The Trans Am’s transformation – from factory automatic to factory manual (in the sense that I am using all factory stock parts to recreate what the car would have come with from the factory had it been ordered with a manual) is almost done.
The last thing to do as far as mechanical stuff is install the driveshaft, which I was going to do the other day and tried to – when I found out the slip yoke that goes into the back of the Super T10 four speed is different than the one that went into the back of my car’s factory automatic. I have the correct one on order but it’ll be a few days until it gets here.
Once it does and I get the driveshaft in, the mechanical stuff will all be done. There is still some cosmetic stuff to be done, such as install the hump on the driveshaft tunnel and then the rubber boot and trim around the shifter (to cover up the hole in the driveshaft tunnel) and then a manual center console, to make it all look neat and “factory.”
I heard from the guy I sold my 2004R automatic to the other day; he has his car up and running and is very happy with the overdrive gearing. I think I’ll be happier with the Super T-10!
. . .
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So you are giving up an overdrive gear? What gearing is the rear end?
My 4-speed Firebird does very well on the highway at 65 (about 2750 RPM) thanks to the 2.76 rear gear. And it’s got enough horsepowers to still smoke tires at will.
I got my new intake installed and a new 750 Holley carburetor dialed in. I have to order a new throttle cable bracket though. The one that was mounted on the previous intake does not fit the new intake very well. I tried to modify it to work, but it moves a tiny bit, making throttle response suffer, especially taking off from idle.
Oh and one of my valve covers is leaking. New gaskets this weekend.
Hi Philo!
Yep – no overdrive. With the 3.90 gears it’s going to be a screamer. But it’s ok; I don’t plan on highway drives and I do plan to swap out the 3.90 rear for 3.23 (which was stock for the four speed cars).
I have been there/done that with the throttle cable stuff. The good news is the fix is just trial and error/adjustment!
3.23 will be much better for RPMs. My Charger has 3.23’s and it does ok on the highway. Hot-rodding on the backroads would be great with the 3.90’s!
Yes, another complete win win. Two dreams fulfilled, no valuable parts shit canned. What a great example for any kids lurking here. Congratulations again
Thanks, Rain!
I’m pretty happy with it as it recreates the other Trans-Am I owned a long time ago. I have been fastidiously careful about making sure the end result will both function and look “factory.”
Excellent news Eric….Tis your own version of the Red Barchetta…congratulations