What have I done...My '76 TA

[imawoodsman]

NICE job!!!!
So THIS is how you get the "NEW CAR" smell back!! LOL,LOL

 

[potenza]

I wonder how much you will have in it! I have a buddy doing the same think to his trans AM , he has been on it for at least 2 years

 

[41mag]

Coming together nice.....you will have a beautiful car when you are done. Lots of hard work and money!

 

[greg vess]

A few recent pics. Engine will be painted and installed in a couple of weeks. Should be downhill from there.

OH DUDE! The shot where you can see some of the car and the interior is just a small glimpse of how beautiful it's going to be. I am so jealous. In my eyes one of the most aggressive and beautiful two seater american made production cars to come out of Detroit. With work under the hood like you have done, like should have been done by the factory.

That year model in White is my favorite of all of the early models but I would have lost the hood chicken. I would have preferred two blue stripes from front to back. I have owned five and everyone of them where great cars beautiful and dependable cars when you treated then right. They may not have made HP but they had just enough grunt to make it fun to drive on the street. During those years the only people that new any better were weekend bracket racers.

addendum to post: Notice I said one of the most beautiful. I am a 60's and 70's Mopar man at Heart but the Trans Am Ram Air's can stand right up against the Hemi Cuda or the R/T Challengers and give them a good run for their money aesthetically. In looks out of the show room. Right off the lot the Mopars would have them as a small snack. Ninety percent of that is they were under geared off the line. A small cog change and it would have been a race. No matter how we argue about the Trans Am Ram Air will always stand out as one of the coolest cars of it't time and that's that.

 

[shotgun 01]

And now for the good stuff. Got the engine back from the builder Wednesday afternoon. Been a busy couple of days, but the engine and driveline are in. Moving on.

 

[41mag]

Nice roller motor there... looking good.
Looks like you are getting close!

 

[greg vess]

Very, very, very nice!

 

[shotgun 01]

Thanks guys. It has been quite an experience. We are probably about three weeks from completion. (fingers crossed). I ended up buying a complete roller system from Butler Performance. Stayed with the TRW 9.5:1 pistons and stock crank, which had previously been balanced. Of course, the heads were reworked for the roller cam setup. Installed a new Hays street 450 clutch behind it, with a balanced driveshaft. Can't wait to fire this thing up.

 

[imawoodsman]

ALMOST there!!
It's a LONG road, but WORTH it!!
NICE look-n motor!!

 

[greg vess]

Don't forget the sub-frame connectors. Keeps all four wheels planted in the corners and keeps the piant from spyder cracking in top corner of the passenger door jam. When you get it together floor it and watch to see if one side rises up higher than the other. A clear sign the unibody can't handle the power. If you are pushing 500 HP you will notice the doors won't close smoothly and all sorts of problems will arise without them. Take it from me I had to learn the hard way on a Trans Am. When I bought my 2002 I put them on at 8,000 miles. It had 7,900 on it when I drove it home. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE heed my warning.