1979 Trans Am - 25 years in a garage

[Crispy]

Dude.
Bitchin ride!

It looks a LOT like the '81 I used to have. Gorgeous car dude, congratulations!

Thanks man. The condition is really amazing for being a PA car all its life.

Weather was awesome this weekend but I didnt get a chance to work on it like I wanted. Hopefully this coming weekend I'll have the engine and engine bay pressure washed, new motor mounts on the subframe and the motor torn down.

 

[Rusty Nail]

If I had mine back, or could have started over with it - you know what I'd do to it NOW? Knowing what I do now vs. Then?

I'da dumped the Pontiac 400 in a HEARTBEAT and swap in a Chevrolet engine and trans.

Think about it!

That is gooder..

Like WAY more gooder. I would be VERY hard-pressed to even BEGIN to TRY messing with a Slowsmobile 403.

Everybody and they momma wants to LS swap everything, I'm certain that has crossed your mind before - you're into that kind of deal.
ME? People GIVE me boxes and boxes of traditional stuff because they don't know anyone that is still building old school GEN1 engines!

I hate it when people barge into threads like I have..forgive me.
I like that car.

 

[CSFJ]

If I had mine back, or could have started over with it - you know what I'd do to it NOW? Knowing what I do now vs. Then?

I'da dumped the Pontiac 400 in a HEARTBEAT and swap in a Chevrolet engine and trans.

Think about it!

That is gooder..

Like WAY more gooder. I would be VERY hard-pressed to even BEGIN to TRY messing with a Slowsmobile 403.

Everybody and they momma wants to LS swap everything, I'm certain that has crossed your mind before - you're into that kind of deal.
ME? People GIVE me boxes and boxes of traditional stuff because they don't know anyone that is still building old school GEN1 engines!

I hate it when people barge into threads like I have..forgive me.
I like that car.

Putting a sbc in everything, is just the ls swap of 30 yrs ago. Lol. I hate seeing clean old non-chevy vehicles and opening the hood to find a chevy engine. There's nothing interesting about it. Seeing the original poncho engine, or in this case the Olds mill, just presents more visual interest. You rarely get to see thirty of them at a show like the Chevy motors.

 

[Rusty Nail]

I don't disagree but my vehicles get driven and it's freaking hard to keep a Pontiac 400 running primarily because....it's a piece of ****. Options quickly become few when money is an object and if I would have sbc swapped my T/A I'd probably still have it.

Now it's rusting away in the Camaro yard. Everybody knows the Slowsmobile 403 is NO better than a Pontiac 400. it's a no-brainer but who knows ?

If it's gonna be some kind of show car resto deal garage guard trailer queen than obviously an sBC swap is a bad idea but


I wonder how many SBC engines could be built for the same price as one Pontiac 400?
Everything is all about money.

He could always swap it back, it's NOT hard - nothing needs changed? The trans. But it might help get the pile moving and the rest of it fixed up. Rolling on your own power is worth a lot.

Ol Crispy might even have an SBC engine and trans laying around!

Moar pix! Grrr.

 

[Crispy]

Its a high dollar car so I honestly dont care about originality...but if I were gonna drop coin on this I woulda taken that 400 you canned and plopped it in my car. I like the idea of keeping a Pontiac, Pontiac. Before the whole corporate engine deal of the 3rd + gens.

I did think about LS swap but decided against it. The cheapest route for me is keeping that Olds engine and giving it a little giddy up. I've read a lot of speeding them up and its just not worth the time and money to me so if I ever go big with this car it will be with a Pontiac 400 or maybe even a 455.

Funny thing is I will have a running, purring, tight TBI SBC whenever I do the swap on my Burb.

Dollars to dollars you cant beat an SBC but like it was said the SBC swap is just the LS Swap of the past. I have no plans on racing or really abusing any of my cars. They are all leisure vehicles so I wouldnt be worried about keeping a 400 running. Plus the torque man, those Poncho motors ooze it.

Mo pics this weekend...fo sho.

 

[Rusty Nail]

Looking back I'm not real sure why I said anything. I guess because I can, I don't assume that anybody gives a f- about what I think and I really don't want to be "that one guy" that always plops onto people's threads and starts saying what they would do and talk about their car/truck ... whatever. Ugch.

Granted I did NOT take it easy on that old 406 but it HAD been pro-built by a VERY reputable shop around here and I couldn't keep the mother f- cool.

Pontiac 400s run hot for me in those cars and I hate them because of it.

Keep your eyes peeled for a rear disc brake differential...you might get lucky!

 

[Crispy]

Looking back I'm not real sure why I said anything. I guess because I can, I don't assume that anybody gives a f- about what I think and I really don't want to be "that one guy" that always plops onto people's threads and starts saying what they would do and talk about their car/truck ... whatever. Ugch.

Granted I did NOT take it easy on that old 406 but it HAD been pro-built by a VERY reputable shop around here and I couldn't keep the mother f- cool.

Pontiac 400s run hot for me in those cars and I hate them because of it.

Keep your eyes peeled for a rear disc brake differential...you might get lucky!

We're all here to share thoughts and ideas and a lot of time no one asks for any of our opinion before we give it anyway. Its more like giving your experience and I think that is something to be considered.

With that said I have no long term experience with a Poncho 400 aside from the 80 trans am I had for a few months. Only drove it a few miles and flipped it for profit. It sounded awesome and it left me wanting another. I'm not surprised to hear you arent easy on the mfers lol I wouldnt be either if I had a pro built engine. Gotta see what I paid all the money for, right?

I'm always looking for F body parts. Like I said earlier I want a barn full of cars and parts haha. Saw this 98 trans am for sale locally for only $2500. Salvage title, windshield pillar damage among other body damage but good headlight motors, tail lights, runs drives and only has 85k miles!

 

[Rusty Nail]

Ya know, a 9" air cleaner will fit IN that scoop, on a riser...I cut the back out of it and watched the shavings blow through it on the test drive. Very effective!

Ummm....GOOD sway bar end links made a huge difference too.

That's all I got.

About that.

Right now.

Good luck!

Wish I had pix but there was a beeper and a dugout in my pocket back then.

 

[Crispy]

Thanks for the tips. I'm going to go poly on the sway bar links.

That air cleaner idea sounds pretty sweet. I did do some reading on making the back of that scoop functional. Little details I'm wrestling with.

 

[4WDKC]

We're all here to share thoughts and ideas and a lot of time no one asks for any of our opinion before we give it anyway. Its more like giving your experience and I think that is something to be considered.

With that said I have no long term experience with a Poncho 400 aside from the 80 trans am I had for a few months. Only drove it a few miles and flipped it for profit. It sounded awesome and it left me wanting another. I'm not surprised to hear you arent easy on the mfers lol I wouldnt be either if I had a pro built engine. Gotta see what I paid all the money for, right?

I'm always looking for F body parts. Like I said earlier I want a barn full of cars and parts haha. Saw this 98 trans am for sale locally for only $2500. Salvage title, windshield pillar damage among other body damage but good headlight motors, tail lights, runs drives and only has 85k miles!

guessing Auto car? Maybe worth it to part out if you can get them to come down on the price or if it has a t56.

 

[Crispy]

guessing Auto car? Maybe worth it to part out if you can get them to come down on the price or if it has a t56.

Yea, auto car. I'm trying to figure out a way to sneak another car onto the property because it's definitely worth the money in a part out. There's 5-600 in exterior lights alone, front bumper is good, at least one fender is good. Ws6 hood is good but who knows if its original.

Its much harder getting this in than sneaking guns past the wife lol

 

[Rusty Nail]

Lol

 

[4WDKC]

Yea, auto car. I'm trying to figure out a way to sneak another car onto the property because it's definitely worth the money in a part out. There's 5-600 in exterior lights alone, front bumper is good, at least one fender is good. Ws6 hood is good but who knows if its original.

Its much harder getting this in than sneaking guns past the wife lol

tell her its not staying and will save you money.

 

[CSFJ]

I would suggest getting a couple of mechanically inclined friends and a couple cases of beer, and making a weekend project out of stripping the car, so it's not around long. The downside to that, is it sorta ends up looking like you're running a chop shop, lol.

 

[4WDKC]

I parted a camaro years ago and sold the rear hatch sold for $200 to a glass guy because his cost on new glass was over $400.