Whaaaa? No Pontiac motor under there? tssk, tssk Tom!
I remember my buddy in HS (and still to this day) had a '74 Firebird Formula that had an engine fire and burned up the fiberglass hood and the engine wiring harness. He had an older triple duece carb setup that leaked on him one day and it toasted things up.
So we got a harness from the boneyard (this was in '78 so they were fairly accessable then) along with a steel hood.
He then got his hands on a GTO Ram Air IV 455 that he traded for a .308 rifle. A .308 rifle!?! That motor would be worth at least $4k today. The engine had been sitting in some dude's garage floor in the corner for about 5 years.
We then took it to this guy's place that built tractor pull and semi-pro stock car engines. He went over it and when it was said and done, there was nothing around that could touch this car. Not even theson of the engine builder's car. He had a '70 440 six-pack Challenger that his Dad worked on too. I remember the vicious sound of that Pontiac engine with that 308* duration .500+ lift solid lifter cam. Nothing like it I tell ya. When he brought it home his Mom had a fit! Open headers pulling in the driveway. That didn't last long before a pair of Hush Thrush mufflers went on it. Funny thing, we thought the $700.00 price tag for the parts and labor was astronomical back then. Heck, the minimum wage was $2.35 an hour and we bitched about $1.40 a gallon for gas!
Those were the days fer shur. Growing up with 60s and early 70s muscle cars still fairly new was the bomb!
My 2nd car was a '69 Ram Air 455 GTO with a 400
trans. I bought that car for $950.00 in 1979 at a used car dealer in Peoria, Il. My Pop wasn't too enthused about that. Of course, my car was not near as wicked as that Firebird.
The Bloomington Gold Corvette show was originated in my home town and every June we could always find a Vette owner to smack down.
Tom, those old 421 Nailhead engines were something for sure!
Something for us old guys 
limited edition with the golden emblems and some other stuff and her dad has a 79 with a 455 and spray.
