1976 Trans Am Resto-Mod

[ryeguy2006a]

I have decided that I am going to use the 99 center console. It fits really great and will give the interior a little custom feel. And having cup holders won't hurt either.

Anyway, I got tired of wiring so I took a break and focused on other things. I started out by fitting my headers to the engine. I bought some mid-length *Mac headers. They are originally for a 98-02 Camaro so they had to be modified to fit. I had to notch the subframe in order for the passenger side to fit.





Once it was notched it fits great. The picture makes the header look closer to the sub-frame than it really is.

The driver's side needed to be bent in towards the engine around 1 1/2" to clear the lower control arm mount. Now after wearing myself out by trying to pry the headers with a long bar and a torch, I realized that I need to work smarter and not harder. I put a ratchet strap around the motor/trans and slowly tightened the strap and heated the headers to make them fit tighter to the block and away from the lower a arm mount.



It is hard to see, but you can see there is about a 1/2" gap between the header and LCA mount.



And here is the motor with both headers on!!





I also had to notch the frame to let the Alternator fit. Since I slid the motor back I didn't have much clearance. I cut some small sections out and will weld in some steel to fill in the hole.





I also finished up my transmission mount. I ended up flipping the cross member and cutting the mount off and re-welding it on. It fits great and I ended up putting it on the farthest stock mount on the sub-frame. So I didn't need to drill any new holes. This has been the easiest part of the swap so far! With the transmission crossmember finished, and the subframe notched for the headers I now have the the final placement for the motor.

It has been over 6 months since I have laid down a bead of weld so be easy on me. But by the end I got the hang of it. Just like riding a bike.









And the finished product.



I still need to patch up the holes that I made for the alternator and header, so that will have to wait for another day. I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Ryan