I ran across an interview with John Callies where he talks about building this car.

Handy link to the interview with John

What was the engine?

quote What was the engine?

Pontiac SD4 - Super Duty 4-cylinder
https://en.wikipedia.org/wi...ke_engine#Super_Duty




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[This message has been edited by fierosound (edited 08-26-2021).]

You can see one of the actual pace cars the way it is today at Midwest Fiero Clubs events. For sure at the Fiero 40th Anniverasry being planned for 2023, where there could be more than one.

I thought that the high point for the SD4 engine was more than 232 HP but the guy that built it should know. While the engine is capable of making this type of horsepower , that INDY engine had a full race cam and was probably not very streetable. Those engines still cost a lot of money and the only advantage that I can see is that it bolts right into a Fiero that had a tech IV Iron Duke. The swaps that I have seen probably make closer to 200HP, not bad but considering the cost the HP per $ ratio doesn't seem great.

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John is the MAN!

As far as the HP, he gave me some "classified" numbers the SD was making toward the end of the program. They could not release some of the HP numbers because of the competition at the time. I can say they were north of 400 but would have to do some digging to give you an exact number. John and I worked on a couple of his presentations together for the Fiero events (25th and 30th) as well as the NIFE Artical several years back. At some point I need to dig through Paul Vanderley's personal notes on the SD4 that John gave me when Paul passed to see if there are any gems.

Paul

I have seen sprint car versions of this engine claim 500hp. The sprint car guys loved this engine for a good while.

But today what we have in many of these Turbo 4 cylinders makes these engines look like nothing.

My LFN Ecotec was tuned with a GM tune and saw 23 PSI of boost on pump gas as a daily driver. It was at 300 HP and limited torque at 315 FT LBS due to the trans axle.

Pontiac Performance ran a 500HP version for a full year with no tear downs or broken parts and won the Drifting championships.

John Lingenfelter ran it in Pro Stock Drag trucks and saw up to 1300 Hp before he could crack a stock head.

Imagine if they had that tech back then. It is a shame they never got far with the DOHC version.

quote Originally posted by Dennis LaGrua: I thought that the high point for the SD4 engine was more than 232 HP but the guy that built it should know. While the engine is capable of making this type of horsepower , that INDY engine had a full race cam and was probably not very streetable. Those engines still cost a lot of money and the only advantage that I can see is that it bolts right into a Fiero that had a tech IV Iron Duke. The swaps that I have seen probably make closer to 200HP, not bad but considering the cost the HP per $ ratio doesn't seem great.

The original SD4 head was iron, just like the Duke head. They later came out with several other better flowing aluminum heads, which led to higher horsepower numbers.

I run an SD4 in my 84, and you're right on a cost per HP ratio its not a good swap. The engine is as loud as a race car too, with the solid lifters and straight cut timing gears. But it's still kinda cool to have an actual Pontiac engine (not a corporate engine like the 3800) as my swap.

Put a turbo on the SD4 if you want to reduce the cost/HP ratio, at the expense of turbo lag / losing throttle response.