[Jack Gifford]

I just found this classified ad from the May 1984 issue of Hot Rod, which resulted in my purchase of a pair of hemi heads from Mickey. The rest, as they say, is history...

Did anybody here buy the complete aluminum engine? Perhaps Tom S?

[Drag Star Le Mans]

Cool deal! I wonder where all of that other stuff is now?

[richard sargent]

Originally Posted by Jack Gifford

I just found this classified ad from the May 1984 issue of Hot Rod, which resulted in my purchase of a pair of hemi heads from Mickey. The rest, as they say, is history...

Did anybody here buy the complete aluminum engine? Perhaps Tom S?

I own it Tom S Aluminum V

[miragesmack67]

I had a set of slightly damaged RAV heads but they were stolen from Louisville KY in 1984, along with all my GTO parts. I wonder who ended up with those? I traded a RAIV engine to get them.

[johnta1]

Richard, what heads did the engine have?

Hemi?

[tom s]

Richard owns my alu RA V block.The all alu 389 I ended up with after 40 plus years of trying to buy it.I built the engine and put it in my 63 Tempest wagon,sold the car with the engine in it.The buyer pulled the engine and put it in a 62 bubble top Catalina.Have not seen it forsale for about a year.Tom

[richard sargent]

Originally Posted by johnta1

Richard, what heads did the engine have?

Hemi?

Tom said the heads were the best unported V heads he came across. You will have to ask Tom where he got them

[tom s]

Richard got the V engine with the alu block that was in the Royal Bobcat clone car.There are now 3 of them that I know of now.One in NJ is being built as a V engine also.Tom

[Tom Vaught]

I was told by a guy who at one time had several of the 400 style Pontiac aluminum blocks in his garage, that most of them were casting rejects and would have taken a massive amount to work to actually run on of the things. 8 blocks stick in my mind.

Tom Vaught

[richard sargent]

Originally Posted by Tom Vaught

I was told by a guy who at one time had several of the 400 style Pontiac aluminum blocks in his garage, that most of them were casting rejects and would have taken a massive amount to work to actually run on of the things. 8 blocks stick in my mind.

Tom Vaught

According to Greg T. and Tom this was true.

[tom s]

Tom,believe it was 6.Mine did take stupid money,the one I sold Steve was raw,I think another came from a board member and I believe KRE finished it up,it is in NJ.Randy has one in his estate.There were many of the early ones like Jack has.The one in the all alu 389 engine was a 61-64 bell pattern,the only one I ever have seen.The 72ish vintage had the reinforced lifter valley. Tom

[Jack Gifford]

Originally Posted by tom s

... There were many of the early ones like Jack has...

I don't know why you say "many", Tom. In my conversations with them, both Mickey and Fritz spoke of the "half dozen Harvey Aluminum" blocks. Press releases of the time confirm that number. Keep in mind, PMD had these cast for just one specific purpose- evaluating the feasibility of non-sleeved aluminum blocks- nothing to do with racing or with Mickey (even Mac McKellar confirmed to me the development number of the blocks being D4519x). The bore plating was unsuccessful and Pontiac soon abandoned the project (the plating was mostly flaked away from the bores in my block). Somehow (?) the blocks wound up with Mickey- not surprising, since he was also using Harvey Aluminum to cast stuff, and by that time (1961) he was also "tight" with Pontiac.

[tom s]

Jack,many is as I have seen way more of them than a a 366 NASCAR block.The guy that has my all alu engine has a pair of unmachined ones right now.There was one at a swap meet out here a few years ago.Fritz has not been at the last few swap meets where I used to see him.The last time I talked to him he said someone else actually did them and not Harvey.I had always thought that Harvey did them as there was some ties between M/T and Harvey.Things get fuzzy about things that were done 55 or so years ago.Tom

[Tom Vaught]

Originally Posted by tom s

Tom,believe it was 6.Mine did take stupid money,the one I sold Steve was raw,I think another came from a board member and I believe KRE finished it up,it is in NJ.Randy has one in his estate.There were many of the early ones like Jack has.The one in the all alu 389 engine was a 61-64 bell pattern,the only one I ever have seen.The 72ish vintage had the reinforced lifter valley. Tom

I believe that you are correct and the number was 6 blocks not 8 blocks after all, Tom.

Tom Vaught

I have only seen/worked on one true 366 NASCAR block Pontiac engine and that was the one installed in Herb Adam's wife's Tempest (that was whipping the Chebbys and the Fords at Lime Rock (in the rain) before it had engine issues at the end of the race.

A couple of Ford Road race guys were restoring the Grey Ghost for the owner and they knew nothing about Pontiac Engines, LOL!

They were impressed with the Hidden dry sump system.

Tom Vaught

[tom s]

Tom,my block is block number 1 and does not have that provision!Tom

[Tom Vaught]

Think at one time Wade at BOP had 3 of the 366 blocks with that provision. Was told he sold all of them over the years.
The engine I worked on, not only had the provision, but had the parts installed and functional. G-Rotor pump, cam drive, etc.

Tom Vaught