Vehicle Description
Since RK Motors is one of the only full service classic car dealers
in existence, a lot of folks think we build the majority of our
inventory. Truth is, most cars that roll through our showroom are
high quality consignments that we inspect, sort out and then pass
to our clients. That said, we certainly have the ability to build
cars, and sometimes we do sell cars that were built, from the
ground up, right here in our RKM Performance Center. Take this
exceptional Trans Am for example. While it is a consigned car, it
was fully stripped, fully reimagined and fully reassembled by our
own ASE Certified technicians. And if you've ever wanted a world
class collector car that was restored by some of the best in the
business, it's exactly the classic you've been patiently waiting
for!
FROM SOLID ORIGINAL TO DOCUMENTED RESTORATION
At the ripe old age of 16, this Trans Am's dedicated owner decided
he wanted a classic muscle car to drive and enjoy. After a bit of
searching, he sourced this coupe, which, at the time, was a solid,
36K-mile survivor that had led a pampered existence. Thing is,
despite an easy life, an old car is still an old car, and the Trans
Am never quite lived up to its full potential despite many trips to
multiple shops. A couple years later, the enthusiast went off to
college while his muscle car went off to storage. Things looked
pretty bleak for the old Pontiac until, in a stroke of luck, the
family found RK Motors. After meeting with our shop staff and
laying out a detailed plan for an awesome pro-touring build, the
Trans Am was shipped to Charlotte. And the rest, as we say, is
octane-fueled history!
In a comprehensive restoration that was fully documented in a seven
part series on the RK Motors blog, this Pontiac transformed from a
solid, original pony car into a sorted, world class pro-tourer. The
car's nut-and-bolt build began with a hit-free, 36K-mile body that,
save for some cracked urethane and a bit of surface rust, needed no
noteworthy repairs. Fully disassembled and completely stripped,
every panel was layered in epoxy, sprayed with primer and allowed
several weeks to shrink. With that primer nice and dry, hours of
block sanding created super smooth surfaces that look great under
two coats of sprayed base, one coat of drop base and four coats of
sprayed clear. That base, custom Black Sapphire Pearl that was
mixed right here at the RKM Performance Center, provides a wicked
black-to-blue chameleon effect while paying homage to the car's
original Stellar Blue single-stage. That clear shines true thanks
to two stages of wet sanding and hours of buffing. Custom Shaker
lettering, sprayed and taped before the car's base and clear, hints
at some not-so-stock firepower under the hood. Our friends at
SUNsational Tint Wraps hooked us up with timeless Screamin' Chicken
hood decor and a vibrant "TRANS AM" spoiler banner. And, in
preparation for the owner's cross-country road trip back home, we
spent roughly 400 miles making sure this classic was fully sorted
and ready to roll.
PURE PONTIAC
Two things: 1) While the LS is an exceptional engine, many folks,
including some of us here, aren't always fans of the 'drop an LS in
it' mentality. 2) More importantly, it would've been blasphemy to
toss aside this Trans Am's numbers-matching engine simply for the
sake of something new. So, we called the pros at Butler
Performance, ordered some killer stroker internals and shipped the
whole kit and caboodle to our friends at Mooresville, North
Carolina's Gibbons Motorsports. The result is an easy-driving,
all-Pontiac monster mill that turns 461 cubic inches of
displacement into 479 dyno-proven horsepower and a massive 594
lb./ft. of torque! Despite that engine being relocated a full two
inches, more on that in a minute, we found a way to, through hours
of modification, retain the car's iconic Shaker Hood. A perfect
combination of fuel and air is supplied by MSD Atomic Throttle Body
Fuel Injection. That mixture drops through an Edelbrock Performer
Pontiac intake, which is bolted to surfaced Edelbrock heads that
are dressed in fabricated Pontiac valve covers. Those heads tilt
Ferrea Racing valves, custom chromoly pushrods and Lunati hydraulic
lifters over a professionally honed block. The aforementioned
Butler Performance stroker kit pairs a forged and polished crank
with H-beam rods and flat-top pistons, which play well with a
Lunati hydraulic roller cam. A Billet Specialties Tru Trac
serpentine drive spins a quality Edelbrock water pump between a
polished alternator and a polished AC compressor. Fires get lit by
a reliable MSD distributor, which sequences spark between a hot MSD
coil and loomed MSD Super Conductor plug wires. A big DeWitts
radiator fronts 12-inch SPAL puller fans. Stainless Hooker Super
Competition headers were, because of the engine's relocation, cut,
rewelded and professionally Jet Coated by Mount Holly, North
Carolina's Airborn Coatings. And this Pontiac's clean engine bay,
epoxied twice and finished in three coats of Trim Black, frames
excellent details like ARP bolts, a New Port Engineering wiper
motor and a Detroit Speed filler panel.
PERFORMANCE WITH EASE
Behind the potent engine, a tough Tremec TKO600 5-speed spins a
custom driveshaft, which twists a restoration-fresh 12-bolt. That
powder-coated pumpkin makes excellent use of a forged pinion,
35-spline chromoly axles, Torino ends and 3.55 gears that are
paired with a locker differential. SEM-coated floors, complete with
a custom crossmember, needed a bit of massaging to work with the
car's Detroit Speed QUADRALink rear-clip. That clip, finished with
quality JRi coil-overs, pushes a Detroit Speed hydroformed
front-half that, in addition to relocating the car's engine,
follows power rack-and-pinion steering with two more JRi
coil-overs. That chassis, solidified by welded subframe connectors,
squared to within a sixteenth of an inch during the car's build.
Custom exhaust roars through throaty Flowmaster FlowFX mufflers and
appropriate side-splitter tips. Stops are provided by 12 and
13-inch drilled and slotted rotors, the latter of which get clamped
by monochromatic Baer calipers. A steady stream of fossils is
supplied by a hearty Tanks Inc. tank. And at the corners,
attractive Rally II replicas spin 275/40ZR18 Nitto NT555s around
tough "PMD" center caps.
THE SAME, BUT BETTER
Open the doors and you'll find an exclusive, factory-correct
interior that's both attractive and comfortable. Original buckets
wrap crisp Legendary vinyl around fresh padding. An original dash
hides a compact RetroSound speaker behind controls for modern air
conditioning and an Antique Automobile Radio that's MP3-compatible
and Bluetooth-capable. Fresh carpet floats a fresh Ames Performance
console around an artful SST shifter. A tight Ames Performance
headliner joins re-dyed side panels to crawl toward JL Audio deck
speakers and a 200-watt JL Audio amplifier. The driver spins an
Ames Performance Formula Wheel around a tilting column. And
everything stays cool thanks to quality Dynamat insulation.
This highly desirable Trans Am is a pristine example of Pontiac's
contribution to Detroit's first golden age of performance. This is
the kind of car that you can take to the show on Saturday and drive
to work on a sunny Monday morning. And, with its proven drivetrain
and world class restoration, this classic is set to provide one
lucky owner with years of reliable cruising and tons of great
memories. In the market for a timeless muscle car that just gets
better with age? Here it is!
HIGHLIGHTS
RK Motors-built Trans Am pro-tourer that's ready to cr...for more
information please contact the seller.
