Here is the command center....
Here is the command center. The center console is home to the overdrive control, Ridetech suspension system, and Hurst shifter.
Not satisfied with just custom seating, Rick at DaddyO's in Jacksonville made a backseat Alpine stereo enclosure-with two silver stripes running through it to match the racing stripes on the outside. It houses a slew of modern speakers and amplifiers. The system is all Alpine and consists of an IVA W505 DVD player with LCD monitor;AM/FM tuner, 2DIN Mobile multimedia station, two Alpine PDX-1.1000 amplifiers, PDX Mono Power Density Digital Type-R SPR-17S car speaker system with 110-watt 6.5-inch coaxial two-way speakers, 6.5-inch component two-way speakers, two Type-R SPR-57C coaxial 5x7-inch two-way speakers, and two 500-watt 12-inch Type-R SWR-1242D subwoofers, all installed by DaddyO's.
Down Under
The suspension was modified with new bushings and parts from Ridetech, formerly AirRide. Ridetech's Level 3 System places StrongArms (control arms), a MuscleBar (sway bar), Shockwaves (air spring and integrated shock), and spindles up front. Rick upgraded to the double-adjustable Master Series Shockwaves. The rest of the package consists of an AirBar four-link rear suspension with Shockwaves, and the complete system is controlled by a RidePro Airpod. Rick has control over the Bird's stance with a pressure adjustment screen housed in his custom center console. When he's cruising, he usually has them pumped up to avoid scraping anything. When at rest, the air pressure is dropped, and the 17x8.5 front and 18x8.5 rear American Racing Rouge wheels tuck nicely away into the Bird's fenders.
Any purist will appreciate...
Any purist will appreciate the Pontiac engine found under the hood of Rick's '67. The original engine was long gone when he picked it up; in its place was a 455 Olds. Barry Harrison at Harrison Racing Enterprises located a '67 400 block and built him a 494ci monster. It's dressed with a March Performance serpentine pulley system and custom-engraved valve covers from Tin Indian Performance, and it's cooled with a Ron Davis aluminum radiator.
The wheels are shod in 275/45ZR17 and 275/40ZR18 Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3 tires. Sitting behind them are Wilwood six-piston binders with 13-inch front and 12-inch rear two-piece drilled and slotted rotors.
The Powerplant
Underneath the Trans Am hood is a '67 Pontiac 400 block that was machined by Gary Harrison at Harrison Racing Enterprises, also in Jacksonville, to a 4.180-inch bore. With a 4.500-inch stroke, the new displacement is a monstrous 494 ci. Inside, Ross pistons wrapped in Total Seal rings are attached to Eagle H-Beam connecting rods. An Ohio forged crankshaft commands the rotating assembly and is held in by ARP main bolts. A Pontiac baffled oil pan keeps the crude at the pickup for the Melling 60-psi oil pump, and a Melling double-roller timing chain delivers accurate timing.
Final compression is 10.9:1 and pump gas is possible thanks to the aluminum Edelbrock Performer heads with 87cc chambers. They feature 2.11/1.66-inch valves, PRW 1.5-ratio roller rockers, and Lunati valvesprings, and employ custom chrome-moly pushrods. The valvetrain is controlled by a 224/236-degrees at 0.050, 0.520/0.540-lift Comp Cams hydraulic roller camshaft with a 114-degree LSA.
An AED Performance 850-cfm carburetor is bolted to a KRE North Wind intake manifold that draws clean air through a 14-inch K&N filter to help the Pontiac mill generate well over 500 hp. Spark is ignited by an ACCEL HEI distributor with a BOP gear, MSD 6AL box, and Taylor wires. The engine is set to 38 degrees total timing, all in by 2,800 rpm, and it runs perfectly, even through stop-and-go traffic.
To evacuate the exhaust, ceramic-coated Doug's Headers with 1.875-inch primaries and 3.5-inch collectors were installed. They flow into 3-inch low-profile Spintech mufflers with 2.5-inch side-exit exhaust.
Sitting behind the Pontiac powerhouse is a performance rebuilt Turbo 400 with a 2,200-stall converter and a Gear Vendors overdrive unit with 0.78:1 overdrive. Rick can control when the Overdrive kicks in with a button mounted on his custom center console. This Gear Vendors unit is actually a gear splitter that can electronically shift into gears between the factory three speeds using a 1:1.286 ratio to, in effect, create a six-speed automatic trans, or it can simply operate like a four-speed automatic overdrive.