Jeff Kauffman responds:It's great to hear that you're getting some good information from the magazine. I know it's a lot of work to get all of this together. As for your question, the stroker assemblies are a very good way to increase the cubic inches of your engine. Yes, the price is very comparable to building a standard 400 rotating assembly. The standard bore 455 pistons will work in a 0.030 over 400 block with a 4.21 stroker crank with the standard Pontiac rod journal and stock length (6.625-inch) rods. I'm not sure if any of these builds have been done in this magazine, but I can tell you that in our shop, we've done a few with very good results.
Shakin' Shaker I saw a recent photo of a '70 11/42 Lucerne Blue Trans Am that had a Victor intake. My '71 455 H.O. Trans Am has the same intake. I can put a hood on it, but I can't get the scoop to work since the carb sticks up through the opening in the hood. I would like to know how Steve Coombes made his work, so I can shut the hood on this long-time problem.Woody WoodallSpringville, AL
Rocky Rotella responds:Having known Steve Coombes for several years, I know he has assembled a number of combinations since his '7011/42 Trans Am was featured in the Feb. '02 issue of HPP, so I contacted him to discuss your question.
Steve tells me that back when the feature photos were taken, he was indeed running a Victor intake manifold, but he didn't then, and at no time now, have a functional Shaker. Instead, he grafted a stock Shaker to a fiberglass hood and carefully replicated the Shaker-to-hood relation. He then used a drop-base air cleaner assembly and small diameter filter to produce an open-element combination that just fits within the tight confines of the '70-'76 Shaker, further lending to the stock-type appearance when closed. While he has tried various intake manifolds, he continues to use the same hood and similar air cleaner assembly today.
It's fairly well-known that WFO Performance Works in Spring, Texas, and Blocker's Performance in Vilonia, Arkansas (www.blockersperformance.com), have been producing drop-base air cleaner assemblies for Second-Gen Trans Ams for quite some time. Steve also mentioned during our conversation that Butler Performance (www.jbp-pontiac.com) in Leoma, Tennessee, has recently begun marketing WFO's kit, and advertises that it fits later Second-Gen T/As with stock Performer RPM intake manifolds or Victors that have 0.650-inches milled from the carburetor flange.
I suspect that if you plan to run a Victor manifold on your '71 Trans Am and wish to retain Shaker functionality, you'll be forced to significantly mill its carburetor flange, and purchase and/or modify a drop-base kit like those offered by the aforementioned manufacturers. Another alternative may be to combine said kits with a Performer RPM manifold, which will give complete Shaker functionality without grossly affecting full-throttle performance when compared to the milled Victor.
Goat Wiring WoesI have a '70 GTO convertible with a 400 and have rewired the engine compartment using a new engine harness for a '70 GTO with Ram Air and air conditioning. However, the old harness was a mess so I couldn't use it as a guide, the faded diagram wasn't any help, and all my back issues couldn't answer these two questions:
1. The alternator: Coming out of the harness, which runs along the driver's side of the valve covers, is a grey plug with a blue wire and a black-and-white-striped wire that plugs into the alternator. There is also a green wire, which goes to the temp unit and a black-and-red-striped wire that goes to the alternator. Does this black-and-red-striped wire go to the BATT side of the alternator, or the other post?
2. The starter: I have a fat red wire and the positive battery cable on the same large BATT post on the starter. I also have a purple wire. Does this purple wire go to the R or S post on the starter?