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Re-Posting some of this from the Introduction Page. New to the forum here, but certainly not a stranger to car forums and turning a wrench. Wasn't really looking for one, but stumbled on a 1999 Pontiac TransAm for what seemed to be to good of a deal. Went and looked, and ended up bringing it home. This is my first V8 RWD platform. Have owned and maintained a number of different imports / tuners, so this is a slightly different venture for me. I'll keep this thread as my "running log", and see where the journey with this car goes.
About me, located not far outside of Lexington KY. I work as an Automation Engineer, out of my house roughly half the time, and on the road traveling to company locations half the time. As I spend the majority of my day buried behind a computer screen, I can usually be found in my garage tinkering on something, or riding my Harley outside of work hours.
About the car... I've not had a chance to completely go over (and under) it with a fine tooth comb yet. 1999 Pontiac TransAm (LS1), Automatic. Motor runs out strong, zero hesitation. Transmission has a tendency to shift really hard out of first, but smooths out once it warms up. Front end doesn't feel "tight", and have some clunking going on in the rear end. All that said, it honestly drives and rides good, just needs a bit of TLC. Has had the EGR deleted, is running Hooker long tube headers to a merge collector (no cat, no muffler... yet). Nothing seems to leak, burn, smoke, and everything "works".
My goals, to get the car back to "right". Don't have any intentions of going crazy modifying the car. Just want to keep it clean, functional, and maintained. I'm sure as I get to replacing things, I'll look to see what makes sense, whether to go stock(ish) or aftermarket in areas.
I've already done some nickel and dime stuff...
Hatch struts were completely blown out, got those replaced
Front turn signal housings were cracked + full of water. Replaced housings and soldered in new bulb sockets.
Replaced a failed headlight motor, looked like someone had previously disassembled to "rotate the gear", and in doing so, didn't seal it, causing an intermittent short.
Updated fog light, interior, and reverse bulbs to LED
Installed the low beam projector retrofit (Hella sealed projectors + adapter plate + HID kit). Other cars have me spoiled, I need to see at night.
Ordered Summit Racing's house brand Cat-Back Exhaust System, should be delivered and installed today. Got it to my door for $220. Figured anything will be better than effectively open headers. Can always swap the muffler later if I need to, or order a better kit down the road.
Once the exhaust is good to go, will take a harder look at the suspension and transmission shifts, with a functional radio coming quickly after.
Yeah it looks great, mine is the same color too. But mine is not a real WS6. I put a Harwood Show Series hood on it. Your wheels look better than the flat grey 16x8's that came with mine.
09-25-2018, 07:39 AM
My 1999 Trans Am 
