Newbie, 1972 LeMans (GTO Pkg) Questions

Hello all happy to be here. I just bought this car last Sept. and it's now finally on the road after $4000 invested. I'm very happy with it. I've been running out of money though and wanted to get a little more performance out of the car with not too much money spent, any ideas on what to do? The car has a 400 engine and the only thing I have done is to change the rear gears from factory 2.78 (I think) to 3.55. The 1972's were a low 250hp car. It would be nice to get it to 300 or 325hp, not looking to do anything crazy yet. I will also be getting a K&N air filter for it...Thanks in advance for your insights, Phil

Headers and an intake? Also, a new high performance ignition system wouldn't hurt.

Hang in here, MrP our resident Pontiac ace will kick in here when he sees the post.

Hang in here, MrP our resident Pontiac ace will kick in here when he sees the post.

And I can't wait. I love his expertise on Pontiacs and look forward to all his posts.

I know it will take some time to gain respect here and I just want to thank you guys for the input. I'm going to start my research and get this going. Must beef it up! Any more ideas will be appreciated. Phil

Sorry, been out of town...(:-

First things first. Get Jim Hand's book "How to Build Max-performance Pontiac V8s", published by SA Designs. This is the only CURRENT study of the ol' Injun (what we affectionately refer to the Pontiac V8 as).

Intake, headers, Q-Jet done "right", and a cam is all you need to make nearly 400 BHP. Understand the 250 rating is SAE "Net", not gross brake horsepower. Compare it to the '70 400 by mulitplying the 250 by 1.2. We figure a 20% parasitic loss. And that's true of all engines, not just Pontiacs.

For the lower compression of the '72, the cam will have the most impact on performance. The intake that's there is actually pretty good, so don't replace it with Perfromer or ANY "Non-Edelbrock" intake. Performer RPM will have a slight "edge" over 5,200 RPM. If you still have the cast rods (original) in the engine, stick with the iron Q-Jet intake.

For a relatively smooth idle and good performance between 1,000 and 5,200, use Comp XE262H (hydraulic, flat tappet, 218/224 @ .050). Ignore the buzzing in your ear from your Chevy buds and others that may bad-mouth Comp or insist you change the CLs. Comp has MORE than a "clue", they are leading edge and very good.

Hooker is still the best when it comes to headers for a car that was "mass produced". The Pontiac is no exception. You need the SuperComps, 1 3/4" primaries. Your heads may not have the outboard bolt holes drilled, and with some castings, no "boss" FOR the holes. If no bosses, Spotts Performance in Hatfield, PA has the "clamps" to make the headers seal and stay put. If the bosses are there, simply drill and tap to 3/8-16.

Guys,

Thanks for the kind words. BTW, "out of town" was Phoenix, for Pontiac Heaven XI. Steve Barcak puts on this Pontiac-power show every year now. He has a "no corporate nonsense" attitude, so no cars without a Pontiac V8 are allowed. Not even stock 403 and 305-powered T/As. He DOES own several of the M/T Pontiac "hemis". We're trying to talk him out of one of the heads for a two week period, to map it and start up a new design based on a KNOWN design. He had one of his boats so-equipped, on display. He's building a 400 CID nitro engine with a pair for his antique FED. Too bad, but with a 12" tire, he's urinating in the air currents... It wouldn't "hook" all weekend. The engine SOUNDED GREAT! And the nitro "cloud" was just what this old man needed!

Jim

Holy Mo! Thank you so much, time to get to work!