Everyone's definition of a street car is different. Not many would imagine that a Pontiac capable of 10s at the strip could even be street-legal, but this one almost is, according to its owner. Keith Alvarez, a 40-year-old metal fabricator from Tampa likes to think of his '00 Trans Am WS6 as a pure street machine. What's more, he says he drives it to work, a 60-plus mile round trip, several times a week. "I think one of the best parts about owning a car like this is being able to drive it on the street," says Keith.
He has loved and worked on cars since he was a young boy. "I always wanted a late-model to build as a race car, but I could never afford one. So when I had the chance in January 2000, instead of buying a practical family car like I was supposed to, I brought this car home," he recalls. Needless to say, his wife, Paula, wasn't too happy at first, but over the years she has warmed up to the car, and has been supportive during the build up. The new Trans Am, complete with the WS6 Ram Air package, was painted in Navy Blue Metallic and had all the options.
Drivetrain
Keith immediately began to create his dream car. He started small, adding the simple bolt-ons, but that soon made way for more power. He built his original combo, a 408, with the assistance of Greg Lovell from Anti Venom in Seffner, Florida. The iron block was filled with a forged Eagle rotating assembly and was topped off with a set of CNC LS6 heads. Then he injected a ridiculous amount of nitrous into it. A standard LS1 5177 dry nitrous kit from NOS was installed for an additional 150 ponies. Soon thereafter, Keith was able to procure a trick Fast 90mm intake manifold with a direct-port wet nitrous system modified by Al Jones of Tampa. When this second stage was activated, it forced an additional 200 horsepower into the Bird. It was enough power to send him into the 9s in the quarter-mile.
Early on, the stock 4L60E was rebuilt by Chris Mowris and Fernando Rosales at Transmission Physicians in Tampa. When Keith stepped up his game, he contacted them once again to build him one that was more suitable for repeated track use. This time, he went with a transbrake-equipped Turbo 350 with a 4,500-rpm stall Vigilante torque converter and manual valvebody. It's controlled by a TCI Outlaw shifter, and a B&M cooler keeps the temperatures down, reducing wear. Surprisingly, the stock steel driveshaft has been up to the task of repeated 1.35 short times on the bumper. Delivering the grunt to the pavement is a 3.73-geared Moser Ford 9-inch rear end with a Tru-Trac posi.
Chassis Upgrades
Along with the stout motor, Keith built the chassis to support the thrashing. The factory upper and lower control arms are attached to a BMR tubular K-member that sheds some weight off the front. QA1 adjustable struts and springs give him the ability to fine-tune the front suspension behavior and dial-in the weight transfer.
Out back, the factory control arms were replaced with billet-aluminum Metco pieces attached to a set of relocation brackets that Keith fabricated himself. QA1 adjustable shocks and generic lowering springs were used to control the amount of stress the Mickey Thompson 325/60-15 Drag Radials receive. A BMR Extreme Drag Sway Bar forces the Trans Am to launch straight with no fuss, while BMR subframe connectors and a TCI Outlaw 4-point rollbar keep the chassis from turning into a dishrag from the torque. A BMR Extreme torque arm also prevents the torque from being absorbed into the chassis and is adjustable for pinion angle.
The stock brakes have been modified to accommodate the smaller 15-inch wheels. "I haven't had any problem with the brakes on the car. They have done the job that I needed them to do so I haven't felt the need to upgrade," explains Keith.
A Bigger, Better Powerplant
After a few years, Keith got the itch to try something new. "I wanted to see if I could get into the 9s on just the motor and no spray," he says. He talked with Phil Joyner of United Speed World in Tampa and they conceived the current engine combo.
The original aluminum LS1 block was the starting point for the 427. It was bored out to accommodate 4.125-inch bore Darton Sleeves and custom-built JE Pistons with coated skirts. The pistons use Hellfire Dykes-style piston rings from Sealed Power because they reduce friction, which frees up horsepower.
Fortifying the rest of the bottom end are 6-inch forged Eagle rods and a 4.00-inch stroke Lunati crankshaft. A Melling oil pump makes sure all the bearings are properly lubricated, a windage tray reduces oil whip off the crank to save a few ponies, and a Moroso pan holds the crude.
The solid roller cam from the previous motor was too extreme, even for the lofty goals Keith had set. He chose an "appropriately sized" hydraulic roller from Comp that he didn't want to go into too much detail about. "It measures around 265-degrees of duration and about 0.660-inch lift." He adds, "Greg was able to achieve a respectable level of streetability with the radical cam, yet it sounds vicious at any rpm." Manley valvesprings, Comp hardened pushrods, and factory 1.7-ratio rockers try to keep up with the radical valve events.
After a false start with another set of heads, out of sheer frustration with the length of the buildup process, he threw on a set of factory 862 5.3L truck heads. The stock 1.89-inch intake and 1.55-inch exhaust valves are retained. Compression is 13.5:1, so the idea of pump gas is thrown out the door, but 100-octane keeps the engine happy and ping free.
A custom Beck Mechanical Sheetmetal manifold and an Anti Venom 95mm throttle body were employed, but since the Beck intake was matched to the previous cylinder heads, Keith matched them himself. "This is far from an ideal setup, but the car is running better than it has ever run, even on the nitrous," he claims.
Fuel is delivered via an Aeromotive A1000 Eliminator pump into SVO 42-pound fuel injectors. The mass airflow sensor was taken out and the LS1 now uses a speed density system that's tuned by Greg. A set of MSD coils and wires feed spark to the NGK TR55 plugs.
To tame the sound of the huge cube motor, Keith built his own custom exhaust, beginning with a set of 1 3/4-inch stepped to 2-inch Kooks headers with 3 1/2-inch collectors. From there, a catless 3 1/2-inch Y-pipe leads to a Magnaflow cat-back. The decibel levels are manageable, and it doesn't garner any unwanted attention from the law. "Aside from having no cats, the car is fully street-legal. My wife even drives it. I just had to teach her how to use the shifter," he says.
Body
This Pontiac's appearance garners much attention. The factory WS6 hood was replaced with the more aggressive Suncoast Creations Ram Air hood that incorporates a K&N filter airbox and a cowl heat extractor.
Aldren Rodriguez of Sicbu Body Works in Tampa sprayed the Trans Am with two coats of Sherwin Williams satin Navy Blue Metallic. "I wanted to try something different with the paint. It actually gets more attention now than when it was shiny. It's been awhile, and I'm starting to miss my shine, so I think I'm going to spray it again," Keith says.
At The Track
With the Pontiac running stronger than ever, Keith takes it to the track as often as possible. In the eighth-mile, he's posted a best of 6.41 at 106 mph leaving off the transbrake at 4,500 rpm while shifting at 7,100 rpm. He runs in the 6.50 Class and True Street at NMCA events where he competes against "trailer queen" drag cars. At a 3,780-pound race weight, it's no feather-lite. He keeps his tire pressure at 40 psi up front and around 20 psi in the rear.
During the weekends you might even be able to find him at one of the meets for Mafia Motorsports, a high-performance car club. He would eventually like to take it out to the quarter-mile and see what it can do. If his eighth-mile times are any indication of its potential on the big end, he should be knocking on the door of the 9s and he says he has no problem driving his T/A to and from the track. Currently, it's only legal for 10s, but he has plans to make his car 9-second legal.
Conclusion
Keith says, "I love everything about the T/A and it's my dream car. There is nothing like spending all that time and effort on something and reaching your goals, and I was able to do that with the Trans Am." His best friend, Eugene Rodriguez, helped him throughout the build, and Keith states that the car wouldn't be anywhere without him. He also thanks his wife for putting up with the build-up of this bad Bird, too. "People said it couldn't be done with what I have, and I'm out doing it every week," says Keith. He has put in many hours to build one remarkable street-driven Fourth-Gen that's one scary brute. Though many municipalities may beg to differ, it seems we've learned Keith's definition of a street car.
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