I have a 1979 WS6. I had a 455 engine rebuilt and had to let it sit for years due to unforeseen stuff. This video is giving the get on it vibes. All I need is 2 things. Time and money!
Heads are the key with Pontiac. If you port a set of 6X heads and put in the 2.11 1.77 Ferrera Stainless Valves (best ones out there) and keep the stock (pre 74) intake off any Pontiac and look up some of the old HO Racing cam grinds they run strong. With a flat top Piston and those heads it will give you 9.5-1 compression. Change the stock rods if you are going into the bottom end. Scat, Eagle or some good rods and a forged flat top (used to use a TRW flat top but long time ago now). Butler sells some very good ones. ARP Rod bolts are a must! Oil Pump needs to be HV and a good oil pump drive shaft. Use a factory long windge tray and stock pan. Double roller timing chain set. ARP screw in Big Block Chevy studs and guide plates. That combo with a 230 duration @ .050 with a .480-.500 lift and about a 280 -290 duration 112 center cam is great for the street and should put close to 425 with headers. If you have 10-1 compression or more you will have closer to 475-500 and well over 550 foot lbs of torque.
I was thinking of setting up a sim racing simulator with the Pontiac Formula steering wheel, Trans Am seat, pedal covers, and a hurst T handle on a sim shifter. Drive a TA in Grand Theft Auto, Assetto Corsa, not the Competition one, or drive around in American Truck Simulator.
Definitely sounds great like a Pontiac should… looks great and fast. I haved loved Trans Ams since I was 8 years old (1970)… Finally got one just after my 18th birthday in 1980. It was a 1980 Turbo T/A pace car. By then they were not so fast, but they were still a great looking car. Enjoyed your video. Thanks.
Dammmmmn!!! This is just the vid I needed to see and hear! I have a '75 that hasn't been on the road in years...auto tho. All original except for the wheels. Garage kept. Maybe time to restore. Have to say, I love the sound of a Pontiac 400 than any Chevy! Beauty car, dude!! Love it!!!
I owned a silver 1975 T/A bought new for $5300. The 400 was rated at 185 horsepower. 0-60 in 8 seconds. I modified it with cam, headers, dual exhaust, a few mods will really wake up the engine. A rear gear swap will help too. My T/A had 2.56 gears. Swapped them out for 4.11's
At one time I had a 1977 formula yellow with a 455 in it and I'll tell you what it was a scalded dog and I sold it to my nephew and he's got it now in Beaumont Texas
damnit sounds so good, but you didn't make er bleed! Got my BBC 427 in 1977 3/4 4x4 4-speed, when she hits the mountains in the snow it 5k rpm shifts, was hoping i would hear that out of the T/A. also 2011 camaro RS/SS with exhaust dumps gets the same but 6k rpm.. the 400 sounded good tho
I have a blue 80 with a 350 sbc and a th350 its a badass car , id have to say you definitely got some balls to do that in front of all those people id be too scared to hurt someone or see it get towed away by the police
As a Pontiac guy from back in the day.....by the time we got to 1975, POLLUTION control, NO horsepower, did it even hit 180?, these where really slow cars. What you needed to do was torpedo out that engine and put a REAL Pontiac engine in it. PONTIAC rules! PS. My buddy had a 75 brand new, and oh my was it slow. Those were the times. Amazingly, the Super Duty 455 had its last year in the Trans Am for 1974 and those motors challenged the best that competition ever built!
@hopebrowning6300 Used to run 3.08s in my 71 442. Those old torque motors have a lot of grunt to push a tall gear! 3rd gear was always pulling some mph!
@@caseycassidy-k4z Gotta also keep in mind, like most of the muscle cars of that era (although by 76 they were down on power) lots of folks modified them by putting on headers and some even changed gears. I wouldn't put it out of the realm of possibilities that a car that is over 40 years old with multiple owners might have had the gears changed. I did on some of mine for sure!
@@im3phirebird81 Not sure if your serious or not but I'll bite. The power band on a Pontiac or Olds or Buick 455 starts about 2100 and pulls hard up to about 5000 rpms. On a 454 Chevy it starts a bit higher (depending on which heads and cam are in it from the factory) say about 2500 or 2600 and pulls up to 5800 and in the case of the LS6 (1970 450HP 454 Chevelle) pulled over 6200 rpms. The Pontiac has long intake runners creates port velocity (air going through the cylinder heads - think like an air pump or a garden hose - the smaller the hose the faster the velocity but less volume). On the short runner big port heads you have to rev the engine higher to achieve the same port velocity while on a long runner Pontiac they create enormous amounts of torque way down low. The difference between port flow on a Pontiac between stock D port heads (just about everything) and a round port Ram Air II or Ram Air IV or 455 HO or SD 455 is not that much more but is enough to make a difference. The camshafts were quite different on a stocker 455 vs a SD 455 or a RAIV (69 GTO Judge 370hp 400 head - best head in a production car). This overlap on duration which controlled the valve opening timing was the heart of the engine. When you combined that with the better heads you have one hell of an engine! They pull very hard on the top and create 500 plus feet of torque at about 2100 rpms and hold it to over 4600 rpms! That is what is pushing those tall gears and making the big torque motors run with the lower geared (4.10s and 3.73s) Chevy's while running a 2.73 or 3.08 or 3.23. Much more than that it actually does slow the car down because it takes it out of its power band too quick and doesn't allow the motor to push the car through the tall gear set. Hope that makes sense. Another tip - I re-curved my factory distributor (HEI - factory electronic ignition) and put the lightest springs and heaviest weights. It works on centrifugal advance by allowing the timing to come in quicker because as the engine revs up the weights swing out and advance the timing. Heavier springs slows that down to later or more rpm before advancing the timing. I ran my 455 at 16 degrees initial base timing and 36 degrees total timing and it started advancing at 1100 rpms and was in full advance by 2000 rpms. Definitely would plant you in the seat hard!
The beginning of the 75 model yr, the 455 was not available at first but then became available around mid yr and continued into the 76 model yr. last yr. of the 455. But they were not H.O.'s. The 71 and 2 TA's were 455 H.O.'s Most of the 75 and 6 TA's were 400's The 455 was pretty rare those yrs.
@@burningblue1254 Visually the 75/76 Trans Ams have the least exciting front to me by far. Kind of becomes less relevant when you see it fron inside and get THIS feeling with THIS sound :)
@@caseycassidy-k4zThe 75 had 455 HO, 76 had a 455. 71/72 also had 455 HO, although much different. As did 1970, which had 360HP, only available in the GTO.
The connection you feel in these cars is missing today
You ever try a first generation miata? it really pulls off that old school RWD feel with the added benefit of 90s boring reliability
Very true 👍
I have a 1979 WS6. I had a 455 engine rebuilt and had to let it sit for years due to unforeseen stuff. This video is giving the get on it vibes. All I need is 2 things. Time and money!
Naw.. All you need is a credit card then take all the time you need to pay it down....! lol
@Eddy..."Join the crowd".
Heads are the key with Pontiac. If you port a set of 6X heads and put in the 2.11 1.77 Ferrera Stainless Valves (best ones out there) and keep the stock (pre 74) intake off any Pontiac and look up some of the old HO Racing cam grinds they run strong. With a flat top Piston and those heads it will give you 9.5-1 compression. Change the stock rods if you are going into the bottom end. Scat, Eagle or some good rods and a forged flat top (used to use a TRW flat top but long time ago now). Butler sells some very good ones. ARP Rod bolts are a must! Oil Pump needs to be HV and a good oil pump drive shaft. Use a factory long windge tray and stock pan. Double roller timing chain set. ARP screw in Big Block Chevy studs and guide plates. That combo with a 230 duration @ .050 with a .480-.500 lift and about a 280 -290 duration 112 center cam is great for the street and should put close to 425 with headers. If you have 10-1 compression or more you will have closer to 475-500 and well over 550 foot lbs of torque.
68 -72 cast intake is the best. You do not want a 73.
I was thinking of setting up a sim racing simulator with the Pontiac Formula steering wheel, Trans Am seat, pedal covers, and a hurst T handle on a sim shifter. Drive a TA in Grand Theft Auto, Assetto Corsa, not the Competition one, or drive around in American Truck Simulator.
Definitely sounds great like a Pontiac should… looks great and fast. I haved loved Trans Ams since I was 8 years old (1970)… Finally got one just after my 18th birthday in 1980. It was a 1980 Turbo T/A pace car. By then they were not so fast, but they were still a great looking car. Enjoyed your video. Thanks.
Open up those secondaries
Love seeing you row through the gears! Sounds great!
Dammmmmn!!! This is just the vid I needed to see and hear!
I have a '75 that hasn't been on the road in years...auto tho. All original except for the wheels. Garage kept. Maybe time to restore.
Have to say, I love the sound of a Pontiac 400 than any Chevy!
Beauty car, dude!! Love it!!!
foot on the clutch alltime !!
I owned a silver 1975 T/A bought new for $5300. The 400 was rated at 185 horsepower. 0-60 in 8 seconds. I modified it with cam, headers, dual exhaust, a few mods will really wake up the engine. A rear gear swap will help too. My T/A had 2.56 gears. Swapped them out for 4.11's
Tool more than 8 seconds with that rear. I know I had a 75 with the dame setup
Lose the goofy fuzzy dice!
*Pushing the transmission into 1st gear before the car has stopped is not good technique.*
Clutch rider and cant figure out which gear to keep it in.
Exactly! First thing that came to my mind watching.
Nobody on RUclips can drive a manual transmission property. Still waiting for someone to prove me wrong.
Nice job riding the clutch. I wish I had YOUR parts budget. Lol.
Having all 75 horsepower at your disposal on the open highway 🔥🐔🔥
At one time I had a 1977 formula yellow with a 455 in it and I'll tell you what it was a scalded dog and I sold it to my nephew and he's got it now in Beaumont Texas
Stop riding the clutch and just use all four gears! Damn!
damnit sounds so good, but you didn't make er bleed! Got my BBC 427 in 1977 3/4 4x4 4-speed, when she hits the mountains in the snow it 5k rpm shifts, was hoping i would hear that out of the T/A. also 2011 camaro RS/SS with exhaust dumps gets the same but 6k rpm.. the 400 sounded good tho
I Had A.
78 formula 400........ Shift at 6000 RPM.
the tricjk is thus to play with RPM ans slow clutch in first and then loose to let the beast loose
Amen
Miss my 77 with the 4speed.
❤absolutely Amazing t.a.
I had a 75 with 455ho dont know what the top end speed was seemed it would keep running faster and faster what a car
Awesome, they don't make them like this anymore ! RIP Pontiac !
I have a blue 80 with a 350 sbc and a th350 its a badass car , id have to say you definitely got some balls to do that in front of all those people id be too scared to hurt someone or see it get towed away by the police
Got chicken skin watching that. My dad sold his '75 before I could get it. (prolly would have killed myself). Aloha~~ from Hawaii~~ 🍍🤙🏽🤙🏽
needs more power
I own the same car ❤
Bet its a pisser to drive. These 400 4 speeds are awesome
So do I!
Hurst 4 speed transmission manual sounds nicer through the gears the engine note ...... 👍😁
I had a 75 Trans Am…it was automatic though ☹️ 400 4 barrel. I tore the transmission out of it, shifting gears! Haaaa..pops got it rebuilt for me…
That car sounds nasty !!
Then I'll be Texas bound and a flyin!
My sixty six Chevelle ate about five trans ams daily for dinner do a video all about rat motors thanks
As a Pontiac guy from back in the day.....by the time we got to 1975, POLLUTION control, NO horsepower, did it even hit 180?, these where really slow cars. What you needed to do was torpedo out that engine and put a REAL Pontiac engine in it. PONTIAC rules! PS. My buddy had a 75 brand new, and oh my was it slow. Those were the times. Amazingly, the Super Duty 455 had its last year in the Trans Am for 1974 and those motors challenged the best that competition ever built!
3.08s. Maybe even 2.56s.
@hopebrowning6300 Used to run 3.08s in my 71 442. Those old torque motors have a lot of grunt to push a tall gear! 3rd gear was always pulling some mph!
I don't think so, 4 sp cars came with 3:23's. Also a non AC car. Typically, AC cars came with highway gears. I have a 76 TA 4sp. It has 3: 23's
As someone who loves the visuals and the sound of these cars but has no idea about cars per se: What are you guys talking about? :D
@@caseycassidy-k4z Gotta also keep in mind, like most of the muscle cars of that era (although by 76 they were down on power) lots of folks modified them by putting on headers and some even changed gears. I wouldn't put it out of the realm of possibilities that a car that is over 40 years old with multiple owners might have had the gears changed. I did on some of mine for sure!
@@im3phirebird81 Not sure if your serious or not but I'll bite. The power band on a Pontiac or Olds or Buick 455 starts about 2100 and pulls hard up to about 5000 rpms. On a 454 Chevy it starts a bit higher (depending on which heads and cam are in it from the factory) say about 2500 or 2600 and pulls up to 5800 and in the case of the LS6 (1970 450HP 454 Chevelle) pulled over 6200 rpms. The Pontiac has long intake runners creates port velocity (air going through the cylinder heads - think like an air pump or a garden hose - the smaller the hose the faster the velocity but less volume). On the short runner big port heads you have to rev the engine higher to achieve the same port velocity while on a long runner Pontiac they create enormous amounts of torque way down low. The difference between port flow on a Pontiac between stock D port heads (just about everything) and a round port Ram Air II or Ram Air IV or 455 HO or SD 455 is not that much more but is enough to make a difference. The camshafts were quite different on a stocker 455 vs a SD 455 or a RAIV (69 GTO Judge 370hp 400 head - best head in a production car). This overlap on duration which controlled the valve opening timing was the heart of the engine. When you combined that with the better heads you have one hell of an engine! They pull very hard on the top and create 500 plus feet of torque at about 2100 rpms and hold it to over 4600 rpms! That is what is pushing those tall gears and making the big torque motors run with the lower geared (4.10s and 3.73s) Chevy's while running a 2.73 or 3.08 or 3.23. Much more than that it actually does slow the car down because it takes it out of its power band too quick and doesn't allow the motor to push the car through the tall gear set. Hope that makes sense. Another tip - I re-curved my factory distributor (HEI - factory electronic ignition) and put the lightest springs and heaviest weights. It works on centrifugal advance by allowing the timing to come in quicker because as the engine revs up the weights swing out and advance the timing. Heavier springs slows that down to later or more rpm before advancing the timing. I ran my 455 at 16 degrees initial base timing and 36 degrees total timing and it started advancing at 1100 rpms and was in full advance by 2000 rpms. Definitely would plant you in the seat hard!
I heard these are 455 hos
LOL. Funny stuff.
Not to demean the 75 Trans am 455 as it was the fastest of the worst year. Great cars but so down on power.
The beginning of the 75 model yr, the 455 was not available at first but then became available around mid yr and continued into the 76 model yr. last yr. of the 455. But they were not H.O.'s. The 71 and 2 TA's were 455 H.O.'s Most of the 75 and 6 TA's were 400's The 455 was pretty rare those yrs.
@@burningblue1254 Visually the 75/76 Trans Ams have the least exciting front to me by far. Kind of becomes less relevant when you see it fron inside and get THIS feeling with THIS sound :)
@@caseycassidy-k4zThe 75 had 455 HO, 76 had a 455.
71/72 also had 455 HO, although much different.
As did 1970, which had 360HP, only available in the GTO.
8 track tape player option , so 70s ..😂😂😂🤣🤣
Why is that funny? Do window cranks excite you too?
I had a 1978 Trans Am T/A 6.6. I never should have let it go.
Junk