Decado's 97 Trans Am WS.6

[Decado]

I figure until I purchase my truck, I can share my summer car which has become my daily driver for a little bit.

1997 Pontiac Trans Am WS.6. Original LT1 engine & 4l60e transmission.

Appearance Modifications:
-Black vinyl overlay decals for rear PONTIAC lettering
-Black vinyl overlay decals for door TRANS AM lettering
-17" Chrome C6 Z06 wheels
-Original Arctic White finish with dealer option pinstripe down the side
-Clear front corner lights (DRL/turn signals)

-Pacesetter Long Tube headers
-Pacesetter ORY pipe
-Magnaflow cat-back
-!CAT, !EGR, !AIR
-160° Thermostat
-K&N Air filter in stock WS.6 Ram Air
-NGK Iridium spark plugs w/ MSD wires
-Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3 tires - 275/40/17s all around
-Professionally custom tuned PCM

Aftermarket Stereo:
-Kenwood Excelon KDC-X996 Headunit
-Boston Acoustic RC620 Rally Series 6.5" component speakers
-Eclipse SP6510 Point Source 6.5" coaxial speakers
-Phoenix Gold Titanium 500.4 - 125x4 RMS watts powering the highs and mids
-Phoenix Gold Ti12d Titanium Elite 12" high excursion subwoofer (1200w RMS / 2000w peak)
-Phoenix Gold RSD 1200.1 powering the single 12" sub at ~1300 watts RMS
-Dual Optima Yellow-top batteries (one in the engine bay, one in the rear hatch) wired together with a Solenoid Isolator.

 

[dmanns67]

TA looks awesome. Love the audio setup. Welcome to the Naiton by the way!

What GMT are you looking to buy?

 

[Decado]

Thanks.

I have a deposit down to hold a 2006 Envoy SLT 4x4. Saturday I am taking it to my mechanic for a final inspection and if everything looks good then I will have it this weekend. If it doesn't look good, my deposit is refundable. We're looking for a 2006+ Envoy SLT or Denali.

 

[jimmyjam]

Thats original paint? wow

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

That is beautiful. I miss my 97 TA more now than I have for awhile. I would have to slap a T56 in it, but the rest of the car is perfect to me.

 

[rjpoog1989]

Welcome!
Great looking car!
I'm looking at getting a trans-am. I'm looking at 98-02 with ws6. Yours is a good inspiration.

 

[kawaholic]

VERY NICE!!! That car is CLEAN!!! Congrats on the pending purchase, hope everything checks out. I LOVE my 06 TB, I'm sure you'll be VERY happy with the Envoy. Welcome to the site.

 

[gmcman]

Welcome, and very nice T/A. I hear those spark plugs are a mudda to change.

 

[TollKeeper]

Second best looking GM car ever made in my opinion, with the G8 being #1. At least in my opinion..

Althou I will say that I like the WS6 a few years newer than yours, with the dual mini quad headlights. But yours is still the SEX!@

 

[Decado]

I'm looking at getting a trans-am. I'm looking at 98-02 with ws6. Yours is a good inspiration.

The 98-02's have the LS1 and a little more aggressive body style. Nice cars and AWESOME engines. If you have the option, get a 2000-2002. There were some kinks with the first versions of the LS1 but they were worked out by 2000. If you plan on doing modifications to increase power, definitely opt for the T56 6-speed as the automatic will need to be build up to handle much more than stock power of the LS1.

Welcome, and very nice T/A. I hear those spark plugs are a mudda to change.

It is unreal how difficult it is to change the spark plugs on the LT1 f-body's when you have the stock manifolds on still. I changed mine when I removed the manifolds to put headers on and now it's easy to access 7 of them; the one under the alternator is still a bitch to reach. I always recommend a plug change to anyone doing a header install.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Saw the Triumph in your signature. My dad has 2.5 1976 TR6's. I learned to drive a manual with one. Actually drove it quite a bit through high school. Was pretty sweet for a 20 year old car.

He used to have about every triumph, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8...He had a sweet silver 3 that won a couple local show back in the day.

He may have TR6 parts if you end up needing something.

 

[Decado]

Cool. Yeah, Triumphs are very fun cars. My dad has owned many of them through the years. He has owned the one we are currently working on for almost 30 years. The past 20 of those years the car has been in the possession of my cousins in upper Michigan. They let it sit outside in the UP seasonal weather for 15+ years... needless to say it was in terrible shape. I am pretty sure that they said a tree was growing through the floorboards.

My cousin felt bad about letting this happen, so he took it upon himself to start working on it. He had the frame and body cleaned up. 2 body panels were beyond saving so he had fiberglass replacements fabricated and installed. The engine was completely dismantled and rebuild, everything is in good order, just in some pieces and needs some final cleaning. The carbs were professionally rebuild. The body was painted by another cousin of mine.

We still need to clean up the engine bay, wires and hoses, interior, and then put everything back together. We have a great start on it though. It's a slow project because I live 90 minutes away from my parents and my dad doesn't put in too much work when I don't come down to work with him. Here are a few pictures from a while back, all we have done since these were taken was dismantle the dash and all of the wiring so that we can replace the dash and begin reassembling.

 

[Decado]

Thats original paint? wow

Fresh after a wash and wax:

 

[BoldAdventure]

Good ol' LT1 with the opticrap. I remember mine semi-fondly.Had the same year. My wheels weren't as nice, and I blew the motor a year after purchasing her. Rebuilt it as a 383 stroker and then blew that up on the strip. Eventually I let her go. Think I am still partial to 3rd gens.

 

[million-miles]

I had a red 1998 z-28 with the t-56. I miss my hot rod.

 

[rjpoog1989]

The 98-02's have the LS1 and a little more aggressive body style. Nice cars and AWESOME engines. If you have the option, get a 2000-2002. There were some kinks with the first versions of the LS1 but they were worked out by 2000. If you plan on doing modifications to increase power, definitely opt for the T56 6-speed as the automatic will need to be build up to handle much more than stock power of the LS1.

I'm definitely looking at getting a manual. Most of the ones I've seen on autotrader are 2000-02. I'm probably going to wait until spring though because I just blew most of my disposable cash lifting the truck. I will for sure need a second vehicle though next summer that way I can drive one while I'm working on the other. I'm tired of being pressed for time while working on things.

 

[BoldAdventure]

I personally preferred the looks of the LT1 body style, more like a dart.

However, I really am enjoying my LS3 6speed manual 4DR BMW 3 series murdering G8 GXP

Ultra rare, very unassuming, turns heads and cops don't notice. Slightly modified, 446rwhp 438ft/lb.

 

[Sparky]

nice bird! I'm an fbody guy too, though more of the Camaro flavor