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Originally Posted by garickman
Well sort of. Did you notice I mentioned in my title Trans am with a "twist". I guess this is as good as time as any to explain the "twist".
As most of you know and for those that don’t, the twin scoop formula hood was designed by Pontiac’s lead designer Bill Porter and it was originally meant to be used on the Trans Am. However, at the time, competitive performance models such as the Dodge Challenger, the Plymouth ‘Cuda and the Ford Mustang were all using functional shaker hoods and the GM exec’s also wanted that feature for the Trans Am. Bill Porter was very much against the design because it cut into the hood’s slender spline and it would not be as functional as the twin scoops. Obviously the GM exec’s won and the twin scoop hood was relegated to be used on what would become the Pontiac Firebird Formula. During a 2000 interview, Bill Porter once said “I always kind of wished the double scooped hood that became the Formula hood, originally done for the Trans Am, would have prevailed because it is functionally superior. Those twin boundary layer scoops up front really gulp in the air!” My plan for this build is to bring the car back to the original design by using the twin scoop formula hood along with the original trans am side vent fenders. Kind of the way it was supposed to be. I guess you could say it's going "Back to the Future".
Here is an original rendering from 1969 and it details what the 1970 Trans Am was supposed to look like.
By the way SW, I got some inspiration on this build from both of your T.A's. The first thing you will probably notice is the darker shade of metallic blue on the engine. The original Pontiac blue's just didn't look right.  |
As I recall, the shaker was designed to allow a tunnel ram in the Trans Am racing series, which allowed for two carburetors, but specified a stock hood. So they positioned the Shaker (just the air cleaner) to allow for clearance for a tunnel ram. Unfortunately, there was a rule change that kept it from being used in this fashion.
I forget where I read this, so it may not be true.