Pontiac 2.

5 Engine Build Information

140-HP STOCK BLOCK ENGINE BUILD

2.5L, 151cid, 9.5:1 CR
Pontiac cast iron head without EGR part #10031322 OR
Pontiac cast iron head with EGR part #10031323
Edelbrock intake manifold 2982 4-V
Ultradyne flat tappet cam (blocks thru 1985) part #272-H8
Ultradyne hydraulic roller cam (1986 block and up) part #282-HR-8

205-HP (195 ft lbs torque) Pontiac Super Duty Engine Build 2.7L, 165cid, 9.5:1 CR
Pontiac Super Duty Engine Block part #10027633
Pontiac Super Duty Crankshaft part #10027779
Pontiac Super Duty Alum Head part #10038433
Pontiac Super Duty Intake Valve part #10031339
Pontiac Super Duty Exhaust Valve part #10031325
Pontiac Super Duty Engine Build Pkg part #10031328
Pontiac Super Duty Head Gasket part #10038952
Pontiac Super Duty Intake Manifold (made by Edelbrock but only available from
GM part #10038470
Pontiac Super Duty Intake Gasket part #10039904
Pontiac Super Duty Valve Cover with removable top part #10031327
Pontiac Super Duty Valve Cover Gasket part #1007770
Pontiac Super Duty Timing Gear set part #10037684
Pontiac Super Duty Water Pump part #10004073
Pontiac Super Duty Oil Pump part #10031329
Pontiac Super Duty flywheel part #1004031
Pontiac Super Duty Clutch Cover part#10038434
Coswo rth Engineering Piston #PA0865/1
Connecting Rod #ZA-8056
Speed Pro Ring set #R-9771
Hooker Header #4703
Felpro oil pan gasket part #91164
ARP Main Cap part #RMS-17
ARP Head Studs part #RHS-35
Moroso Cam Gear Retaining Pin part#37710
Jesel Shaft Mount Rocker System part #SD4
Isky pushrod part#203HG
Ultradyne Camshaft part #288-HR10
Isky Roller lifter part #1241XL
Crane Cams Rev Spring Kit part #99864-8
Note: these part numbers were originally compiled in 1986 and vendors love to
change part numbers.
Pontiac 2.5L Heads

Stock heads "swirl-port" intake ports are restrictive. Either port the stock intake
ports or use a Super Duty head. If your rule book requires a stock head with no
porting or polishing, consider the Super Duty head. It has a GM casting number. All
Super Duty heads use 1/2 head bolts. All production heads use 11mm. You need to
drill and re -tap production blocks if you run a Super Duty head. Super Duty blocks
already have 1/2 head bolt holes. ARP offers head bolts for use with the Super Duty
head. A Super Duty head on a production block is a far better match than a
production head on a Super Duty block

Pontiac 2.5 Cam Information

1984-87 cams have the oil pump drive gear. The 1988 and later cams have no
distributor or oil pump drive gears.

Comp Cams, Isky, and Ultradyne offer a good variety of camshafts for the 2.5

Ultradyne flat tappet cam (blocks thru 1985) part #272-H8

Ultradyne hydraulic roller cam (1986 block and up) part #282-HR-8

Pontiac 2.5 Rocker Info

Your best solution is Crane Aluminum Roller Rockers:

Ratio: 1.71 Stud Diameter: 7/16" Part Number: 22750-8
Stock Ratio for the 2.5 L is 1.75
These will reduce valve lift a small amount accordingly. These are the same parts
used in big block chevy engines only eight of them instead of sixteen.

Studs: You must have the stud bosses on your head tapped by a machine shop to
accept the larger rocker studs. Not a big deal but a machine shop will be able to set
them at the proper angle and depth.

Top Stud Dia/Thrd: 7/16" -20 Bottom Stud Dia/Thrd: 7/16" -14
Dim A, B, C, D: 2.560, .800, 1.760, .860
Part number: 99157-2 sets of two

Pushrod Guide Plates: The guide plates must be drilled out to fit the new studs.
However, they are made of very hard material and are difficult to drill. The
machinist made the holes larger with a burr tool.
Pushrods: Stock pushrods are 8.3996" long which are too short to reach the rocker
arms. It was necessary to install longer custom pushrods +.2000". Chevy big block
pushrods at 8.6" length are readily available. Since guide plates are used in the
engine, the push rods must be heat treated.

Valve cover clearance: The stock valve cover is tall enough to clear the rockers. It is
a close fit particularly at the oil filling hole.

Super Duty Valve Cover

Super Duty Valve Cover (from GM) offers the ability to take the top off the valve
cover while leaving the main body of the valve cover on the head. This is a really
nice option for adjusting valves without slinging oil all over the place. The Supe r
Duty valve cover uses the same bolt pattern as the stock cover but is taller, so it
won’t fit under the stock breather and it does NOT have a provision for a PCV
valve.

Pontiac 2.5L Crankshafts

The Super Duty-4 cranks have 2.10 rod journals (SBC). The stock crank is 2.00. If
you run a SD crank you need to change the rods. The rod length and crank stroke
influence the compression height spec of the piston. If you increase stroke or change
rod length, new pistons are required.

The stock crank is cast and weighs 30-35 lbs. The best cast crank is the 1988 S-10
crank as it is slightly beefier and it will fit the earlier blocks.

The Super Duty crank is forged 4340 and weighs 50 lbs.

SCAT offers a crank for $1,800.

Fisher and Fluidamper sell high performance balancers for the Iron Duke/Tech IV.

Pontiac 2.5L Iron Duke Intake Options

Stock intakes are restrictive. The GM Super Duty aluminum intake is built by
Edelbrock but available only thru GM. It allows using a Holley 350 or 500 cfm
carburetor.

Pontiac 2.5 Transmission Info

The 2.5 Iron Duke has the same bell housing bolt pattern as a Chevy small block.
The bell housing is basically Ford on the transmission side and Chevy on the engine
side. A regular Chevy bell housing will bolt to the Iron Duke. My suggestion is use a
small block Chevy bellhousing and an aluminum Muncie 4-speed transmission.

GM25 Header Info

Header’s by ED offers exhaust pieces for the 2.5 - 2.5 Header parts

Hooker offers a header part #4703-1

Pontiac 2.5 Pistons

Keith Black (Silv-o-lite) makes a flat top piston to replace the dished piston used in
most 2.5 engines.

Part # is 1539 (1978 Pontiac 151 Iron duke) (all same dimensions as Pontiac 301 v8
pistons).

Standard 4 inch bore

1.57 compression height
Pin Diameter 0.9273

Rings:
2 – 5/64
1 – 3/16
KB-silvolite

Pontiac 2.5 Engine Block Information

2.5L 151 c.u.i. 92-hp 4 cylinder "Iron Duke" - Pontiac 4.00 inch bore x 3.00 inch
stroke.

This is NOT the same as the 153 c.u.i. Chevrolet 4-cylinder which was 3.875 inch
bore x 3.25 inch stoke.

Production began in 1978. Base engine in Pontiac Astras, Sunbirds, and other GM
compacts like the Chevrolet Monza, Buick Skyhawk, and the Oldsmobile Starfire.
Typically mated with an automatic transmission.In the 1980's it was the base engine
duty in Camaros, Firebirds, Fieros, Grand Ams, S-10 pickup trucks, and the Jeep
Cherokee. When it was updated to a roller cam, throttle body fuel injection and
ECM, it was renamed the Tech IV. The Tech IV has no provisions for driving a
distributor.

With a stock production block and rods, You can approach our 180 hp with a
normally aspirated, modified engine, but its durability is questionable. Point of
failure is usually the rods. There are two basic methods of rodding a Pontiac 2.5L 4-
cylinder: (1) bolt-on parts to upgrade the stock engine to the 140-hp range max 5000
RPMs (2) construction of a complete Super Duty engine that will produce over 200
hp.

Super Duty Engine Block

Kansas Racing Products took over production of the SD block when GM dropped
production. Cost is around $2,500. KRP’s block is stronger than the original SD
block and can accept a variety of cylinder heads.

KRP Products

Aries pistons makes an aluminum SD block for $4,000.

A Super Duty head on a production block is a far better match than a production
head on a Super Duty block.

All Super Duty heads use 1/2 head bolts. All production heads use 11mm. You need
to drill and re -tap production blocks if you run a Super Duty head. Super Duty
blocks already have 1/2 head bo lt holes.

ARP offers head bolts for use with the Super Duty head.

All Super Duty blocks have all the stock mounting bosses, so you can bolt up all the
stock accessories.

Pontiac 2.5 VIN – Engine Information

Vin V 1977-1980 Carb, non cross-flow head (intake & exhaust manifold on same
side)
Vin 1 1978-1979 Carb, non cross-flow head
Vin 9 1979 Carb, non cross-flow head
Vin F 1980-1983 Carb, export only
Vin 5 1982-1983 Carb, cross-flow heads from 1982 on
Vin 2 1982-1986 TBI, Thrust brg length 1.009, Head bolt spacing 3.75
Vin R 1982-1992 TBI, FWD/RWD/Fiero, Thrust brg length 1.009, Head bolt spacing
3.75
Vin U 1985-1991 TBI, N-car FWD Only. Thrust brg length 0.940, Head bolt spacing
3.67
Vin E 1985-1991 TBI, S-10, Astro Van. Thrust brg length 1.009, Head bolt spacing
3.75
Vin A 1991-1993 TBI, S-10. Thrust brg length 1.009, Head bolt spacing 3.75

The VIN E and A truck motors were also used in postal vehicles.

TheFWD only VIN U motor has many parts thar are different compared to all other
2.5 motors. It was used only in FWD N-cars, Grand Am, Calais, etc. Crank thrust
bearing and cylinder head bolt pattern are just a few of the differences.

The VIN R (Fiero included) motors were used in both larger FWD cars (X and A
body cars) and RWD applications with no special modifications.

The S-10 truck block is good because it has solid main webs like the Super Duty
block. It is cast from average grade iron though, where as, the Super Duty block
uses 40,000 psi high nickel iron. The Super Duty blocks come drilled for a starter
mount on both sides.

The Vin E 2.5 liter truck motor was used in both Astro/Safari vans and the S-10/S-
15 trucks.

The later model 1991+ VIN A was only used in the pick-up trucks. The pick-up
trucks have the starter on the right side .The Vans and Fieros have the starter on
the left side. Starter location can be changed.