Many Pontiac purists say the brand truly lost its wings when exclusive engines were canned from the brand in the 1970s. Today, it’s not uncommon to see a classic Pontiac vehicle powered by a Chevrolet engine, or LS swapped entirely. But, it leaves a bitter taste on the tongues’ of Pontiac enthusiasts.
That’s why this second-generation Pontiac GTO dragster is something really special. Instead of dropping a Chevrolet small-block V8, or even LS swapping the car, it instead runs a true 482 cubic-inch traditional Pontiac engine.
Butler Performance sells the entire kit to power your classic Poncho with a true Pontiac engine, but for a price, as the driver states it set him back $12,000. But, for some, it’s well worth the money to keep things traditional.
And the power is proven, too. As this 1320video clip shows the Big Chief taking home the win and $20,000 at a local drag racing competition, smoking plenty of other gnarly builds in the process.
What a way to pay homage to an orphan brand like Pontiac.
Comment
Butler builds some great motors. http://www.butlerperformance.com/
I have a 494 cube Pontiac motor in my ’72 GP putting out somewhere north of 600HP and well over 700ft-lb of torque. (400 block .060″ over with a 4.5″ crank = 494 cubes) I once obliterated a TCI 700R4 tranny with it shifting into 4th. It cracked the SFI approved flywheel but didn’t hurt the motor at all. Like Big Chief in the video, I can attest to the bulletproof build quality of Butler motors.