As some folks have seen, my father and I decided to go a bit old school and play with a 1981 Turbo TA. Who knows how long we will have it for but with the current fleet in good running order, we seem to always need a project to tinker with. The car has good "bones" and with some work, could be a real nice car. It fires right up and sounds perfect IMO (nice chop with deep tone).
The basics:- 1981 Turbo Trans Am
- LS Swap with a custom comp turbo cam, Edel Carb, Edel Intake, Dual Valve Springs w/ titanium retainers, Fbody oil pan
- TH350 trans
- Stainless Headers, 3" dual exhaust
- MSD 6010 controller
- 140gph pump (too much)
- Aluminum 3 row rad w/ electric fan
- 4 wheel discs
- Limited slip diff
What is needs: The car runs and drives but needs a few simple items to make it OK for the road
- Tires
- Brakes bled (hopefully all it needs)
- Shocks, bushings
Fixes:- Sagging doors (hopefully its just the bushings but prob will need new brackets)
- Re-align the body panels a bit
- Get radio working and other odds and ends
The Plan:
Not really sure at the moment. Since the car isn't original, a restoration per the book doesn't make sense and it's money I wouldn't want to throw at it anyway. Right now, I see this being a car to get on the road to enjoy as a fun cruiser. It has the right sound so we just need to bring the looks up to par. The fuel pump may need to go since it's pretty race car right now (noisy, too much for engine). The prior owners had plans to eventually turbo the car, convert to FI and a 4L60.
I'm thinking we toss some fun aftermarket seats, steering wheel, gauges and paint it to give it a fresh look. The rear gears are way too tall (2.73) so I think a step up in ratio will make it fun while turning somewhat reasonable RPMs on the highway. I'm debating on the color since I know the traditional is black/gold. I think this car would look cool in an impact color (B5 blue, admiral blue were some of my ideas). A bird will go on the hood of course.
