Quote Originally Posted by Oreif
The 326 Pontiac was not of the same block design as the other Pontiac V-8's.
It was actually designed by Buick.
Good info on the Bandit cars but I have to raise an issue with your 326 statement. I would like to see where you got this info... I have been building Pontiacs for years and have NEVER heard or seen this stated before. In all of my experince the 326 has been the same basic block as the bigger cubed Poncho's every time I have torn one apart.
I believe you mis-read the tech info on the Wikipedia site I listed earlier...
Read it again and realize that the "Buick" engine was dropped in favor of the iron "326"...
326
For 1963 Pontiac dropped the aluminum V8 it had offered on the Pontiac Tempest (which was built by Buick) and replaced it with a de-bored version of the standard Pontiac V8. It shared the 389's 3.75 in (95.3 mm) stroke, but its bore was reduced to 3.72 in (94.5 mm), giving it a displacement of 326 in³ (5.4 L). It was rated at 260 hp (193 kW) with a single, two-barrel carburetor. The 326 subsequently became the standard V8 engine for Tempests, and later the Pontiac Firebird, through 1967.

For 1967, its final year, a higher-output version, called the L76, had a four-barrel carb, dual exhausts, and higher compression, and was good for 285 hp (213 kW).