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My '73 TA dyno day

2K views 7 replies 4 participants last post by  Marks63PontiacGasser 
#1 ·
I happened on the video of my '73 trans Am turbo. I found the car in a machine shed on a farm. Actually a friend had it and offered it to me because a new highway was coming thru the farm and they had to move everything. It was a custom painted/interiored show car that he bought and used as a dailey driver. He bought it in '82ish. Parked it in '86 to do a full restortation because several judges told him not to place it in judged car shows because it had surface rust under the hood etc and paint chips. Anywho, it was all apart in the shed when he offered it to me. He knew I loved Pontiacs so he offered it a fire sale price. I got it in 1999 and rebuilt reassembled and built the 455 and got it on th eroad in 2002. Over the years it progressed from a 12 flat 110 car to a nitroused 10.2 @ 134 13 mpg fun monster. Then along came the turbo. To make it easier I just copied the post from another board explaining the dyno day and how they messed up the info on it. But I have some confusion on the final hp/torque numbers. I'll copy a post from another board to try to explain.
OK I got the video.

http://www.streetfire.net/video/fat-dyno-day_643621.htm

They have the numbers all wrong. The GN at the beginning hit 500hp before it puked the trans fluid all over. They were pulling it off the dyno when I left to get my TA. It is possible they repaired the line and ran agian before I got back. The Subie is correct. The first run on mine they say 788 at 15 psi 744 torque. That was the first run when the computer quit and it was at 10 psi. The second and third were run at 12 psi and the last run was the 15 psi. You can see the faster rise in the rpm in the last run at 15 psi. The last run was 886.8 hp and 822.3 torque (converted to 1065 hp and 987 Tq using %20 loss). Its possible that these numbers I just printed are the crank numbers. I have to got back down and confirm with the owner about what's right. The Print out says Maximum Power 835.0 @ 5563/102.3 mph--WCF 886.8----Maximum Torque 774.3@ 5434/109.4 mph with WCF 822.3 So I may be looking at it wrong. I did ask the operator if the "WCF" number was rear wheel power and that I add the loss factor to get final crank numbers and he said yes. So either I'm wrong or he's wrong. Even if It is 886.8 hp and 822.3 torque, that still ain't bad. By the way the video seemed to get the sound out of sync with the picture on the last 2 runs. ???

The right numbers did come out to 1065 and 987 Tq at the flywheel on 15 psi. All the runs were from a steady 3000 to 5800 rpm for comparisons. And the dyno sheet showed top HP at 5500 and 5600 thru the runs. The video sound and picture are off in the last runs but if you listen to the way the car RPMs you can hear the progression of the power as it gets shorter to the shut off rpm. Not sure I've ever played this here so here goes. My runs are the last four of the video.
Forgot to add. The dyno was in a Mustang tuning shop. They had several tuned Code R Mustangs there that were touted to be among the strongest Mustangs in the city. The shop ower said his dyno have never had anything stronger than his Mustangs at 700 RWHP at the wheels. When he saw my old TA, a Pontiac motor, a carburator, and pump gas, he kind of laughed but not to bad. He was an OK guy BUT!!!! When the numbers came up at 886.8 hp and 822.3 at the wheels, he about shat hmself. He shook his head and was amazed (thruthfully I was too, I was expecting 600 to 650 at the wheels). Jokingly he even offered me a job tuning old cars, heh. Mark L
 
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#2 ·
Wow, that's cool! So the new one is even more powerful, right? Can't wait to see the numbers there. You got some buildin' skills, Mark!

Did you sell the T/A? Was it just an HP car (Dyno car) or did you run it at the track? I got to ride in a legit 638hp ZR1 vette -

http://www.trifive.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50972

That had me shaking... can't imagine what 1k plus would feel like. :D

Mike
 
#4 · (Edited)
I have two in car vids on the street. But it just blows the tires away and stays at 5800 rpm until I get out of it. I had an electric exhaust valve coming out of the passenger fender right after the turbo. The first one is with the valve closed and you can't hear the gear change from first to second. The second is with the valve open and you can hear the gear change into second but it just stays up and blowing the tires off.

http://s601.photobucket.com/albums/tt97/marks73turbota/?action=view&current=RobbsVisit013.mp4

http://s601.photobucket.com/albums/tt97/marks73turbota/?action=view&current=RobbsVisit014.mp4

This is a pic the way I found it in the machine shed. Looking at it you can see all the drivetrain and frame is all out of it. Like a model car 1 piece body just setting up on some make shift saw horses.



This was the engine compartment with the turbo and intercooler.



This is on the trailer going to the new owner.



A gentleman from Delaware called one day to buy the TA. He made a very fair offer and off it went. That enabled me to buy the '63 and do so much to it.

Mark L
 
#5 ·
This is a vid of it at the drag strip but they would not pass me in tech because I did not have enough cage. So I did not run. But you can see the echaust pipe coming out of the passenger fender and see it shake when it goes into gear. I was waiting for a K&N filter to arrive and it did not come (you can see it in the previous street vids)so I thru together that funky snorkel just to have some sort of filter.

http://s601.photobucket.com/albums/tt97/marks73turbota/?action=view&current=RobbsVisit012.mp4

This is a combo pic of my '72 Trans Am back in '73 that I bought off the showroom floor. The pink '57 I found in a barn outside of my little town. And the left center pic is from across the road at my neighbors house. On the right of the pic you can just see the '57 after I tilted the front end and painted it flat black but the pic was mostly to show the '63 Ventura Catalina I owned back in '75 along with the back of my '72 silver 455 HO M22 Formula.



I wish I had all of them back. The '63 in the pic was the one that I first did my hood hinge mod for the tilt front and I built a RAIII '69 400 with a '66 tri-power and wide ratio Muncie 4 speed. That thing really flew and when those 3 two barrels opend it just howled. Loved that car.

Mark L
 
#7 ·
Love the Firebird Mark! Especially since it's a 2nd gen, which I think were the best looking of the GM line of pony cars. Looks like you had a lot of time and money invested in it!
I've always been a died in the wool Chevy guy, but appreciate the Pontiacs for their performance history. My dad was a pretty big Buick fan, but bought an occasional Chevy through the years too.
I've owned my '71 Camaro SS since 1973, and I'm in the middle of rebuilding all the suspension right now. Just finished the front suspension last night and I'm taking a break before tearing into the rear. It whipped my butt, and I thought I'd never get those poly bushings and new coils in without either killing myself, or breaking an arm!
I raced the '71 from 1973-89, then retired it to storage for 10 yrs. After that it's been a gradual return to occasional street duty ever since 1999.



 
#8 ·
Nice "Maro. So many things interchange which was always good for the Firebird guys. Most everything was advertised for Camaro. But always had to be carefull for the little differences. I wasn't sure if I had already posrted those pics and vids but thought-why not-. How about you guys. Got stories and pics? Mark L
 
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