Results 1 to 20 of 255
-
02-18-2007 #1Registered User
- Join Date
- Jul 2006
- Location
- Hackettstown, NJ
- Posts
- 1,026
1978 Custom G-Machine Trans Am. 2014 Upgrades fans, front susp , C6 Z06 brakes
Since there seem to be a bunch of bowties and fords here, I will represent the Trans Am folk. I figured with progress being made on the car and hopes to complete it and drive it the T/A nats in august of 2007.
Back in 2001, I had purchased this 1978 4spd t top t/a with the intents of making it a street sleeper and an excellent handler hoping to keep up with M3's, vetts and maybe a 911. DO some weekend auto cross and compete in open road races such as the silver state classic, pony express, ect.
well after college, I found this current 1978 t/a which had may mods done to it so it took the lead. the other 78 will get the unsed or items that were replaced on the current t/a.
I purchased the car in September 2005 from the original owner. Prior to my acquisition, many modifications had been done to the car. It even had contact with a wall which is why it had not front end sheet metal. Some of the modifications include Herb Adams front and rear sway bars, brake cooling ducts and other body and suspension mods listed in his handbook, weld in subframe connectors essentially making it a unibody car, support )H-beam) for added strength, .45caliber bullet hole in left ¼, switches to individually turn on/ off tail, side and head lights for ‘stealth’ driving ( not sure why anybody would think of doing such thing J), 474 engine with Holley projection 4, accusump oil reserve, nitrous just for giggles. Here is what it looked like when I first picked it up.
Original back in 1992 before accident
Some damage
Pulling the body straight
In addition to what has been done, I have/ will add the following:
GW upper and lower control arms with Aldan Eagle coil-overs, Koni’s in the rear
Aluminum radiator w/ dual elec. fans
4 wheel disc brakes by Kore3 to fit C5/C6 rotors and calipers
Modern lighting
Lizard skin heat and sound insulation coatings
T-56 (currently being built) w/ hydr. T/O bearing
Engine beefed up w/ KRE heads and roller cam
17 or 18” 3 piece wheels, still trying to decide although I am close. Wheels are way more expensive than I ever thought
All undercarriage and suspension parts are powder coated.
Some more pics
May plan of “just put it back together” didn’t hold for too long
-
02-18-2007 #2Registered User- Join Date
- Jul 2006
- Location
- Hackettstown, NJ
- Posts
- 1,026
At paint shop (10/06) for body work and primer, they will also do the final wet sanding on the high build sealer (HOK) and paint after I dry sand the initial high build primer(Claussen Z-chrome).
Few months later 12/06 its back. Looks like a leopard
Had to take the hood, trunk lid, and fenders down again because the original body guy I had lined up did something wrong and they were rusting under the freshly applied primer. Better to find out now than later.
Sanding the primer and under side. That hippie needs a hair cut. (1/06)
Looks like a car for the first time since 1993 (2/06)
Hoping this
Will fit into here
As of this writing 2/18/07, all plastic body bolts on are sanded and ready for sealer. I am waiting for G-Force trans to finish modifying the Lakewood bell housing to mate up to the t-56. I have found a builder for the T-56 which will be comprised of a 06 Z06 unit (don’t know how he got it, but it was reasonable and I’m not asking questions), the Z06 unit also has an built in pump so I can run a cooler for the trans should it be necessary, viper output shaft and tail and the usual keyway and fork upgrades. This should be good for 750 HP. Not sure why all trans are rated for HP when torque is what kills them. Once the bell is received, I will bolt the trans up to the engine and see exactly how much I have to open up the trans tunnel. A t-56 will fit in the tunnel w/o mods, but that is if you were to drop the body on to a frame per se, it will not be able to be removed or install with a clutch bolted to the fly wheel. I will have more updates on this as I make them. Oh, a custom cross member is also needed,
02-18-2007 #3Registered User- Join Date
- Jun 2002
- Location
- Benicia, CA
- Posts
- 1,433