1979 Trans Am

ttamrettus · Post by **ttamrettus** » Mon Sep 21, 2009 9:49 pm

I was just making fun.

Basement Paul · Post by **Basement Paul** » Mon Sep 21, 2009 9:53 pm

Me too, but sometimes it doesn't translate well in type.

-BP

markss327 · Post by **markss327** » Tue Sep 22, 2009 6:18 am

I thought the humor, OK, sarcasm, came thru loud and clear...
Size does matter!

ttamrettus · Post by **ttamrettus** » Tue Sep 22, 2009 10:43 am

I was serious about the lock washers.....................

Basement Paul · Post by **Basement Paul** » Tue Sep 22, 2009 8:23 pm

The bolts inside the seat rails would have been REALLY tough to put lockwashers on, so I opted for loctite on all the nuts to keep them in place, so we were on the same wavelength. The only thing that will make those bolts come loose is the untamed torque of the big OLDS!

-BP

Basement Paul · Post by **Basement Paul** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 9:46 pm

So a cool night at the track has yielded me the 12.50's that I was looking for. Here's my best #'s from the night:

1.6916 60'
5.103 330'
7.9736 1/8
85.82mph 1/8
10.46 1000'
12.5868 1/4
105.89mph

Did I mention that's in street trim? The only adjustment was tire pressure.

It will get lighter, and it will get faster. No excuses.

-BP

Basement Paul · Post by **Basement Paul** » Sun Jan 31, 2010 9:02 pm

This weekend I pulled the front springs out to make way for the "new" drag springs I bought a couple years ago. I took the lower control arm off the driver's side, but can't get the one off the passenger's side without pulling the header down, so forget that. I noticed that the lower arms swing much easier if they're not COMPLETELY cranked tight, so I'll probably only tighten them slightly and put locktite on the nuts to try and get the front to come up quicker.
The new springs are taller when on the ground than the ones that came out, but the coils are thinner too. They're supposed to spring up better than stock, I'm just hoping they don't sit too high normally.

Sometime over the next couple weeks I'll get it put back together so they can compress awhile before it's time to start driving.

After the springs will come the front bumper lightening, and the new bigger tires. I really want this thing to come off the line much harder.

-BP

Fred32v · Post by **Fred32v** » Mon Feb 01, 2010 2:21 pm

So much to do, so little time. TRP Test-N-Tune April 4th!!!

Basement Paul · Post by **Basement Paul** » Tue Feb 16, 2010 9:14 pm

So the new springs are in both sides, shocks are back in, and the car is back on the ground. Initially, the car sat exactly 2" higher than it was. After some bouncing, and stacking a couple hundred pounds of sand on the front of the car, the springs appear to be settling out nicely. I can tell the front will come up quickly at the track too as it doesn't take much to get the front end to max out.
Next step will be tearing the guts out of the front end, then most likely the same treatment to the rear. I'll also be ordering my taller race tires pretty quick too. I'll be going to a 275-60-15 from a 255 as I'm going through the traps at about 5000 rpms, and I shift at 4750 or so as it runs out of cam closer to 5000. Not to mention the new size will be a bit wider too.

-BP

Basement Paul · Post by **Basement Paul** » Sun Feb 28, 2010 8:56 pm

So a late morning call to 32V got us tearing the front bumper out of the Trans Am. Initially I planned to built something out of aluminum to support the bumper underneath, but it turns out that wasn't necessary. We pulled the whold assembly out, including the bumper supports and rubber insert saving 40lbs off the front end.
The only real modfications we made were to the turn signal lights that were mounted to the metal bumper supports and are now mounted to the plastic cover. We also put an aluminum lower support brace to hold up the center of the lower cover and also picked up the lower air dam to where it is supposed to be.

Not sure it will be huge gains, but every little bit helps. Next attack will see some rear bumper removal too. The new rear tires should be coming sometime in March also. I also have a shift light to put in. It's hard to imagine that the tracks will be open in a little over a month after all the snowblowing over the last few days. Low 12's here we come!

-BP

Basement Paul · Post by **Basement Paul** » Sun Mar 14, 2010 8:49 pm

Today I welded the front of my subframe connectors to the subframe itself. I'm hoping it holds. I cleaned it down to bare metal, but there's only a couple inches of surface to connect to. If it cracks for some reason, I should be able to make a support to go on the inside to help out.

-BP

Basement Paul · Post by **Basement Paul** » Mon Mar 29, 2010 8:46 pm

So this weekend I completed the removal of the rear bumper insert saving another 38 lbs. The reassembly was pretty easy, and with the help of a few zip ties, it doesn't look like I did anything.

Also, I got my new, bigger tires. Not realizing until I took the old ones off, I had some cords showing. No wonder I was having traction problems the last time at the track! These tires are taller and wider. Taller to help me not run out of gear in the traps, and wider to get me out of the hole more consistently.

I think the only thing I want to do before I hit the track now, is get my shift light mounted up. First trip out, I'm hoping for a low 12.4x, and if I'm lucky, a high 12.3x.

-BP

Basement Paul · Post by **Basement Paul** » Tue Apr 13, 2010 8:49 pm

Some current pictures with the rear tires and front springs, etc...

-BP

VeeDub · Post by **VeeDub** » Thu Apr 15, 2010 6:22 am

That things cool but I have to ask.....paint ?

Post by **TireSmoker** » Thu Apr 15, 2010 6:25 am

That would just be dead weight.