Here's the '02 Trans Am WS6...
Here's the '02 Trans Am WS6 ready to get its new Screaming Chicken...
The fourth-generation Pontiac Trans Am WS-6 is an excellent example of a late-model high performance Pontiac, but many Pontiac hobbyists feel it just isn't really a Trans Am without a Screaming Chicken proudly affixed to its bulged hood.
In the November 2008 issue of High Performance Pontiac, we explained how a '79-'81 Bird hood decal sourced from Phoenix Graphix (www.phoenixgraphix.com) could be trimmed to fit on a '98-'02 Trans Am.
...And here's the Screaming...
...And here's the Screaming Chicken, a GM-licensed one-piece bird hood decal sourced from Phoenix Graphix.
Letters came in from readers who told us that the earlier-style Screaming Chicken ('73-'78) is the perfect complement for a '98-'02 Trans Am WS-6. This led us to write this web-exclusive, follow-up story on Screaming Chicken hood decals. To get started, we contacted Phoenix Graphix who provided us with a one-piece hood bird decal (Part #7378L), for a '76 Trans Am, for our project.
Utilizing the services of Kevin Fawcett of Alphagraphix in Clearwater, FL, we watched as the Phoenix Graphix-made, GM-licensed hood bird decal was applied onto the WS-6 Trans Am.
If you're interested in putting a Second-Gen Screaming Chicken onto your Fourth-Gen Trans Am, be sure to follow these three tips.
- Source your decal from a manufacturer who is GM licensed, like Phoenix Graphix.
- Use a professional decal installer. Although you may be able to put a Screaming Chicken onto a non-WS-6 hood, only a professional will be able to correctly get the Bird onto a WS-6. "The complex curves of the WS-6 hood make the decal installation very challenging, even for a pro," our installer said.
- Allow plenty of time for the installation. Our install took six hours, including removing glue, wax, and dirt from the hood, aligning the new decal to the hood, and smoothing out the wrinkles in the decal. (An installation on a non-WS-6 hood takes only about two hours.)
First, the hood is cleaned...
First, the hood is cleaned of all wax and dirt, ensuring that its surface is ready for the decal.
The one-piece decal came from...
The one-piece decal came from Phoenix Graphix in perfect condition.
There's just enough room for...
There's just enough room for the Screaming Chicken to fit on a WS-6 hood. Did somebody at Pontiac actually design the Fourth-Gen WS-6 hood so that a Second-Gen hood bird would fit on it? If we had to guess, we'd say, "Yes."
We already covered the mechanics...
We already covered the mechanics of how to install the Screaming Chicken hood bird in the November 2008 issue of High Performance Pontiac ("Return of the Screaming Chicken"). Here, the decal is drying before Kevin Fawcett removes the outside backing paper.
Starting on one corner, he...
Starting on one corner, he carefully removes the backing paper, revealing...
...the classic Trans Am's...
...the classic Trans Am's most famous visual clue, the Screaming Chicken.