Now with significantly more displacement and power, the final piece of the puzzle was adding the NMCA rules-required increase in weight to just where the car wanted it to launch with 1.2-area short times. The result was better launches and a more stable car despite the power increase.
Transferring that power rearward is a transmission comprised of a Chrysler 727 case with a BOP bellhousing adapter, Chrysler 904 internal components, and a short roller-bearing tailshaft. The unit is roughly the same length and width as a Powerglide but has a lighter rotating assembly as well as another forward gear.
Since the normally-aspirated car is very sensitive to any altitude and/or air-density changes, the converter and gearing must be carefully balanced to what the engine can produce under any given atmospheric conditions. To that cause, John travels with four to five PTC torque converters with a 9.5- or 10-inch converter case and different stall speeds to dial-in to each track's traction and air-density conditions. The Bird's fabricated Moroso 9-inch Ford rearend design also affords easy rear-gear swaps. John admits most racers wouldn't swap these parts back and forth between runs to be 0.03 second quicker, but that is what's required to be a serious contender.
John does most of the suspension tuning with the front of the car as once the rear is set up properly changes are minimal. "If I didn't run the travel limiters on the front suspension," he says, "the car would wind up on it's roof," so he adjusts the launches using shocks and travel limiters until it will carry the wheels off the starting line at about 6 inches.
Where It All Began
As you can see, John is quite familiar with this combo as he's owned the Bird since his college days 15 years ago when he was working on his degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Bridgeport, Connecticut. He came by his mechanical bent both genetically and environmentally as his father was a dealership mechanic all his life; John treasures the Snap-on tools that he inherited from him. We have no doubt that his dad would be very proud of the year John has had. To rise to this level with an unusual combo while working full time requires a lot of motivation, and John discussed some of it with us.
"I've always been a Pontiac guy, and this Trans Am will never have a non-Pontiac engine in it as long as I own it." The '69 Firebird/Trans Am is his favorite car, but the reason he continues to use Pontiac powerplants goes back to his first car, an '80 Turbo Trans Am. After a fun day flogging his Turbo T/A, John went to the local speed shop in Holmes Circle, Philadelphia, to buy some go-fast parts for it. The shop owner laughed and told him that he had exactly what John needed. He came back with a Class 3 hitch and told John that to go fast with a Pontiac he needed to either tow it down the quarter-mile or put a Chevy in it. John reflects on the irony that the speed shop is now out of business while he's setting records and winning a Pro Stock World Championship with a Pontiac-based engine.
He credits Rick Moroso with a lot of the fabrication that converted the '69 into a race car, but Competition Engineering, Mickey Thompson, MSD, LTI, Kooks Custom Headers, Performance Transmission, PTC, Mike Smith Paint, and Ed's Trim shop all contributed to the championship that others had told him was impossible.
NMCA Racer Mentality
A completely new engine will debut at the season opener in Bradenton, Florida, next spring in an effort to stave off the inevitable off-season development of his competitors, which will be aimed directly at his Bird. The world of heads-up racing is such that next year the competition will be faster, and the go-fast-or-go-home nature demands you always move forward.
When you talk to John and most of the other racers in the staging lanes, they are all very passionate about winning if they possibly can. However, when you catch them after the day is done, another story emerges, one about a community of racers who not only push each other to otherwise seeming impossible heights, but also support and help each other like a band of brothers. As an example, at the NMCA race in Maple Grove, Pennsylvania, John spent the evening helping Steve Cagle and friends swap out Steve's problematic Turbo 400 for a proven Powerglide. The next day, Steve Cagle lined up against John in first round competition and beat him.