Modifications, Upgrades, and Repair...part one

Follow the transformation from mild mannered, sophisticated, daily driven GTA to asphalt-pounding, fire-breathing street, fighting weekend warrior GTA. This GTA is already rare...now it'll become one-of-a-kind...

"Vader, 1988 Pontiac Trans AM GTA, a car barely able to move under it's own power. Gentlemen, we can rebuild it, we have the technology. We have the capability to make a fire-breathing, asphalt ripping Pheonix rise from its ashes. Vader will be that car. Better. Stronger. Faster than before."
- Modified quote originally from $6M Man

Current Performance Modifications:
- 6.3L (383ci) Tune-Port Injected Powerplant
-- Eagle Cast Steel Crankshaft
-- Eagle 5140 Steel "SIR" Lightweight Connecting Rods
-- Keith Black Hypereutectic performance pistons & piston pins
-- Premium moly piston ring set
-- Clevite 77 Rod and Main Bearings set
- 113 Casting Aluminum Corvette Heads (Machined to 56cc)
- C&C Motorsports 1.6 Aluminum Roller Rockers
- Comp Cams Camshaft and Lifters
- Ported Edlebrock High-Flo TPI Aluminum Baseplate
- Ported SLP Runners
- SLP Air Foil
- 26lbs./hr. Accel Fuel Injectors
- Billet Aluminum Adjustable Fuel Pressure Regulator
- 160-degree Thermostat
- Smog pump delete
- MSD 8.5mm Super Conductor Plug Wires
- NGX Spark Plugs
- Double Roller Timing Chain
- SLP Blackwing Air Filter
- Hooker Competition Mid-length Ceramic Coated Headers and Y-Pipe
- Flowmaster American Thunder 3-inch cat-back and no convertor
- CAT Underdrive Pulley Set
- S-10 Torque Convertor (2300-2400 stall)
- Rebuilt TH700-R4 Overdrive Transmission w/shift kit
- TGO "Free" Modifications (i.e. Throttle Body Coolant By-pass, etc.)

Current Suspension Modifications:
- BMR Silver Vein Strut Tower Brace
- Top-Down Solutions Steering Brace (Wonder Bar)

Current Appearance/Interior Modifications:
- Billet Aluminum "GTA" Throttle Body Plate
- Custom "Warning" notices for the visors
- Custom rear bumper "PONTIAC" logo inlays
- Fiberglass Ram Air I Hood from Hawk's Third Generation
- SLP Badge
- Grant 870 Challenger Steering Wheel with Pontiac logo horn button (Not installed yet)
- Pioneer DEH-3700MP Head unit (AM/FM, CD, CD-R/RW, MP3, WMA, and XM capable)
- Pioneer 4-way speakers (front and rear)

Planned Future Modifications:
- Black ZR-1 17-inch Wheels using 2-in billet wheel adapters
- Fiberglass replacement aero wing
- T-56 Six-speed Manual Transmission swap - (PENDING)
- LT1 Intake (Tune-Port Upgrade) - (PENDING)
- 52mm (Polished) Throttle Body
- Re-work on the valves
- MSD Ingnition System
- 3.70:1 Ring and Pinion Set - (PENDING)
- Finish Susupension Upgrade:
-- Sub-frame Connectors
-- Torque Arm and driveshaft loop
-- Lower Control Ams and Brackets
-- Panhard Bar
-- Eibach Springs
-- KYB Shocks/Struts
- AC and Cruise Control Delete - (PENDING AND PARTIAL COMPLETE)

Vader was built by the folks at Zeus Performance

You can check out my car on their website by clicking on the Project Cars link as well some other projects they've got going on or completed plus information about their personal cars. One of the owners, Jay Cutshaw recently had his IRS Formula in the June issue of Hot Rod! If you're in Charlotte, swing by and check them out. :)
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The 3-inch Flowmaster American Thunder catback exhaust system that I ordered from Summit in 2006. The car sounds so much meaner now with it on. I love how it sounds when lay into the throttle and open it up. It's awesome.

Here are some sounds of the exhaust the day I had it installed.

Vader's new American Thunder Exhaust (Sound 1)
Vader's new American Thunder Exhaust (Sound 2)
Vader's new American Thunder Exhaust (Sound 3)

These are some pictures of it installed on the car also taken the day I got it done.

My wife and I made some shirts for our local F-Body club Fayetteville F-Body a couple of weeks ago and I had some iron on paper left over. So...I decided to play around with it. A while back I came across a "Warning Label" of sorts on the F-Body Hideout. I saved the image not knowing what I would do with it...until now. :)

On many new cars there are airbag labels on the visors. I used to think they were annoying and still do to an extent, but I figured what the hell. My visors need to be recovered anyway so I made up the labels and put them on my visors.

The mod doesn't make my car go any faster, but I think it's pretty funny what the label says.

Driver's and Passenger's side once installed:

This is something that I recently scored off eBay. A billet throttle body plate that is engraved with "GTA". I thought it was kind of a cool little appearance modification so I went ahead and bought. Very easy to install and I think it looks a lot better than the stock one. :)

2007 Upgrades! With some of the tax return this year I bought some parts to help Vader handle and look better. Let the mods and upgrades begin! This year Vader was treated to a BMR Performance Strut Tower Bar, TDS Steering Brace (aka the GenIII Wonder Bar), and Grant Challenger steering wheel with Pontiac horn button.

I purchased some new "go-fast" parts to help improve the way this 20-year old car moves. It was plenty fast before, but now it'll be better than it was.

The parts list includes: SLP Runners, SLP Air Foil (Flow Booster), Edelbrock High-Flo Aluminum TPI baseplate, and K&N filter (not pictured). The valve covers are factory covers repainted and never made it onto the car. After looking at it we decided that it would be overkill on the black so we opted to leave the stock aluminum style on the car.

In progress pictures:

TRAGEDY STRIKES!!

Shortly after the install of the "go fast" parts above, the car went click, click boom. The oil pump went out and Vader suffered a death blow in the form of a spun bearing or bent connecting rod due to lack of internal lubrication. The culprit will be found once the block is torn apart.

From April until August 2007, Vader has sat lifeless, but things are looking up...hello Mr. Brightside! It has pained me to walk out each day and gaze on my lifeless vehicle. Hoepfully not too much longer and Vader will be back on the streets. I don't want to give too much away at this point but here's a look at the first arrival of parts to go on Vader's new and improved powerplant that arrived 5 July 2007.

What is special about the heads pictured above? They are the one thing that seperates the TPI 350 L98 in my F-Body from the TPI 350 L98 in the Corvettes. The 113 casting 58cc Aluminum Heads. These particular heads are from a 1988 Corvette. Let me tell you...they are smokin' considering what I paid for them versus buying a new set. A brand new set costs about $1400 dressed and I paid a whole lot less than that for these. Smokin' deal!

Summer 2007 - Vader is taken to Charlotte, NC and placed under the special care of Zeus Performance to be brought back to life. This was taken after the car was dropped off and all of the "goodies" were unloaded...a pretty nice assortment of parts.

Now...the fun begins. Vader was a guest of Zeus for about two months. The motor and transmission were removed and sent to the machine shop and transmission shop, repectively, to each recieve the "treatment". Once they were returned, the motor and transmission were reinstalled. The nice thing about it...it still looks somewhat stock under the hood minus the obvious appearance modification to the engine components. The average person wouldn't know any better that this is now a 6.3L versus the 5.7L that came from the factory. Best of all...the car is still numbers matching. :) Here are some progress shots:

Here's a picture of one of the owners of Zeus and a friend of mine doing some last minute and final adjustments to the car before I took back possession of Vader.

The future new look of Vader...Ram Air I hood courtesy of Hawk's Third Generation Parts out of Easley, SC.

The new look of Vader with the hood painted and installed on the car...

On one of my trips out to visit Zeus Performance I got to see my car run for the first time in months. To keep my spirits up while I waited for it to be finished I made a video walk around of the car running. This is what Vader sounded like before being taken to PCMforLess to be tuned on the dyno: Vader Running before Tuning. The video doesn't do the car justice...

After the car was all put back together and the initial break-in of the cam and motor by Zeus Performance it was taken to Alvin at PCMforLess where he put it through it's paces and tweaked the programming to get as much power as the TPI would allow. Granted, it may not look like much on paper but Vader has already proven itself against a bolt on LT1 and couldn't be caught. :)

The numbers...254RWHP and 362RWTQ. I'll admit that I was a little bummed when I first heard those numbers because we were guessing it would be right at or a little over 300RWHP with everything I had going into it, but when I drove it for the first time...I didn't care anymore. My goal is still 300+, but for now...I'm content and constantly fighting the urge to dump more money for more power.

Just remember...you have to pay to play. It's so true.

This is my custom "PONTIAC" inlays for the rear bumper. Since noone makes them for GenIII Trans AMs I had to make my own. I have been in contact with someone that does make vivyl graphics to see if he can produce them. How did I make these? It's a secret. :D

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**UPDATE!**

I recently started looking for the parts to do the T56 conversion on my car. I started with the hardest part to find...the GenIII Firebird manual transmission console bezel. They've been discontinued by GM so finding one used is becoming more and more difficult. Especially with the increasing number of people wanting to do manual transmission conversions. I found one through a member of ThirdGen.org for $50. SCORE!

The next thing was to find the actual transmission. I origianlly was going to buy one off a member of my car club, but that fell through plus it wouldn't have been as easy a swap since his car was a LS1 and I needed a LT1 T56 for it to work with less headaches. Searching the classified sections of various message forums I came across a smokin' deal for a LT1 and T56 for $1500. I inquired if the owner would be willing to sell just the transmission. He agreed and I picked up a T56 from a '95 Z28 with the pedals, bellhousing, and hydraulics all for $700 plus shipping. An even better deal.

There are only a few odds and ends left to purchase for the transmission portion of the swap. During the transmission conversion I'll also be having the posi unit rebuilt and new gears installed. I'll be upgrading to 3.70:1 ratio gears. That ought to wake up that motor under my hood some more. I'm really excited about this. The hardest part is going to be the waiting until I can gather the rest of the parts and cash to have it done.

More mods to come in the future and the pictures will be posted right here after they're done.
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It seems that something always happens. I was out driving one afternoon having a good time and later that day a friend pointed out that I had lost a center cap. WTF?! So, I got on trusty old eBay and found a brand spankin' new set of center caps for my ride. I got those in and they're now on the car. They look so much better than the original 20-year old ones.

While I was searching for center caps I stumbled across a new fog light lens for my car. I contacted the seller and asked if he had a second one...sure enough he was able to get one. Now, after three years of ownership I can finally get rid of those nasty blue tinted foglights for the OEM clear lenses. Not to mention the reflectors were shot so they didn't really help much with light projection. I got them in today and put them on the car. It looks so much nicer now. :)

On the left is the blue lights that were on the car when I bought it. On the right, the OEM lights. Looks much better. :D

In the pictures on the right can you see what I did when I was installing the new lenses in the fog light housings?

How about now?

This is what they looked like when I pulled them out. Talk about dingy and nasty looking.

While they were out I cleaned them up and gave them a new coat of flat black paint to make them look nice...eventhough no one will ever see them but me. I either really car about taking care of my car or I was really bored...you decide.

The brand new lenses. They're nice and clean and the reflectors are nice. They should actually do their job other than be there for looks. These lenses are pretty expensive if you get them through the parts store, but on eBay I got a really good deal and picked up both for the price I would have paid for only one.

Alright, the paint is dry (I love quick drying spray paint) and it's time to start putting everything back together. Now you can see what happened when I tightened down on the retainer clips that hold the lens/reflector in the housing...

That really torqued me...brand new parts and they aren't even in the car yet and I broke one. WTF?! Grrr...oh well, what can I do except buy another one. The only good thing is that you can't really tell that one is cracked once I put the fog light housings back into the car. Even with the lights on it's hard to see.

To see the cracked lens you have to get close to the light to see it...

Total repair time minus painting and letting it dry it took about 30-minutes to pull everything apart and put it back in. Not too time comsuming to make the appearance of my car look better. It's a big change over what it had when I got it. I like it much better now.

Just to give you an idea of how bad off the other lights were...1) The lens/reflectors are supposed to be sealed. 2) Check out how nasty that reflector is. It definately was only barely doing its job.

I'm glad I got these replaced. :D Stay tuned...more to follow.
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Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: RPO and Technical Data
Page 3: How RARE is it?
Page 4: Cool Photos of Vader
Page 5: General Photography of Vader
Page 6: Vader's Heart
Page 7: Inside Vader
Page 8: Modifications, Upgrades, and Repair...part one
Page 9: Modifications, Upgrades, and Repair...part two
Page 10: Literature and Stuff
Page 11: Car Shows and Events
Page 12: The Track
Page 13: My other Firebirds