'79 Pontiac Trans AM WS6 400 4spd
07-14-2016, 10:50 PM
#22
A small update today that I'm pretty excited about is finding a nice set of GTA rear seats that match the front seats. What's cool about these seats is that they can fold down, match the front seat design and overall interior color. From what I have found, '87 was the only year you could get GTA seats in carmine red and this happens to be the same color that was used in '79. Please disregard the severely faded carpet and beat up interior panels 
These aren't bolt-in so I will have to fab up some mounts for the lower cushion mount, hinge and latch setup. The seat back also doesn't go flush against the trunk block-off so I will have to work in that area as well.
Here's the front again...
These aren't bolt-in so I will have to fab up some mounts for the lower cushion mount, hinge and latch setup. The seat back also doesn't go flush against the trunk block-off so I will have to work in that area as well. 
Here's the front again...
Last edited by F-Body International; 07-14-2016 at 11:41 PM.
08-12-2016, 09:25 PM
#23
Made another change to the direction of my build this week. Sold the snowflakes and decided on switching the wheels out to '91-'92 SLP Firehawk style. These are 17x9.5 wheels I got from Jeg's. They're not a light competition wheel but I think they look cool and will allow for a slightly larger tire. Here are a few pictures of the '91-'92 Firehawk along with a test wheel I got for my car....
01-19-2019, 11:09 AM
#24
Wow, just looked at the date on this thread. Been a while since I've posted. Not much for forward progress but I'll share some.
-My Pontiac engine was given away/stolen last year. A shame there but good riddance for a bad situation.
-Bought a 4.8 LS engine and 8.5" 10 bolt from a 2nd gen Camaro for $550........sold the intake, computer and harness for $200 and now switching to a carburetor setup.
-Due to a need for cash 1.5 years ago, I had to sell my PTFB coilover modified WS6 subframe and Firehawk wheels. I waited 1-2 years for that frame to be built so I just lost motivation by the time I finally received the parts. Bought a stock '78 WS6 subframe and now doing a mildly modified build with standard PTFB springs, Detroit Speed control arms and solid body mounts.
-Bought a townhouse with my wife 6 months ago. Finally have a garage spot to mess around in. I will start making progress pics soon enough here.
We'll call this a "new start" at this point.
Some parts/stats on the 4.8 I'm working on...
-Aluminum Holley 600cfm vac. secondary with electric choke......"Street Warrior Carb"
-Holley low rise single plane intake manifold (went this route because it's the shortest intake I could find for maximum hood clearance).
-Ebay knock sensor delete plate
-Generic 2.5" outlet cast iron exhaust manifolds from ebay. I'm pretty sure they're the same as the Hooker swap manifolds but without the "Hooker" casted in.
-GM distributor drive setup which allows for an SBF fuel pump and distributor.
-Wegner Motorsports front drive setup. (Black anodized pulleys, Stewart Warner water pump, PSC power steering pump, ATI balancer, and Powermaster alternator).
Car in new garage...
by https://www.flickr.com/photos/156619454@N04/, on Flickr
Car in new garage with the new engine...
by https://www.flickr.com/photos/156619454@N04/, on Flickr
Starting out with a tear down...
by https://www.flickr.com/photos/156619454@N04/, on Flickr
Some slight mocking up...
by https://www.flickr.com/photos/156619454@N04/, on Flickr
With the 3rd Gen Firebird Cowl induction air cleaner top...
by https://www.flickr.com/photos/156619454@N04/, on Flickr
Holding the Warner pump in place for show n tell...
by https://www.flickr.com/photos/156619454@N04/, on Flickr
More to come (hopefully sooner than later)...
-My Pontiac engine was given away/stolen last year. A shame there but good riddance for a bad situation.
-Bought a 4.8 LS engine and 8.5" 10 bolt from a 2nd gen Camaro for $550........sold the intake, computer and harness for $200 and now switching to a carburetor setup.
-Due to a need for cash 1.5 years ago, I had to sell my PTFB coilover modified WS6 subframe and Firehawk wheels. I waited 1-2 years for that frame to be built so I just lost motivation by the time I finally received the parts. Bought a stock '78 WS6 subframe and now doing a mildly modified build with standard PTFB springs, Detroit Speed control arms and solid body mounts.
-Bought a townhouse with my wife 6 months ago. Finally have a garage spot to mess around in. I will start making progress pics soon enough here.
We'll call this a "new start" at this point.
Some parts/stats on the 4.8 I'm working on...
-Aluminum Holley 600cfm vac. secondary with electric choke......"Street Warrior Carb"
-Holley low rise single plane intake manifold (went this route because it's the shortest intake I could find for maximum hood clearance).
-Ebay knock sensor delete plate
-Generic 2.5" outlet cast iron exhaust manifolds from ebay. I'm pretty sure they're the same as the Hooker swap manifolds but without the "Hooker" casted in.
-GM distributor drive setup which allows for an SBF fuel pump and distributor.
-Wegner Motorsports front drive setup. (Black anodized pulleys, Stewart Warner water pump, PSC power steering pump, ATI balancer, and Powermaster alternator).
Car in new garage...
Car in new garage with the new engine...
Starting out with a tear down...
Some slight mocking up...
With the 3rd Gen Firebird Cowl induction air cleaner top...
Holding the Warner pump in place for show n tell...
More to come (hopefully sooner than later)...
09-26-2019, 05:43 PM
#25
Hey guys,
Been a while since I've posted on this thread...once again. So many stories since last year.
LS1 story..........
This year I purchased an LS1 to have an engine shop build and set the 4.8 aside in the garage. After going through some big purchasing, the owner of the shop I was trying to work with ended up making a big fit with me on the phone about deciding to get the heads ported and purchasing a camshaft. The moment that happened, I decided to stop the process and pulled the LS1 out of the shop. I didn't want to do business with the guy anymore. Absolute rip-off. Paid $5,000 for assembly, machining and dyno time. Once I decided to pull out, they decided to order pistons/rods and overcharge me labor time for work they did not do. If anyone lives in Illinois area, stay away from Speed Performance Engineering in Wauconda, IL. Absolute rip-off artist. I'm now returning or selling off all the parts that were intended for that build. Shame as it was hovering $10,000 between everything at that point. Losing thousands on this failure but I just have to take it on the chin and move on.
4.8 story........
After getting ripped off bad by that shop with the LS1 I was trying to build, I decided to clean up the 4.8 that I had sitting in the garage. Before when I had found glass inside the piston cylinders, I was fairly not motivated and that I was why I coughed up coin to build and aluminum block instead. After cleaning the engine up and posting on Facebook, a friend of mine said he'd buy it. The engine is going to be featured in coming episodes for his YouTube channel and Facebook page. Foy's Automotive.
Pontiac 400........
I never really voiced this on the forums but my 400 engine was actually used by some close people I know to pay off someone's theft debt. I won't go into details over forum but my engine got ripped off by some very close people. I always knew who had the engine but I was on bad terms with this person and basically stayed out of the sour subjects of others. That's why I started working on putting together an LS engine. After all this stuff happened with the LS engines, the guy who had my 400 engine started going through an ugly divorce. I personally never wanted to pay money towards the guy for problems that I was not involved and, thus, never expected to see this engine again but I really didn't want to see anything bad happen to it so I called and asked if I could buy it. Couldn't believe I was paying money for an engine that was pretty much stolen from me but I really wanted to keep the original engine with the car. Here I am with a restart, yet again, on the original 400...
by https://www.flickr.com/photos/156619454@N04/, on Flickr
Car Article Feature...........
This past month I was contacted by a writer named Tommy Parry from HotRodHotline about doing a feature on my car. I was a bit surprised because my car is currently not in the condition I was expecting to be asked for a feature but I reluctantly said yes. After sending him some information about myself, why I'm into the project and other questions, he developed a draft. I approved it but I also conveyed that I have a different direction I'm going with the car than what is currently posted online. With that discussion, he said he would be interested in doing another follow-up article in the future. Hopefully I can be ready fairly soon for that. I really have some neat ideas planned out for the car. For now though, please free to view the article here...
Jon's '79 Pontiac Trans Am
https://www.hotrodhotline.com/node/22112#.XY07yGZ7nIU
I hope this is a nice update for you guys!
More to come,
Jon
Been a while since I've posted on this thread...once again. So many stories since last year.
LS1 story..........
This year I purchased an LS1 to have an engine shop build and set the 4.8 aside in the garage. After going through some big purchasing, the owner of the shop I was trying to work with ended up making a big fit with me on the phone about deciding to get the heads ported and purchasing a camshaft. The moment that happened, I decided to stop the process and pulled the LS1 out of the shop. I didn't want to do business with the guy anymore. Absolute rip-off. Paid $5,000 for assembly, machining and dyno time. Once I decided to pull out, they decided to order pistons/rods and overcharge me labor time for work they did not do. If anyone lives in Illinois area, stay away from Speed Performance Engineering in Wauconda, IL. Absolute rip-off artist. I'm now returning or selling off all the parts that were intended for that build. Shame as it was hovering $10,000 between everything at that point. Losing thousands on this failure but I just have to take it on the chin and move on.
4.8 story........
After getting ripped off bad by that shop with the LS1 I was trying to build, I decided to clean up the 4.8 that I had sitting in the garage. Before when I had found glass inside the piston cylinders, I was fairly not motivated and that I was why I coughed up coin to build and aluminum block instead. After cleaning the engine up and posting on Facebook, a friend of mine said he'd buy it. The engine is going to be featured in coming episodes for his YouTube channel and Facebook page. Foy's Automotive.
Pontiac 400........
I never really voiced this on the forums but my 400 engine was actually used by some close people I know to pay off someone's theft debt. I won't go into details over forum but my engine got ripped off by some very close people. I always knew who had the engine but I was on bad terms with this person and basically stayed out of the sour subjects of others. That's why I started working on putting together an LS engine. After all this stuff happened with the LS engines, the guy who had my 400 engine started going through an ugly divorce. I personally never wanted to pay money towards the guy for problems that I was not involved and, thus, never expected to see this engine again but I really didn't want to see anything bad happen to it so I called and asked if I could buy it. Couldn't believe I was paying money for an engine that was pretty much stolen from me but I really wanted to keep the original engine with the car. Here I am with a restart, yet again, on the original 400...
Car Article Feature...........
This past month I was contacted by a writer named Tommy Parry from HotRodHotline about doing a feature on my car. I was a bit surprised because my car is currently not in the condition I was expecting to be asked for a feature but I reluctantly said yes. After sending him some information about myself, why I'm into the project and other questions, he developed a draft. I approved it but I also conveyed that I have a different direction I'm going with the car than what is currently posted online. With that discussion, he said he would be interested in doing another follow-up article in the future. Hopefully I can be ready fairly soon for that. I really have some neat ideas planned out for the car. For now though, please free to view the article here...
Jon's '79 Pontiac Trans Am
https://www.hotrodhotline.com/node/22112#.XY07yGZ7nIU
I hope this is a nice update for you guys!
More to come,
Jon