Chuck had been looking for viable ways to run an open exhaust at the flip of a switch, and he started this quest with a Flowtech cutout. An electronic opener was mounted and hooked to an in-cabin switch, but several tests revealed that it lacked the reliability Hornsby needed for everyday operation. He began looking around for a suitable alternative, and soon found the Electric Cutout from Quick Time Performance. It offered the strength to quickly and solidly open or close his exhaust at the flip of a switch, and it wasn't long before the folks of West Texas found out what an LS1 should sound like.
Further customization took place when Chuck picked up an LS6 manifold from another 30th Anniversary owner. He liked the extra ponies afforded by the superior composite molding, but he also dug the owner-added blue paint that matched the blue and white anniversary Pontiacs perfectly.
Soon it was only one week until the 2002 Pontiac Southern Nationals, and Hornsby was looking for a horsepower fix to make his trip more enjoyable. Therefore, an appointment was made with Jason Mangum and Trevor Doelling at Texas Speed and Performance for a cam swap. The alloy mill spit out the stock 198/209 duration and .500 lift bumpstick, and Texas Speed replaced it with a Thunder Racing hydraulic roller with 230/224 duration at .050 and .563/.569 lift. New chrome-moly hardened pushrods and 918 Comp Cams springs got the nod for increased valvetrain reliability. And when everything was bolted back up, Hooker's 1.75-inch long-tube headers with Jet-Hot coating went on. A little time on LG Motorsports' dyno produced 350 ponies, and Hornsby hit the Southern Nats to find our shutters clicking.
After a few thousand miles worth of rubber had been laid in Dallas, Chuck went back to Texas Speed and Performance in August 2002 for a cam and heads swap. Technician Joseph Potak pulled the motor and disassembled it for the surprise of its life--CNC-ported LS6 heads from Scoggin-Dickey. These hogged-out honeys flow a whopping 307 cfm on the intake side, and they were milled to produce a lofty 11.8:1 compression ratio. Manley springs and 2.00/1.55 valves keep air flowin' with orders from newer 1.7-ratio factory rockers. The TSP228 camshaft features 228/228 duration at .050 with .588/.588 lift, and will undoubtedly make good use of the available cfm. A set of forged 7.35-inch Comp Cams rods hold the stock pistons in place, which got custom valve reliefs to prevent disaster in the otherwise stock bottom end, and a TCI 4400-stall converter was decided on to complement the freshened bullet. One dyno session later, it was determined that the high-stall converter wouldn't lock up. Chuck estimates the pony count right around 400, and a trip to the racetrack will certainly follow a successful dyno pull.
This is where our story ends, for now. A Quick Time Performance Y-pipe with dual cutouts and dual electronic openers for the Hooker headers is being considered, and it's apparent that Hornsby's appetite for custom components may never be quenched. Of course, this detailed T/A is far from a one-off street bucket that terrorized the 1950s. And with LS1 Edit, Chuck Hornsby is guilty as charged of creating keystroke horsepower. But this customizer's spirit will continue to thrive as heads turn to marvel at his personalized vision of hot rodding's future.
Because of the LS6 heads,...
Because of the LS6 heads, a rumpety cam, and various other engine mods, LS is used to refine the cantankerous mill. The gear ratio parameters were changed to get the speedo correct, Hornsby bumped the timing so it would range from 26.5 to 28 during a quarter-mile run, and the air/fuel ratio was richened up to compensate for the long-tube headers. Much has been done on the aesthetic front--Hornsby's fuel rail covers were taken to a Pontiac dealership where Arctic White paint was applied, then Chuck put on stripes and the anniversary emblems himself. MTI's clear airlid and stock mass air meter take in air from a Holley PowerShot filter, and Taylor 10.4mm Thunder Volt wires fire NGK TR55 plugs. Finally, a neon tube in the engine bay and LED lights in the WS6 hood's nostrils match the wire loom perfectly.
This commemorative Pontiac...
This commemorative Pontiac was captured in the fading light of a Dallas sunset at the 2002 Pontiac Southern Nationals. That 3-inch WS6 exhaust doesn't work all the time, thanks to a trick QTP electronic cutout mounted to a custom Y-pipe.
The interior is packed full...
The interior is packed full of goodies. To the right of the white RKSport dash, the switch panel in the center vent holds four switches. One controls four functions by itself: the Street Glow neon kit on the underbody, the LED lights in the T/A's WS6 nostrils, undercarriage lights and the neon tube in the engine bay. Another is for the Hurst line lock, yet another actuates the manual converter lock-up function, and the last one electronically opens and closes the exhaust's electronic cutout. The Firebird's center console holds a custom gauge panel with 2.75-inch rectangular gauges with blue LEDs for oil pressure, water temp, and trans temp, as well as an SLP fan switch.