[Tom Vaught]

Here they are of the GR-1, the Modern Shelby Cobra, and the V-10 EFI Engine (same as my avatar)

Click on the pic and they get large.

Tom V.

[72projectbird]

I remember watching a documentary on the building of GR-1 a long time ago. Beautiful car.

[Tom Vaught]

The famous Kevin Byrd "2 Guys Garage" co-host, actually took over the Shelby Cobra/GR-1 project when the original Program Manager (John B.) left Ford and and Kevin did a nice job of bringing the project home (to met Shelby's time line). I work with Kevin B every day.

Tom V.

IF someone did a 10 Cylinder RA-V type engine based on Don's DCI Head you would really have something and you could still keep the factory 4.625" bore spacing.

[LiL Jack]

Tom, can you get me an employee discount on the new Ford GT?

Can you tune it up for me before I take delivery?

[t walgamuth]

Originally Posted by Tom Vaught

Here they are of the GR-1, the Modern Shelby Cobra, and the V-10 EFI Engine (same as my avatar)

Click on the pic and they get large.

Tom V.

Thanks Tom! I've seen the roadster before but not the coupe. I really like that coupe! you are a lucky man to be involved with such cool cars!

Tom W.

[Tom Vaught]

Thanks Tom W.

The Picture in the Avitar was taken at a prototype Build shop that we use often. The have done a lot of cool work over the years for us (Ford Research) and Ford Racing.

Like I said in the PM to you, I was working on a Boosted Version of the car at one time until the other Guys went bankrupt and we killed programs left and right.

Tom V.

Jack, with your HP I am surprised that you are not talking direct with TASCA Ford on a new Ford GT (2017 model).

[bryansMtngto]

Really nice Pics Tom. Ford really making some Great cars ATM. Been running my 14 Mustang in NMRA while Pontiac has been on side line. Amazed at what some of these guys are running specially in True street

[Tom Vaught]

I went to the Post Office to buy a couple of Postal Money Orders and saw a new Corvette parked next to me when I came out. Chebby really did a nice job on the styling of that new Vette. Will look nice as a race car too.

Pontiac was kicking their butt everywhere until the Chebby boys killed off the Pontiac Brand.

Tom V.

[t walgamuth]

i still love the looks of the Solstice. Its pretty good in the autocross too.

[SR-71]

Too bad the Pontiacs were Holden's with Chevy engines in them. Sadly true Pontiacs died years before they made it official.

[t walgamuth]

I like the specification of the Holden/Pontiacs but the styling lacked the distinction of the classic sixties Pontiacs.

[Sirrotica]

Originally Posted by SR-71

Too bad the Pontiacs were Holden's with Chevy engines in them. Sadly true Pontiacs died years before they made it official.

If your going to berate late model Pontiacs, such as the 04-06 GTO, at least get the lineage of the engine correct.



In this picture the sign says it all, GM LS SERIES, not chevy, not buick, not GMC.

GM POWERTRAIN designed and built the engine, chevy as all divisional V8 engines were terminated in or before 97.

Chevy small block engines ceased to exist in GM cars after 1997. They were replaced by a true state of the art, clean sheet of paper, GM corporate pushrod LS series V8 engine designed built and sold by GM POWERTRAIN, not chevy.

By calling the LS series a chevy engine you actually give chevy credit for something they had nothing to do with. Their engineers never approached the LS series technology with their small block designed in the early 50s by Zora Arkus Duntov. Even after 40 plus years chevy never had a V8 power plant in the same league as the LS V8.

Due diligence will show that in the early 90s GM knew their existing divisional V8s were becoming long in the tooth and outdated both in fuel economy and horsepower. Enter the GM Powetrain division with the assignment to design and execute a clean sheet of paper world class pushrod V8.

The engineers identified all the strong suits in all the previous divisional V8s and consolidated Pontiac, buick, olds, cadillac, and chevy proven designs into their new V8. So the corporate LS V8 owes it's lineage to every GM division. I suppose there may have even been design ideas incorporated from ford and chrysler, if they stood out over the former divisional GM engines. So the LS series has no more from the chevy bloodline into it's design than the Stratostreak V8 that Pontiac started marketing in 1955.

I've owned a 97 T/A with the weak LT1 chevy small block and later bought a new 05 GTO with the LS2 and believe me, there is no comparison other than they share the same bore spacing. Comparing the 2 engines is like apples and oranges, there is no comparison. Chevy never did build anything as capable of power and efficiency as the GM LS series engine.

Chevy Neanderthals love to take credit for the LS engine being a chevy design, when the truth be told, there is no truth to that statement. It's all been documented if you'd like to do the research and find out the truth.

To the Holden remark, Holden is a division of GM, so when looking for a 2 door RWD platform for the 04 GTO it was no different than picking a previously designed platform from buick, chevy, olds or cadillac. The platform from the Holden/Pontiac GTO, V platform/body was used in 3 Holden models, Cadillac Catera, and Pontiac GTO. You could say it was a cadillac platform/design if that makes you feel better

The Zeta platform/body was used in the G8, is used in the Camaro and in the SS chevy. Besides Holden, GM shares platforms with Opel, Daewoo, Toyota, Suzuki, Isuzu.

GM is international, even though they are a US based company.

My 05 GTO is one of the best cars I've owned and a ton better quality than the 97 F body I owned before it. The LS2 engine is stellar compared to the LT1 in the T/A.

Would I put an LS engine in a classic Pontiac? Never happen, but I have no problem with the LS engine in my late model GTO.

The late model Pontiac performance cars were not crap as many on PY think, and try to convince others that will listen to them. The statement that Pontiac died in 1981 is usually regurgitated by people that drive Hondas and Toyotas as their daily drivers own a pre 81 classic and never even drove a late model Pontiac muscle car.

Time to update your statements with facts, rather than rumors from the net.

[SR-71]

Sorry, I will change my statement. Too bad they are Holdens with corporate engines in them. Never said they were bad cars just not Pontiacs. I'd love to own a G8 since they are nice looking and driving cars. A good friend of mine did the ECM programming long before GM announced their coming to the United States and bragged about how good they were.

[Tom Vaught]

Originally Posted by Sirrotica

My 05 GTO is one of the best cars I've owned and a ton better quality than the 97 F body I owned before it. The LS2 engine is stellar compared to the LT1 in the T/A.

Would I put an LS engine in a classic Pontiac? Never happen, but I have no problem with the LS engine in my late model GTO.

The late model Pontiac performance cars were not crap as many on PY think, and try to convince others that will listen to them. The statement that Pontiac died in 1981 is usually regurgitated by people that drive Hondas and Toyotas as their daily drivers own a pre 81 classic and never even drove a late model Pontiac muscle car.

You can still call it a Pontiac GTO, Brad. Pontiac was still alive then. The engines were long gone as you said.

Ford did the modular engines (My old Chief Engineer, long retired), used to like to say, he took a lot of Pontiac Engine Engineering concepts and put it into a Ford engine.

A small amount of truth there if you compare the Pontiac 427 SOHC engine to the Modular engine.

But I personally think that the LS engines were a step above any of the modular engines, except in one case and that is John Mahovitz 4.6/5.4L Twin Turbo engine/vehicle that has run in the 5s in the quarter. For its displacement vs performance it is a good example of persistence if nothing else. The LS based guys should be faster vs John and are not at the present time. At some point they will be.

Justin is a lot like John M in that he is carrying the brand on his shoulders as far as the Pontiac faithful go. Very hard work for both guys.

Tom V.

[Sirrotica]

HSV, Holden called it a Commodore GTO, long before Bob Lutz ever thought about badging it with Pontiac emblems.

The V, Z body/platform is a GM design and is/was built worldwide at different plants so Holden doesn't have the only cars using it. Camaro utilizes the Z as does the chevy SS. The Camaro is built stateside while the SS is built by Holden for chevy and imported to the US.

The Cadillac Catera was built on the V platform same as the GTO by Opel in Germany, so the Catera is an Opel, and the GTO is a Holden? Same parts fit both cars and they are built in different plants in different countries. GM cars built in GM plants. Hard to see why because it was not built in the US it has a stigma attached to it that it's not a Pontiac.

Go back to 1970 and there were GTOs also built on foreign soil, are these cars also not Pontiacs? They were built in Canada at the Oshawa plant. I'm thinking no one disqualifies these cars as being Pontiac GTOs, why are the late models segregated from past precedent?

[Tom Vaught]

Except for a line drawn in the sand between Canada and US (Detroit Plants) there was no difference. Both countries kicked out quality products and still do.

Just saying. You going to build/buy your own computer, phone, or TV set, Brad in the USA?