2000 Pontiac Trans Am--current mileage 128,326My current best at the 'strip is a 12.996 & 108 mph back in 2006.

I'd like to get into the low 12's in 2007.....maybe a high 11 if all the pieces fall together. Street tires & the factory 10 bolt will add to that challenge.

This was my first new car. I went shopping for a Z28 after the '88 Camaro Sport Coupe (non-RS...just labeled as "Camaro") I owned at the time started to no longer be reliable after 201,000 miles. I came home with this car. When comparing the styling between the two, the 'bird just really grabbed my attention. Plus, it just happened to be parked right at the entrance to the dealership.....so I can tell you that I never even looked at any Camaros there.

1995 Pontiac Firebird--current mileage 158,000I purchased this car on ebay in March 2007. Originally sold at Ed Martin Buick Pontiac GMC in Carmel, Indiana (about 30 minutes from my house), the car was outside of Louisville, Kentucky, when I purchased it from the ebay seller. The car had a salvaged title, was a hardtop, still ran & was super-cheap. Since I was going to basically gut it and start over, this was the perfect candidate for my drag car project. The car spent its last days on the road as a maid service vehicle. The decals for the business were still on the doors when the car arrived at my house. The only time I drove it was from the back of the transporter and to my driveway. I immediately started tearing into it, and it hasn't left under its own power since....but that is slowly beginning to change.

The engine was found in a classifieds thread on performancetrucks.net. It's a 4.8L V8 from a 2004 Chevy Truck. I got the complete motor for a great price, and made the trip to Illinois to pick it up in July 2008. When I was younger, my father drag raced at Bunker Hill Dragstrip & Muncie Dragway. Dad always enjoyed racing his little 283, so I thought it would be fun to race a similar displacement (but modern power). So it'll stay a 4.8L for the unforeseeable future.

The transmission is a 1970 BOP TH400. I found this rebuilt transmission on ebay in January 2008, and couldn't pass up the price. I also purchased a transmission adapter from ebay to mate the BOP (Buick-Olds-Pontiac) bellhousing to the back of the LS block. Hughes Performance supplied the appropriate flywheel & crankshaft snout to mate the old with the new.

1999 Chevy Silverado 4x4--current mileage 160,000I searched for over a year for just the right truck. I found it in August of 2004 on the Carmax website. Originally sold in Key West, Florida, the truck was at the Memphis Carmax dealership when I inquired about it. Not sure why you'd need 4WD in Key West, but it's gotten a workout here in our lovely Indiana Winters. Anyway, I had it shipped to the Indianapolis, Indiana, Carmax where I then signed all the papers and brought it home. It's a stock truck powered by a 4.8L V8, and I guess my only mods are a billet grille, Vent Visors & a Sony stereo.

If you have any questions about my 'birds, please don't hesitate to pm or email me.

Scott

 

Updates....almost ready to refire!



Fast 78mm Intake, TB & Fuel Rails
SVO 30 lb. Injectors
MSD Blaster Coils
ASP Underdrive pulleys
160 Degree Thermostat
Comp Cam, valve springs, roller rockers & pushrods
Catch Can
Jegs Trans Cooler
Katech Belt Tensioner

 

Car addition....1995 Firebird



Converting to "LS1 Trans Am" bodywork (but mine will be a hardtop)
Losing V6 in favor of 4.8L from a 2004 Chevy Truck
UMI Suspension [project sponsor]
Weld Racing Pro Stars w/Mickey Thompson ET Streets
S&W Race Cars 10 pt. Cage
Summit Racing Poly Racing Seat, Battery ON/OFF Switch & 12 gallon Fuel Cell
Grant Steering Wheel

 

Another '95 'bird pic...



Another '00 'bird engine shot...Katech Tensioner & a Catch Can installed...

 

Nose job...

 

Interior updates to the '95 'bird...

Custom-fabbed seat mounts, added 5 pt. harness front mount, cut off factory seat mount bolts, and mocked up seat.

 

Finally got the '00 'bird back on the road....Dyno-tuned by Brent Malone at Exotic Performance Plus. With almost 130,000 on the odometer, the car produced 366 RWHP and 347 RWTQ.

 

More updates to the '95 'Bird...

Using an article from a Hot Rod Magazine from a few years back, I did the "The $98 Paint Job". It sounds crazy, but I used a roller and painted the car with Rustoleum Gloss White paint. It's not show car quality, but it's very decent and good enough for this project. I spray-painted the door jambs and side mirrors with Wal-Mart brand gloss white paint. I haven't buffed out the paint yet, so the attached shots still show the sanding marks. Plans call for vinyl graphics that I am in the process of designing.

















Now I can officially say that I have the 1 of 1 1995 Firebird 4.8L-powered NHRA Edition f-body that looks like a '98-'02 Trans Am (for the most part.





More miscellaneous shots...

 

Plopped the engine in... 4.8L out of a 2004 Chevy Truck.

 

Here are the proposed graphics for the car. I'm an artist, so I created all the graphics via Adobe Illustrator. Using measurements from the car, I built all the artwork full-size. My brother has a vinyl cutter, so he will be doing that part for me.

The next step will be to put the transmission in the car. I have headers on order, and will probably put those on as soon as the trans is installed.

 

More miscellaneous shots...

Cowl Vent Panel Modification
Underside of hood trimming for Edelbrock Intake & Elbow clearance
Eibach Springs

 

Oh boy does it feel great when the trans falls off the floor jack and on your right hand. Thankfully it's not broken, and also the fact that I'm left-handed helps. Guess that's why they sell transmission jacks.

 

UMI Performance is one of my project sponsors, and attached are pics of some of their products installed on my car. Everything is super-nice quality, the instructions are very detailed, and it all installed easily.

www.umiperformance.com


Note: these parts were installed early on in the build, so some of the other changes to the car had yet to be made at that time. You'll notice for one that the V6 engine & trans is still installed in the car.

 

Current info on the cars can be found here:
https://www.phireburd2000.com

 

This Firebird car is beautiful. I only have golf