tcr98taws6's 1998 Pontiac Trans Am WS6

625 Rear Wheel Horsepower LSX 454 Street Cruiser

About this Current Vehicle:

May 2009 update: The engine is closing in on 2 years old with virtually no problems. The car is explosive off the line and loses hardly anything between gear shifts. It is crazy wild when you nail it in 2nd gear and roasts the tires, so you have to soft pedal it until it climbs in speed. If you don't, it will smoke the tires until nearly 70 MPH. It will lay you back hard in 3rd gear. All of this and it still gets 21+ MPG at 70 MPH with the windows up and A/C running. Now crusing around town, I am lucky to get 12 MPG....but really, who cares? Forget the nitrous without the slicks bolted on and running at the track....it is a waste of time under 75 MPH on the street because the 315 Nittos out back just go up in smoke.

Jan 2009 update: The LSX454 has destroyed 3 Ram Twin Disc clutches so far, so we have upgraded it to a Carbon Fiber Twin Disc. Let's hope this one can take the beatings.

August 2008 update: The car was featured this month in Car Craft Magazine. They did a really nice 4 page spread on it. Very flattering and humbling after all the work in this "Bird.

June 18, 2008: We just returned from the 2008 Hot Rod Power Tour!!! We were Long Haulers again, going the distance from Little Rock, Arkansas to Madison, Wisconsin. The tour was awesome and we received plenty of feedback from the guys at GM Performance about the LSX T/A. We also received a behind the scenes invitation from the Project Manager of the 1957 Chevy Project X next year in Warren, Michigan when the tour rolls through for a stop at GM. The T/A averaged 21 MPG running right at 80MPH on the interstates on the return trip, windows up and A/C running!

We are the original owners of this '98 TransAm WS6. It was pre-ordered from the factory before the new LS series T/A's ever hit the street.

Following the end of the warranty period in 2001, we ripped the TransAm apart and changed everything.

We wanted a really fast street car, but one capable of racing at the track too. The goal was 450 Horsepower at the rear wheels (RWHP), average 18 MPG on the interstates and have working air conditioning and stereo. We also wanted to leave the car's exterior appearance as stock looking as possible.
In August 2004 we finished with the initial conversion on our project TransAm. The 346 CID engine put down 475 RWHP naturally aspirated, averaged 18.5 MPH and had all original equipment still installed and running, meaning better than planned for! Unfortunately, this engine spit a lifter and broke the block and camshaft in December 2006. Something new had to considered.

Following some research, we decided to go with the brand new G.M. Performance Parts LSX engine block as the base platform. From this platform we built a new G.M. LSX 454 CID Stroker package producing 625 RWHP / 578 RWTQ naturally aspirated. On nitrous, the engine produces in excess of 850 RWHP. The machinist was Late Model Engines (LME) in Houston. We removed the 4L60E A4 and replaced it with a fully built Tremec T-56 6 Speed to handle the increased horsepower and torque.

This car won "Best of Show" at the 2004 New Orleans World of Wheels in Conservative Hardtop, 1st Place in Pro Street several years ago at STARS in Florida and many regional Cruise Night awards over the last 4 years. In August 2008, Car Craft featured the TransAm on both the magazine cover, plus a full 4 page spread detailing the entire buildup. We have run on the Hot Rod Power Tour as Long Haulers twice, in 2004 and 2008.