I am desperately trying to find a car that Pontiac made with this engine. It was a screamer,to say the least.It would do close to 10,000 rpm. It didn't have a lot of low end torque, but wind it up and watch it go! I've asked a lot of people who love cars & nobody believes me that Pontiac made this engine. HELP!
2007-07-23 05:58:07 · 13 answers · asked by jim4vegas2 3 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Car Makes ➔ Pontiac
The engine continued in production from 1966 to 1969. It was dropped because it was too expensive, and it also was somewhat unreliable due to top end lubrication problems. With a 1-barrel, it was the standard engine on the Tempest and Firebird lines, so they made quite a few. The 4-barrel "Sprint" version is certainly more collectible. They had 207 to 215 hp gross, depending on the year, which is just okay. It wasn't a huge bunch of hp. I've always heard 6500 rpm for a redline, but I can't say I ever drove one that hard.
If you read any books on Pontiac history, you'll see that John Delorean wanted Pontiac to offer a car that had a sophisticated high-performance six and good handling, like European cars of that time. He was ahead of his time in this country.
There are almost no running OHC 6 Pontiacs anywhere any more. It's a great rarity to see one at a show, and you ought to enjoy it if you do. They're hard to get parts for, and pretty hard to live with compared to a 400, and most poeople just swapped them out.
John Paul is mistake about the Jeep and Pontiac engines being the same thing. They initially were the same size, but not the same thing.
2007-07-23 17:33:06 · answer #1 · answered by Firebird 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have a 1966 Pontiac Tempest with the inlien 6 cylinder engine. It is NOT the Sprint version. The reason the inline 6 cyliner was discontinued was due to everyone wanting the V8, and cheap gas prices. Think on it......the 64 GTO came with the 389. The die was cast. The inline performance 6 was a good engine but it lacked sales and could not cover production costs. It was an engine ahead of it's time. No 6 cyliner is made to rev to 10,000 RPMs. Engines either suffer from valve float, or basically run out of air in normally aspirated engines.
Do more research before you throw this engine under the bus. It's introduction at the time of high horsepower and low gas prices and cheap insurance doomed the engine.
2014-11-11 13:27:11 · answer #2 · answered by robert s 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Certain engines have a built-in safety margin , and straight 6 cylinders have that - due to the design, there's no unnecessary vibrations that need to be compensated for, unlike V-6 and 4 cylinder designs. If you meant between a V-6 and 4 cylinder, neither will last extremely long, whereas several straight 6's have been known to go 250,000 miles or longer in some old Chevies. All depends on make, model, and maintenance. As to bigger vs. smaller engine, yes, a bigger one won't have as much stress that a small one has in producing power, so unless the bigger 4-cylinder was over-burdened in a MUCH bigger vehicle, it should be a better choice than a smaller one. Again, the 3 M's - Make, Model, and Maintenance, make all the difference in what makes them last. Make and Model being more quality and design related than anything. - The Gremlin Guy -
2016-03-19 07:31:24 · answer #3 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
66 Pontiac Tempest
2016-12-14 08:53:48 · answer #4 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
1966 Tempest
2016-09-28 11:32:41 · answer #5 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
And latter on Jeep used that overhead cam motor too. It was the breathing that did it 4 bbl carb on that 6. Advanced but it was an oil leaker. Today's equal engine is the Chevy trailblazer motor. Now with modern emissions and much more durability you might place one of those in the tempest I have seen it in a 1968 firebird.
2007-07-23 13:35:45 · answer #6 · answered by John Paul 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yup, the OHC "sprint" six. They had problems with the timing belt jumping off at high RPM. Redline was about 5500-5800. Pretty trick for the time on a six cylinder. They were usually mated to a three speed manual or a 2-speed automatic. Eventually they all got scrapped in favor of a 400 or 455 and a TH-350. I've only seen one, and it was on its side in a junkyard.
2007-07-23 18:06:47 · answer #7 · answered by electron670 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I also had a 66 sprint 6 ohc tempest. white body, black top, dbl competition stripes Quadajet 4bl, posi-traction, B&M 3 speed on the floor, complete stewart warner dash, red leather interior, split manifold for duel exhaust.. and I will whole heartedly agree a screamer!!!! mine was the quickest stock 6 in my city for 3 years running. would take a V8 anything off the line every time. Even the 8cy GOATS.. don't get me wrong, would not win against said V8's in the quarter but, off the line? blown out of the water and would "own" half of that quarter, every single time. took on a 72 Cuda once. amazing fun. Posi-track did it every time...I am told I had one of the infamous "1 of 7" from Canada. Have been trying to find such but no luck. I fear the :"7 of 7" is now totally gone forever.
2015-04-17 10:12:11 · answer #8 · answered by MIKE F 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The overhead cam engine was available in the 67-69 Firebird, as well. It wasn't nearly as common as the 326, but it was an available option.
2007-07-23 06:39:28 · answer #9 · answered by Galaxie500XL 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Pontiac definitely had a OHC engine in the 60's, my dad had one. I believe they had many problems with them, that's why they didn't stay in production long.
If people revved it anywhere near 10,000 rpm, that might explain the durability problems!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac_Custom_S
2007-07-23 06:05:28 · answer #10 · answered by PMack 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋