writer: Christopher R. Phillip
photographer: Christopher R. Phillip
Wade Flannery's '84 Trans Am went the customization route, and it was a winner: Best of Show at the 2007 Trans Am Nationals.
When Wade Flannery of Paris, Kentucky, received an '84 Trans Am as a high school graduation present in 2003, he had no idea that it was destined to beat out other Firebirds and Trans Ams at the 2007 Trans Am Nationals for Best of Show, but it did. "I have always wanted to build cars, and this is my first," the 21-year-old tells HPP. "But more than that, I wanted a magazine car. I thought that by bringing my Trans Am to the Trans Am Nationals, I could share my dream with others."
Since an '84 Trans Am is an unlikely candidate for Best of Show at the T/A Nationals, how did a freshman to the hobby accomplish such a feat? "I've always worked on cars, even when I was little," Flannery says. "At 12, I helped my dad with a '91 Chevy Silverado show truck. At 15, I modified a '91 Camaro Z-28. At 18, I was ready to tackle a Trans Am and build the show car I could be proud of."
Finding the project was Flannery's first step, and he had help from Darrell, his father. "We took off one day to go check out a Trans Am we were told about, and we found it in the country sitting in front of a trailer. It turns out it was an '84 Trans Am with a five-speed. I was excited and knew it would be my project because I wanted a true T/A manual-shift car to start with," Flannery says.
"Like many early year Third-Gens, my '84 Trans Am was neglected," he remembers. "The body looked solid, but the interior was trashed. It was all broken apart, and sported an early '80s Camaro steering wheel. The seats had covers on them, hiding the shredded factory cloth. There was no radio, heater, A/C or shifter boot."
If the interior wasn't bad enough-and it was-Flannery was taken aback when he lifted the Trans Am hood and saw purposeful abuse. "The engine compartment looked as if it had been on fire. Wires were cut and missing. Oil and grease were everywhere.
"But as bad as it appeared, the car had potential. It had three things I was looking for: It was a T/A, it could be driven home, and it was cheap-$800."
A Fourth-Gen-style wing, made specifically for Third-Gen Firebirds by Hawks Third Generation, provides good looks and capable downforce for the high speeds this LS1-equipped '84 Trans Am can reach.
Without a second thought, Flannery accepted the Trans Am from his parents in as-is condition, with the understanding that it was up to him to customize it himself. Dad wasn't going to do the work for him. "Do something with the car or get it out of the way," Flannery recalls his father saying to him. With two years of limited resources and his driveway as his only workspace, Flannery worked on the project occasionally. But when his family built a new garage, picking up the pace on the Trans Am became an easier prospect. With enthusiasm, he embarked on a two-year customizing project that would involve 1,800 hours and a complete transformation of his Third-Gen T/A.
Body
First, Flannery took the body down to bare metal. "I did it by hand and took off every last bolt," he says. "I shaved the door handles and rear markers, and fitted a Fourth-Gen-style rear wing. Then I cut out the rust and welded in patch panels. I spent months smoothing out the engine bay's weld seams. The rest was basic body work: fill, sand, block-sand, and prime."
Once he was satisfied that he had a straight body, Flannery outsourced the paintwork on the Trans Am to an outside firm. He designed the graphics and chose PPG brand paints, however. Three coats of primer were applied, followed by one coat of Crystal Black base. Then came two coats of Star Fire base, two coats of Liquid Metal Aluminum for the graphics, one coat of Crystal Black to create a two-tone, four coats of Oh So Sexy Candy Red and three coats of clear.
Flannery smoothed the seams of the engine compartment and continued PPG's Oh So Sexy Red into the engine bay. He used billet aluminum strut tower mounts from Hawks for extra strength and to contrast with the stunning paint. | 
Under the hood, this Trans Am is mostly Fourth-Gen, with the engine, master cylinder, pulleys, belts, and A/C compressor from a '98 T/A. The remainder of the A/C system is Third-Gen. Hydraboost brakes and headers are aftermarket, the radiator is stock, and the intake is painted body color black. Check out the custom fuel rail covers; Flannery integrated chrome-plated '06 Buick Lucerne portholes into the Corvette units. | 
A Hawks K-member allowed for an LS1 installation in the '84 T/A. Other front end mods include a UMI wonderbar, a 35mm '91 1LE front sway bar, power rack-and-pinion steering supplied by Hawks, and Bilstein struts to augment the Air Ride components. photo by the owner |