Pontiac – Pulpaddict

PONTIAC TRANS AM’S SCREAMING CHICKEN

Scott Oldham blogs about how the PONTIAC TRANS AM’S SCREAMING CHICKEN got its wings!

A beloved symbol of 1970s car culture. An icon of disco-era design. A redneck’s red-letter regalia. It’s gaudy. Garish. Tacky. Even vulgar. And we love it. This is the story of Pontiac’s Screaming Chicken, the largest and most recognizable decal in automotive history.

Lost to time is the name of the man who first referred to the graphic as a “Screaming Chicken.” The nickname came quickly. By the late-1970s, even Car and Driver was using the label. No doubt derogatory, over time the epithet has become one of endearment, although the brand’s hardest purists still hate it. That bunch landed on “hood bird” four decades ago and refuse to budge. Others go with “Rising Phoenix” or simply “Firebird.” The ignorant usually refer to the massive flaming fowl as an Eagle or a Hawk.

PHOTOS: GM image used on cover of Thunder AM Magazine; GM designer John Schinella: Martyn L. Schorr.

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PONTIAC TEMPEST MONTE CARLO

Built on a shortened prototype ’62 Pontiac Tempest convertible, the PONTIAC TEMPEST MONTE CARLO was a hit at auto shows and major road racing events. It shared the spotlight with GM design chief, William Mitchell’s Corvair Sebring Spyder.

One thing was a given at GM in the 1960s. Chevy’s Corvette was a sacred cow and no other division could bring a two-seat sports car to market. The only way Buick, Pontiac, Oldsmobile or Cadillac could reveal branded two-seat, high-performance sporty vehicles was to have Mitchell’s GM Design create Concepts that became part of GM’s traveling auto show displays. The PONTIAC TEMPEST MONTE CARLO

two-seater, powered by a supercharged 195 cubic-inch Four rated at 250-300 horsepower, featured 15-inch- shortened unibody architecture with four-wheel independent suspension. With a wheelbase of 97 inches and overall length of 175 inches, it had a five-inch- shorter wheelbase and was almost two inches shorter overall than a ’62 Corvette!

Pontiac already had a relationship with Mickey Thompson, having supplied him with four- and eight-cylinder engines for some of his high profile, multiple-engine Bonneville and drag racing cars. Thompson came up with a supercharger package for the Tempest Four, incorporating a modified GMC 3-71 Roots-type blower driven by a two-inch-wide ribbed Gilmer belt and a manifold with a huge built-in pop-off valve. An offset adapter allowed for installing a Carter four-barrel. As with most GM showcars, the PONTIAC TEMPEST MONTE CARLO engine received abundant chrome and polished aluminum accessories.

A 15-inch section was removed from the four-passenger Tempest, converting it into a sporty two-seater. The Tempest’s four-wheel-independent suspension was retained, though the controversial flexy shaft between the engine and the rear-mounted, Corvair-based four-speed was shortened considerably, making the drivetrain more efficient.

Since Pontiac’s plan included showing the Monte Carlo at major sports car races, it was treated to a full complement of gauges, racing mirrors, dual thin blue racing stripes, tri-spoke steering wheel, hood louvers and Firestone Super Sport tires mounted on polished Halibrand knock-offs.

Wholly impractical but responsible for drawing a crowd wherever the Monte Carlo was displayed, the severely chopped wraparound plexiglass windscreen looked as though it had come off a full-tilt racecar. It offered absolutely no protection, but tied in nicely with the slick fiberglass tonneau cover with headrest fairings.

Finished in White Pearl, the Monte Carlo was also shown in 1962. The only change was knock-off wire wheels with Goodyear Blue Streak tires in place of the Halibrand-Firestone combo. Unlike most Concept/Show cars, the Monte Carlo was not crushed after it was retired. It was gifted to Ed Cole, Vice-President and head of GM’s Car & Truck Group. Before taking delivery, he had the Monte Carlo re-powered with a stock 215-inch aluminum V8. The windscreen was replaced with a production Tempest windshield; they also added a small ragtop.

The net result was a somewhat awkward looking, short-wheelbase Tempest with an oversize top. The Tempest survived and is currently in a private collection. But Mitchell’s original PONTIAC TEMPEST MONTE CARLO styling did not!

BUICK GNX & PONTIAC 20th ANNIVERSARY TRANS AM

Both the BUICK GNX & PONTIAC 20^th ANNIVERSARY TRANS AM are powered by turbocharged Buick V-6 engines and deliver similar performance. But the Trans-Am, unlike the very limited production GNX, is much more available and affordable, blogs Hagerty’s Eddy Eckart.

Nicola Bulgari’s heavily-modified 4.1-liter Buick Grand National and Pontiac 20th Anniversary Turbo Trans Am. Photographed in Rome, Italy in 1997.

Can a substitute ever be as satisfying as the real thing? It’s a question with which we all seem to struggle from a young age. It’s not always broccoli versus ice cream, either—often, the comparison is much closer, like Matchbox versus Hot Wheels. Each has its high points, and though you may prefer one, and all the hype tells you that it’s superior, the other just might impress if you give it a chance.

Take the 1987 Buick GNX & 1989 Pontiac Trans Am 20^th Anniversary Edition, they’re the protagonists in what might be the ultimate 1980s domestic-substitution challenge. Since the Black Buick’s prices remain stratospheric, could it be that the best alternative comes from cross-town Pontiac?

We can see the furrowed brows of the Buick faithful through the screen. Yes, you’ve got a point – despite nearly identical drivetrains, the differences between the BUICK GNX & PONTIAC 20^th ANNIVERSARY TRANS AM are black and white, much like the sole color choice offered on each car. Besides, wouldn’t a lesser-trim Regal scratch that GNX itch without the GNX price tag? Buick built thousands of the turbo Regal variants between 1978 and 1987, from the super-niche 1987 Turbo Regal Limited (1035 produced) to the more garden-variety Grand Nationals and T-Types, and they cover a broad price spread, too. But, if you want a range-topping, Ferrari-eating, force-fed piece of 1980s American history, and you like your cars ultra-rare, it’s either the GNX or the ’89 Turbo T/A.

This turbo turf war has its roots in 1978, when Buick made quite the pivot. Hailing from the city that forged the formula for the V-8 muscle car, the Regal Sport Coupe’s fancy turbocharged 3.8-liter V-6 debut signaled a new path to power. Sure, its 165 horsepower and 245 pound-feet of torque did little to evoke the tire-evaporating 455 in Buick’s departed GS, but it was a step in the right direction. (It was also the only turbocharged domestic on the market that year, with Porsche, Saab, and Mercedes-Benz the only others with turbocharged models in the U.S.)

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