Pontiac Banshee Replica is Strangely Intriguing
Customs from the ’90s like this replica had wild styling and bizarre features, and kind of looks like something Batman might’ve owned.
Car manufacturers are really good at making stylish cars that function quite well. However, in the world of custom cars, a lot of practicality is forgone in favor of looks. That’s absolutely the case with this Pontiac Banshee replica.
I had the chance of visiting Alex Palmeri of Legit Street Cars for what he told me was “a special unveiling of a car he just bought.” It turned out he’d bought a Pontiac Trans Am at auction for $1,100, and we were going to discover it together. So, that’s what we did.
As Alex and I explored the car, we discovered a lot. The doors, without exterior handles, were opened by straps. It had an upgraded sound system at some point. The front and rear quarter panels were all one piece and blended in with the bumpers. We finally discovered how to open the hood, and then promptly found a non-functioning motor. It was a wonderful time of discovery, but it was the comments on this first video that gave us the best discovery yet; a connection with the guy who originally built it.
Rob Louisell of Loiusell Enterprises is mostly known for his faithful reproduction K.I.T.T. Pontiacs. This particular custom car took inspiration from the Banshee IV. Palmeri researched a bit further saying, “Louisell was obsessed with this [Banshee] concept car and in 1991 took a 3rd gen Trans Am and spent the next three years building what you see behind me.”
Thankfully after visiting Palmeri, he found it was just a simple case of stuck rings that were keeping the motor from turning over. The motor itself was also found to be a 350 CI crate motor, bumping power significantly from the stock engine’s paltry 180 horsepower. However, there were more issues to uncover and resolve.
After diagnosing why the engine wouldn’t turn, it was discovered that the engine nearly shouldn’t have run at all. The distributor was shot and barely even being held down. The terminals for each plug wire were completely incorrect as well. A lack of oil pressure reading was a concern, but after getting a new distributor and putting the plug wires in the correct order, the car ran like a dream. At least until it warmed up and ran rich. Still, Palmeri hardly has any money into this really unique ride, so despite its weirdness, we have to commend him.
Photos for LS1Tech by Patrick Morgan
Join the LS1Tech forums now!
