While we’re unable to enjoy as many car shows and cruise-ins this season as we’d like (or any, depending upon your particular locale), one no-risk activity the pandemic hasn’t compromised is the ability for us to slip behind the steering wheel of our favorite Pontiac and go for a cruise.
My ‘76 Trans Am spends its winters in a heated garage wrapped in a car cover and with a battery tender connected to its battery to maintain a charge. Although it’s ready for a cruise at a moment’s notice, it seemingly spent most of the early summer 2020 that way too!
Oftentimes, cruising is much needed exercise for vintage vehicles that serves to blowout cobwebs from exhaust and lubricates contact points, bearings, and seals. In addition to those benefits, it’s generally also therapeutic for the driver as it allows us to mentally decompress from the daily grind. And with gasoline prices as low as they’ve been, it’s probably the cheapest cost-per-mile remedy we’ve seen in years. The most limited resource in our busy lives, it seems, is time!
My ’76 Trans Am has sat neglected for much of this driving season. Yes, I’ve started it from time to time as I moved it from one garage bay to another for various projects. Upon each occurrence I let it idle outside for several minutes to charge the battery, allow the oil and coolant to reach normal operating temperatures, and rid the exhaust of corrosive moisture. I hadn’t yet had it out for an extended cruise, however.
The 467-ci operates suitably on 91-octane pump gas. With less than half a tankful leftover from last season, I topped it off with a fresh gulp of ethanol-free fuel.
A couple of weeks ago, my wife, Jennifer, had taken our children, Sofia and Rocco to visit friends and I had a small list of errands to run. While I might otherwise jump into my daily-driver GMC Yukon or even my driver-condition ’99 Trans Am for such a task, I decided I had no excuse not to take my ’76 Trans Am.
I’ve owned my ’76 Trans Am since August 1993. I was 16 years old at the time and asked my father, Jim to help me purchase it. The car was originally Sterling Silver (and will be again soon), but when the silver exterior faded after a couple of years of daily driving, I decided to paint it Firethorn Red in 1997. The color change not only allowed me to replicate the ’76 Trans Am that my dad purchased new, it’s a color that I absolutely love on that body style.
I purchased my ‘76 Trans Am in August 1993 at age 16 and this photo was taken not long after its purchase. I drove it daily my junior and senior years of high school. It’s hard to imagine that it’s been with me 30 years at list point! It was originally Sterling Silver and will be again when it gets repainted in the near future.
My Trans Am’s original 455 had been replaced by the time I’d purchased it, but the car was otherwise very original and complete. The lack of a numbers-matching engine affords me the opportunity to build a 455 virtually any way I choose. Today its 1974-vintage 455 displaces 467-ci and produces about 475 hp and 550 lbs/ft. Despite its excellent performance, I’m quite proud of the engine’s tractability. Anyone could slide behind the steering wheel and drive it just as you would virtually any otherwise-stock 455 without issue.
Preparing for this particular drive was unlike any other. I removed the car cover and disconnected the battery tender. I slid into the driver’s seat and hit the starter for a few seconds to fill the Quadrajet’s float bowl with fuel and then gave the accelerator pedal a couple of pumps to prime the intake manifold and set the automatic choke. Upon a second round of cranking, the 467-ci immediately roared to life and quickly settled into a rhythmic pulse at high idle speed. I backed the car from the garage and let it warm up in the driveway for a few minutes while I wiped its exterior with a detailing spray.
I jumped back into the driver’s seat and blipped the throttle, which allowed the engine to drop to its normal idle speed around 800 rpm. After placing the Hurst shifter into First-gear, I engaged the clutch to move forward and the 467-ci responded effortlessly. Before I had even left my driveway I wondered why I’d waited so long to drive my Trans Am this season. I really couldn’t come up with a good answer but decided that I should make it as visceral an experience as possible so I could simply enjoy the car’s mannerisms in normal traffic conditions.
I let myself slip away with how easily the Trans Am can be driven. The rather-large hydraulic roller camshaft emits a bold bark from the tailpipes, but as with all our Pontiacs, razor-sharp tuning affords excellent street manners at any speed. On the street the lack of exhaust resonance creates little more than a mild burble inside the passenger compartment. Heavy and full-throttle acceleration is, however, a different experience. It’s as loud and noisy as you’d expect from any car with headers, 3-inch lead pipes with an x-type crossover, and small straight-thru mufflers, but there was little need (or chance) for that type of driving on this trip.
On the highway at 70 mph, the 3.23:1 rear axle ratio makes the 467-ci rev higher than I’m typically used to when compared to modern cars with overdriven transmissions, but the engine really didn’t seem to mind. Its oil pressure remained at 60 psi and the coolant gauge needle hovered at 180 degrees despite Nebraska’s hot and humid mid-July conditions.
I made several stops that included a tankful of 91-octane pump gas, groceries, and other goods. Each time I stopped someone approached me (albeit socially-distanced) to comment on the Trans Am’s appearance and/or exhaust sound. I’m continually amazed at how much attention Pontiac’s second-generation Firebirds garner nearly 40 years after the last ones rolled off the assembly lines. I consider that a genuine testament to their timeless design.
As I pulled my Trans Am back into the garage a couple of hours later, I shut it down and sat in silence for a moment. I was left alone with the popping and ticking of the engine and exhaust system. I looked at the Trans Am’s engine-turned aluminum instrument panel, grabbed the thick-rimmed Formula steering wheel with one hand and the shifter knob with the other, and recounted just how enjoyable it was to drive my Trans Am on what would have otherwise been a mundane series of point-to-point tasks. That then made me ask myself why is it that I don’t drive this car more often? I still can’t come up with a good answer. I guess that means I need to keep repeating this exercise until I can!
Are you driving your Pontiacs more now than before?