'79 Trans Am
 

My buddy wants to surprise his son on his birthday with a '79 TA that he has his eye on. It's gonna be a DD so it won't see any track time. The car is pretty solid.

He has all the cosmetics planned out but was wondering what upgrades would make the car perform better but not be all out race.

His plans so far are to pull the poncho drivetrain and replace it with a 'vette drivetrain. Would this be advisable or would it be best to stick with the poncho drivetrain and build it up?

What sort of suspension upgrades would be best for this type of car? Will it need a brake upgrade?

I know nothing about these cars so I thought I'd defer to the experts...

John

I have had 100 of them, or more, including a brand new ones in 78 and 79. Yeah, I am that old, i graduated in 79. I just bought another one last week. They are good driving cars already, brakes are good, if it is a WS6 it even has 4 wheels disc. Not enough power to hurt anyone and for a son that is probably perfect. Depending on weather it is a 403 (automatic) or 400 (4 speed), either are pretty good cruiser motors. I would do a little freshen up on it and let him bounce off things a while and then if he is into it they can do unlimited mods.

I would suggest the Hotchkis TVS system (suspension) and an upgrade on the brakes to 4 wheel disc if it is not already a disc rear. Keeping it all Pontiac would be nice but what kind of shape is the motor in now? A simple rebuild if needed would save a lot of money over a LS swap. It all depends on how far he wants to take it.

Hotchkis TVS
4 wheel disc brakes
Fresh rebuild on the Pontiac motor
TKO500 5 speed
Nice wheels and tires
Good driver paint job

Done. And it would be a REALLY nice driver that would be fun for years and not break the bank.

Thanks Fellas!

He used to build movie cars for a living(He built the Yellow Ferraris in the movie "The Rock") but that was mostly cosmetic so he's not all that up on the performance end of things. He used Fieros and made Ferrari body kits to fit onto them.

I had suggested that he keep the poncho drivetrain and do the Hotchkis TVS. I think the car that he is looking at is an auto. I don't think it's a WS6 so he'll probably need to do a brake upgrade. Frank, I'll give him your number. I'll tell him that you can hook him up with a great brake package!

Thanks again!

John

Pick up the June 2010 issue of Muscle Car Power Magazine. There is a feature article on one that is very nice and has been stuffed with an LS.

If it is a solid 400/4 speed car, which is the only way to get 400 in 79, I would suggest keeping it original with minor reversible mods or flipping it. The 79 400/4speed cars make excellent investments. The demand is high on the cars, the initial buy in is low for the most part, and they increase in value constantly. Basically, all the 79 400 cars had 78 engines in them. They are all W72 cars which is the high performance 400 from pontiac. They only built them until they ran out of engines.

With that said, be careful as in 79 the TA could come with a 301 pontiac motor. He needs to verify what motor the car has before buying it. The 301 is a 4.9 liter engine and the 400 is a 6.6 in case any of the decals or emissions stuff is still in place.

WS6 cars had 8in snowflakes and four wheel disc brakes. They also had a little brace that connected the rear mount of the front lower control arms to the front subframe.

If the rear disc brakes are working, don't mess with them. They are finicky and suck. I'd change them out in a heart beat. I'm actually doing that to mine right now. Tobin at Kore3 has a great brake setup for these cars.

The Oldsmobile 403 is a great engine. Get rid of the horrible rear gear and the car becomes a lot more fun to drive but is still not fast. 2.73 was the best factory rear gear available for the 403 cars so there's room for improvement

All in all, a great first car to learn on and get into the hot rod scene. Parts are plentiful and the cars look great IMO. Shaker scoops rule too.