Second-Gen Firebird Trans Am Gets Insane Compound Turbos
With your typical junkyard build, a single turbo is more than enough. But who says you can’t have compound turbos?
What’s better than one turbo… Compound turbos. Oh, are you unfamiliar with the concept? You know how your engine gets a turbo? Well, with a compound setup, your turbo gets a turbo. Sounds sick, doesn’t it?
Timothy Ball, a Colorado native, did exactly this with his ’79 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am and it’s rad as heck. He shared his build with the guys at Holley and the thing looks absolutely bonkers, but who wouldn’t want something as fun as this build?
The ‘Fireturd’ with the Compound Turbos
“If I have to hold a sign that says ‘I need fuel to get to LS Fest’,” says Ball “I’m going!” Ball appears to be having an absolute blast at the strip with his wacky build. With all the fun going on here, the LS swap is arguably the least interesting portion of the build, and that’s saying something.
“I call it the Fireturd,” jokes Ball “I’m hoping one day I can turn it into a fiery phoenix bird… I’ve always liked compound turbos. And they do it a lot on diesels, but you rarely see it on [gas] turbo cars. And everybody says you can’t put a lot of boost into an LS motor, so you go aftermarket with thick decks, thick bolts, and all that kind of stuff.”
Happier with Holley
Ball admits he knows nothing in regards to tuning, so his setup is pretty standard in that regard. Ball runs a Holley Terminator X engine management system to keep his ‘Fireturd’ alive and breathing.
It might seem a bit complicated, but Ball sings the praises of Holley and how much easier they made his build. “I’m kind of proof that you can learn at any age I guess,” shares Ball “All I know is that there are a lot of things you can do yourself, but there’s a lot of things that Holley makes easier so you can take your skills and talents and put them elsewhere on your vehicle.”
Hopefully, we’ll continue to get more whacky builds just like this out of every LS Fest. “You can do it one way or the other way, it’s all fun,” exclaims Ball “It’s all in the spirit of hot rodding.”
Be sure to check out the vid. You’ll love those sweet spooling sounds. We guarantee it.