While at first glance this ’02 T/A is easily recognizable as having rolled off a GM assembly line, a peek beneath its vanilla wrapper reveals a level of modification with style that Pontiac would never have been allowed to achieve. Tim Conneway’s Bird hides a nasty, growling turbo LSX engine poised to pounce on anything on the road, the track, or at a show.
The 46-year-old owner of Gulf Bindery has always been a serious car guy. When he found out that ’02 would be the final year for the Firebird, he had to have one. Since his search began mid-model year, his pickings would be slim. “I wanted a white, six-speed WS6 Trans Am,” he says. “There wasn’t a single dealer near me that had what I was looking for.” Finally, in May of 2002, he located one in Orlando.
Within the first year, Tim began modifying the T/A. “The plan was to keep it mostly stock with a cam and a few bolt-ons,” he explains. “But after hanging out with a bunch of my Cobra buddies making 500 rwhp with just a pulley and tune, I became a little let down with my naturally aspirated setup.” It wasn’t until he took a ride in his friend’s street-legal, 8-second turbo Mustang that he knew he had to go turbo.
Tim had a number in his head—800 rwhp. Luckily, he knew of a well-qualified shop to help him with the build—J&J Performance, located in Cape Coral, Florida. “There were quite a few local forced-induction cars Justin Nelson at J&J built,” he says. “But unlike the rest of those, I wanted to maintain pump-gas freedom and my A/C.”
Trying to make over 800 rwhp on pump gas is no easy feat, but Justin and Tim set out to make it happen. Over the next four years, Tim went through four engines before finally opting for the cast-iron, six-bolt LSX block. The stock block couldn’t hold the heads down with 15 psi of boost being shoved into it, but the six-bolt configuration on the LSX block has had no trouble at all.
No filter under this lid!...
No filter under this lid! This is where the Snow Performance water/meth kit sprays in Tim’s detonation deterrent.
Hameetman Racing Engines in Ft. Myers performed the machine work on the GM Performance Parts block before handing it back to Tim. A set of 4.125-inch CP forged pistons fill the bores and feature a 5cc dish to help lower compression. They are attached to Crower 6.125-inch rods and a Crower 3.50-inch crankshaft—final compression calculates out to 9.5:1 and displacement is 374 ci.
Tim went to Total Engine Airflow to order his six-bolt Trick Flow 235cc CNC heads. On a 4.125-inch bore, the heads are advertised to flow 344/276-cfm at 0.600 lift. A custom set of exhaust manifolds feed into an 88mm Garrett 47/88 turbo that rests in front of the driver-side tire. Justin fabricated a pair of manifolds and plumbed the piping from the turbo into a Precision Turbo PT1500 air-to-water intercooler to cool the intake charge before it makes its way into the 90mm FAST intake and throttle body.
To help Tim achieve his power goals with pump gas, a Snow Performance water/methanol kit using a reserve tank keeps the engine from detonating. A healthy dose of 93-octane is delivered from the factory tank by a Magna-fuel Pro Tuner MP-4304 pump into 95-lb/hr injectors.
Outside, the Trans Am is bone-stock...
Outside, the Trans Am is bone-stock Arctic White. Tim has a battery shutoff lever in his bumper for his rear-mounted battery. On the street, the lever is removed and a body-colored plug covers the hole, adding to its sleeper quality.
For the cam, Justin concocted a custom, solid roller from Comp with 270 degrees duration at 0.050 and a lift of 0.640-inch on a 117 LSA. Crower shaft-mounted, 1.7:1 roller rockers obey the commands of the solid-roller cam, and operate the 2.080-inch Ferrea titanium intake valves and 1.600-inch stainless exhaust valves.
Once the exhaust has done its job inside the turbo, it’s evacuated through a 3.5-inch downpipe where an exhaust cutout awaits the flick of a switch to be open. When it is, the symphony produced by the engine is in guttural tones, and, as Tim has experienced, catches most people off guard with just how menacing it sounds. For more reserved street duty, Tim closes the cutout and allows the car to breath through a B&B after-cat. Under full boost, however, he has actually expanded previous mufflers, so he doesn’t hit 15 pounds with it closed.
There is little indication...
There is little indication that you’re looking at a turbocharged, intercooled, 374ci LSX engine. To further the illusion of a stock appearance, Tim smoothed down his FAST intake manifold and painted it matte black. The alternator mounting location had to be raised to clear the way for the turbo’s exhaust routing.
Tim knew he couldn’t expect everything in his Pontiac to hold up to the abuse of the monster mill. Justin pulled the T56 out and installed upgraded gears from G-Force, including new overdrive gears because Tim didn’t like the ratios on Fifth and Sixth. An Exedy triple-carbon fiber clutch was installed and offers a tremendous amount of grip without killing Tim’s left leg or driveability. Gears are selected with a Hurst Performance stick. A custom 3.5-inch Dynotech Metal Matrix aluminum driveshaft extends back to a Moser 9-inch with 3.50 gears and a 40-spline spool.
Getting the power to the ground was a project in itself. Up front, the factory control arms and K-member were replaced with BMR’s lightweight tubular units. The steering system was upgraded with a Flaming River shaft and a Turn One pump. QA1 single-adjustable struts and shocks were installed, along with Eibach Sportline springs, and BMR’s 36mm front sway bar and 36mm rear sway bar with Extreme Anti-roll kit. A BMR Extreme torque arm and adjustable Panhard bar, G-2 subframe connectors, and Spohn tubular lower control arms round out the suspension upgrades.
With the front bumper removed,...
With the front bumper removed, the turbo setup is revealed. The air-to-water intercooler not only provides more effective cooling, but its smaller size allows Tim to hide everything, giving no indication that the Pontiac is turbocharged.
A set of Baer 13-inch front and 11-inch rear brakes with drilled-and-slotted rotors sits behind a set of 18x8 and 18x10 BBS LM wheels. Tim went with Nitto NT555 tires up front in 245/40R18 and its drag radial brothers in a massive 305/45R18 out back. The combination gives a sinister rake to the Bird.
The stock interior was good...
The stock interior was good enough for Tim, who added oil pressure, oil temp, water temp, fuel pressure, and boost gauges from Auto Meter.
As is standard with most forced-induction setups like Tim’s, the car was converted to run on speed density. Justin dialed the stock PCM in to provide a well-tempered street machine with a nasty personality when agitated by Tim’s right foot. The rollers were screaming as Justin finished his pulls—the Turbo T/A made an astonishing 856 rwhp on 15 pounds of boost. “The block and car will support 20 pounds of boost when I get tired of 15,” Tim jokes.
So what do you get after four years of hard work, trial and error, and spending lots of money? Well, it gets you one of the nicest street-driven Fourth-Gen Trans Ams in the country. With around 15,000 miles showing on the clock and an air-conditioned garage to keep it in, the T/A looks like it was purchased from a Pontiac dealer yesterday. Inside it has perfect carpeting, silky leather seats, and a new-car smell. Outside the paint is blindingly white without a hint of swirl marks.
Tim feels that he built a great car, and who can argue? He would like to enter it into a competition where cars are judged best all around. “I really think the car would do well in a competition that involved some road-course driving, street driving, and dragstrip passes,” he adds. With a best pass of 9.90 at 145 mph and a 1.63 60-foot, it’s getting the job done on the top end.
The A/C and fully functional...
The A/C and fully functional CD player were retained.
Tim has expressed interest in participating in a standing-mile event, too. “The car is geared to have a usable Fifth gear, and the lower 3.50 rear-gear ratio means I should be able to get the car over 200 mph in the standing mile.”
So, if you see Tim in his T/A, it probably won’t be for long—he blows by with tremendous force and the sounds you may associate with a jet fighter.
The stock interior was good...
The stock interior was good enough for Tim, who added oil pressure, oil temp, water temp, fuel pressure, and boost gauges from Auto Meter.
After a mishap with a shredded...
After a mishap with a shredded A/C belt that caused a small underhood fire, Tim has since added a fire extinguisher, which he mounted to the rollcage with an H3R Performance bracket.
A Wolfe Racecraft weld-in,...
A Wolfe Racecraft weld-in, eight-point rollbar indicates there’s more going on with this stock-looking T/A than meets the eye. To pass NHRA tech inspections, he’ll need to install a rollcage and safety harnesses.