1969 NASCAR Pontiac Grand Prix & 428 Ram Air V Engine Start on My Car Story with Lou Costabile
Вставка
- Опубліковано 14 жов 2024
- If you enjoy the videos and would like to Sponsor me on Patreon, my Creator link is / mycarstorywithlou
On "My Car Story" we're at Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles IL at the 26th Annual Indian Uprising All Pontiac Weekend on 8-12-16.
We're looking at a 1969 NASCAR Pontiac Grand Prix in Red White & Blue Paint & Sponsored by Pepsi Cola Carolina Bottlers Pepsi.
The car's Owner is Keith Vrabec. Keith shares when he saw a Pontiac Grand Prix he had an instant connection to the car. He purchased this car from a Junk Yard in 1992, and was determined in 2009 to restore the car back to its NASCAR glory days.
The car was driven in 1969 by Roy Tyner, the only Native American to drive in NASCAR.
The motor is a “Ram Air V” which is a full race engine. In 1969 there were about 200 produced, and this car while racing went thought 10 of them!
ENJOY!
Visit our Affiliate Sponsor links for special promotions and coupons exclusively for My Car Story viewers!
Over 7000 Diecast Model Cars
Visit: shareasale.com...
Escort Radar Detector Deals:
www.shareasale...
Need a Car Cover
Visit Carcovers.com here
shareasale.com...
For Our Corvette Fans
Enjoy many great products including custom apparel at
shareasale.com...
Redline Automotive Accessories
Current promotion: Genuine leather shift boot and steering wheel cover custom made for your vehicle!
shareasale.com...
![[UA] NAVI vs MOUZ | BO5 | IEM Rio 2024](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/CMBYk0cbGoA/mqdefault.jpg)
"You got to understand I'm not the owner of this car, the car owns itself."
What an absolute legend.
Hi Solid Tank, Thank you for viewing and sharing your thoughts. Hope you see many more cars on this UA-cam Channel you enjoy. Please subscribe, and hit the "bell" so you can see all the cars when they are uploaded on this UA-cam Channel, Lou
Roy Tyner is my grandfather so this was amazing to see!
Hi LunarPriestessUsagi, Glad you enjoyed this one :-) Thank you for viewing and sharing, Lou
I would love to know the cam specs in this beast !!! I know it's a solid flat tappet cam at least.
I worked with a Jeff Tyner who is on the cusp of retiring from maintenance. Any relation? And I had a 69 with a factory 3 so verified by the hole in the floor pan for the shifter being done on a stamping-press!! SICK car; 2-piece MANUAL disc brakes w/manual steering. Transmission had a FoMoCo emblem cast in to the drivers-side of the casing??!! Your 750 hp's are music to some sore ears; and thank you!
(factory 3 sp...verified) stupid auto correct!
Incredible piece of history.
Hi Tom, My pleasure sharing this "Incredible piece of history." with you :-) Lou
Wow. That is one rare classic Pontiac. Beautiful car. No doubt I'll be coming back to this video from time to time to hear that Air 5 running.
Hi Chris Nizer, I'm glad you like this one :-) Lou
I had no idea this car existed. Don't remember seeing anything in all the musclecar or Pontiac specific magazines I got off and on going back 30 years. Great video documenting this neat piece of Pontiac history
Hi Kevin Clark, Happy to read you enjoy learning about this car. I'm learning all the time from the Care Takers and I find that to be so much fun. Thank you for viewing, sharing and I believe you're going to see many more cars on this Channel you'll enjoy. Hope you Subscribe, and hit the "bell" so you can see all the cars when they are uploaded on this UA-cam Channel, Lou
Took a real racer with balls of steel to man handle these machines!
NICE !
some wiki stuff...
In addition to being a driver, Tyner eventually became a NASCAR owner. Tyner ran his own business doing auto body repair after his driving career ended. He also worked as a show car driver for Junior Johnson's Budweiser race team. Tyner's death was caused by a fatal gunshot to the head while he was in the show truck that was later set on fire. Local police ruled the death a suicide, but many believe foul play was involved. The case is still a mystery to this day. Tyner was married twice and fathered three children: William Leroy Jr., India Dawn, and Truett (who has a Pontiac patch from his father's racing days).[2]
Hi Andrew B, Glad you found one on the Channel you enjoy. Thank you for viewing and sharing your knowledge, Lou
And it's not a Chevy. A fantastic car. Sounding glorious. Thanks for posting.
Hi Craig, Happy to read "A fantastic car" :-) You're welcome, Lou
What a gorgeous GP! A NASCAR GP to boot!! Didn’t know it existed. Thanks for sharing this beautiful living history!!
Hi L Cee, High praise :-) My pleasure sharing this car with you. You're welcome, Lou
Wow. It's a perfect piece of history. The '69 Pontiac Grand Prix is one of my favorite cars, and the Pontiac Ram Air V engine has such an air of mystery about it. Fantastic to see both together in one car. Maybe it's a little sad to hear that 10 of those engines were blown in 31 races, but that's probably not much worse than anybody else's engine back then.
Hi Andy, Well said regarding "a perfect piece of history". Thank you for commenting, Lou
Pontiacs best NASCAR Engine was the SD421 - Very Reliable especially with Smokey Yunick setting them up :)
Thats definitely not a Ram Air V. Ram Air V was a Pontiac racing engine that never made production but did see the racetrack. It was much more rare than the 428. RA5 was also a 303ci OHC engine turning well over 7k rpm without issue. That just appears to be a 428SD with RAM AIR 4. Nice though.
One RARE car and one I really appreciate seeing. That Poncho big block sounds like music! Thanks for sharing! Tell the owner thank you as well!
Glad you like this one :-) You're welcome Douglas Rizzo. I hope you see & hear many more cars on the Channel you'll enjoy, Lou
no such thing as a 'big block; Pontiac
I miss these cars on the track , all cookie cutter cars now , no character , no brand identity , no innovations anymore . All spec racing now and Nascar wonders why no one is at the races anymore . Great job caring for this piece of history.👍👍
Glad you enjoy this one Michael Proulx :-) Thank you for viewing and sharing, Lou
It is that way by design. EPA has dictated how things are to be in automotive life. A true pity.
I can hear the left-hand turn jokes about NASCAR in the background of my head from top gear lol.
Thanks for viewing and commenting, Lou
Really neat that he had it set up just like it would have been when it raced.
Hi James, Happy to read you enjoy the way this car is set up :-) Lou
This is an awesome car to see. It was probably the only Pontiac on the NASCAR Grand National circuit at that time. Gotta love the sound of that 428 RAV. Extremely rare
Happy to read you think this car is "awesome" :-)
Wow, what a special car. That Ram Air V drew me straight in. It sounded so good
Hi Daniel Brealey, Glad you enjoyed this one :-) A special car for sure and it's my pleasure videoing and sharing this one with you. Hope you see many more cars on the Channel you'll enjoy, Lou
Yikes! It went through 10 Ram Air V's! Thanks Lou!
8-0 You're welcome Brian SD :-)
Just had this one pop up on the home page. As a Pontiac guy, this is it. A 428 RA 5. Rare as it gets. Interesting to hear about the rod problem. Today, you would just have Butler Performance make up a set good to 8000 rpm. I would have liked to see that car make a few laps at the track. Thanks Lou!
Hi Greg, A few laps is a fun idea :-) You're welcome, Lou
usually it was the rod bolts that gave up ....428's were set up for 4 bolt mains since they were basically 421's over 60 ...at least from what I remember
Thanks for posting. I saw this car for the first time at this show and it is AWESOME. Thanks to Keith for all his research and being so generous to let all of us car fans view and enjoy this piece of american racing history. Thanks Lou!!!
Keith and I had so much fun videoing and starting this amazing car. Thank you for your comment, Lou
One of the best cars were ever made
Hi Ryan Howell, Thank you for viewing and sharing, Lou
When nascar was nascar! The old school stock cars are cool!
Hi Joseph, Ripping around the track without the computer monitoring your ever move :-) Happy to read you think this car is cool, Lou
I've got a '69 GP, nice to see this special one!
Hi Daniel, Congratulations on your car :-) Lou
Interesting never knew Roy raced a Pontiac
Hi Shorttrackthing, Thank you for viewing and sharing. Hope you see many more cars on this UA-cam Channel you enjoy. Please subscribe, and hit the "bell" so you can see all the cars when they are uploaded on this UA-cam Channel, Lou
That RA5 is downright Inspirational....WOW. My poor 400 with RAIII is cowering in the corner right now. Hello Butler Performance? Ah crud - have to pay for college for the kid....Reality sets in...
Hi GT-37 Guy, Happy to receive a "WOW" from you :-) Thank you for viewing and sharing your thoughts. Hope you see many more cars on this UA-cam Channel you enjoy. Please subscribe, and hit the "bell" so you can see all the cars when they are uploaded on this UA-cam Channel, Lou
WOW.. Very coooool Keith..!! Those Ram Air V motors just need a shorter throw crank and better rods. Thanks for restoring this GP..!! By any chance do you have any video of this GP on a Nascar track? Thank you!
Hi Mr. GTO, Not aware of any video, and happy to read you appreciate this car :-) Thank you for viewing, sharing and I believe you're going to see many more cars on this Channel you'll enjoy. Hope you Subscribe, and hit the "bell" so you can see all the cars when they are uploaded on this UA-cam Channel, Lou
What a neat car and what a neat piece of history! Sounded healthy too!
Glad you enjoy this one :-)
Wow that's a beautiful piece of Craftsmen ship and am especially fond of a 428 beautifully done would like to see it rolling down the road thru the gears
Hi Byron Talley, Glad to read you enjoy the looks of this car :-) Lou
Excellent car añd video, back when they actually looked like the cars they were built from.
Hi Rfk rfk, Glad you think the video and car are "excellent" :-) Thank you for sharing, and appreciate the kind words, Lou
Now, what moron would have put that car in the junkyard! Always loved the 69-70 Gran Prixs
Hi Kramden, I'm sure it did not look anything like what it looks like today. Thanks for viewing and commenting, Lou
Me too. The 69 Grand Prix SJ was my favorite because I've always liked the 428 better than the 455 that replaced it in the 1970 models. Seemed like the 455 couldn't take the abuse that the 428 could
@@jeremythompson9122 I own a couple of 428's. I put one out of my grandma's '69 Bonneville into my 72 GTO back in '92. With nothing more than a carb spacer, some rejetting, a set of Hooker headers and an HEI distributor with a fast advance curve I ran a best of 13.35 at 105. For an un-rebuilt engine with about 66k miles on it that's quite impressive.
Well that was fantastic.
Hi Nick, Happy to read "Well that was fantastic" and you appreciate this car :-) Thank you for viewing, sharing and I believe you're going to see many more cars on this Channel you'll enjoy. Hope you Subscribe, and hit the "bell" so you can see all the cars when they are uploaded on this UA-cam Channel, Lou
That's a bumper built for the bump and run.....
WINSTON CUP RULES
NEW NASCAR JUST CHILD'S PLAY......
NICE!
Wow wee love the 69 grand prix
:-)
Very cool! I enjoyed this tale very much. Thanks, Lou! --Jim
Hi Jim, Glad you enjoyed this one and think it's very cool :-) Me too, Lou
That's my long-time pal Keith! Great to see this video. Harvey from Florida
Glad you were able to see your Friends car :-)
I had a 71 Grand Prix as my first car. I severely miss that car and I would love to have another one. They are pretty pricey now a days though. 71 was the first year that they started lowering the compression ratios to TRY to meet fed emission regulations so it wasn't as fast as they were in previous years. Mine was the 400 big block. It still didn't have a problem laying a LOOOONG patch down when you got on it though LOL. I had an aftermarket tach in in it and you could literally watch the tach go up and the gas gauge go down when I opened her up, but hey gas was still cheap when I had that car back in the mid 80's so I didn't care LOL. It had 140 MPH speedo in it and I only got to that 1 time and it actually scared the crap outta me but I was young and dumb LOL
"laying a LOOOONG patch down". Good times :-)
Same Block for all Engines!
no such thing as a 'big block' Pontiac
Wow! Now that’s a race car! Great story Lou!
Hi Joseph Romano, Glad to receive a "Wow!" from you :-) Appreciate the kind words on the story, Lou
The key on the ignition column.
I love it.
Hi ThunderAppeal
, Thank you for viewing and sharing the details you enjoy :-) Hope you see many more cars on this UA-cam Channel you enjoy. Please subscribe, and hit the "bell" so you can see all the cars when they are uploaded on this UA-cam Channel, Lou
Wow! Never heard of a GP Nascar racer!
Hi CarsByJeff, It's a really fun car to find and share with the Viewers, Lou
Wow a ram air 5 super rare sought after Pontiac engine
Happy to read you appreciate the rarity of this car :-)
always wanted a 69 grand prix 428 4 speed. fast and cool.
Hi Kurt Zimmerman, Hope you're behind the wheel of your 69 Grand Prix soon :-) Lou
AWESOME.
Hi The BS Show, Happy to read you appreciate this car :-) Thank you for viewing, sharing and I believe you're going to see many more cars on this Channel you'll enjoy. Hope you Subscribe, and hit the "bell" so you can see all the cars when they are uploaded on this UA-cam Channel, Lou
Damn, that's a mean old Pontiac.
Nice :-)
Thank You ,Anybody Can Drive A Chevy ,Awesome Ride ,From A Pontiac Guy !!!
Hi greg Schultz, Happy to read you think this car is an "Awesome Ride" :-) Lou
just gorgeous
Hi biffisgreat, Glad you enjoyed this one :-) Hope you see many more cars on the Channel you'll enjoy, Lou
Very Cool
:-)
Very cool!
Hi Michelediaf, Happy to read you think this car is very cool :-) Thank you for viewing, sharing and I believe you're going to see many more cars on this Channel you'll enjoy. Hope you Subscribe, and hit the "bell" so you can see all the cars when they are uploaded on this UA-cam Channel, Lou
great stuff, thanks lou.the 428 in this car,any history on it?was it running in the car,or was the block with the car or did he have to find another original block? thanks
Hi Michael Ferro, Glad you enjoyed this one. I do not have any more history on this car other then what is on the video with this car. Apologize for that, Lou
no worries, just curious, figured if Pontiac made just 200 race only blocks, they'd be a little hard to come by, just one more question i get to ask him when I see this beauty. thanks
Lou Costabile
This car has the right owner.
Well said.
And today, the ram air V is Available as a crate engine up to 600 cubic inches. And no more rod problems.
Thank you barcrrt for sharing your knowledge. Lou
Great car, thanks for sharing!
Hi Big Man, Black T-shirt, Glad you enjoy this one :-) Hope you see many more cars on the UA-cam Channel, and you're welcome, Lou
Wow awesome nascar Grand prix this year is the more smaller A body than the B body predecessor the GP was based on
Happy to receive a "Wow" for this car :-)
Wow..
Hi samo sam, Happy to read you appreciate this car :-) Thank you for viewing, sharing and I believe you're going to see many more cars on this Channel you'll enjoy. Hope you Subscribe, and hit the "bell" so you can see all the cars when they are uploaded on this UA-cam Channel, Lou
Lou & all: I forgot to mention “” Thanks, incredible interesting History”………….
Opera, My pleasure sharing the legacy / story of this car with you :-)
the driver blue them up , just win the race !
:-0
How fast will that awesome car go?
Hmmm, don't have the answer to that one. Maybe a Viewer knows the answer to your question, Lou
"Between 137 and 187 MPH" is the best answer I can come up with. Tyner finished 137 laps (342.5 miles) of the 1969 Firecracker 400 at Daytona which took the leader 149.11 minutes (so Tyner, finishing with the leader would clock in at an average speed of 137.882 MPH). He qualified 19th at Talladega and the 'slowest' speed I have there is James Hylton's 187.224, qualifying in 9th. Finding the qualifying speeds from 'back in the day' is difficult, when not impossible, but I'm sure there are newspapers that have the speeds, just very hard to find.
WOW!
Glad to receive a 'WOW!" from you stewedaple :-)
My dad had a '72 GP with a 400 c.i.d. engine. Similar body style, although it had dual headlights like the '71 instead of the quad headlights on the '69 and '70, which allowed for a slightly wider grill. I always liked the massive long hood/short deck profile. The door handles, which were removed from this race car, were unique to this model and, to my knowledge, were not shared with any other GM product; they were flush mounted bars that you would push into the end closest to the door lock which would then push out the handle to open the door www.flickr.com/photos/bsmif/268110160. About the only thing the cockpit Tyner's car had in common with my dad's are power windows 🤣
Hi bigheadfred, Thank you for sharing the story of your Dad's 72 GP :-) Lou
It's ashamed that these cars would eventually become front wheel drive
Ugh I know. I kinda liked the Grand Prix all the way thru the 70s and most of the 80s until they switched to that shitty FWD platform in 1988. Even those 1986-87 Grand Prix 2+2 Aero Coupes were pretty cool looking cars. They weren't fast or anything when stock but there was plenty of room under the hood for a hot Chevy small block or even a Pontiac 400 or 455. I liked the looks of the 1978-87 Buick Regal, Chevy Monte Carlo, and Olds Cutlass also. There's so much stuff you can do to those cars to make them fast and they're relatively cheap compared to actual muscle cars. Good starting points for a cool poor man's muscle car. The Turbo Buick Regals and Grand Nationals were the closest thing there was to a muscle car since the 74 Trans Am SD455. They ran high 13-low 14 second 1/4 miles bone stock. The 87 Buick GNX is the fastest American production car of the 80s. They would smoke even a Corvette at the time
:-0
Talk about rare. And expensive. Ram air 5 the ultimate in pontiac performance.
Glad to read you enjoy the rarity of this one :-)
Oh, I would kill for that 428 in a 1st gen firebird..
Hi w41duvernay
, Happy to read you appreciate this car :-) Thank you for viewing, and I hope you see many more cars on this Channel you enjoy, Lou
You always have the camera microphone in the wrong place near the hood. It should be behind the car when they fire up
Hi StealZone, I get there to the exhaust after watching the engine turn over and start....
@@loucostabile Watching the fan belt turn isn't the point of hearing a motor come to life though.
the single master cylinder is interesting....weight savings? less residual pressure?
Was OEM, tandem cylinder was later in the 60's
@@stephengravelle5600 Dual master cylinders were standard on all domestic cars in the '67 model year, though some were equipped with them as early as 1962. The NHTSA had made them mandatory by January 1, 1968.
I see Viewers shared knowledge on your question.
@@loucostabile Hi Lou, they shared knowledge but didn't answer the question. a '69 model year would have had a dual master cylinder. This car was modified with a single master cylinder. I was wondering why. Why did they do that?...less weight? less residual pressure?
Thought the ram air 5 was never in production and a concept
It was a crate engine only sold to serious racers. It was never actually offered as an option in a production car
I see Jeremy Thompson answered your ?
John Dolorian in has last year with Pontiac he decided to shift the grand prix to the A platform the b body grand prix was massive compared to this one
Thank you for sharing.
That’s a rare bird
Happy to read you enjoy the rarity of this car :-)
ram air 5`s were crate engines,they only made 200 or so of them
Hi Eric Kort, Thank you for viewing and sharing your knowledge, Lou
I think 1968 or 69
Also OHC 303
Didn't the Ram Air V have round ports?
this definitely has RAM Air V heads, you can tell by the even exhaust port spacing, all other models have the middle ones right next to each othrt
I see bunter6 shared details on the heads.
where i can find the same wheels ?
Not sure. Hoping a Viewer can share a place for you to find them.
So I read somewhere that the 428 (while using the same RA5 kit as the 303, 366 & 400) was called the RA6 on a single carb and the RA7 on twin carbs. So doesn't that mean this car's engine is actually a Ram Air VI?
Also, there were a pair of GTO Judges at a show in Springfield a few months ago. An orange 69 and a silver 70. Both had factory installed Ram Air V engines and both cars have the paperwork to prove it.
I also read in another article that there's a one-off 69 Trans Am with a Ram Air V 400 somewhere and possibly a 70 as well.
Think you can find them, Lou? Would be quite a treat.
Here is a video of the orange 69 - ua-cam.com/video/2OcZB1cZkOg/v-deo.html
And here's the silver 70 right beside it - ua-cam.com/video/G39aSJKId1A/v-deo.html
Hi MLP-Hot-Rod, Interesting info, thank you for sharing. Regarding the engines, hopefully a Pontiac Viewer can share their knowledge. Regarding those Ram Air V's, sure, if I meet the Care Taker, and we can video, you'll see them :-) Lou
I found an article a couple of days ago that tells about how the 5's were very different from the previous four.
Here's the article/blog I found about it - myclassicgarage.com/social/posts/122100-the-legendary-pontiac-ram-air-vq
That is one sexy car 😏
Happy to read you enjoy this car :-)
The reason the car has roll up windows is because they were allowed full side glass on Super speedways in the early years
Hi John, Thank you for viewing and sharing your knowledge. Hope you see many more cars on this UA-cam Channel you enjoy. Please subscribe, and hit the "bell" so you can see all the cars when they are uploaded on this UA-cam Channel, Lou
1969 NASCAR rule book, Section 20-29 -- Glass
b. All side window glass must conform to original size and thickness, and all opening and closing equipment must remain as originally manufactured. You can race without side glasses.
More stock parts in '68 than stock cars have in them now under their skins.
You're right :-)
Freakn Led Sked......
Hi Donald, Thank you for viewing and sharing your thoughts. Hope you see many more cars on this UA-cam Channel you enjoy. Please subscribe, and hit the "bell" so you can see all the cars when they are uploaded on this UA-cam Channel, Lou
what happens to a full fledge nascar that it gets thrown in a junkyard
I guess it turns to junk unless someone saves it.
@@loucostabile I meant what leads someone to throw away a cup car
Make a street legal version
Like this one :-) ua-cam.com/video/vNxGWQlPYBo/v-deo.html
When apocalypse comes, I bet this is how it will sound like.
That's a great sound :-)
@@loucostabile Yeah, like thunder.
John then went to Chevrolet till he left GM in the late 70s
Thank you for sharing.
This motor is definitely not a ram air v motor. Sounds great, awesome car, but not a ram air v, looks like a ram air 3 at best.
Hi Ralph, Thank you for viewing and sharing your thoughts. Hope you see many more cars on this UA-cam Channel you enjoy. Please subscribe, and hit the "bell" so you can see all the cars when they are uploaded on this UA-cam Channel, Lou
Too bad they couldn't get better rods
Hi Jimmy, Thank you for viewing and sharing your knowledge. Hope you see many more cars on this UA-cam Channel you enjoy. Please subscribe, and hit the "bell" so you can see all the cars when they are uploaded on this UA-cam Channel, Lou
not very aerodynamic like the 69 Daytona
Hi Patrick R, Yes, you're right about that. Thank you for viewing and sharing. Hope you see many more cars on this UA-cam Channel you enjoy. Please subscribe, and hit the "bell" so you can see all the cars when they are uploaded on this UA-cam Channel, Lou
GM wasn't in NASCAR back then.
Thank you for viewing and sharing your knowledge.
chevy banned all factory racing after 1963 and put an end to Pontiacs Super Duty program. Pontiacs dominance in stock car and super stock drag racing in the lat 50's early 60's was generating sales that were fast approaching chevy's sales. Can't have anyone take away chevy's status as leader and top performer of GM. Also would not allow Pontiac to make steel or forged rods. Cast only. That's why the engines wouldn't hold up. That doesn't look like Ram Air V intake and heads.
Hi Casey, Thank you for viewing and sharing your knowledge. Hope you see many more cars on this UA-cam Channel you enjoy. Please subscribe, and hit the "bell" so you can see all the cars when they are uploaded on this UA-cam Channel, Lou
Very cool!
Glad you like this one :-)
I kind of fancied myself as a Pontiac and NASCAR history buff but I never heard about this one until today. I'm going to see if I can find out more about it.