CALL DAN AT 513-256-5543 WITH ANY QUESTIONS ON THIS VEHICLE
Cincy Classic Cars is proud to offer this 1978 Pontiac Trans Am Resto-Mod which has been fully restored and transformed over many years into the machine it now has become. This TA was owned by the previous owner for 29 years and was sold new in Texas then went to Arizona prior coming to Ohio. The former long term owner works for NASA and has spent countless hours creating this TA and did most of the work himself. His attention to detail and love for this car shows exponentially in every photo and video of this fantastic TA. He took the time to do complete write up of the work performed over the years on this special Trans AM, below you will find his write up in his words. I felt only he could tell this cars story. This Trans Am was painted in Corvette Blue around 20 years ago and still shows very well. There is no rust anywhere and no bubbling paint or cracked paint around the car. The upgraded 455 Pontiac engine has been fully restored with numerous upgrades and he estimates HP to be conservatively around 450HP. The Tremec 5 Speed Transmission is wonderful to drive with the Eaton 3.73 rear gears. The underside is rust free and fully detailed and the suspension has been completely upgraded. Below is a comprehensive write up on this Amazing Pontiac Trans AM in the prior owners own words.
ENGINE:
1970 455 YH Block, 0.030" overbore. Stock 455 N crank turned 0.010" rods and mains.
Block deburred and prepped with ARP main studs and brass freeze plugs. Larry Long from Arrowhead Automotive did assembly circa 2002.
Kauffman Racing Equipment (KRE) aluminum heads with Ferrea 6000 series SS valves, Comp 914 valve springs, Heart shaped combustion chamber volume approx. 70CC. Intake ports smoothed and blended to Felpro 1233 RA-4 intake gaskets. Installed with ROL MLI gaskets (spare gaskets, springs, locks, retainers, valve seals included) and ARP Head Bolts. I had shop install Heli-Coil inserts on exhaust mounting and rocker stud mounting holes as these are easy to strip on alum. After talking to Jeff Kauffman I think they do all their heads this way now. Spark plugs are NGK-R5671A-8. Tighten 1/2 turn past fully seated. I apply a very thin coat of copper never-seize on threads. Good practice to allow engine to cool before changing plugs.
Custom Diamond Racing forged pistons (attachment) with approx 25cc dish. Zero decked to block for 10.5:1 CR.
CAT Forged H-beam connecting rods with ARP bolts, floating wrist pins. (attachment)
Comp Cams HR288 roller camshaft ground on 112 degree LSA, Installed at 109 degree ICL. Duration at 0.050" is 236 intake/ 242 exhaust. Advertised lift with 1.5:1 rockers is 0.520" intake / 0.540" exhaust. (attached cam card) Lift with installed Harland-Sharp 1.65:1 roller rockers is 0.572" intake / 0.594" exhaust. Note: Installed preload of lifters is 1/2 turn past zero lash when cam is on base circle (see cam install info card)
CAT SFI Rated Harmonic Balancer, Trick-Flow pushrods, Crane Hydraulic Roller Lifters (the good ones)
Current installed intake is a Holley Street Dominator single plane ported and blended to the Felpro 1233 intake gaskets. Intake has been cut from water crossover to allow removal without having to drain radiator and provide better port alignment. Note there is a 1" spacer installed underneath carb which supposedly helps fuel distribution. A shorter spacer would give you more shaker clearance. Cliff Ruggles has successfully ported factory iron manifolds to flow as well as the Edelbrock RPM. I just prefer aluminum to match the heads!
Milodon 31660 Road Race oil pan and 18525 oil pickup. This is a VERY nice piece, has baffles to prevent oil starvation on hard cornering. Pan was powder-coated before installation (along with timing cover and intake manifold) Oil capacity with filter change is approx. 7qts. Mobil1 5w40 synthetic oil recommended. Dipstick is a bit fiddly to access due to headers and braces, no big deal.. Oil filter Purolator Boss PBL25288. Oil filter CAN be removed by turning it on side and wiggling out between header and bellhousing. It's tight but it WILL come out without loosening header bolts. Plus the headers seal perfectly for going on 15 years so don't mess with success. Rear main seal is from BOP Engineering: https://www.bopengineering.com/pontiac_engine_acc.shtml This is a superb solution for a very common leak area. Key to success is following install procedures to the letter. Wade Congdon at BOP is a super smart guy and has always been willing to share his knowledge. Car also has their Composite Distributor Gear installed (0.491" dia for HEI) and has been flawless for 10 years. Since the Comp Cam is a billet piece, they recommend not using the stock iron dist gear and use a bronze one instead. When BOP developed the composite piece it was a game-changer. Distributor is a Pertronix FlameThrower with a clear HEI cap and Factory Pontiac weights, springs, and center-plate. The factory pieces were quality hardened steel and with an occasional tiny dab of grease will last forever. Dizzy was set up with assistance from Performance Years forum member SunTuned. Total advance is limited to 18 degrees at around 3600 rpm. Initial timing should be set to 12-14 degrees (engine warm at idle, vac advance disconnected) This provides TOTAL timing of 30-32 degrees (vac advance is not a factor in total timing). This is considered a reliable conservative tune. I typically keep the initial timing closer to 12 unless I am going to the strip with 93 octane. Never had a hint of pinging. The Crane adjustable vacuum advance is set to provide 12-14 degrees of cruise timing which every street Pontiac should have for efficiency. It is connected to a ported vacuum source on carb just as factory did. An MSD Soft-touch Rev Limiter is also installed on passenger side of firewall. All performance stick cars should have this along with the SFI rated Lakewood bellhousing (scattershield). The reasons should be obvious! On the bottom side of the rev limiter you will see a little white 'pill' which can be unplugged and changed. The one installed is 6000 rpm.
SUSPENSION:
Global West upper and lower control arms with 0.5" taller upper ball joints for improved Camber curve. Bushings are all GW Delrin with greaseable zerk fittings. All front suspension components are new as of 2020. Front coil springs are from Keith at Custom Works. http://www.pro-touringf-body.com/ provided the front sway bar brace (wonderbar) , the front G-Braces, the driveshaft safety loop, and the front leaf-spring mounting brackets which have the Herb Adams anti-squat mod built in. I supplied you with original suspension components. The subframe connectors and rear leaf springs are also Global West. The rear leaf shackles are GW pieces as well with Delrin upper bushings and factory rubber lower bushings. Front leaf springs are also new factory rubber. This provides the best balance of handling and ride quality. Front sway bar is stock WS6 and rear is Addco one size larger than stock. Shocks are Viking Performance double adjustable and are amazing!
Exhaust System:
Hooker Super-Competition ceramic coated headers with 1.75" primaries and 3" collectors going into a Hedman 3" X-pipe. X-pipe is removeable to access transmission for service. Mufflers are 3" Dynomax Ultraflows going into 3" Torque-Tech mandrel bent tailpipes and 3.5" SS exhaust tips. Overbuilt system but that seems to be the trend here. Exhaust sound speaks for itself..
