Tony Sestito said:In reply to A 401 CJ :
Yeah, the early cars had a vacuum-operated flap, and that was replaced by a bolted-on block-off plate around 1973. Later ones were cast solid and people would have to cut them out. It's been on my list for 20+ years to fix mine, which looks like it had been cut out with a dull, rusty spoon.
Do better 
In reply to A 401 CJ :
It's on the list. I have a die grinder and carbide nibbler bits now, just need some time to make it happen. I'll be refreshing the whole shaker setup soon, as it needs to drop down further, so I'll do it then. I've had to make a custom base for the car due to the intake/carb setup on the car.
One of my elementary school principals had a similar car -- with the Bird. Even though I was a gearhead from day one, it didn't interest me as much as the grade 5 teacher's X1/9. I've always been weird.
But now, oh boy! I find I am really interested in 1970s F-bodies.
As many times as I've wanted to send this car down the road over the years, I'm glad I didn't. Difference is, I always wanted one ever since I was a kid. And I'm super happy to have it now! I fully enable others to get one. Be your best self in a 2nd Gen Firebird/Trans Am!
I had a few of them at one time.
73 Formula
1981 Turbo T/A
1980 Pace Car.
They're a ton of fun.
They're also very poorly built, flexy and benefit greatly from the addition of G-braces and subframe connectors.
In reply to ZOO (Forum Supporter) :
It's funny how they grow on you. I used to think Fox body Mustangs were dumb. Now I'm one of their biggest fanbois
The only downside to these: the owners.
For some reason, more than any other enthusiast car I've owned over the years, guys who have these cars think they are the best car ever bolted together by mankind. As ShawnG mentioned above, these cars are tons of fun but also absolutely terrible. Mine was awful well before I started turning wrenches on it and making it worse. People prop these things up like they are God's own chariot. I would think that lots of enthusiast cars are like that, but man, it's cranked to 11 with these guys!
The benefit to that is that they do make a lot of resto parts and the performance aftermarket is plentiful. So, if you can ignore the noise, they make a fantastic platform to do pretty much whatever you want to do.
In reply to Tony Sestito :
I just tell people, they're a Camaro that's all grown up.
In reply to ShawnG :
Yup. 
When it comes to handling, as far as factory stuff goes with the later ones, the regular Trans Am is basically a Z28 with the optional F41 handling package as standard equipment and a different engine. The WS6 cars get even better stuff that can still hang with what's available aftermarket nearly 50 years later.
The 301 Turbo was the baddest thing you could buy from Detroit in 1980 and 1981.
More power than the Corvette. With the WS6 package, you had better skid pad numbers than the Corvette too.
ShawnG said:The 301 Turbo was the baddest thing you could buy from Detroit in 1980 and 1981.
More power than the Corvette. With the WS6 package, you had better skid pad numbers than the Corvette too.
They should have thought a bit outside the box and put the 3.8 Buick in that car. It was already living in blown form in the Regal and those would lay waste to any of the contemporary V8's offered in that model. We had to wait until 1989 for them to figure that out and give us the fastest production T/A ever up to then. Maybe even still. I dunno.
In reply to A 401 CJ :
You could get the N/A 3.8 as a base model engine for a couple years but that's it.
The 301T and the 3.8T used basically the same turbo system. It's pretty reliable if you maintain it and don't crank the boost up like I did.
The T3 on the 301T is the biggest T3 ever built by Garrett. Downside is, once it gets past about 10lbs, all it does is heat up the air charge.
The 301T made 210hp and 345lb/ft. Beats the wheezing L82 in the Corvette.
I liked the 4.9 Turbo hoods better than the shakers. The three lights : low, medium, and high boost. Love it. I've always wanted one of those in black with a boosted LS.
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