Words: Tommy Parry
It’s hard to go wrong with a screaming chicken. Bold graphics, swoopy lines and, of course, the endorsement from Burt Reynolds. As his father had owned a few some 40 years ago, Josh had the sentimental motivation to jump on this pristine ‘79 when he came across it. With a clean body, a Pontiac 400 and a 4-speed, it was a solid base for a car he’d first aim to make a little more agile.
With the addition of Ridetech’s Streetgrip suspension package, the difference in stance is quite noticeable. The package, designed to be easily installed and available for most restomod projects, includes lowering springs, adjustable Ridetech shock absorbers, high performance derlin bushings, a heavy duty swaybar, tall ball joints and all the necessary hardware. Now a sleek, athletic, low-riding sports car, the Trans Am certainly benefited in the looks department from this simple series of add-ons.
Not interested in stopping with bolt-ons, Josh retrofitted the Trans Am with Ridetech’s coilover kit for improved roadholding and adjustability - and that’s when he noticed a glaring hole in the passenger-side toeboard, caused by a leaking heater core. With the aid of his friend Herb’s shop, Rotten Metal Garage, he replaced the floorpans and in doing so, patched up the one spot of corrosion on the entire car. For a car nearing its 40th birthday, that’s not too shabby.
Next, the fuel cell (which came with the car for whatever reason) was removed and replaced with a new Tanks, Inc. setup. The cell also came with a raucous Holley pump, which got the boot too. In its place, Josh installed an quieter in-tank pump. Now ready for long, comfortable cruises, Josh could start looking for an engine that would do the trick suspension justice.
An LQ4, displacing a cool 6 liters, was found for very little money. Though covered in a thick layer of dust, it had only been sitting and was in remarkably good mechanical condition — it even came fitted with an LS1 intake and a few other go-fast goodies. Without making as much as a dime-sized dent in his wallet, he had enough grunt to outrun current, paddle-shifted muscle cars.
Next, Josh added a set of 17x9” Year One wheels with a bit of gold to match the body’s graphics. With well-filling rollers and 40-series sidewalls, the stance was absolutely perfect, just as a track-tuned muscle car ought to have.
Though there’s much more in store for this immaculate Trans Am, Josh has definitely gotten started with impressive momentum. His connections, know-how and eye for strong visual touches will take this build further than most. To keep an eye on one of the cleaner, meaner Trans Ams out there, you can follow his thread here.