Design
The 1955-up Pontiac V8 was an overhead valve engine with wedge combustion chambers. It used cast iron cylinder heads and a cast-iron block. An innovative design feature was mounting the rocker arms on ball pivots on studs set into the cylinder-head, rather than using a separate rocker shaft; this allowed more consistent valve action with less weight than a conventional shaft. It was also cheaper to build than a rocker shaft; this Pontiac-patented technology was immediately handed to the Chevrolet division for their first postwar V-8, which appeared the same year. All (except the 303 Ram Air V engine and 265 and 301) used 6.625 in (168.3 mm) connecting rods.
All Pontiac V8s from 1955 to 1959 were reverse cooled, known as the "gusher" cooling system. It was removed from the design for the 1960 model year because designers moved the generator and the power steering pump from atop the front of the engine down to the front of the heads to accommodate a lower hoodline. However, the 1959 389 engines had the generator in front of the heads with reverse flow cooling still in use. This suggests that the cost of the reverse cooling was the reason for the change to "equa-flow" cooling.
Most iterations had an overall length (to the edge of the water pump pulley) of 28.25 in, an overall width of 27 in, and a height (not including air cleaner) of 31 in (790 mm) × 686 mm × 787 mm). Dry weight ranged from 590 to 650 pounds (270 to 290 kg), depending on displacement and year. Most Pontiac engines were painted light blue. The 1958 370" engine and the 1959–60 389 version was named the "Tempest" V-8 and changed in 61 to the "Trophy" V8. Pontiac in the 1950s was one of a few US manufacturers which did not regularly identify its engine names and sizes with air-cleaner or valve-cover decals.
Read more about this topic: Pontiac V8 Engine
Famous quotes containing the word design:
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—François, Duc De La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680)
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“I begin with a design for a hearse.
For Christ’s sake not black—
nor white either—and not polished!
Let it be weathered—like a farm wagon—”
—William Carlos Williams (1883–1963)