package, from 389-inch V8 to four-speed and limited-slip rear with road and track gearing. The second-generation model – THE GREAT ONE: 1968-1972 PONTIAC GTO – upped the game with bigger, more powerful 400-455 cubic inch Ram Air engines and higher visibility with models like The Judge.

It’s no stretch to call Pontiac’s GTO the single most important car of the musclecar era. Yes, there are varying opinions as to when and how the American musclecar really kicked off. But the fact remains that the standard formula of taking a mid-size car and stuffing a large engine under the hood started with the GTO. Launched in 1964, it first came as an option on the Tempest Le Mans, increasing the engine size to 389 cubic inches for a stout 325-horsepower in base form, and 348 with Tri-Power (three two-barrel carbs).

The GTO’s performance and sales success put everyone on notice, including Pontiac’s siblings within General Motors, and forced other brands to play catch up. But while the likes of Chevrolet and MOPAR focused on putting down huge raw power numbers, Pontiac struck a balance of offering excellent power with killer looks and more creature comforts than more entry-level manufacturers like Chevrolet, Dodge, and Ford.

THE GREAT ONE: 1968-1972 PONTIAC GTO. 1967 would be another watershed year with the old 389 being swapped out for Pontiac’s all-new 400 cubic inch engine. At least in the eyes of Poncho enthusiasts everywhere, the Pontiac 400 ranks among one of the all-time great engines and would be the basis for Pontiac’s famed “Ram Air” option. And with the introduction of an updated engine, it was time for Pontiac to update the GTO as a platform. While it had big shoes to fill, the second generation 1968-1972 GTO was more than up to the task. Those were arguably the model’s best years but, being a musclecar with a wide range of available powertrains, performance options, convenience features and colors, the market for the second-gen Goat is a nuanced one, and values can range from barely above entry-level to well over half a million dollars.

GM completely refreshed the A-Body platform on which the GTO rides for 1968. It was a welcome change, leaving behind the boxiness of the 1964-1967 models in favor of the softer, curvier “Coke bottle” style popularized in the later part of the 1960s. Pontiac’s styling department also went to town on the GTO setting it far apart from the competition. The biggest innovation to the GTO’s look was the introduction of the revolutionary “Endura Bumper”, a GTO exclusive. In short, the bumper shook up the industry by eliminating the traditional chrome front bumper and instead replaced it with a painted, impact-resistant piece made of a rubberized material, which could be molded to any shape and withstand minor impacts with minimal damage.

Continue reading THE GREAT ONE: 1968-1972 PONTIAC GTO at https://www.hagerty.com/media/market-trends/hagerty-insider/the-great-one-pontiacs-1968-72-pontiac-gto-lives-up-to-its-nickname/?hashed_email=e323c71347790f699ba35a9dc01d49ac3f938885a7df6321087c8c9b4c0dd333&dtm_em=e323c71347790f699ba35a9dc01d49ac3f938885a7df6321087c8c9b4c0dd333

The full range of Gen I and Gen II GTOs, including Royal Pontiac Bobcats, are extensively covered in DAY ONE, https://www.amazon.com/Day-One-Automotive-Journalists-Muscle-Car/dp/0760352364?SubscriptionId=AKIAJ2F6RDUSIYCWQMFQ&tag=sa-b2c-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=0760352364&fbclid=IwAR3NXmS5uZmJsG9CFw6Jsly1FF_w77qDqynrWhw2KInoLWHncrHVOa3ahJw