Tiger has arrived!

It's an exciting time for Injun fans! For twenty five years, we've been living on memories of glory and the hope that someone of influence would step up and return the traditional Pontiac V8 to its rightful place as the "other" GM race engine. That time has come!

As a contributor to Jim Hand's book "How to Build Max-Performance Pontiac V8s", I was offered an early and "special" buy, on the first printing of the book. While talking to the sales rep for SA Designs (the publisher), he wanted to know what all the "fuss" was about the Pontiac. Apparently, they have sold out the first printing of this book on a pace rivaling their new book on the 4.6 lr. Ford DOHC (a current production performance engine), which he said was the fastest they've ever sold a first printing. As the Pontiac was out of production for over 25 years, he couldn't understand the level of interest. I advised him to read the book! He had no idea, the history or capability of the Injun design. He always assumed it was just another wannabe, with no REAL modern racing potential. The idea that the resurgance of the popularity of the "muscle car" could have such an effect on a "dead" engine, he hadn't considered. Can't have muscle car races without GTO. It's un-American to race GTOs with Chevy engines (the terrorists would win). Hence, NEW STUFF for our beloved Injun engine.

NOTE: Jim's book is not aimed at the high-end racing community. It is a comprehensive study of making real-world streetable power. It is also intended to update the thinking of the Pontiac performance enthusiast, particularly in the areas of cylinder heads and durability modifications employing modern parts and materials.

In just the past five or six years, we've seen new heads, blocks, crankshafts, cams and valve train parts, on a scale never before seen for the Pontiac engine. Horsepower levels have dwarfed that of the old guard. Engines are revving higher and living longer. And the best yet, is about to arrive. The Tiger head from AllPontiacs, along with supporting roles from some high-end aftermarket companies like Jessel and T&D, is about to launch a whole new era in Pontiac performance.

Many in the Pontiac world, fail to grasp the significance of this new cylinder head. When combined with one of the new race blocks and good rotating parts, power levels and durability will rise to the level on a par with the venerable Big Block Chevy. Unlike previous aftermarket heads for the Pontiac, this head is not based on the original Pontiac port designs. While the the valve layout and cam lobe locations remain the same, this head is designed using modern racing technology. It is every bit as good as anything out there for the Chevy engines. With some creative exhaust work, Pontiacs will breath like never before.

There are also race-level engine blocks now available, in both iron and aluminum. "IA II" is the best known at this time. The "Butler" and AllPontiac aluminum block is being sold in small numbers. All of these offerings will eliminate the power level "ceiling" imposed by the weakness of the factory blocks.

The most significant aspect of this revolution in racing parts for an engine family out of production for so long, will be felt at the local racing levels, where old-time closet Pontiac-ers will abandon their Chevys and come back into the fold. Many would be glad to, if they honestly believe they could be competitive at a similar cost.

In order for this to truly happen, the Pontiac racer must step up to the next level. For so long, we were limited by the quality and quantity of race parts. Either put out big money for marginal quality, or spend almost as much, reworking old factory parts, used up long ago. Those were our choices. That has changed. To exploit the new parts to their fullest, one must accept certain aspects of the modern bracket or class race car. The idea that "bolt on" parts will keep you competitve is outmoded. A modern race car has custom-made headers. Match-race cars have custom intakes as well. The modern race car uses every little technological advantage it can find. The point here is to break the paradigms that tie us to the past. The days of buying your parts from Summit or Jeg's or other mail-order outfits are going, if not gone. The days of using warmed-up street parts to race are gone. None of the competitive Ford, MOPAR or Chevy racers use the old stuff. Why should we? Real race cars have aluminum heads, roller cams, sheet metal intakes and BIG headers.

As a builder of all varieties of engines, we see the various levels of street, street/strip and race-only engines from other families. Pontiac people have a tendency to ignore the others. This is a mistake. While not all of the power-making techniques used in Chevy or Ford designs work in the Pontiac, many do, and ALL the procedures and additions are universal. The evolution of the bracket race engine is considerable. With the advent of the new era of Pontiac racing technology, this evolutionary process has finally caught up.

We've also noticed a rising level of resentment among the Buick and Oldsmobile crowds. It's evident on some of the multi-car boards. Pontiac and GTO are getting more positive press than they have in a long time. The others aren't getting anything. Unlike Buick and Olds, Pontiac was never a "point prover" or "also ran". When we have current level parts, we make power and win races. It has been that way since 1956.

Once the new crank forgings have proven themselves (they're promised soon, in 4"-4.5" strokes), and the Tiger head is rolling off the line, we could see top-level competition in fast brackets and classes where the old Injun is still "legal", head-to-head with big blocks and hemis. Early success will generate interest among the non-believers, always in search of an "edge". The snowball will begin rolling down the hill. Big-money teams may even crop up within the next year or two. As the pro racers learn the new levels are no fluke, more will follow.

AllPontiacs is not the only company making the investment in time and money, to bring new Pontiac racing parts to market. The brothers Kaufmann are also engaged in developement and production of aluminum heads (in a couple of flavors). The KRE offerings are well engineered and the quality of production pieces is very good.

On that note, we are beginning to see a "polarization" in the various Pontiac "camps". This is the downside of all the new products. Does KRE offer the best head? Or is it AllPontiac's? Do we abandon Larry Wenzler and his raft of products? I hear complaints about the quality of the Wenzler heads. Shouldn't we embrace the effort and commitment Larry showed during the "dark ages" of Pontiac racing? I think so. Maybe the developement of Tiger and the KRE "high port" will spark a new interest at Wenzler, and they can dust off the Ram Air V tooling, and produce some modified tunnel ports, so we can have the serious power of supercharged, nitro engines.

Rather than sitting back and taking shots at the new products, deciding before they ever reach the market, they aren't what they're touted to be, let's be patient and hopeful, looking upon the new stuff as a necessary step in bringing the Pontiac back to modern form. While we may still have a ways to go, we ARE on the right track.

The bore size will always be limited by the bore spacing, placing the Injun right between BBC and SBC in displacement capability. Up to the 550 CID range, the Pontiac will become one of the more popular engines in many classes. There are already some competing in SuperGas classes in NHRA. The non-Hemi fuel classes will see a few as well.

Jim