The legendary Pontiac Firebird Trans Am
The legendary Pontiac Firebird is a sports/muscle car that is built between 1967 and 2002 by the Pontiac division of General Motors. 1967 was the year of introduction for the Pontiac Firebird, a variant of the Chevrolet Camaro that was the brand's needed answer to the best-selling Ford Mustang.
These high performance auto mobiles were, for the most part, powered by various V8 motors of different GM divisions. They where primarily Pontiac-powered until 1977, when the Firebirds were built with several different engines from nearly every General Motors division. In 1982 all Pontiac motors were dropped in favour of corporate motors.
Who doesn't know him, the very famous Pontiac Trans Am 1982? Of course that is KITT, from the legendary TV series Knight Rider. In that television series appeared a modified black 1982 Firebird Trans Am, named KITT.
The SCCA created the Trans Am Racing Series in 1966, as the Trans American Sedan Championship. Originally derived from the SCCA's A Production class, it today features purpose-built tube-frame race cars competing on road courses. The series is known for competition of muscle cars like the Ford Mustang, Chevy Camaro, Plymouth Barracuda, AMC Javelin and Dodge Challenger in the late 1960s and early 1970s, though marques from many different countries have competed in the series.
De Pontiac Firebird Trans Am is named after the Trans-Am Series, the name was used without permission of the SCCA and they threatened to sue GM. But GM settled the deal by paying US$5 to the SCCA for every car sold. The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is the sanctioning body for the series and holds the rights to the "Trans Am" name. The series was most recently operated by the Champ Car World Series and ran the majority of its races in support of the parent open-wheel championship.
Due to a lack of participants and interest, the series ceased operations after the 2005 season. However the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) continued to own the name and permitted Heartland Park Topeka to run two races in September and October 2006 using Trans Am rules and the Trans Am name.
Pontiac Trans-Am Engine Summary
Pontiac Trans-Am Engine Summary (with corresponding RPO code):
- * 1982-1983: LU5 5.0L V8, 165-175 hp and 240-250 ft·lbff
- * 1982-1984: LC1 2.8L V6, 102-107 hp and 142-145 ft·lbff
- * 1982-1985: LQ8 2.5L I4, 88-92 hp and 132-134 ft·lbff
- * 1982-1987: LG4 5.0L V8, 145-170 hp and 240-250 ft·lbff
- * 1983-1984: LL1 2.8L V6, 125 hp and 145 ft·lbff
- * 1983-1986: L69 5.0L V8, 190 hp and 240 ft·lbff
- * 1985-1989: LB8 2.8L V6, 135 hp and 165 ft·lbff
- * 1985-1992: LB9 5.0L V8, 190-230 hp and 275-300 ft·lbff
- * 1987-1992: L98 5.7L V8, 225-245 hp and 330-345 ft·lbff
- * 1988-1992: L03 5.0L V8, 170 hp and 255 ft·lbff
- * 1989-1989: LD5 3.8L V6, 250 hp and 340 ft·lbff (turbocharged engine)
- * 1990-1992: LH0 3.1L V6, 140 hp and 180 ft·lbff
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Reference Guide
Reference Guide for Global Sports Car Care
Effective sports car management requires a tremendous amount of information. At any given time, a sports car owner may be making decisions concerning care and management of their precious vehicle, control of the exterior, safe use of nitrogen to improve the muscle quality of the engine. The purpose of this reference guide is to consolidate some of the basic information sports car owners need for proper decision making.
This guide is not intended to be all inclusive or extremely specific. Most of the information was adapted from my personal experiments or extensive research on the web and reading a lot of service manual publications. Some of the information represents "expert opinion" rather than the results of quantifiable research. All of the information was subjected to professional review.
Appreciation is expressed to the many auto enthusiast, auto mobile scientists, car service specialists and the automotive industry who contributed to this guide. Special thanks to all the visitors of this particular website for their individual contributions.