And, this is with 3 tube headers! Look not bad at all. I like and suggest 3 tubers for most street cars as they are cheaper and easier to fit, etc. However, it would be good to do a dyno comparison for us with swapping a set of 4 tubers to compare
Thanks for another great episode. The Pontiac 400 is a great engine and capable of terrific street or strip performance = just depends on how the engine is built and prepared!!!
I had to rebuild an Olds 350 for my uncle because one of the guys that worked at my grandpa's garage managed to drop the wingnut from the air cleaner down the carb. Cracked the piston at the 1st ring groove. The head of the piston was barely hanging on.
Oh, btw, i commented a bit early as i do, but 36° of total is EXACTLY what those heads like, glad ya found it, and it worked!!....just love it AG!!!...TY!!
Hey AG, Tim here, i agree with headflow, NICE #'s for a mild build, and again i LIKE the cam choice, in a previous comment i said it will be a good choice, not to radical, GREAT tq#'s, and i also liked the tq curve.....i watch tq curves like a hawk, every since i learned from D. Vizard years ago, that a nice flat tq curve shows volumetric efficiency.....i thought this combo wud do well, IT DOES!!......i LOVE the #16 heads, GREAT dudes back in the day......TY, for a nice STOUT Poncho build!!! As u know i'm ur Poncho nut sub'r.....again, NICE JOB sir!!!!.....
Years ago I built a 400 Pontiac for a 77 Firebird that had a 350 Turbo and 2.41 rear gear using the slightly smaller 2801 Summit cam....and it ran really strong. The 2802 is a bit more cam than I'd run with a 5200 redline as you're giving away a bit of idle and bottom end as the 2801 easily pulled hard to 6000 which is as high as I wanted to take it. Pontiac makes a good torque motor but they don't like real high revs so make best use of what they are and don't over-gear it in the car. Let the torque work!
Like most other 400+cube engines,they have to be built for high revs.In ‘71 I had my RA/IV crate engine fully balanced and blueprinted by The King Speed Shop.In a ‘64 LeMans,I ran 11.7’s thru the traps at a smidge over 7,000rpm.All factory parts except bearings,a Melling high volume oil pump,and a Holley 800cfm 4160 spread-bore racing carb.Trust me,these engines were designed for those rpm levels,check the cam specs and pushrod diameter.They were,however,quite rare and unknown to the Chevy guys.
WOULDN'T Rev it anyway with those cast rods and oiling system. GM to Chevrolet the money from Pontiac so they couldn't do forged rods in their engines so they couldn't be a performance division comparable. BTW I Did the same in a 76 Firebird formula, that had a blow up 400 with 2.41 gearing, I swapped the gearing with 3.42 and a posi.
The 2802 cam was Edelbrock's second choice for a 0.030" over bore 400 and a computed compression ratio of 9.5:1, with stock iron heads. Their first choice was 041 cam. They said the Crane 234/242/112 cam made more power and would have been their first choice if aluminum heads had been available at the time, because the exhaust temperature exceeded Edelbrock's preset exhaust temperature limit, indicating that the camshaft exceeded the flow capacity of the iron heads. The Crower 239/241/112 makes more power too and is the hydraulic lifter version of Crower's solid lifter street cam. Later Crane came out with a more aggressive cam lobe 230/240/112 cam that might have been interesting. I've seen the Crower 221/229/112 dyne's here. The Crower 228/236/112 is a good Pontiac cam too.
Assuming the 2802 is a 290 duration camshaft, I would recommended CC's 280 Magnum. Depending which rods you picked, that motor should be good for more rpm that that - maybe a slightly bigger cam.
I’ve seen stock,low mileage ‘69/70 GTO’s with RA/IV 400’s pull 370-380rwh on chassis dyno.That’s about 450hp,and they were only pulling to 6500rrpm.These engines don’t really start making hp till after 5500rpm.They are top end monsters,and engineered to go up against Chevy’s big blocks.Stock to stock I was not beaten by 396/375’s in Chevy II’s or Chevelles.Most claimed that my car was BBC swapped ‘64 LeMans.
Been around Pontiacs engines all my life. No way a stock Pontiac 400 Ram Air 4 low mileage put 370-380 wheel hp down. Most high compression Pontiac stock 400 engines wheel dyno 290- 310. 370-380 wheel hp is Not happening. Pontiac engines are all done by 4500-5000 rpm in stock form. Put a set of Edelbrock heads or ported Butler Edelbrock heads and they will make that power. They are not top end monsters in stock form. You must be confused with a Chevy LS engines that run like hell top end due to superior head flow. The best stock 400 Pontiac head which is a round port ram air 4 flows 190-200 cfm on the intake. Pathetic. A 5.3 LS flows 230 cfm stock and it’s only 327 cubic inches. LS3 heads flow over 300 cfm and they are on an engine that is under 400 cubic inches. Pontiacs are known for their bottom end and midrange torque. They are not high rev ing engines.
@@mattspontiacta I don't know where you're getting those flow #s from. Any big valve Pontiac head will flow 190-200. The Ram Air IV heads are more like 250.
@@kellynestegard5208 the Pontiac head flow numbers can be found at Wallace racing. There are several other websites that have the same information just do a search. Pontiacs are great engines for late 60s early 70s technology.
David Vizard writes a lot of material. He claims a performance engine should make at least 1.25 lb-ft per cubic inch. According to that math 400 x 1.25 = 500 lb-ft. What you're reporting here is well off that mark. Thoughts on why?
If the lobe separation was tightened up to 108 with 5-10 degrees less duration it would have been close to the 500 torque, I would like to see a back to back test between the 3 tube and 4 tube header at this power level
Good question Roy. I don't think David is talking about a stock engine. This is essentially a stock build except for the camshaft which is a mild street cam. AG
@@goldsgarage8236 No it's not stock. You have forged after- market rods, and 30 over forged pistons. Summit copy cam, and Edelbrock intake with holley carb. Should of spent time and money on better heads, would seen higher HP & TQ numbers, and stop selling Pontiac people on summit cams!
That will be an awesome street motor. Torque number was impressive.
Thanks for the comment Dean. AG
I wish I could be an apprentice of Mr. Golds!
And, this is with 3 tube headers! Look not bad at all. I like and suggest 3 tubers for most street cars as they are cheaper and easier to fit, etc. However, it would be good to do a dyno comparison for us with swapping a set of 4 tubers to compare
Thanks 69, we didn't have any 4 tube headers at the time. Pretty sure they would help. AG
Decent numbers for a mild build! 👍👍
Thanks Headflow. AG
Dyno readout numbers much lower than the chart numbers, dyno must be adjusting numbers higher from bad test conditions...
Outstanding! That engine sounds great. Well done and Happy Easter!
Thanks Todd, getting to your this week. I will keep you posted. AG
Thanks for another great episode. The Pontiac 400 is a great engine and capable of terrific street or strip performance = just depends on how the engine is built and prepared!!!
Thanks for the comment 4speed. AG
Very cool guys! I love a poncho 👌 Happy Easter!
Thanks Cutter!. Love your channel too!. AG
770 street avenger? I've heard a couple carb shops say they can never get those to run right. they won't even sell them..
Thanks Andy, not sure what was wrong with this one. We couldn't afford to waste any more dyno time working on it. AG
Got to get rid of those 3 tubed headers,, 4 tube will give you a couple more ponys, Great video, Thank you for your knowledge and video's
I 100% agree. Thoug and Hooker headers definitely would had upped the power.
The headers are just my shop headers for start up. They are going back to the shop. AG
Great video. Been anxiously awaiting these results as I have a 68 Pontiac 400 in the garage now for my 68 GTO. Thank you for all the hard work.
Thanks for the nice comment Mr. AG
I had to rebuild an Olds 350 for my uncle because one of the guys that worked at my grandpa's garage managed to drop the wingnut from the air cleaner down the carb. Cracked the piston at the 1st ring groove. The head of the piston was barely hanging on.
Thanks Steve, very similar experience. in this case i removed the head of the piston with the rod still in the engine. AG
I admire ur passion for performance of the old american muscle. Enjoy
Thanks for the video!
Thank you Summit! AG
Not a Pontiac guy just a car guy here , Joe seems like a pretty good customer. O yea and I am a fan golds garage. Keep the good videos coming!
Thanks David, yes, Joe was easy to work with. Thanks for watching and subscribing. AG
Oh, btw, i commented a bit early as i do, but 36° of total is EXACTLY what those heads like, glad ya found it, and it worked!!....just love it AG!!!...TY!!
Thanks Tim. AG
Nice job Al, I noticed how smooth it was at idle. That cam was certainly not lumpy.
Thanks Kim. AG
It was idling way up at 1150 RPMs... would be lumpy at normal idle RPMs... say 600...
Hey AG,
Tim here, i agree with headflow, NICE #'s for a mild build, and again i LIKE the cam choice, in a previous comment i said it will be a good choice, not to radical, GREAT tq#'s, and i also liked the tq curve.....i watch tq curves like a hawk, every since i learned from D. Vizard years ago, that a nice flat tq curve shows volumetric efficiency.....i thought this combo wud do well, IT DOES!!......i LOVE the #16 heads, GREAT dudes back in the day......TY, for a nice STOUT Poncho build!!! As u know i'm ur Poncho nut sub'r.....again, NICE JOB sir!!!!.....
Thanks Tim, always enjoy your comments. AG
Great success! Congrats
Years ago I built a 400 Pontiac for a 77 Firebird that had a 350 Turbo and 2.41 rear gear using the slightly smaller 2801 Summit cam....and it ran really strong. The 2802 is a bit more cam than I'd run with a 5200 redline as you're giving away a bit of idle and bottom end as the 2801 easily pulled hard to 6000 which is as high as I wanted to take it. Pontiac makes a good torque motor but they don't like real high revs so make best use of what they are and don't over-gear it in the car. Let the torque work!
Like most other 400+cube engines,they have to be built for high revs.In ‘71 I had my RA/IV crate engine fully balanced and blueprinted by The King Speed Shop.In a ‘64 LeMans,I ran 11.7’s thru the traps at a smidge over 7,000rpm.All factory parts except bearings,a Melling high volume oil pump,and a Holley 800cfm 4160 spread-bore racing carb.Trust me,these engines were designed for those rpm levels,check the cam specs and pushrod diameter.They were,however,quite rare and unknown to the Chevy guys.
WOULDN'T Rev it anyway with those cast rods and oiling system. GM to Chevrolet the money from Pontiac so they couldn't do forged rods in their engines so they couldn't be a performance division comparable. BTW I Did the same in a 76 Firebird formula, that had a blow up 400 with 2.41 gearing, I swapped the gearing with 3.42 and a posi.
2801 is a great mild street cam behaves wonderfully
Hey. Awesome.
Thanks for the comment. AG
The 2802 cam was Edelbrock's second choice for a 0.030" over bore 400 and a computed compression ratio of 9.5:1, with stock iron heads. Their first choice was 041 cam. They said the Crane 234/242/112 cam made more power and would have been their first choice if aluminum heads had been available at the time, because the exhaust temperature exceeded Edelbrock's preset exhaust temperature limit, indicating that the camshaft exceeded the flow capacity of the iron heads. The Crower 239/241/112 makes more power too and is the hydraulic lifter version of Crower's solid lifter street cam. Later Crane came out with a more aggressive cam lobe 230/240/112 cam that might have been interesting. I've seen the Crower 221/229/112 dyne's here. The Crower 228/236/112 is a good Pontiac cam too.
Thanks for your comments Brandon. AG
234/244 cam similar to Pontiac Ram Air V cam for 500 HP... with, of course, good heads..
Assuming the 2802 is a 290 duration camshaft, I would recommended CC's 280 Magnum.
Depending which rods you picked, that motor should be good for more rpm that that - maybe a slightly bigger cam.
Thanks for the info Con. AG
I’ve seen stock,low mileage ‘69/70 GTO’s with RA/IV 400’s pull 370-380rwh on chassis dyno.That’s about 450hp,and they were only pulling to 6500rrpm.These engines don’t really start making hp till after 5500rpm.They are top end monsters,and engineered to go up against Chevy’s big blocks.Stock to stock I was not beaten by 396/375’s in Chevy II’s or Chevelles.Most claimed that my car was BBC swapped ‘64 LeMans.
Been around Pontiacs engines all my life. No way a stock Pontiac 400 Ram Air 4 low mileage put 370-380 wheel hp down. Most high compression Pontiac stock 400 engines wheel dyno 290- 310. 370-380 wheel hp is Not happening. Pontiac engines are all done by 4500-5000 rpm in stock form.
Put a set of Edelbrock heads or ported Butler Edelbrock heads and they will make that power. They are not top end monsters in stock form.
You must be confused with a Chevy LS engines that run like hell top end due to superior head flow. The best stock 400 Pontiac head which is a round port ram air 4 flows 190-200 cfm on the intake. Pathetic. A 5.3 LS flows 230 cfm stock and it’s only 327 cubic inches. LS3 heads flow over 300 cfm and they are on an engine that is under 400 cubic inches.
Pontiacs are known for their bottom end and midrange torque. They are not high rev ing engines.
mattspontiacta- you are spot on...
I was wondering what the hell I was reading. He must be confused with something else.
@@mattspontiacta I don't know where you're getting those flow #s from. Any big valve Pontiac head will flow 190-200. The Ram Air IV heads are more like 250.
@@kellynestegard5208 the Pontiac head flow numbers can be found at Wallace racing. There are several other websites that have the same information just do a search. Pontiacs are great engines for late 60s early 70s technology.
David Vizard writes a lot of material. He claims a performance engine should make at least 1.25 lb-ft per cubic inch. According to that math 400 x 1.25 = 500 lb-ft. What you're reporting here is well off that mark. Thoughts on why?
If the lobe separation was tightened up to 108 with 5-10 degrees less duration it would have been close to the 500 torque, I would like to see a back to back test between the 3 tube and 4 tube header at this power level
That is good build good job guys
Good question Roy. I don't think David is talking about a stock engine. This is essentially a stock build except for the camshaft which is a mild street cam. AG
@@goldsgarage8236 No it's not stock. You have forged after- market rods, and 30 over forged pistons. Summit copy cam, and Edelbrock intake with holley carb. Should of spent time and money on better heads, would seen higher HP & TQ numbers, and stop selling Pontiac people on summit cams!
@@dennislafoot4905 - LOL! You're talking stronger but still stock performance level parts...
Good job! How would the stock intake work? I have seen it is pretty darn good vs. Edelbrock performer.
Agreed, the stock intake works very well. AG
268 350 wheel.single plane intake and bigger cam make 350-350 ?
Will you give your opinion between this and the 60916 that you had on the dyno? How do they compare on the street? Thanks!
Mike Kimble, you are my authority on Pontiac cams, can you respond to this comment please? AG
@@goldsgarage8236 Any thoughts on this question?
Nice..Tire shredder!
Sounds like Ram Air IV territory with better manners. I think the Ram Air III did 366hp/445 lbs/ft of torque in the 68 GTO.
Good info, thanks for commenting.AG
I would have liked to see it run w a quadrajet carb to see the power
Thanks Glenn. We will test some Quadrajets on future videos. AG
I'm building a Pontiac 400 for my 1986 Pontiac Grand Prix LE
Good luck with your build Rabe!. AG
I don't know if summit grinds their own cams or if not who does.
👍👍👍
Thank you. AG
1.5 or 1.65 rockers?
1.5. AG
@@goldsgarage8236 Thank you.
Thats tough luck having that drop in the engine. Its happened many times im sure.
Torque Monster
Thanks for commenting Allan. AG
Very few late 60s cars could beat a cammed-up 400 Firebird !
Thanks for the comment Patrick. AG
I'm going to go remove all the studs from all my motors.
Good idea, thanks for the comment.AG
Camshaft selection should have been on a 106 lsa probably would have been well over 500 flbs of tq