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Welcome to Trans Am Country!

Established in 2002, TAC is an online all generation firebird community dedicated to the preservation of the Pontiac firebird and its heritage.  TAC is a family oriented site that is free to use.  If you are still looking for your dream firebird, have had one in the past or are lucky enough to own one these cars that defined a generation then you have found a site meant just for you.

Don’t forget to visit the Community Forum to recieve help, assist others or just join in the firebird family that sets TAC apart from all of the other sites out there.  Click the Forum tab at the top and join today!

Besides the wonderful people TAC wouldn’t be what it is without our sponsors.  If you are here at TAC because of your Firebird then chances are you’ll need the service of our sponsors.  We have made a point in aligning ourselves with the best companies and service providers available today.  Whether you need a door handle or a full restoration we have sponsors that specialize in firebirds.

Lastly, Thank you for visiting TAC today and please feel free to visit often.  You are welcome and wanted!

Welcome TAC’s newest sponsor specializing in GTO \ G8 \ TA parts

The Fire Am

If you have stumbled upon this article you must be asking yourself “What is a Fire Am?” and believe it or not that is a great question.  The answer…Its everything the Trans Am could have been and should have been.  In the height of the muscle car era GM was turning out some of the best performance cars this world has ever known.  A man by the name of Herb Adams was an automotive engineer and diehard racer and just happened to work for the GM Pontiac division.  His contributions led to the now infamous Super Duty 455 engine, as well as the Ram Air V program.  Perhaps his greatest contribution came after his official departure from Pontiac.  On a contractual endeavor Herb was brought in to conduct a performance handling exercise of sorts. In 1977 Herb and his newly founded company VSE (Very Special Equipment) built 8 race ready Trans Ams for Pontiacs IROC racing program.  The program did not succeed at that time, but the improvements made to those 8 Trans Ams were not lost.  Several of the key components went on to become the WS6 performance package in 1978.  The rest of the improvements were deemed unsuitable for a production car and VSE was granted permission to offer those components themselves and the Fire Am was born.

If your first question is “What is a Fire Am?” then your next question is probably “Why haven’t I heard about this before?”.   Keep in mind that all of this took place in the late 70’s.  Two guys by the name Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs had just started Apple computers and the internet wouldn’t be publicly accessed for another 20 years.  The only source for information was a periodical.  Even then our choices were slim with Thunder Am, Car Craft, Hot Rod and Car and Driver to name just a few.  Even though they did all cover the Fire Am on multiple occasions the VSE corporation stopped offering components in the mid 80’s.  VSE itself did not build a large number of Fire Ams or its camaro cousin the Cheverra, but anyone could build there own and the majority of them that exist today were built by the owners.  That being the case there are no production numbers available.

The VSE catalog was a great resource for parts and information.

VSEcatalogcover

No one will argue that the Trans Am is the epitome of what we all love about that era in automotive history with the huge hood bird decals and stylish lines, but the Fire Am took that heritage and took it to a whole new level.  Not just with performance, but handling as well.  It was a pro-touring movement before the word was mainstream.  There were three stages designed for Street, Autocross, and Road racing.  Here are some really nice examples of Fire Ams owned or restored by members in the TAC community.

Original equipment usually indicates a Firebirds true link to VSE, but for those of us that wanted a Fire Am of our own up until now our only option was newly designed components.  Thanks to Passion-Motors (formerly VSE) and NPD we can build an authentic Fire Am.  have teamed up to He was giventhat  Since the Firebirds inception in 1967 its name is synonymous with good looks and aggressive styling

This Fire Am can be seen at the NPD location in Florida.

Suburban 4th row seating

I will preface this page with a disclaimer. The modification performed in the content covered in this page should not be duplicated without first considering the danger and safety risks included. The intentions of this project was to add an extra seat to my vehicle for special family trips to accommodate my large family. If you modify your vehicle in this manner you do so at your own risk. I do not accept any responsibility for bodily injury or death by any persons attempting to duplicate my results.

With that said….

Like any large family one of the biggest necessity’s is a SUV or van to get around in. Until the birth of our 7th child we enjoyed our 8 passenger 2003 suburban and wouldn’t dream of letting it go. My oldest child is driving now, so that is good. Getting our family to a gathering means driving two vehicles, which is bad. On gas that is. Our suburban is paid off, so I started thinking about the options for additional seating. There are companies that sell aftermarket “little” seats, but they didn’t look factory in my opinion. Then I did a google search for additional seats in a suburban and found a video where a guy installed 3rd row seating from another suburban into the cargo area of his suburban. The execution of the install was a “best effort” and I applaud him for sharing his work, but I wanted something that should have come from the factory. Here is what I started with.

2003suburbanwith4throw

The video that inspired this project used a 3rd row bench seat, but I wanted something more flexible.  After quite a bit of research I came to the conclusion that the 3rd row seating from a Yukon or Tahoe would be best.  They came with a twin bucket configuration.  With one section in you had one seat, but with both sections in you had three seats.  Next I discovered that the 3rd row seating brackets mounted on a flat floor.  DING DING, we have a winner.  The hunt was on and I made a trip to the local pull it yourself yard.  As luck would have it they had exactly what I wanted, but the interior was the wrong color.  Since the seats themselves were available on craigslist I opted to get the brackets only.  Next up with the seats and again I was blessed with good fortune.  An ad on craigslist netted me the perfect seats.  They were correct in color and interior pattern.  By now I was excited and this is what followed….

I apologize for the dark pictures, but the project was done late in the evening outside.

4throwfactorysetup

Pictured above are seats from a 2006 Tahoe

I wanted my install to look factory and that meant I had to install the brackets as flush to the floorboard as possible.  In order to do that I had to remove some interior plastic, loosen the side interior panels and pull back the carpeting and insulation.

4throwbegin

4throwremovingstuff

4throwbarefloor

Next I needed to test fit the seats to get the proper install locations.  That gave me a starting point in which to square up my bracket install.

4throwtestfit

4throwtestfitdesiredlocation

As you can see this install is going to place the seats very close to the back hatch.  This is in order to give the riders the most possible leg room.  After the test fit was completed I started marking my rear bracket locations.  I ensured that they were square and began drilling holes.  I was very careful to check under the vehicle for clearance.  The gas tank filler neck runs in on the drivers side and the rear AC unit run under the passenger side.  I used a punch tool to mark each location before drilling.  That allowed me to see the desired location from beneath.  Please note that one of the rear bolts had to penetrate both the floor and a sub brace.  The front brackets were done the same way.  The bolts for the front and rear brackets are exactly 16 and 1 half inches on center from one another by my measurements.  Please note that the right most front bracket only has one bolt.  The other bolt location was have interfered with the hardened AC lines.

4throwhammering

The second bracket in this picture positioned the bar over a rise in the floor, so a hammer was used to clearance the bracket.

4throwhammering2

4throwbackleftbrackets

The original 3rd row brackets in my Suburban had 1 inches of clearance for each bracket, so I did the same using washers.  The bolts are 1/2 inch by 2 inch bolts.  Each bracket was leveled as well.

4throwbackrightbrackets

47 washers were used in this project

4throwfrontrightbrackets

4throwbracketsexplained

Here is a look at the finished bracket install.  The red arrow shows where a longer bolt was used to clear the floor bracing.  The green arrow is where the bolt was skipped because the AC lines.  I zip tied the appropriate amount of washers to the bracket to keep the bracket from dipping.  Each seat was fitted to the newly installed brackets before the insulation and carpet were cut.

4throwinsulationcomplete

4throwbracketscomplete

Here you can see that my new brackets look just as factory as the 3rd row brackets.  Time to install the seats.

4throwviewfromliftgate

4throwviewofhatchclearance

The finished install put the seats 1 inch towards the front compared to my test fit, but I am very pleased with the placement.

4throwheadroom

Here is my helper showing that the emphasize on flush mounted brackets makes all the headroom difference in the end.  Here are some other shots of the finished install.

4throwviewfrom2ndrow3rdrowdown

4throwviewfrombackglass

4throwviewfromfront

Altogether the project took 4 hours to complete.

Tools used:

1 hammer
rachet with 3/4 inch socket
3/4 inch boxed in wrench
hole punch
drill with a 4 inch long 1/2 inch bit
Sharpie
Chalk line
Hot cocoa (it was 50 degrees out, LOL)

 

 

YEAR ONE 17″ RALLY II WHEELS

YearOne continues to expand on its line of updated classic muscle car wheels, this time turning attention to another iconic Pontiac offering. The original “Rally II” wheel was offered in 15″ diameters for 1970-81 Firebirds and Trans Ams. If you prefer the classic look of the Rally II’s your previous options were the factory 15×7 design or the aftermarket 15×8 design.  By todays standards a wheel greater then 15″ is needed, but you would have to lose that classic look.

YearOne solves these problems by introducing their new cast-aluminum Rally II wheel in modern 17”x9” sizing. The wheels feature the original paint color, so all you have to do is install them and enjoy.  The polished outer lip completely negates the need for a trim ring saving you money and thus making these newer wheels a cost effective choice.  Each wheel has 4.7/8” backspacing to ensure a proper fit on 1970-81-vintage F-bodies. The wheels accept the original center caps, and use standard conical-seat lug nuts.

Order your set today by calling 1-800-YEARONE or visit http://www.yearone.com/.

Forum to Website (Cowl Data Plates)

 

You know the drill.  Visit a forum, ask a simple question and get a simple answer.  At least we all hope it gets a simple answer….not always.  In this online article of forum to frontpage we cover a recent post that started out with a harmless request and covered an age old topic from a different angle.  We all know that VIN swapping is illegal, but is that the only thing that can’t be swapped?
Continue reading Forum to Website (Cowl Data Plates)