Here is a build that I did in 2004, pardon the quality of the photos, a bit of nostalgia here, and if you are a car nut here is where it began for me. We all remember the movie Smokey and the Bandit, one day I vowed to own one of these cars and in 2004 I managed to find one in disrepair ( not the T Top though).
It was owned by an old couple in South Africa who had it from brand new and brought it with them from New York. Sadly the couple repainted the car (God knows why).
The car originally had a 6.6 Ltr Turbo motor but that had long since expired, so I replaced it with a Chevy 350, 5.7 LTR V8 with some major modifications. Balanced and cut crank, lighter flywheel, forged weiseco pistons, stage 2 cams, lighter con rods, Edlebrock intake manifold, Edlebrock 750Cfm 4 barrel downdraught carb, and gas flowed head which resulted in 650 BHP. I fitted it with a 350 Turbo 3 speed box and torque convertor, it was a beast ! We also retrofitted Brembo 4 pot brakes to the front.
I had to buy the full detail kit with the Flaming phoenix and all the body stripes, not an easy task and not cheap either.
Here is my former 1980 V8 Trans Am.
And now the finished article complete with Decals.
The Motor all sorted.
I hope you guy's enjoyed, it was a labour of love for me, I did all the painting and decal work, the mechanical work was carried out by a garage.
