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Revised March 16, 2002
Steve has interests other than Howie and girls. Included in these are his cars. His favorite is his 1979 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. He also owns a 1972 Chevrolet Blazer and his daily commuter is a 1987 Pontiac Fiero GT.
It began life as a run-of-the mill black Trans Am. The car's suspension has been upgraded with many components and adjustments identical to those on the '79 Fire-Am race car, a car campaigned in the SCCA Trans-Am Championship series and in the 24 Hours of Daytona by a former Pontiac engineer, named Herb Adams. The car's engine was removed and replaced by a monstrous 455-HO from a 1970 Pontiac Bonneville. The engine was built in 1979/1980 and included many high performance and racing components. When the smog check laws came into effect in California, some of the parts had to be changed and some rare factory parts needed to be located to make the car smog legal. These parts included the ignition system, the carburetor, and the air cleaner. In its present state, it is fully smog legal in the State of California. Some detail photos are available here.
Car Specifications:
Engine:
Cylinder Block: 1970 455-HO
Crankshaft: 1970 455-HO, balanced
Connecting Rods: Factory Pontiac SD455 forged connecting rods
Pistons: TRW forged flat-top pistons, 0.030" oversize
Cylinder Heads: Edelbrock Performer RPM Aluminum, 87cc chambers, mildly ported
Valves: Ferrea Racing, 2.11"/1.77"
Rocker Arms: Crane Hi-Intensity 1.65:1 Rollerized Rockers
Intake Manifold: Holley Street Dominator, ports modified to fit heads and plenum modified to fit carburetor
Carburetor: Rochester Quadrajet for 1978 Pontiac, modified with APT and electric choke from 1980 Cadillac
Camshaft: Clone of Ram Air IV grind: 308/320 duration (230/240 @ 0.050" lobe lift), 0.527"/0.527" lift, 87 degrees valve overlap.
Lifters: Crane Hi-Intensity
Exhaust: Hooker Super Competition Headers with 1.875" primary tubes and 3.5" collectors, Dr. Gas X-crossover with 3" inlets and 2.5" outlets, Flowmaster muffler.
Ignition: HEI by Performance Distributors, modified for direct plug-in to MSD 6T with Soft-Touch rev. control, with vacuum advance.
Oiling System: Ram Air IV clone oil pump with 60 PSI relief spring, modified Herb Adams VSE wet sump oil cooler adaptor plate and full-flow remote oil filter mount, Earl's -10 AN hose and hose ends, Earl's #41910 oil cooler and oil cooler mount.
Cooling System: 3-row A/C radiator for Olds 403-powered Trans Am, Original radiator shroud for Olds 403-powered Trans Am, Robertshaw 160 degree thermostat, high-flow/low-drag aluminum water pump.
Starter: GPE Competition gear-reduction starter.
Miscellaneous: Modified Z/28 alternator pulley (GM P/N 3829387), SD455-style PCV with PCV valve attached to oil filler cap, 1970 Formula dual-snorkel air cleaner, 1979 Trans Am W72 400 shaker, GM carburetor heat isolator.
Chassis/Suspension:
Steering: 1979 Pontiac WS-6, power-assisted, 14:1 constant ratio.
Wheels: Pontiac Snowflake, 15"x8", zero offset.
Tires: Goodyear Eagle VR, P255/60VR15
Front Suspension: Herb Adams VSE anti-sway bar with spherical rod ends, GM B body spindles, 12” GM brakes, Koni Special D hydraulic shock absorbers, Herb Adams VSE NyLiner control arm bearings, stock springs cut 3/4-coil.
Rear Suspension: 1970 Firebird 12-bolt with Moser Engineering C-clip eliminator, Moser Engineering racing axles with 1/2" screw-in studs, 2.56:1 ring and pinion, limited-slip differential built by G-F Automotive, Herb Adams VSE anti-sway bar, 1979 Cadillac Seville disc brake backing plates, 1979 WS-6 Trans Am calipers and rotors, Koni shock absorbers, relocated front spring eyes.
Transmission and Driveline: Hays billet aluminum flywheel with steel friction surface, 11" Centerforce Dual Friction clutch, Richmond Gear 5-speed transmission (3.28:1 first gear), Hurst Competition Plus shifter with GM/Hurst shift lever, 1350-series Strange Engineering transmission output yoke, custom backdrive linkage.
Frame Location: Herb Adams VSE aluminum body mounts/Lowering Kit, Herb Adams VSE Structure Kit.
Miscellaneous:
Gauge Package: Standard Trans Am Rally Gauge package with 8000rpm Tachometer, 160mph Speedometer, and Fuel Gauge from 1970 Trans Am.
Lighting: CIBIE off-road headlights, CIBIE driving lamps recessed in front bumper, CIBIE fog lamps recessed in front bumper, all with optional high output bulbs.
Web Ring.This vehicle was purchased used with nearly 300,000 miles on its odometer (possibly almost 400,000 miles). It is a rare factory 4-speed model, and it is relatively rust-free. The engine leaked a little oil when Steve first got it, but recently decided that it was going to leak all of its oil out while he was driving (which ruined Steve's NASCAR Winston Cup weekend). Steve caught that in time, but the engine's not good for much other than rebuilding. This was probably the worst used vehicle Steve's ever bought. Steve's put a new engine in it, which was built to stock specs internally (except for a 0.030" overbore). The Blazer turned its odometer back around to zero during a duck hunting trip on Nov. 8, 1998.
Update: The Blazer's 1998 engine had bad oil pressure and the crank snout whipped aroud quite a bit. The engine was replaced in June of 1999 under warranty for one with a 0.040" overbore. It ran for about 400 miles when it had a catastrophic valvetrain failure. It ate three cam lobes, the accompanying lifters, bent two pushrods, ate a couple of rocker arms, a couple of rocker arm studs, and banged up a couple of valve stem tips. This necessitated a head swap.
See some photos of Steve's Blazer.
See some photos of Steve's Blazer off-roading it.
Truck Specifications:
Engine:
Cylinder Block: Chevrolet 350 V8.
Pistons: Cast, unknown origin, 0.040" overbore, with dish.
Cylinder Heads: Edelbrock Performer, 70cc chambers, modified exhaust crossovers.
Rocker Arms: Crane Energizer 1.5:1 Rollerized Rockers
Rocker Studs: ARP 7/16" screw-in.
Intake Manifold: Edelbrock Performer RPM Q-Jet intake manifold.
Carburetor: Rochester 750 CFM Quadrajet 4-barrel from 1977 Corvette. Electric choke setup from 1980 Cadillac.
Camshaft: Crower grind #284HDP, 286/289 duration (225/230 @ 0.050" lobe lift), 0.454"/0.463" lift, 112 LSA
Lifters: Crane Hi-Intensity
Ignition: Chevrolet HEI distributor, Crane adjustable vacuum advance can.
Exhaust: Headers of unknown origin (4-tube design with 1.625" diameter (OD) primaries and 3" diameter collectors), Earl's header seals, 2.5" aluminized dual exhaust pipes, Walker "Quiet Z" mufflers.
Cooling: Rodney Red custom aluminum radiator, Robertshaw 160 degree thermostat.
Starter: CSI Gear-reduction starter with planetary gearset.
Chassis/Suspension:
Wheels: Eagle style 063, 15" x 10".
Tires: Bridgestone Dueler MT, 32-11.50/R15
Front Suspension: Dana 44 axle assembly, 3.07:1 ring and pinion, M&M manual locking hubs, factory heavy-duty springs, dual Rancho RS5000 shock absorbers, Trail Master dual steering damper, 1.250" anti-sway bar from 1978 Blazer 4x4.
Rear Suspension: 3.07:1 limited-slip 12-bolt truck rear end, ARP differential carrier cap studs, TA Performance carrier cap girdle/differential cover, Rancho RS5000 shock absorbers.
Transmission and Driveline: 12" Centerforce II clutch, New Venture 4500 5-speed transmission with synchronized reverse gear, Energy Suspension polyurethane transmission mounts, NP205 part-time 4WD transfer case.
Brakes: Factory front disc rotors and calipers with semi-metallic pads, 1983 Cadillac Eldorado rear brake calipers with semi-metallic pads, modified front rotors on rear axle, custom rear parking brake cables, modified 1978 Cadillac Seville brake proportioning valve, 1978 Cadillac Seville brake master cylinder, modified 1987 Buick Regal 4-door vacuum power brake booster, modified brake actuating linkage. Click here for the on the rear disc installation.
Miscellaneous:
Gauge Package: Optional gauge package, including speedometer, oil pressure gauge, and ammeter. Modified 1977 Camaro tachometer added.
Lighting: Hella Vision Plus head lamps with Hella 80/100W UV-Free bulbs, driving lights of unknown origin.
Miscellaneous: Bolt-on 2" hitch receiver, hidden behind license plate.
Interior: Momo Corse steering wheel, hand-cut marine carpet and jute padding in bed, hand-cut marine carpet and jute padding on tailgate.
The Fiero was bought used in 2000. Steve calls it "the Flea-aero" or simply "the Flea" or "Flea" for short. It's a little car that gets rather poor fuel economy given its size. The headlight motors were in poor shape when the car was purchased. This required that the power transmission system in the motor assemblies be rebuilt. One of the motors would not come apart (its housing broke during disassembly) and had to be replaced. Its clutch seized up on it during a commute to work at the end of August of 2000. This caused its aging hydraulics to die and required a completely new clutch system to be installed. It still gets most of the commuting duty. The engine is stock (although the previous owner claimed that it had a "ported" intake - I can't verify or deny that). The clutch is a Centerforce unit. It uses a K&N air filter. Other additions include Hella Vision Plus head lights with 80W/100W H4 bulbs, Pioneer coaxial speakers in the dash, and an AM/FM/CD/Eq unit out of a 2000 Trans Am (modified to fit the dash of the Fiero).
More on the Flea when time permits.
This Pure Pontiac Ring site is owned by
Steve Chin.
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