Pontiac V8 engine

The Pontiac V8 engine is a family of overhead valve 90° V8 engines manufactured by the Pontiac Division of General Motors Corporation between 1955 and 1981. The engines feature a cast-iron block and head and two valves per cylinder. Engine block and cylinder heads were cast at Saginaw Metal Casting Operations then assembled at Tonawanda Engine before delivery to Pontiac Assembly for installation. Initially marketed as a 287 cu in (4.7 L), it went on to be manufactured in [[Engine displacement |displacements]] between 265 cu in (4.3 L) and 455 cu in (7.5 L). Typically carbureted, but a fuel injected and a turbocharged version were produced. In the 1960s the popular 389 cu in (6.4 L) version, which had helped establish the Pontiac GTO as a premier muscle car, was cut in half to produce an unusual, high-torque inline four economy engine, the Trophy 4. Pontiac did not produce "small-block" and "big-block" V8 engine families common amongst other automakers. All Pontiac V8s shared a common 4.62" bore pitch, resulting in a mid-size block with external dimensions shared by all displacements (except the short deck versions). However, two main journal diameters were used: 3.00" for 400ci and smaller displacements, versus 3.25" for 421ci and larger displacements. Pontiac engines were installed in its U.S.-market cars; Canadian-built Pontiac automobiles generally used Chevrolet engines. From 1955 through 1959, the Pontiac V8 was also used in some GMC pick-up trucks including the 1958/59 336 cubic-inch versions of the 370CI and 389CI engines. Pontiac continued to manufacture its own V8 design, distinct from Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, or Oldsmobile, thru the 1970s. In response to ever stricter EPA and CAFE regulations, Pontiac later downsized its V8, introducing a thin-wall short deck version in 1977. Finally however, Federal regulations and GM's drive toward a "corporate" engine to be...