Project Articles

 

 

1) Progression Ignition 

This PDF covers my installation of a new electronic distributor from the folks at Progression Ignition into my Pontiac GTO 400 cube V8.  Like Pertronix, the closest competitor, it does away with the traditional points and condenser yet maintains a stealthy, stock appearance.  But unlike Pertronix, it's almost infinitely tunable via a bluetooth app on your smartphone.

 

2) Seat Track Extensions

Think about it - cars designed in the 50s and 60s were designed by people born in the 20s or thereabouts who were slightly smaller in stature compared to people born on the 70s and 80s.  As such, seating posture differs greatly between cars designed in those earlier years compared to more modern cars.  Cars from the 50s and 60s often did not have power steering, as it it was an expensive option.  This is why you see a more upright seating position coupled with a fairly large steering wheel in cars from that era.  Later model cars usually have a more laid-back seating posture and power steering. Rest assured, the finished project was well worth doing - just not as easy as the instructions would have you believe.  

 

3) "Dead Head" EFI System

Most fuel injection systems use a fuel pump and regulator to pump fuel up to the injectors and maintain pressure, but also have a return line that takes excess fuel back to the tank.  Another way of doing this is to have the regulator and return line closer to the tank such that only a single feed line goes forward to the engine.  Holley (among others) makes fuel pump units with the fuel sending unit and an integrated regulator and return.  It replaces the fuel gauge sending unit in your tank.  It leaves you with the option of using your original (if large enough) fuel feed line up to the engine.  But doing this also has its own issues that must be addressed in order to be effective.  This document details how I went about mine and includes additional links for more information.

 

4) Monitor Engine Temps Accurately

To stay on top of your engines performance and health, you have to accurately monitor the coolant temperature.  Aftermarket temperature gauge sending units must be installed carefully to avoid producing inaccurate readings.  This document has some illustrated examples of solutions (as well as what not to do) to ensure you're getting the facts straight.  

 

5) Additional Safety For Electric Fuel Pumps

Whether for EFI or high powered carbureted fuel systems, each has an "Achilles Heel" regarding electric fuel pump safety.  Auto makers address this issue but aftermarket systems do not.  Find out how you can make using an electric fuel pump safer for everyone easily and without breaking the bank.

 

6) Holley Sniper Quadrajet on Pontiac Engines

We've all heard the phrase "It's a right handed world".  When it comes to EFI installations on GM products, it seems to be a "Chevrolet" world.  Installing Holley's Quadrajet version of their Sniper EFI system on a Pontiac engine presented me with a unique throttle linkage problem.  

 

7) Steering Column Ignition Lock Fix For GM Overdrive Transmission Conversions

Well, who would've thought a transmission swap would cause trouble with the steering column/ignition interlock mechanism?  Here's the fix I documented.  Though specifically for a GM 4L60E overdrive transmission, it may still serve as a guide for others.  Of course, if your car is old enough not to have an ignition/steering column lock then you wouldn't be affected by this issue.

 

8) Restoring Rally Shift Functions After Overdrive Upgrade

When upgrading your classic ride with an overdrive automatic transmission, you have to convert the shifter to include the extra gear.  Not to be confused with the Hurst Dual-Gate shifter, Pontiac had their own factory console shifter for the GTO with a ratcheting "Rally Shift" function.  Positive stops let you bang gears without fear of a mis-shift.  However, that feature is lost when you convert the shifter to work with your new overdrive automatic transmission.  Being dedicated to having my cake and eating it too, I set about restoring the Rally Shift function in my shifter.  Follow along and see how easy it actually was.   

 

9) Repairing Threaded Plastic Extrusions

I occasionally encounter damaged threaded extrusions on plastic panels. At one time or another I’m sure you all have too. The plastic becomes brittle with age and may already be split or cracked from over tightening of a mounting screw, or broken off altogether. They are delicate and many times difficult to repair.  This article shows you a different way to perform this repair without sticky glue, tape, or splints. 

 

10) Make Your Classic Car Gas Pump Friendly

The trouble with classic cars like my 1970 GTO is that when filling up at the local station, the fuel tank neck is too large to just set the pump nozzle and expect it to reliably "trip" and shut off.  Often this results in spillage and is quite the smelly pain.  The alternative is to spend the entire time squatting down behind the car and slowly fueling the car manually - not fun!  So, while I had my tank down to install the EFI fuel pump, I also took the opportunity to address this fuel filling issue.
 

We've been in our home since 2010 (seems like yesterday to us!).  A significant amount of work has been done both to the house and to our 1970 Pontiac GTO that we acquired in 2019.  In both cases, much of the work was extensively documented, and I'll post some of them here. When or if it becomes necessary, I'll separate the pages into Home and Automotive.

 

On this Project Articles page, I have listed some articles that are GTO related. They're in PDF form.  I wrote them to share with friends and others in the Pontiac Oakland Club International, The National Street Rod Association, as well as the various Pontiac-themed Internet forums that I subscribe to such as The GTO Forum and Max Performance Years forum, run by Ames Performance Engineering.  The articles can be downloaded without charge and shared freely, but please acknowledge their source if you do.  Enjoy!

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