 This was the first in a series of NASCAR-ready pre- Super-Duty V8 engines and introduced the long line of multi-carburetor equipped engines that saw Pontiac become a major player during the muscle car and pony car era of the 1960s.The enlarged 1956 Pontiac V8 found its way into light-duty GMC pickup trucks.Pontiac's second generation V8 engines shared numerous similarities, allowing many parts to interchange from its advent in 1959 to its demise in 1979.