1999 Pontiac Trans Am
 

Well earlier in November I decided to pick up a new project car. Over the course of the month I spent a lot of time looking. Initially my target was a c5 corvette. After much searching I decided to cut back my budget a bit. Only the base c5 was in my budget anyway, so I decided to look at other cars. Anyway, to make a long story short I ended up with the car below.. 2400 miles on the clock from 1999 (mileage is not a typo). A proper muscle car to drive on the weekends when the mazda (no I haven't sold it quite yet, though after I move in May I may) is just to damn practical.
So without further ado:

The custom shot:
http://img01.picoodle.com/img/img01/...m_b31ecb8e.jpg

http://img01.picoodle.com/img/img01/...m_3cb79854.jpg
w/ mazda peaking out from behind. I like black cars, can you tell?

http://img01.picoodle.com/img/img01/...m_3a8a0bea.jpg

http://img01.picoodle.com/img/img01/...m_ed55b18b.jpg

http://img01.picoodle.com/img/img01/...m_17211fae.jpg

http://img01.picoodle.com/img/img01/...m_db7a61eb.jpg

Now summer can't get here soon enough so I can take off the ttops and drive around.

2400 miles, obviosuly somebody thought it was a collectable car hehe, his loss, and your gain i hope ;)

the car looks very sharp, and i know she sounds awsome! is she going to be turning into a track car a la 3rd gen Fbody?

She looks in pristine condition! :shock:

Nice car, treat her well!

I havent decided yet if the car will become a track car or just a daily driver with some panache. At the moment I don't have the money or time to race. After I move I'm going to reevaluate things. If I still live in a cold climate, it becomes a 4th gen track car. If I live in a warm climate it becomes a cheap first car and I get a corvette for the track. (The car was about the same cost as the mazda would be if I sold it today and it has a 4 year warrenty.. the mazda warrenty runs out in less then a year. Points to ponder).

2400 miles! :shock: LOL good for you Wolf :wink:

Congrats and take care of the baby :P

They always do!

Congrats!

congrats ! 8)
looks brutal in black :twisted:

congratz, im not the biggest fan of this car but it does look pretty stunning in black, keep us posted on it :D

Nice car. Have fun with it. 8)

:shock:

Great miliage and a fast car!

If I were you I'd put some 18's with new rims and then put tunnel-ram on it :P

Nice score with the mileage! Whatever you ultimately decide to do with the car, im sure it will be fun. :D

Amazing how the original owner only put 2400 miles in it.. Definitely a great choice if you couldnt go for the vette.

All it needs is a few red LEDs in the front to make it look like a new version of KITT :)

The Trans Am Project finally gets underway
 

After about 2 years it was time to finally make some changes to the Trans Am, well beyond the GMMG exhaust that makes it sound like a late 60s muscle car, the air intake, and smaller diameter driveshaft I put on their last year. Anyway, the cars suspension received a total overhaul due to an unfortunate incident. So first the changes:
Aftermarket upper control arms, new bushings, aftermarket pan hard rod, special springs tuned for the shocks, and koni yellow adjustable shocks. And I almost forgot the biggest change: Camaro SS 17" wheels with new 275x40R17Z rated tires. The tires particularly are special, essentially the best dot tire you can buy since I have snow tires so Im not all that worried about wear. So the pictures...
http://is-mad.com/upload/userfiles/g...m/IMG_0023.jpg
http://is-mad.com/upload/userfiles/g...4/IMG_0024.jpg
http://is-mad.com/upload/userfiles/g...4/IMG_0025.jpg
http://is-mad.com/upload/userfiles/g...4/IMG_0026.jpg

The car is now roughly the same height off the ground as the Vette, approximately 1.3 inches lower to the ground. The last picture highlights this best. I had it parked next to a 911 a few weeks ago and it made the 911 look tall.

So what is the outcome. Acceleration feels more refined, no more brake dive or rear squat under acceleration. Handling is like a whole other car. The Trans Am now handles better then any car I've ever test driven (see archives) on smooth roads. I can barely kick the traction control on... Except.. when the road is bumpy. The inherent flaw with the beam axle means the car can never handle well over excessively bumpy roads, though with my better shock rebound settings it feels nicer over bumps then before (nicer relative, hard hit and then settles quickly).

There are 3 negatives to the new change. A) My poor wallet is now emptier to a tune of a number so high we won't go there. B) This is a daily driver which makes me wander am I nuts. C) The brakes are now the weakest link by far. In a recent drive with the ferrari club If I hung way back I could take the same turns as everyone else without braking and be right up their ass waiting for them to get back on the gas. However, if I followed closer and attempted to brake with them I quickly got pad deposits, vibrating wheel from the pads, and a noticable period of time for my stops. Obviously next up are some better non 9 year old pads, but I also think some rotors may be in order.. Then again.. we go back to B and realize I have a new Vette in the garage.. Stay tuned.

Noice... veddy veddy noice....

We are staying tuned :)

You scared me mate ! :crying:
While the last pic was downloading (bandwith problem) I saw this

http://img394.imageshack.us/img394/4...pontiaciy1.jpg

WTF is that? a ToyoPontiac?????
But a few moments later I could finally see the complete image.
Looks really nice ! :thumbup: