1997 Pontiac Trans Am - Blown Away

When you've driven "family cars" your entire life, you reach a point where you want to exercise your imagination-and your right foot-a bit. This time came for Neal Allison when his roommate taunted him with his impressive car collection, which consisted of just about everything from a Chevelle to a modern Mustang. Knowing that he didn't want a Mustang, after some consideration, Neal decided that a Fourth-Gen Trans Am was the ride for him.

He purchased this '97 LT1 T/A in 1999, a couple of years after the 300hp LS1 Birds hit the market. By this time, the '97s were coming down in price, and the powerful 285-horse LT1 was enough propulsion in factory trim for Neal. For a modest sum, he drove home in this bone-stock Bright Red Trans Am, shifting through a 4L60E automatic.

While the LT1 satisfied Neal in the short term, it didn't take long before he was adding bolt-ons. He replaced the factory airbox with a K&N cold-air kit and attached a Granatelli MAF. Neal then installed a Mac exhaust system to complement the induction improvements, while a Hypertech Power Programmer gets the most out of the tuning.

The influence of Neal's roommate enticed him into his next important purchase, a Vortech S-Trim centrifugal supercharger. "The addition of the supercharger was a big step and made quite a difference," Neal says. Not long after, he got a little overzealous with his boost and burned a hole through a piston, most likely from a fuel shortage.

He took his Pontiac to his local dealership, Pete Moore Chevrolet, in Pensacola, Florida, where he talked with the former Shop Director, Mike Fowler. Being a gearhead himself, Mike suggested stepping things up with a "go big or go home" mentality. This called for an increase in cubic inches and forged internals worthy of sustaining the increased stresses that a supercharger can bring when boost is turned up.

Engine And Drivetrain
Doug Coleman, a performance enthusiast who was a technician at the dealership, did the engine assembly. Both Mike and Doug helped coordinate the build and select the proper parts. "Without them, I would have been lost," Neal says. After receiving their educated assistance, he contacted Rob Jones from Speed Unlimited in Pensacola, to order all the parts

The LT1 took on new life when the bore was punched out to 4.03 inches and the stroke was increased to 3.76 inches. This brought displacement to a familiar 383 ci. The rotating assembly consists of forged Mahle pistons, H-beam forged rods, and a Callies Race Master crankshaft. A high-volume M155 oil pump from Canton answers the call for increased lubrication.

To accommodate the extra cubes and efficiently move more air, 210cc AFR aluminum LT4 heads, flowing 295/220cfm at 0.600-inch lift and featuring 2.08/1.60 valves, were bolted down with ARP head studs. With 65cc chambers, compression comes out to 9:1.

Tailored for Neal's engine combination, the Crane cam checks in at 234/242-degrees duration and 0.539/0.558-inch lift. "One of my favorite things about the car is hearing the engine idling at a stoplight," Neal says.

Since the supercharger was moving a lot more air into the Gen-II small-block, it called for 50-lb-hr injectors and a complete LT1 F-Body Fuel System Kit from Aeromotive, which will support up to 700 hp. The air is directed through a twin 58mm BBK throttle body and an LT4 intake manifold. The opti-spark was augmented with a HI-6 ignition system.

Once the mixture has been converted into horsepower, it's exhaled through a pair 1.75-inch primary Hooker headers with 3-inch collectors. Mike Armentrout of Muffler Masters in Pensacola designed a custom, 3-inch, true-dual exhaust using Moroso mufflers.

The factory 4L60E has been up to the task of transferring the power to the rear tires so far, and benefits from a PTC 2,800-stall torque converter.