Pontiac Trans Am
Encyclopedia : P : PO : PON : Pontiac Trans Am
The Pontiac Trans Am was an automobile produced by Pontiac, a division of General Motors (GM), to appeal to the growing muscle car population. Four distinct generations, based on Pontiac Firebird coupe body styles were produced between 1967 and 2002. These cars were built on the F-body platform, which was also shared by the Chevrolet Camaro.
The first generation was available only in 1969. The second generation was available from 1970 to 1981 and was featured in the 1977 movie Smokey and the Bandit. The third generation, available from 1982 to 1992, was featured in the 1984 movie Alphabet City. KITT, the automotive star of the popular 1980s TV series Knight Rider, was a modified third generation Trans Am. The fourth generation Trans Am, available from model years 1993 to 1997, offered between 275 and 305 horsepower due to the LT1 Small block aluminum headed engine. With the facelift beginning in the 1998 model year on to 2002 The car boasted a powerful 350 hp with the help of the Corvette derived aluminum LS1 engine. However, GM Corp. did not want its horsepower ratios to be advertised in a way that would make it compete with the Corvette, (its elite front-runner) since it shared the same engine, So they adverstised the car at 325 hp from 1998-2002 for Ram Air equipped models)
The Trans-Am was discontinued with the Firebird in 2002, however the body is still used in the IROC Racing Series.
Trans Am engines
First generation
1969: Ram Air III 400 (Pontiac), Ram Air IV 400 (Pontiac)345hp, Ram Air V 400 (Pontaic)500hp
Second generation
- 1970: Ram Air III 400 (Pontiac), Ram Air IV 400 (Pontiac), Ram Air V 400 (Pontiac, rare dealer-installed option)
- 1971: Base 455 (Pontiac), 455 H.O. (Pontiac)
- 1972: Base 455 (Pontiac), 455 H.O. (Pontiac)
- 1973: Base 455 (Pontiac), Super Duty 455 (Pontiac)
- 1974: 400 (Pontiac), Base 455 (Pontiac), Super Duty 455 (Pontiac)
- 1975: 400 (Pontiac), 455 (Pontiac)
- 1976: 400 (Pontiac), 455 (Pontiac)
- 1977: 403 (Oldsmobile), 400 (Pontiac), W72 400 (Pontiac)
- 1978: 403 (Oldsmobile), 400 (Pontiac), W72 400 (Pontiac)
- 1979: 301 (Pontiac), 403 (Oldsmobile), W72 400 (Pontiac)
- 1980: 301 (Pontiac), 305 (4 speed only) (Chevrolet), 301 Turbo (Pontiac)
- 1981: 301 (Pontiac), 305 (4 speed only) (Chevrolet), 301 Turbo (Pontiac)
Third generation
From 1982 on all engines are Chevrolets unless stated otherwise.- 1982: 305 4 barrel, 305 Cross-Fire Injection (First year for fuel injection in Trans Am)
- 1983: 305 4 barrel, 305 Cross-Fire Injection, 305 4 barrel H.O. (Only 662 were made all 5-speeds.)
- 1984: 305 4 barrel, 305 4 barrel H.O.
- 1985: 305 4 barrel, 305 Tuned Port Injection, 305 4 barrel H.O. (5 speed only)
- 1986: 305 4 barrel, 305 Tuned Port Injection, 305 4 barrel H.O. (5 speed only)
- 1987: 305 4 barrel, 305 Tuned Port Injection, 350 Tuned Port Injection
- 1988: 305 Throttle Body Injection, 305 Tuned Port Injection, 350 Tuned Port Injection
- 1989: 305 Throttle Body Injection, 305 Tuned Port Injection, 350 Tuned Port Injection, 231 Turbo (Buick)
- 1990: 305 Tuned Port Injection, 350 Tuned Port Injection
- 1991: 305 Tuned Port Injection, 350 Tuned Port Injection
- 1992: 305 Tuned Port Injection, 350 Tuned Port Injection
Fourth generation
- 1993: LT1 5.7L
- 1994: LT1 5.7L
- 1995: LT1 5.7L
- 1996: LT1 5.7L
- 1997: LT1 5.7L
- 1998: LS1 5.7L
- 1999: LS1 5.7L
- 2000: LS1 5.7L
- 2001: LS1 5.7L
- 2002: LS1 5.7L
External links
- [Ls1Tech.com] - a site dedicated to aftermarket modfication and high performance driving of GM vehicles, including Trans Am
- [FirebirdNation.com] — a site dedicated solely to the Pontiac Firebird, all models and years.
- [ThirdGen.org] — Third generation F-body website
- [TransAmCountry.com] — The ultimate 70-81 Firebird resource
- [FirebirdGallery.com] — Pictures of 67-02 Firebirds
- [GTASourcePage.com] — Website dedicated to the sought after 1987 - 1992 Trans Am GTA
- [TransAmAction.de] — Solely dedicated to the rare 1983 Daytona 500 Trans Am
- [Pontiac Firebird and Trans Am @ Muscle Car Facts] — A year-by-year account of Pontiac Firebird and Trans Am history.
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.