what to do with my 78 trans am

[78trans]

Hey guys i have a 1978 trans am. we are thinking about painting it red or black, putting an ls1 in it, and are still thinking about wheels. if any of you have ideas please give them to me.

[jeff s]

Red, with a Schwartz full chassis, and a Schwartz 620 hp LS3, Forgeline TA3P wheels of course

[formula]

well....that may have been glorious self-advertisement on jeff's part--but he's pretty much dead on! :jump:

It depends a lot on what your goals are for the car, and what your budget is. The only thing I can tell you for sure is DO NOT start tearing your car down without more of a plan! I had a definite idea of what I wanted out of my car when I started, and am still spending way too much money going through fixing things I now wish I hadn't done. The more you can plan it out now and stick to your plan, the better off you'll be!

[wedgehead]

Just remeber the ideas are for a first time driver and built on that kind of budget. We are thinking along the lines of just some mild suspension mods and maybe a 5.3 truck engine as the budget will allow. The wheels? We also have to build a 67 Mustang coupe for his twin brother.

[critter]

I hate Chevy engines in a Pontiac so I'll say a Pontiac 400/4 speed combo. Upgrade the brakes out front with the 1LE package. Find some budget wheels you like, paint it re-sale red so you can move it fast when he reaches the age to move up.

[2Bad4Ya]

hmm budget street sweeper....

GM Performance Parts 350ci / 290hp Economy Engine around 1900.00, drop in a thumpr cam for sound, and a shift kit & proper stall torque converter if needed for trans. Run dual exhaust if needed and some decent mufflers. Then add some nice adj. coil over shocks (or some way to lower it down that you can afford to spend on), and hit coys wheels to get a good deal on wheels.

Since its a 1st time driver, on a budget and you have 2 cars that have to be modified, this would work and keep your budget in reason. The engine is no powerhouse (but its decent enuff, plus better for gas mileage) and thats great for a 1st timer, but the shiftkit will hold up under the abuse of a teen better and give him some muscle feel.
As for the engine I offered a crate engine solution simply to help cut cost, but I guess you can get a engine/trans/ecu combo with around 40k miles on ebay for close to that for a couple K.

[78trans]

I'd like to do the Schwartz full chassis, and put ls3 in it but theres no way i can get the money to do it. i think we are going to put a 5.3 or an ls1 in it, we have some 15x8 snowflakes already but i want to put the 18x10 snow flakes on it. I think we are going to paint it red. the way i see it is the more money i save the more i can do to the car. i have been saving ever since i got the car witch was sept. of 07.

[Young Gun]

Remember...everything you take off of that car can be sold...if you KNOW the metal is toast...get the scrap money...you can sell everything you take off that car...if you have enough...rebuild the front clip with all DSE parts and poly bushings...hit up the junk yards alot too..you can get an LS1 from a wrecked car pretty easy...and in texas...there are PLENTY of bad drivers hahah... you can get most of the interior stuff from wrecked cars as well... if your frugal...you would be amazed at what you can get...and its starting to get hot here...start mowing lawns and making lemonade and youll be able to buy what you want in no time!

[78trans]

i have been mowing my grandmas yard and at my house to make some money, working out at my dads auto shop, yesterday my uncle offered me a job. i took the job. i'm putting every dime i get into the car. my dad is going to be a big help because he knows a lot about cars, owns his own automotive shop, and he matches what ever amount of money i put towards my car (so say i put $20 in it he also put in $20).

[Young Gun]

i have been mowing my grandmas yard and at my house to make some money, working out at my dads auto shop, yesterday my uncle offered me a job. i took the job. i'm putting every dime i get into the car. my dad is going to be a big help because he knows a lot about cars, owns his own automotive shop, and he matches what ever amount of money i put towards my car (so say i put $20 in it he also put in $20).

good deal yah got going there... make sure you listen to your old man...hes gonna steer yah down the right road hahah...make sure you give http://www.craigslist.com a look too, you can always find parts on there...definately a big help!

[CRCRFT78]

Hey I think Jeff ought to donate something to your build. He must have the itch to see another TA out on the road.:twothumbs

[deuce]

yeah if he buys one frame can he match it by givin me a free one like this kids ol man....lol

[78trans]

i wonder if he would do that.

[rohrt]

You never did mention what your budget is or what you plane to do with the car. Weekend fun, 1/4 mile drags, every day driver.....

Let me offer my own advice. From the sounds of it your young and don't bring in a realy big paycheck. If that is the case droping in a LS1 may not be the way you wan't to go. Your advantage with the LS1 is a lighter motor and better gas milage. You will have to decide how important that is to you.
The disadvantage is droping in a LS1 or 5.3 is going to cost ya. Headers, fuel system, electrical.....the list goes on. Lots of work and time.

Your other option. You could start building that up a little at a time as money permits. While still driving the car so you don't loose intrest. The 78s already handles great if you have a WS6 packaged car. These were pro-touring cars before that ever became popular. In fact the 78 T/A handled better then the Corvette back in 78 if I remember correctly. The 18x10 snow flakes would be pretty sweet. Red or black would both look good in my opinion. Black is much harder to keep clean.

Now for the motor. If you have the 400 in their now. You can easily build these pontiacs to fly. Their are so many awsome aftermark parts out their. Stroker kits to make a 400 into a 428 or a 455. Aluminum heads, Factory headers, 2.5 exhaust systems. And keep the Quadrajet have it rebuilt by Cliff Ruggles.

But don't just take my advice call Buttler, call Kauffman call SD performance.
For what it will cost you to just get a LS1 you could have bought a stroker kit and have a motor re-built.
One last thing. If you keep it pontiac you will have a ton of support from the pontiac community.
Good Luck

[wedgehead]

I know that we will put a auto overdrive trans in. most likely a EFI engine. Remember this is going to be a kids first car and mom and dad may have to foot some of the fuel bill as it will be his everyday driver. I am hoping that both boys helping build their cars will give them a lot more respect in what a car can do to them and other people, that there is a time and place for the horsepower to used. Also teach them to value their car.

[WS6]

I know that we will put a auto overdrive trans in. most likely a EFI engine. Remember this is going to be a kids first car and mom and dad may have to foot some of the fuel bill as it will be his everyday driver. I am hoping that both boys helping build their cars will give them a lot more respect in what a car can do to them and other people, that there is a time and place for the horsepower to used. Also teach them to value their car.

I'm going to have to go with your dad here. You're thinking way too large right now. You can add EFI to your existing engine. If you are a pontiac 400, which you should be, there's plenty of power in that car now. No reason to change the motor. Adding an OD trans puts these cars in the upper teens low 20s gas mileage depending on how you gear and stall it. I would work with what you have to make it nice, safe, dependable, and fun. Later down the road you can get crazy and add a new, more powerful engine, great rims and tires, and hardcore suspension. Right now, just go enjoy the thing. I haven't moved my TA in years and it'll be years yet before it moves again. I miss driving that car. Get out there and enjoy it and save your money for later.

[rohrt]

Th200-R4 has the BOP bolt pattern. These can be built to handle HP but I don't have any experience with them.
If EFI is a must then going the route of a LS engine may be the way to go. You could easily have 2500 in a Pontiac EFI.

Are you dead set on going LS or is Pontiac an option?

[70bird]

Yep, LS motors are awesome, but for what it will cost to do it right, you could re-bulid what you have with money left over for other things on the car.

[wedgehead]

My thinking in going with maybe a truck 5.3 is that all the subsytems will be there when he can afford to go with a ls1 or ls?. The 400 needs a total rebuild. We can get a 5.3 for around 900, swap the cam and intake and make decent power and fuel milage. still have to get a fuel system, wiring, ECM and exhaust. but I think he will have a better more reliable car. We will probalbly leave the suspension stock just a bushing upgrade it is a WS6 car so it wil be fine until his budget lets him do more mods. The paint work we will do in house at my shop so he only has to pay for materials.

[Young Gun]

Are you dead set on going LS or is Pontiac an option?

and LS is just as much a pontiac engine as it is a chevy one... Its a GM platform which means it has just as much a place in a trans am as it does in a camaro

[78trans]

here are some pics of the car

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2008/05/22f8_1-1.jpg https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2008/05/transam033-1.jpg https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2008/05/transam034-1.jpg https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2008/05/transam035-1.jpg https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2008/05/transam036-1.jpg https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2008/05/transam037-1.jpg https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2008/05/transam038-1.jpg https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2008/05/transam040-1.jpg https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2008/05/transam042-1.jpg https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2008/05/transam043-1.jpg

[WS6]

Ok, since the engine is not running now, going with say a 5.3 or 6.0 won't be so bad really. You can do it very low buck if you are patient and stick to the basics of getting it in the car and having the car go down the road on its own. When you start doing performance mods before it moves on its own, the costs involved sky rocket. It's very easy to do heads/cam after that engine is in the car. So the doing it while it's out isn't a good excuse this time around.