1979 Pontiac Trans Am - Old School

A custom set of forged-aluminum pistons from CP Pistons that feature thermal barrier-coated crowns and antifriction-coated skirts fill the cylinders, and they're wrapped with Mahle plasma-moly rings. Complementing the slugs is a set of SIR-series, forged-steel, small-block Chevy connecting rods in 6.00-inch length from Eagle Specialty Products. An FCR main-bearing support and ARP main studs ease Craig's mind while revving the engine toward its 6,000-rpm redline.

The entire reciprocating mass was balanced, and it rides on Clevite 77 bearings. Oil holes of the upper main bearings have been enlarged to promote greater crankshaft lubrication. A modified Melling high-volume pump provides 55 psi of pressure, is driven by a hardened Milodon driveshaft, and resides within a 7-quart Moroso pan.

Aluminum cylinder heads from Bulldog Performance replaced the original No. 4A castings and feature 2.15/1.75-inch-diameter valves and large 240cc intake ports. They are advertised as flowing over 290 cfm at 0.700-inch lift as measured at 28 inches of pressure in as-cast form. Modern, fast-burn-style combustion chambers were thermal-barrier-coated and contain a volume of 76 cc, which produces a pump-gas friendly compression ratio of 10.2:1 on the 408ci mill.

The custom-ground, single-pattern Ultradyne hydraulic roller camshaft from Bullet Racing Cams boasts 238 degrees of 0.050-inch duration, 0.565-inch of gross valve lift, and a lobe separation angle (LSA) of 112 degrees. It's complemented by a set of Crane hydraulic roller lifters and Comp Cams valvetrain hardware, including No. 930 springs. To restrict the amount of oil reaching the top end, Terry employed a set of custom-length, oil-restricting pushrods from Smith Brothers, which also actuate the 1.6:1-ratio Harland Sharp roller rocker arms.

Feeding the engine is a 650-cfm Demon carburetor and a modified Edelbrock Performer RPM intake manifold, while an MSD ignition system fires the compressed mixture. With four-tube headers, minor jet changes, and 35 degrees of total timing, the mighty 408 generated an astounding 517 hp at 5,700 rpm, and 508 lb-ft of torque at 4,800 rpm on the engine dyno at WAM Performance in Omaha. The finished engine then sat at Terry's shop waiting to be reunited with the finished body.

The Body
"The engine was already in Terry's hands, but the bodywork was very time-consuming," says Craig. "I really didn't have the time to finish it and began looking for someone who could. I knew Dave Hall through the hobby, and he had just started Restore A Muscle Car, so I turned the project over to him."

"Craig delivered the body to us on a flatbed trailer in July 2005 and we immediately mounted it onto our rotisserie," says Dave. "The body was very solid and had a few of the typical minor dents and dings we see. It did have some light hail damage on top, and one small spot of rust on the floorpan that we welded up. We worked the body by hand, pulling all the dents and fixing any low spots to get it as smooth and straight as possible before prepping it for paint."

Restore A Muscle Car's Todd Otto and Jon Novak treated the entire dent-free shell and body panels to three coats of PPG epoxy primer followed by three coats of PPG Starlight Black. A total of three coats of PPG clear were applied atop the basecoats, and each was sanded with papers ranging between 1,000- and 2,500-grit depending upon application layer. A mirrorlike finish was achieved during final buffing using a plethora of 3M products, including the company's buffing compound and a wool pad, swirl-remover compound and a foam pad, and Ultrafina SE polish and a waffle pad.