'78 Fire Am a.k.a. TransFormula

[vsefiream]

Hi guys I thought I'd share my project with you. I made mention of it in my intro but here is my first entry in Projects section.
I am currently working on a 1978 Firebird Formula 400 4spd. Originaly it's a pretty rare car with the 4 speed and the W72 motor. about 800 were produce with this drivetrain. It's currently undergoing a major overhaul and will hopefull become a '78 Fire Am. I am trying to stay fairly true to Herb Adams parts and ideas while building this car. I have gone with an Eagle 461 stroker kit for motivation and a few other modern additions but mostly it'll be period correct. Check out my Photobucket site for picture updates and progress. http://s491.photobucket.com/albums/r...y%20Fire%20Am/
Currently I am working on gutting the body, cleaning and painting the underside and installing DSE sub frame connectors. Then on to mounting the Jongbloed wheels and getting the driveline assembled with a dry sump system. The body will be next with fiberglass quarters and fenders. Lastly the interior will be assembled with classic Corbeau seats, Corbeau retractable harnesses and a hooker chrome roll bar. Check out my pics for more details. I will be posting pics all the time of parts I currently have and as I aquire new ones.
I don't know when she'll be finished or what color I will end up painting it but I look forward to the finished project!! This will be the most radical Firebird I have ever built!! I'm shooting to have it done sometime around early 2012.



Most currently, the front wheel centers are at the machine shop to open up the hub bore. They were a little undersized despite having the correct bolt pattern. The rears are fine. I just rebuilt my Long 5 speed shifter. I have the shop opening up the stud holes in the rotors so I can press in the 1/2" studs. I'm looking forward to getting the front end back together!

John Randolph
Rochester, NY

[FoxGranadaChuck]

Cool!! I was always a fan of the Herb Adams Fire-Ams as I was growing up in the late 70's-early 80's.

[vsefiream]

Cool!! I was always a fan of the Herb Adams Fire-Ams as I was growing up in the late 70's-early 80's.

Fox - check out my Herb Adams pages on my photobucket site. I have had the luck of meeting Herb and Matt twice in the past year at their "new" shop Passion Motors" in Sterling Heights, MI. They are currently restoring their old yellow Chevvera. Matt took me for a ride in the Contessa while I was out there. What a sweet car!!

[FoxGranadaChuck]

Fox - check out my Herb Adams pages on my photobucket site. I have had the luck of meeting Herb and Matt twice in the past year at their "new" shop Passion Motors" in Sterling Heights, MI. They are currently restoring their old yellow Chevvera. Matt took me for a ride in the Contessa while I was out there. What a sweet car!!

Cool stuff!! IMHO, Herb Adams is THE unsung hero of GM and Pontiac. Definitely not as flashy and flamboyant as John DeLorean. LOL

I have a copy of his Chassis Engineering book. The man is a genius!

[critter]

There goes the neighborhood. Check out Thursday night chat. Us Pontiac boys keep crowding the rest of them out.

[vsefiream]

Well, it's been a little while but I have a few updates. I am leaning toward painting the car white with the blue TA decals and hood bird. I am contemplating the blue SE strip kit as well??
There is progress on the front suspension. I had the rotors machined so I could press in the 1/2" x 3" studs and the wheels are back together. I have yet to see if they still hold air . Anyhow the Koni shocks are in, the rotors, Willwood calipers, VSE sway bar and Jongbloed wheels are mounted. Now I need to mock up the cooling ducts for the backing plates. I threw the fender on to see how it looks. It's amazing how fast a car can take shape! I'm also working on fabbing up some heim joint rods for the shifter.

[FoxGranadaChuck]

So far, so good!!

[GM_muscle]

looks likea good start. where you been finding the parts to build the car?

[CruizinKev]

looking good!

[cdoggy81]

Nice! Love to see the 2nd gen stuff!

[vsefiream]

Thanks a lot guys.
GM_Muscle, I have been watching for VSE parts for a few years now. I have found them through Craigslist, Ebay and locally. The front fenders are from Florida, found on CL. The Rear quarters were found on CL in St Louis by a friend on TAC who contacted me. The seats were found on CL in Chicago. The structure kit was bought locally form a friend who converted his stage two Fire Am into a Stage three. The roll bar came from a friend of mine in Texas. The front sway bar (NOS), rear sway bar (NOS), body mounts (NOS), front spring eye bearings (NOS), dry sump tank, oil breather, oil cooler, Willwood calipers, wheel studs, Jongbloed wheels, Long shifter, Corbeau harnesses, and many other parts were all bought off Ebay. I have been finding a lot of good deals on Ebay once again.
I have literally been scouring all over the internet for this stuff and it has been paying off. I have been getting the parts I need for as low as I can find. Heck I found my Doug Nash 5 speed on an Audi board that I don't even belong to LOL. I found those rear quarters for $100!! A great guy delivered them for free!! (Thanks Bill!!) The Long shifter cost me less than $200 and that's including all the new parts I bought to rebuild it. It's really surprising how this build has stayed within a very small budget.
It's almost as much work finding these parts as it is building the car!!
I spent a lot of time researching and buying this stuff, now I am slowly assembling the car, it's a great feeling to finally see her coming together!! I don't think it'll see the road until at least 2012 sometime

For a detailed build thread check out this link: http://transamcountry.com/community/...?topic=10305.0
I spend a lot of time over at TAC and have been updating this thread for a little bit

[1971CHEVELLE]

Looks very good

[GM_muscle]

that alot of hunting for parts. you the man.

[70fireturd]

Looks like a good project. Those aluminum body bushings will feel real good. I just got done pulling the ones out of my 1970 firebird. It was used for drag racing. I have heard gains as much as a 1/10th of a sec on the quarter. But if I have any chance of getting my girlfriend to ride in my car there will have to be some comfort.

[ryeguy2006a]

keep up the good work.

[aww]

I admire those wheels, real beefy look