Automatic Trans Ams
 

Does anyone know why pretty much every 70s up to '81 Trans Am and later 80s IROC and Z28 Camaros are all automatics? Finding a 5 speed early Trans Am is nearly impossible.

Second question: are these cars really just pigs? Motor is easy but can they be made to be actually fun to drive?

Early ones would likely be 4 speed not 5, unless somebody installed a Doug Nash 5 speed.

A friend has a 1981 Trans Am, original paint 4.9L engine quite a dog, about 150hp, my 1984 BMW 533i was faster. The early 70's with the 6.6 would be more fun.

Thanks, that just goes to show I haven't seen a standard Trans Am for sale, just autos.

I imagine a crate motor with decent hp would be 10 to 20 cents on a 911 dollar, but will look for 6.6s, thanks.

The 4 speed 6.6 will likely be quite a premium, but are around. I think around 1974 is when there were tons of smog crap and mild cams added to the engines.

I think emission controls had something to do with it. I believe it was more difficult to get a car with a standard transmission to pass smog

Anything can be made fun to drive. I guarantee there is an aftermarket setup you can put on there that will make for very competent handling.

My buddy looked at doing his 1970 Cutlass. Edelbrock makes a cam/intake/heads setup that is good 300 horsepower. You can put big brakes and tubular upper and lower control arms that are plenty beefy, pretty sure you can replace the front subframe with one that is all pretty welds and steel tubing. Olds used coil springs, no leaf back there, but solid rear end. Very large sway bars fore and aft. He is going to retire in a few years, and will probably succumb to peer pressure when he has to start taking required minimum distributions

Corvette and early Tempest only IRS cars Both his cars are automatics, but you can swap in a 5 speed pretty easily

Not sure what your price point is but if you’re looking for overall performance, including handling, I think you might be best served to buy someone’s power tour project that likely already has an LS swap, Tremec 5 speed, Hotchkis suspension, Baer brakes, etc.


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I had a 1980 z 28 with a 4 speed. Black on black t top car, it was beautiful , but slow . Stock 350 was anemic I think it had 165 hp.
It is pretty tough to find standards . I had 2 1990's z 28's that I converted to standards . It was always tricky finding the pedal assemblies. The rest was easy .
I still thought they were fun to drive

I'll take a 1973 SD455.

Not a small car, will never be described as nimble. The hood is ponderous.

The chicken is screaming for a reason.

This guy does drives and reviews, very close to me. Cool to see local roads I know.

<iframe width="1280" height="720" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Eaan16BEGb8" title="1981 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am WS6 - 400hp Crate Engine Muscle Car (POV Binaural Audio)" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I'm sure things have changed but Baer brakes and Hotchkis suspension should improve things. Probably a mild wheel upgrade because you're not going to find decent ties to fit 14" or 15" wheels for that sort of car.

Y'all are missing the real reason all of the circa 1980 muscle cars were automatics...


It's have to shift when you have a cold Coors 16 ouncer in one hand and a mitt full of buxom Midwestern female in the other...

Very few % wise were manual trans. However there is a company called Hawk Performance which offers complete swap parts kit, including the trans for stock look. They are 'modern classics'. While none are comparable to late 60's, early 70's performance, they are still the mark from late 70's to late 80's.

My buddy had a silver screaming chicken 6.6 in college. The styling was AMAZING, if that is your jam. The seats were silver. Everything was silver! Lots of pretty lights on the dash - which, if I recall - was silver!

It was an enormous pig. Terrible MPG, acceptable acceleration. Not able to turn or stop very well.

I loved it for what it was. Didn't have any interest in owning one, however.

I loved the look of those when I was a wee lad. At around 5:30 is he using the clutch when downshifting through the exit ramp?

Sally Field wasn't buxom, but she was cute...

This guy gets it. Bravo

I have a strong feeling driving one will cure me of wanting one. All of the cars I've purchased recently were unique and somewhat rare and fun to drive and a critical factor for me, light weight.

I was going to start a thread about if and how your taste in cars has changed over the years. Still may. Though my first car was a 64 1/2 Mustang with a 260 V8, I've rarely liked American cars. And in fact my love for all things Mustang at the tender age of 16 ended with the '66 model year, and a fastback was all I could think about. 71-73 fastback "bread vans" as the Mustang magazines called them 40 (WHOA!) years ago were ugly as sin. Now I'd love a 69 or a 71 Mach 1 or build a Boss 302/429.

In the last year or two I've started to like:
964s
67+ Mustangs
Fox body Mustangs
and 70s Trans Ams

which I've never liked. Interesting how my taste has changed. Miura and F40 are still the pinnacles of automotive art.

I still have my '66 Mustang coupe I got in 1991 (my son and I pulled the transmission from it yesterday as it needs a new clutch, it is a straight 6 running a progressive three Weber carb set up with headers) and a '92 Fox Body 5.0 that is my 17yo's daily driver (manual of course).

I am jonesing for an original '66 Shelby lately.

Had a friend with a late 70's Pontiac Firebird that would pull the front wheels off the ground, that thing was a screamer.

Please post some pics, would love to see it!

You have to get a Hertz car, no question.

I like the 76 Trans Am, but if they are anything like my old Camaro I'd pass.
Had a 70.5 Z28 Camaro with a Muncie 4 speed.
Fun to shift.
The power steering felt over boosted, too light.
Added a restrictor in the power steering line to reduce the boost but did not really help.
It handled like a 70s half ton pick up to me.
It was a collector car so it appreciated nicely in the 3 years I owned it.
New cars do everything so well that it's really a disappointment to drive 60s/70s muscle cars.

I do have 2 Camaro road race cars (88 and a 93) that are fun to race.
Those are tube chassis Trans Am/IMSA GTO spec, the only production part on them is the rear tail light lens.

Funny I've been on the early TA kick lately as well. I'm not interested in a stock driving or handling one, but there are a ton of upgrades that can be made to them. Detroit Speed has built some great handling F bodies. When done right, they do not handle like a pick up truck.

I had an 86' IROC, it was auto.

I'd wanted a "stripped" car, things like manual window cranks, no t-top, manual transmission.

Went to the dealer to order one, minimum 6 month build time.

There are lots of great suspension options for a lot of classic cars today. Detroit speed makes some great stuff. Their decalink rear suspension for C3 Corvettes is especially intriguing to me.

Yes sir, I've completely gone thru the suspension on my 69 GTO. Coil overs, differently designed spindles/upper control arms, sway bars, frame stiffening, bushings, 4 wheel disc brakes, custom built steering box. It does not handle like anything in 1969. Adding the Tremec TKX 5 speed and the Holley sniper EFI finished it off. Really enjoyable car to drive. Great thing is from the outside, Other then the stance and the stock style 18inch wheels, it still looks very stockish and like the car my dad bought home new in 69.

When I was in college, I really wanted to factory order a 1977 Z/28 from this place that would do it for $100 over invoice- around $5,250 at the time. It was a one-off year with the grille and front bumper. Still like the look of it.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1687279691.jpg



I used to read the classifieds in the LA Times, too. I watched V12 XKE roadsters vary between $8-12K there. God knows what other bargains lurked there. Got a 1977 Lancia Scorpion in blue with 200 miles on it for $8,000. I must have signed 100 disclosures and waivers on it- I think I bought it from Fiat Corporate or something. It was a cool enough car, but I could have done so much better with something else.

The Road & Track classifieds were the best.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/3730456630519794/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type =post&tracking=browse_serp%3Ac4949484-4282-4453-a199-95839048b79e&__tn__=!%3AD
Here is a later Iroc car with a stick .

I've always admired Freiberger's F Bomb. Cool stance, paint, wheels, engine, graphics....http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1687284051.jpg

Here’s a ‘78 with a manual and the 6.6.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/134609976405?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=OeBIjI4NRdK&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=Qr3Crwlm RY-&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY


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Thanks Fred, I'm going to focus on just TA's. For an IROC, red or black for me though the blue was nice too.

For a Trans Am, black or gold only.

Mike at Big Willow how well would your GTO be able to keep up with your old 911?
GTO similar speeds on the long straights? but slower in the corners?
Your 911 was dialed in and the GTO must weigh 1000lbs more?
Still got the 911? Like to see you run it with VARA. :)

Lol, probably not very well, but then again the 911 only weighed 2170 lbs and was built specifically to go around a race track. But, driving up Angeles Crest/Angeles Forest you can confidently go at a pretty good clip. I was pleasantly surprised with how well it worked.

Nah, I sold the 911 a couple of years ago. It was just taking up space in the garage and quite frankly, the thrill was gone. Had other car and motorcycle stuff I was interested in.

There was a kid when I was in high school had an IROC Camaro. He was always trying to get me to race him in Dad's XKE

Had two of them back in the 80s. The white one had an Oldsmobile 403 engine, slow as molasses. The Bandit started with a 301 Turbo that was even slower, but got a 1967 Ram Air motor with some goodies from Nunzi in Brooklyn. I happen to have a few photos from that swap (we never took enough pictures). That was an honest 425HP car and with 3.73s was reasonably quick for its day.
I liked them, still do. They are fun cars with the T-tops off. Performance is meh.
Photo of a photo:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1687398110.jpg

I still like muscle cars, though. Just got back from the Hot Rod Power Tour in the Carolinas. 6,000 cars, 5 days of driving between racetracks in NASCAR land. Got to spend some time with my son who was on block leave from the Army, so it was doubly worthwhile. People LOVE these cars... horn tooting, waving, cell phones, conversations at gas stations. I like having the muscle car AND the 930. Two different things.
My 1969 Mach 1:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1687398437.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1687398437.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1687398437.jpg

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Thats awesome, been watching power tour videos the last couple of days. Called my buddy and said we are doing it next year. How'd the car do? How many miles you do? It was pretty hot, looked like alot of cars were having trouble dealing with the heat.

We had a gym teacher in high school (late 70's early 80's) who had a brand new black/gold Trans Am. It fit his personality perfectly :-)

I'm getting ready to sell this 65 convertible which has been in my son in law's family since new. I'm simply the guy who retrieved the car after Grandpa died and got it running and ready to sell after sitting for several years. I thought about maybe buying it from the family but not after driving it. Handles like a tractor compared to my 356. I've had Mustangs in the past and didn't think twice about how they drove at the time.

What is it with these cars and overheating? The car was restored 20+ years ago including an engine rebuild of the stock 289 2bbl. After several visits back to the shop, they installed an aftermarket electric fan set up. The thing kicks on almost immediately and is loud. I drove my 356 in 90 degree weather to the West Coast Holiday a few years back. Stock cooling with a built 1750cc Super 90 motor. No heat issues at all.

I love the look of the car but it would just sit if I owned it.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1687447233.jpg

I had over heating issues with my 65.
Installed a temp gauge before and after the radiator.
Turns out the electric fan was the issue, it just didn't move enough air.
Put the stock belt driven fan back on and all is good.

This was the first Power Tour for me, but it seemed like most of the attendees have done multiple ones. Like 5+. It helps if you're local, obviously, but as I understand it it is not always in the same place every year. I trailered from metro-NY to Charleston SC where my FIL lives, and then we unloaded the Mustang and drove to Columbia to catch Day 2. From there we drove to Rockingham, then Charlotte, then Bristol TN. All in all I'd say it was 1,000 miles? My odometer is suspect. I'm not opposed to doing it again at all, but this year with my son's leave and my availability, the stars aligned. I wouldn't go alone...

The car did fine, with some trepidations... it did complete the loop and didn't strand us. But it started running like crap until I determined that I had some trash in my fuel bowls and metering blocks that had to be dealt with (that's the pic of me draining the bowl), my rear discs decided to begin to shudder on this outing (I was able to mostly dial out with my adjustable proportioning valve for the rest of the trip), and my clutch started slipping on the last day when attempting to accelerate in overdrive. So we babied it from Bristol back to NC to the trailer hoping it didn't get worse. There was some overheating, but no one who pulled over didn't have 4 other cars pull over to see if they could help. With a group of mostly home-built hot rods, there was some capable and well-stocked participants at every turn.

It's a unique experience to drive through towns with people in lawn chairs all along the way waving, or to pull into a gas station with 10 other vintage cars and have the locals jaws drop wondering what the heck is going on.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1687464189.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1687464189.jpg
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My 1978 with the TA 6.6 Pontiac engine was 220HP. It was peppy but not a beast. Around 15.1 in the quarter bone stock. If the stories I hear are correct a 1969 428 Cobra Jet Mustang, stock but with performance enhancing tires, would turn a 13.8. Faster but not that much faster.

The 6.6 Trans Am was a 180hp Oldsmobile engine.

The WS6 suspension on the Trans Am allowed it to handle/turn really well. Not sure if it had a brake upgrade worthy of note.