1970 Pontiac Trans Am is One Insane Road Racer

Big block, widebody Pontiac packs some of the prettiest piping of SEMA.

While the majority of the vehicles on display at the ongoing 2018 SEMA Show in Las Vegas are late model cars and trucks, but this 1970 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am is a gorgeous example of a SEMA-ready classic. This car is on display in the Vibrant Performance booth and in addition to the custom body, chassis and interior work, it packs a big block V8 with some of the most elaborate headers we have ever seen.

Custom 1970 Trans Am

If you walked up to this classic Pontiac muscle car with the hood in place, you would recognize it as being a slick 1970 Trans Am that appears to be built for road racing, with wide tires tucked under the unique widebody construction. The flared fenders and wide tires give this car a wickedly-wide stance, looking like the perfect car for a classic road racing class, although it looks a bit too nice to be rubbing fenders at the local track.

Finally, while the rear end appears to be almost stock, with the original chrome bumper and taillights, the front end has been customized for racing. The headlights are gone and the grille is completely opened up for the best possible cooling flow during long stints on the track.

The Glorious Engine Bay

However, as impressive as the exterior looks, the real story is under the hood of this 1970 Pontiac Trans Am. It is powered by some variety of big block GM V8 with a high-rise intake manifold, a huge performance throttle body and an insane set of custom headers that route all of the exhaust out the passenger’s side of the car. As you can see in our live images from the SEMA Show floor, all of that piping under the hood runs across the front end of the engine and out below the passenger’s side door.

Also, the under-hood shot shows that the engine is moved back, all of the factory chassis components appear to be gone and an intricate tube system has been fitted under the 1970 sheet metal. The engine is set way further back in the engine bay than it did in a stock 1970 Firebird, making plenty of room for this car’s elaborate cooling system that is mounted behind the grille.

Based on our pictures of the engine bay and the bare-bones interior, it appears as though this 1970 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am is built around a full racing chassis complete with a spec roll cage. It has a few switches, a high tech gauge cluster, a pair of race buckets, a steering wheel and a shifter.

While we wonder how much racing this 1970 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am does, but if nothing else, it is one incredible display vehicle at the 2018 SEMA Show.

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Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com