WTT 1976 Trans Am Resto-Mod w/ LS1, 6 speed for WS6 or C5 LOWER PRICE

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06-18-2013, 09:15 AM

ryeguy2006a

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WTT 1976 Trans Am Resto-Mod w/ LS1, 6 speed for WS6 or C5 LOWER PRICE

Year: 1976
Make: Pontiac
Model: Trans Am
Price: $17500
Mileage: 130
Private or Dealer Listing: Private Listing
Location (State): NY
Color: Gray
Transmission: Manual
Drivetrain: Rear Wheel Drive
LS Engine?: Car has LS engine

Here is a little about the car, it is a 1976 Trans Am that is originally a 400 with a 4 speed, although the motor is now replaced with an LS1 and T-56 6 Speed. I have completely gone through this car from top to bottom, front to back, and side to side. There isn't one bolt on this car that I haven't removed, replaced or repainted on this car. I bought the car when I was 17 as a Junior in High School, and went through a full restoration that took me 7 years on my college budget. Now that the car is “finished” I just now have my eyes on something a little newer. Cars are never finished, that is why I put it in quotes. I ultimately want a C5-C6 Corvette, and would be willing to trade, but want something else with an LSx motor, Corvette, Trans Am, Camaro, etc. And the trade must be fair, if your car isn’t worth what mine is worth you will need to add cash. I would prefer to get a trade with cash, but would consider a straight trade. At this time, I couldn’t add any cash.

Eventually my plans were to turn this car into a full out Pro-touring car, with, built rear, 4 link, etc. But, I just want something different, and would like to pay off some debt I have acquired. Now, I will try to list everything that I have done to the car. I know I am missing things, but will try to be as complete as possible. I also want to say that I in no way need to sell/trade this car. I won’t consider any lowball offers. I am asking $17.5k Firm.

Body: It has been through a full frame off restoration. It has been repaired of any rust. Anything that was re removed was replaced with new steel. It has two new quarter skins, trunk extensions, and pair of rust-free doors and fenders (Very hard to come by). The floors also needed two patches one on the front drivers side, and the other was the rear passenger’s side. I also had to do a repair on the passenger’s side toe panel. Once all of the rust was taken care of, the underside of the car as well as the inside floor pans and firewall were treated with a liberal coat of POR-15 rust treatment. The whole body was painted with PPG high build primer, blocked around 7 times and sprayed with 2010 Ford Dark Shadow Gray paint, and topped off with 3-4 coats of clear. Also the trim, door handles, and front dash were painted with SEM Trim Black paint. I was going for a stealthy look, with the blacked out trim. All new Soft-Seals were put on the car, as well as new GM original window sweeps, bumpers, etc. All the glass is original on the car minus the front windshield, which was installed professionally along with the rear glass. The firewall has been shaved and I added custom bead rolled panels in for a “factory shaved” look. Eventually the plan was to get Vintage air system to control the HVAC which would be housed under the dash.

Engine: is a 1999 5.7 346 CU. LS1, with stock untouched internals. The motor is an all-aluminum v8, and I am running the stock SPFI computer. The EGR, AIR, VATS and rear O2 sensors have all been deleted from the engine using the appropriate tuning software. I used the stock ECU and wiring harness from the 1999 donor car, and integrated it into the wiring harness on the 1976. Many aftermarket parts were necessary for the engine to fit into the car properly. Dirty Dingo adjustable engine mounts were used to get the exact right spot for the motor. It has Dynatech LSx swap headers with 1 7/8” primary tubes and 3” collectors. I have built a custom frame to hold the shaker onto the hood in order for the shaker to work appropriately. Currently the car also has a 90* elbow and a Spectra filter, but the plan was to utilize the stock shaker and make it functional.

Transmission: Borg Warner T-56, with a Pro 5.0 shifter and Hurst 6 speed ****. The clutch hydraulics were kept from the 1999 donor car and the stock clutch MC has been modified to be adjustable. The clutch is adjusted and feels very smooth. Also, has fresh Dextron III transmission fluid. The driveshaft is a custom 3” aluminum unit from Coleman. Brand new u-joints were used. It weighs much less than the stock steel unit. Even with the 3.73 gears the car will idle along on the highway at around 1800 rpms at 70-75. The car gets great fuel economy. I used the factory transmission cross member, that was flipped and the mount was re-welded solid using a stock transmission mount.

Fuel: Nylon fuel lines were used from the pump all the way to the front as well as a stock style Camaro fuel filter. Used the factory style Dorman connectors for a very factory appearing look. I used a brand new gas tank and installed a kit from Vetteworks to install a 98-02 fuel pump assembly. I retained the stock fuel level sensor due to the aftermarket gauges. Nylon was used because of its superior resistance to today’s fuel, as well as its flexibility in mounting.

Rear end: The rear end is a factory 10 bolt with 3.73 Richmond gears and, new Timkin bearings, new pinion seal, and fresh Mobil 1 gear oil.

Cooling: The cooling system consists of; a factory radiator, dual cooling fans in a shroud from the 1999 donor Camaro, and the stock ECU will control both of the fans just like the factory. The fans can be adjusted through the tuning software also.

Suspension: Front end was completely gone through with a front end kit from NPD (new bushings, steering components, etc.), IROC quick ratio box 12.7:1, PTFB GT front springs, Koni Red Single Adjustable shocks, and stock rear springs w/ new stock replacement shocks. Body bushings have been upgraded to solid aluminum bushings from PTFB for added rigidity. It really stiffens the car and has a very tight steering feel. The steering column was taken apart, cleaned, re-lubricated and painted. All of these things combined make the car very nimble on the road as well as really fun to drive.

Brakes: Have been completely gone through. The car currently has the C5 Corvette front disk brake upgrade with Stainless steel braided hoses, and use custom hubs on the front. The car has new Corvette master cylinder, stock rear wheel cylinders and pads. I also have a stainless steel braided hose connecting the body lines to the rear end for a stiffer petal feel. The rear brakes are off of a donor car and are the 98-02 LS1 12” rear brakes with integrated parking brake. The rotors are 12” Slotted EBC and the pads are their Yellow Stuff for better braking. The stock proportioning valve has been gutted and an in-line Baer adjustable valve has been installed.

Lights: The headlights have been upgraded to some H4 Bosch units that a replaceable bulbs with different watts. The light beam patterns on these lights are so much better than what came on stock. I have no problems seeing at night with these.

Interior/Wiring: has been completely gone through and has front and rear seats that are in great condition from a donor car, new black carpet, original crack free dash (hard to find in this condition!!), custom made smooth leather headliner, Year one Rear package tray. All interior parts have been treated with F21 spray by Turtle Wax, which is an interior treatment rather than an interior polish like Armor All. The car has also been completely re-wired with an 18 circuit Painless harness. All joints have been soldered for longevity and disconnects have been added for functionality similar to stock. I added a Bussmann 5 micro relay and 10 micro fuse unit to control all of the added circuits that came from the LS1 swap. The small package has been mounted discretely in the glove box. It is very easy to access and with the cover on is very hidden. For a cleaner look on the firewall, I also used a delay wiper motor from a Camaro. I custom made a panel out of ¼” aluminum to mount the motor to the firewall. I also modified the stock switch from the car to work in the factory location in the car. Now rather than sliding from side to side, the switch will rotate. It is great because it still retains the park function, and allows for 7 delay settings as well as the low and high settings.

Gauges: are all fully functioning and calibrated correctly. The gauges are custom ordered by me from Speedhut. The color is Tangerine Orange. They were ordered as a set and include a 8K tachometer with integrated progressive shift light, 200 MPH Speedometer, oil pressure, water temp, fuel level, voltmeter, and a dial face clock. Behind the gauges are a carbon fiber wrapped stock gauge bezel.

Stereo: is a 1971 Am radio that has been converted to AM/FM stereo with Pre-amp outputs as well as ipod/aux input for listening to MP3 player or other. The front speaker has been upgraded to the dual speaker upgrade from NPD, with their factory 3 ½ inch dual speakers.

Wheels and tires: MB Motoring 17x8 rims that are Chromed Aluminum with Goodrich tires 225 fronts and 235 rears. The rims were made to be super light and have a much lower rotating mass. The 17” rims are necessary in order to house the larger brakes. They are very similar to the Torque Thrust wheels.

Exhaust: Starts with Dynatech MuscleMaxx LSX 1 7/8” primary tube swap headers, full custom 3” mandrel bent system using Spin Tech mufflers and exiting using custom 3” Chrome tips that have been modeled after the factory tips. I have gotten so many compliments on these exhaust tips and you can’t buy them anywhere. They are 100% custom. The exhaust tips are very aggressive looking just peeking out of the quarter panel enough to let you know they are there.

Last edited by ryeguy2006a; 12-19-2013 at 04:14 PM.

WTT 1976 Trans Am Resto-Mod w/ LS1, 6 speed for WS6 or C5 LOWER PRICE

WTT 1976 Trans Am Resto-Mod w/ LS1, 6 speed for WS6 or C5 LOWER PRICE

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