Olds and Pontiac "corvettes"

[herr_oberst]

I never knew this - Harley Earl also designed two-seaters for Pontiac and Oldsmobile; the Poncho would have had a 4-carbed straight 8!

And I'm going on record to say that I like 'em both! What might have been!

How GM Accountants Killed The Pontiac And Oldsmobile Corvettes

[M.D. Holloway]

very cool...accountants can be so silly!

[onewhippedpuppy]

Cool cars, but badge engineering is what landed GM in bankruptcy. Does the same company really need three Corvettes?

[Nostril Cheese]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Cool cars, but badge engineering is what landed GM in bankruptcy. Does the same company really need three Corvettes?

Having separate engine divisions for Chevy, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Buick and Cadillac didnt help either.

Although I do love the Nailhead.

[dafischer]

Originally Posted by LubeMaster77

very cool...accountants can be so silly!

I resemble that remark!!

[HardDrive]

Didn't that Olds prototype sell for an insane amount of $ at Barett Jackson about 10 years ago.

[boosted 89]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

Didn't that Olds prototype sell for an insane amount of $ at Barett Jackson about 10 years ago.

Yes it did sell at BJ about 8-10 years ago and I believe it sold for 5+ million...soon after that the had the GM touring bus go through BJ and sell for more if memory serves me correctly.

[azasadny]

The coolest cars are the one that never get built and sold.....very sad!

[yellowperil]

I thought it was the Pontiac that went through BJ about 5 yrs ago. Maybe they both sold. Actually I've never seen nor heard of the Olds till just now. Very nice (both)

[petrolhead611]

The Olds looks like a Ford Thunderbird. The Pontiac is just a warmed over Corvette bodyshell.

[fastfredracing]

Originally Posted by Nostril Cheese

Having separate engine divisions for Chevy, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Buick and Cadillac didnt help either.

Although I do love the Nailhead.

My machinist is building a nailhead right now. It was all dis assembled on his bench the other day, and made me a bet that I could not identify it. He was right. They are bizzare looking motors

[Nostril Cheese]

Originally Posted by fastfredracing

My machinist is building a nailhead right now. It was all dis assembled on his bench the other day, and made me a bet that I could not identify it. He was right. They are bizzare looking motors

[wdfifteen]

^^
That engine is so cool!!
I wonder what the thinking was behind the reverse gas flow through the heads. Easier plumbing for the blower? To use the intakes as bigger exhaust valves?

[asphaltgambler]

This is just soooooo cool. That is a nail head Buick with a front driven GMC inline-6 diesel blower with a host of 2BBL early modified Stromberg 97's It represents a period in drag racing (late 50's/ early to mid 60's) where there seemed to be no limitations of ideas or execution of those ideas with what ever equipment that was available. In my opinion no one was afraid to try something new or different that might make the car ET or MPH better with reverse engineering of production automotive engines or cheap aircraft parts.

Although today we look back and laugh at what looks completely ridiculous to us....................and honestly some of it is; these guys had limited access to any kind of flow benches, dynos, computers or programs, decent tooling, etc. To me they are almost mechanical genius's / engineering heros that were driven to succeed at going faster and better than their opponent and were not afraid to fail.


As a very young kid, I grew up around two of the East Coast's first drag tracks and witnessed a few of these 'marvels' first hand. A lot of the stuff did look very goofy until that car won the race. Then a lot of the competitors took a different view

Originally Posted by Nostril Cheese

[Nostril Cheese]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

^^
That engine is so cool!!
I wonder what the thinking was behind the reverse gas flow through the heads. Easier plumbing for the blower? To use the intakes as bigger exhaust valves?

The Nailhead motor is called so because all the valves stand straight up, like nails in a board of wood. The problem with these motors is that exhaust flow is seriously restricted as it must make a 90 degree turn to exit the head.

Back in the day, the solution to these problems was to run a special cam, then use the exhaust valves as intakes as forced induction would make up for the flow problems. Add some zoomies out the top of the motor and you're set.

The guy next door growing up was an old school drag racer. I saw all kinds of crazy stuff growing up.

[pwd72s]

"TV" Tommy Ivo loved nailheads so much he built a drag car running four of them...

Americas Car Collection - "Ivo Series" Transformation - YouTube

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by asphaltgambler

Although today we look back and laugh at what looks completely ridiculous to us....................and honestly some of it is; these guys had limited access to any kind of flow benches, dynos, computers or programs, decent tooling, etc. To me they are almost mechanical genius's / engineering heros that were driven to succeed at going faster and better than their opponent and were not afraid to fail.

Tractor pulling was there about 30 years ago. Somebody ask Danny Dean what his secret to building engines was and he said keep stacking turbos on it until it blows up, and when you rebuild it, don't put the last turbo on.

Tractor Pull Late 80s/Early 90s Bowling Green, OH SuperStock - YouTube

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Cool cars, but badge engineering is what landed GM in bankruptcy. Does the same company really need three Corvettes?

how about a Miata killer type car?

[Ronbo]

Originally Posted by RWebb

how about a Miata killer type car?

They tried that with the Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice.

[Tervuren]

The first one is as good as the gen 1 'vette, the second one pictured is meh. I think the Corvette is best by a small margin.