Spent gases are routed out by way of a set of "over the top" headers of unknown manufacture that feature 2-inch primaries and 3.5-inch collectors. They feed a Howe X-pipe, which flows into a pair of 5-inch Super Trapp mufflers that exit on the passenger side.
Though this engine is by no means exotic, the results certainly speak for themselves-445 hp at 5,800 rpm, with 447 ft-lb of torque at 4,400, measured at Advanced Chassis in Warren.
Backing the engine is a NASCAR-prepped Borg-Warner Super T-10 4-speed transmission (another eBay find) and a Ford 9-inch rearend fitted with 4.11 gears and a Detroit locker. Rolling stock consists of 16x12-inch chromed steel wheels, again of unknown manufacture, mounting a set of 325/35R16 Front 335/45R16 Rear BFGoodrich g-Force T/A racing radial slicks.
With all of that potential for forward motion, some stopping power is a necessity and Mroz's Trans Am is well equipped with a set of 13-inch Hurst Airheart GNB-1 brakes all around. The binders are controlled by a Tilton pedal and master cylinder.
As one might guess, much of the factory bodywork has been replaced with fiberglass, but it still wears the same fiberglass front end and flared rear quarters that it had when it left Tommy Riggens' shop more than 2 decades before and with the same paint, though Mroz added the gold striping recently. Its many years of storage is the most likely reason that this veteran Pontiac race car is even still around.
Chrome 16x12-inch wheels mount...
Chrome 16x12-inch wheels mount BFGoodrich g-Force race rubber.
Racing is very much a part of the Mroz family heritage. Greg's father, Hank, was a circle-track racer in the late '50s. He even has a win ticket of his dad's from a race that was run the day after Greg was born. Not only that his son, Justin, is 9 and races quarter midgets and his daughter, Aubrey, who is now 4 1/2, will be racing next year. Greg has been racing for 3 years and is currently an engineering assistant at GM Powertrain, having started out in 1980 at Pontiac Engineering.
"Driving the Trans Am was so much different from the Fiat 128 GT5 car," Mroz stated. The horsepower difference is huge and the torque steer from the old car would give you arms like Popeye. This is much more fun."
Mroz and his team "Mr. Oz Racing," consisting of crew chief Phil Wingate, engine builder/mechanic Russ Coffell, Justin, and Aubrey, are currently racing the Firebird in the GT1 class at tracks in the Midwest and call Waterford Hills their home track. In the nearly 2 years he has owned the Trans Am, it has proven to be a reliable, consistent and competitive mount.
Proving that road racing is still a sport that the working man can afford, Greg Mroz has, with the help of friends and family, taken a cast-off has-been and made it into a fast and fun road racer. Thanks to their efforts, a rare piece of Pontiac history is alive and well-a very happy chain of events.