| | APRIL
2002, Volume 5, Issue 4
General
Meeting-April 2nd, 2002
The meeting was called to order by Dante’ Higgins
at 7:17pm, President Ted Klein presiding.
Sassy and Michael Guthrie were
with us again but as a new members this evening. We would like to welcome Sassy
and Michael to our Club. (Even though Michael drives a vet.) She has a 1968 Firebird
that is all original. It belonged to her grandmother who bought it off the show
room floor.
Gordon Tackitt is back with us from a tour overseas with the
military. He says he does have a car story. He bought his very first blue Trans
Am three years ago. After he bought his white 1976 he sold it. For some unknown
reason it was impounded and he bought it back for $460.00.
Ray
Howe made a motion to accept last months minutes as printed in the News Letter.
J.J. Apilado seconded, and it carried.
Treasurer's
report can be found in another section of this news letter.
Old Business:
Chili Cook
Off:
Everyone arrived at the
Raff house pretty much on time. Some came direct and others caravanned. We had
a great time with chili pots sitting all over the sink and some on the stove,
eight in all. The first order of business was to judge the chili. The judges were,
Ted Klein, Ray Howe, Keith Thornson and Ted Bechtel. They were to choose the best
of four categories, Best Red, Best Green, Whimpiest and Spiciest. Dante’s chili
took spiciest. It had habanero chilies in it and you can’t get much hotter. J.O.
who was born and raised in New Mexico and knows HOT, said he took a teaspoon of
it and couldn’t taste anything for half an hour. Gary’s chili came in as the wimpiest.
At least you could eat it without tears in your eyes and it was all gone by the
end of the event. The best red went to Sue Brown, Leo’s wife, very tasty. Best
green went to J.O. He calls it Pueblo Green.
The tables were covered with
green and red in honor of St. Patrick’s Day and our Mexican event. Surprisingly,
(sure), Each of the three tables were adorned with two each of J.O.’s trophies
from earlier chili cook offs. There were about 30 in attendance and every thing
went well. I hope every one had a good time and we are looking forward to having
the Club use our home again in the future.
Daffodil
Hill:
Even thought the sign said “Grand Opening”, it was closed.
The drive was a very nice one however. So the Club drove up to Jackson Rancheria
and had lunch. Then there was a scenic drive home and everyone said they still
had a good time in spite of Daffodil Hill. Mike said he and his family went up
the next weekend and about 90% of the daffodil’s were blooming and they were very
beautiful. They went early in the day and traffic was good. Coming home was another
story, with CHPs directing traffic.
The March drag night was called because
of rain. The next one will be May 1st. If you want to drive be sure to be there
very early as they only take so many cars and then close the gate.
New
Business:
Upcoming Events
July 13th, 14th, & 15th.
Trans A Rama. There will be a meeting at Dave Gershon’s home on April 6th at 4pm.
The packets are ready to be stuffed with goodies. Dave said everything is pretty
much set except for the guest speaker and he is still working on that. Jim Prinzivalli
will be there and hopefully have a T-shirt design for us. Dave has some flyers
to be passed out for Trans A Rama. He will have more in a few days. We need to
start getting them out as soon as possible.
Dave gave the new people a
light overview of what our 14th Annual Trans A Rama is all about. J.O. gave Dave
a little surprise. It was the very first entry received for this years event,
and it wasn’t a Club member. It was from Wally and Sue Gentry who attended the
event last year. They had a yellow 1969 Firebird and they even took it out for
auto crossing.
Sunday
April 7th. Dyno Day.
Be there around 8:30am to 9am. This is a system
that can give you information on how your car is performing. There will be a Bar
B Q. Lunch will be provided. Ted sent around a sign up sheet. Cost - $50 for each
car.
Wednesday,
April 20th Cool April Nights.
It runs four or five days. This is
for pre-1976 cars only. This is not an official Club run, however, some of our
members went up last year and had a great time. They went up to look, walk around,
and pass out flyers. All though this is a pre 1977 car show, if we would like
to enter as a club they will take all years up through 2002.
Saturday,
May 4th. Children’s Receiving Home.
Meet at Del Paso Park at 9:30am.
We need to be at the Receiving Home by 10am. Things being requested for this year
are: Movie tickets, swim goggles and floats for the pool for small children. The
facility has been expanded to care for more kids who need temporary shelter.
Saturday
April 28th. Bush League Racing:
Meet at Levitz parking lot on Watt
Avenue. Those who went on this run last year really had a smashing good time.
There
is a Yuba City car show:
No entry fee and no limit on types of cars
but they do tend to lean toward the mussel and classic cars. It’s every Saturday
and usually have a great deal of cars. With your entry you get 15% off at I-Hop.
Dave said SLP is putting together a gathering of cars in Las Vegas. This
is a spin off of the big BIG show that is held on the east coast. It is sometime
in the fall and Dave will let us know when he gets more information.
Kragens
Car Show:
Kragen will be starting their Friday night car shows in
May. It will be the third Friday of each month.
Ted has received several
flyers for car club shows in different areas of California. If you are interested
in more information call Ted. One local event is called Thunder In Depot Park
in Rio Linda. There is also one in Hangtown, This show is sponsored by Butch Gardner.
Butch has the radio station, in Auburn, where Ted and Dave went "on the air"
to promote our Trans A Rama last year.
Club
T-Shirts:
You may have seen the Club shirts that were worn
during the Auto Rama by our members. The cost of these are $25. If you would like
one talk to Ted.
J.O. made a motion to make Pearl Ackerson an honorary
life time member of the Trans Am Club. Pearl has been with us since the very first
run to Yosemite in October 1979. She doesn’t get out to Club functions very often
but does make Trans A Rama and the Christmas party. As an honorary life time member
she is entitled to all benefits of the Club. The motion was seconded and passed.
A letter will be sent to Pearl with the good news. I’m sure she will appreciate
it.
J.O. mentioned that we have thirteen names on our current roster
who have not paid their dues as yet. The deadline was April 1st so those names
will be deleted from our roster and new rosters will be available at the next
meeting. One of the members not choosing to remain a Club member had been elected
as our activities director. Therefore the president appointed Leo Brown and Dante'
Higgins to be co-chairman for the activities for the rest of the year.
Ted has called a board meeting for the Sunday, May 5th, at 1pm. It will be held
at Ted's place of business at 3358 Fulton Ave. Jerry's Paint & Supply.
With no further business the meeting was adjourned at 8:32pm.
Respectfully
submitted, Irene Raff, Secretary.
Dyno
Day
The Dyno day at Ralph Gobel’s Hot Rod Heaven turned out to
be a big success after a slightly rough start due in part to Ralph having moved
his shop! But with some work by club members we managed to get everyone there.
We had quite a few club members show up to see how much horsepower their
cars could produce! There were also a few visitors that wanted to see what their
cars could do. One was a Viper GTS and another a Corvette. Although Ted Klein
did not have highest horsepower for the day due to these two cars, he did have
the highest horsepower from the club at 367HP.
Again Ted Klein provided
a very nice barbeque lunch of hamburgers and hot dogs, cooked by a special guest,
Ted’s own father, Ted Klein Sr. Talk about confusing, that made three Teds out
there that day! Thanks to both of the Kleins for putting on the barbeque!
We had a late arrival in the form of Mark Boyle who on his way to Dyno Day
had some car troubles rushed home to do some repairs and still made it out in
time to have his car put on the Dyno. Hey Mark sorry I missed you, I would have
liked to have seen your car on the dyno.
I would like to give a special
thanks to Ralph Gobels and his workers for giving up one of their days off to
allow us to run our cars. Ralph provides you with three pulls on the dyno and
then gives you a very nice folder with all the computer information that was obrained
from your runs.
Thanks to all those that attended and to everyone that
was involved!
Ted (Theo) Bechtel
Kragens
Car Show.
Wow! What a turn out for the first Kragen’s Car Show!
When all was said and done we had a total of 23 cars from our club on display!
This was absolutely the best showing we have had at one of these events and I
would like to personally thank everyone that took the time to come out and participate!
It is turn outs like this that make it fun to be part of this club!
I
was astounded by the turn out considering the short notice of the event and I
would like to apologize to anyone that I did not manage to get in contact with
about the event. We were given short notice about the event and I did my best
to try to contact everyone.
We had some special visitors at this event,
John and Judy Durrett, who used to be part of our club! Apparently John used to
be club Historian, as well as having held several other positions as an Officer
of our club. JJ purchased his 1972 455 HO from the Durrett’s. So JJ did the job
of Historian come with the car!
Dale Foster in his Arrest me Red 1978
T/A made it to this event along with his wife Maxine. It was good to see the Fosters
at this event as they joined our club last year and have not had the opportunity
to participate much!
Smitty, the man from Kragens that organizes this
event is very appreciative of the involvement our club has with his event. There
was a new trophy for just our club of nicest appearing Firebird. Frank Brown won
this award with his 1986 Convertible Conversion.
Again I would just like
to say thank you to all of you that responded to my last minute call and came
out for this event! I hope to see all of you and more at the May17th show!
Ted (Theo) Bechtel
Busch
League Racing.
Busch League Racing,
what a gas! The second annual trip to the Busch League Racing center was awesome!
For those of you have never tried it, let me explain what it is. It is a simulator
of Nascar’s Busch League series. You sit in a half scale model of a Nascar race
car that is on a hydraulic system. In front of you is a movie screen that shows
what is going on from your point of view during the race. So as you move the steering
wheel what you see in front of you changes as well as the car you are sitting
in moves! It is really cool!
The turn out for this event was less than
we had anticipated! We had 27 people sign up for this event but only about half
of that actually were there. But for those who did it turned out to be a great
time! The Hot Racer of the day turned out to be Terry Trimble’s Godson, Terrance.
Each race he would continue to get a little bit better, until the last race where
he managed to take an early lead and hold on to it the entire race! Congratulations
Terrance!
I think we all had a good time in that last race. Apparently
Ted Klein had been in a fender bender early in the race which had slowed his car
down, and allowed Terrance to take the lead from him. I had been running third
for most of the race, on the last couple of laps I caught up to the second place
car, but could not get around it. I remember thinking to myself, Okay that has
to be Dave Gershon or Ted Klein! No matter what I did that yellow car would manage
to block me. On the final lap I managed to get up beside it on a turn and pushed
him out of the way, and go on to take second place!
After the race I
wanted to find out who had been driving that car. As I looked around I saw Ted
Klein busting a gut and saying I don’t know who was driving the red car but I
was not going to let him pass me!
I really recommend that anyone who
has never tried this, give it a shot! The owners are very friendly people, It’s
a great way to spend some time with family members, and you get to see what it
feels like to drive a Nascar!
Ted (Theo) Bechtel
Pontiac's
Final Hi-Performance T/A 6.6, Part 1.
By
John Witzke, POCI Tech Advisor W72 Performance Package 1977 T/A 6.6 Engine
Welcome to Part I of Pontiac’s final hi-performance Pontiac 400 cid engineT/A
6.6. My intention in the pages that follow is to establish a benchmark for accurate
information about the T/A 6.6 engine as installed in the Firebird. Due to the
amount of information that I have been able to compile about the T/A 6.6 engine,
this article will contain the highlights of this package. However, more information,
including part numbers, is available and I encourage owners and enthusiasts to
contact me at one of the sources listed on the inside cover. As for current Firebird
T/A 6.6 owners, future owners and overall Pontiac enthusiast, I hope that somewhere
in the following pages I will be able to tell you something you may not have known.
During twelve model years (1967-1978), the durable 400-cid engines went through
various stages of hi-performance development offering the enthusiasts a solid
street performance engine. The likes of such hi-performance 400-cid engines developed
by Pontiac during the mid-1960s until 1970 included, 400 HO, Ram Air’s I, II,
III, IV and V. Without question, these were some of the best hi-performance engines
Pontiac ever produced.
Beginning with the 1977 model year, Pontiac once
again offered a new high performance engine option for the 400 CID engine in selected
models. This new option package was called W72 Performance Package and carried
UPC code W72 on the dealer order form. On the street, cars with is package were
identified with engine call outs of T/A 6.6 on the shaker scoop unless you were
driving a Formula, then you flew stealth. At the start of the 1977 production,
the T/A 6.6 engine was available on Trans Am and Formula Firebird models in all
states except California or high-altitude areas. Later in the 1977 model year,
the T/A 6.6 engine would become standard in all non-California bound Le Mans Can
Ams. The 1977 engine specifications will be the same for both the Firebird and
Le Mans Can Am; however, certain drive train pieces such as transmission and axle
ratios are different. During 1978 and 1979, the T/A 6.6 engine was again offered
in all States except California and high-altitude areas on Trans Am and Formula
Firebird models.
OPTION
CODE
During 1977 and 1978, the T/A 6.6 engine carried UPC code W72
on the Firebird dealer order form and was available only on Firebird Trans Am
and Formula models, except for the already mentioned 1977 Can Am. Since only one
400 engine was available in 1979, it appears that UPC code W72 was dropped on
all Pontiac bulletins and memos as the T/A 6.6 engine was identified on the dealer
order guide as UPC code L78. However, UPC code W72 Perfor
Package was present on all 1977-1979 T/A 6.6 Firebird build sheets.
According to Pontiac Car Distribution Bulletin 77- F-1, June 25, 1976,
the T/A 6.6 engine was originally to have UPC code LS7. Around August 5, 1976
just before the release, for reasons unknown, the LS7 code was eventually changed
to W72. One of the earliest 1977 Pontiac model year memos to Dealers dated June
25, 1976 uses the UPC code LS7 to identify the T/A 6.6 engine option package,
which was to be available on the Firebird Trans Am and Formula models at extra
cost. All of the original Pontiac build bulletins and memos that I have been able
to collect identify the T/A 6.6 engine as W72 or T/A 400 in 1977-78 and L78 or
T/A 400 in 1979.
PRICING
For
1977, the W72 Performance Package cost $50.00 for the Trans Am and $205.00 for
the Formula. At the start of the 1978 production, the W72 Performance Package
was included as part of the Trans Am Special Performance Package (UPC WS6) in
all States except California. The price of this package was $324.00 for the base
Trans Am. Unfortunately for 1978, UPC code WS6 was not available on the Firebird
Formula. The cost for the W72/WS6 package with the black and gold Y82/Y84 and
gold Y88 was $151.00. The reason for the difference in price is the Cast Aluminum
Wheels are included with the Y82/Y84 and Y88 packages. According to Pontiac
Car Distribution Bulletin, February 22, 1978, the T/A 6.6 engine would no
longer be included with UPC code WS6. The cost for the T/A 6.6 engine alone during
1978 was $75.00 for the Trans Am and $280.00 for the Formula. Pricing for 1979
was a little different than in 1977 and 1978. The L78 T/A 6.6 option cost $90.00
for the Trans Am, but required the WS6 Handling Package at $434.00 for a total
cost of $524.00. On the 1979 Tenth Anniversary Trans Am, the WS6 Package was standard,
so the W72 option was $90.00. There was a $103.00 credit for cruise control, which
was standard with the Tenth Anniversary Trans Am Package but was not available
with the 4-speed transmission. The Y84 Special Edition Trans Am with the T/A 6.6
engine included the J65 disc brake rear axle, so the WS6 Package was only $250.00.
Add the $90.00 L78 option and the total cost for a T/A 6.6 Y84 Trans Am was $340.00.
The 1979 Formula T/A 6.6 package price was $370.00 plus $434.00 for the mandatory
WS6 Package and $63.00 for required limited slip differential, for a total of
$867.00.
BASIC
ENGINE SPECIFICATIONS
All 1977-79 T/A 6.6 engines were produced
at the Pontiac, MI Pontiac Engine Plant. It has been said that this manufacturing
plant featured completely modernized and automated measuring and assembly equipment
using supercomputers. While Pontiac indicated that the T/A 6.6 engine was not
a "hand-built" or "select-fit" engine, it did
receive a great deal of super detailing and reliability training from the Pontiac
engineering department. The T/A 6.6 engine shared many major internal engine parts
with the base 6.6 Litre engine including pistons, connecting rods and crankshaft.
Both the W72 400 and base L78 400 engines used the same 4.1212 x 3.750 bore and
stoke. Even though both 400 engines used the same aluminum alloy pistons, the
T/A 6.6 engines used molly filled compression piston rings. Both 400 engines used
standard cast Arma Steel connecting rods with Moraine 400 steel backed main bearings.
In addition, a standard nodular cast iron crankshaft with Moraine 400 steel backed
main bearings was used in both 400 engines. All T/A 6.6 engines used a harmonic
balancer as a vibration damper instead of the rubber floated weight used on the
base L78 400 engines.
BLOCK CASTING NUMBERS, CODES, BUILD DATES
The 1977 T/A 6.6 engine
used a 2-bolt main bearing cap block with casting number 500557. For 1978-79,
the 2-bolt main bearing cap block remained; however, the casting number was now
XX481988. The block casting numbers are located at the passenger side area pad
of the block next to the distributor hole just behind the number 8 cylinder. To
the rear of the distributor hole is the letters D and N, which signify either
day shift or night shift production. On the driver side area pad next to the distributor
hole will be the cast date code, (example B037. Decoded means B = February, 03
= 3rd day, 7 =1977).
The following are examples of W72 block casting
dates from numbers matching all original cars; a 1977 Trans Am produced on March
7th 1977 with block code Y6 and cast date B037 (February 3rd 1977), a 1978 Trans
Am produced on March 23rd 1978 with block code X7 and cast date K077 (November
7th 1977), and a 1979 Tenth Anniversary Trans Am produced on February 18th 1979
with block code PWH and cast date K187 (November 18th 1977). What is interesting
is the block in the 1979 car was produced November 18th 1977, just 11 days after
the block in the 1978 car even though they were produced nearly one year apart.
To date, no original T/A 6.6 Firebirds have been documented with block cast dates
later than November 1977. My research continues with the casting dates, but if
this trend remains consistent, then it appears that all 400 blocks (both 500557
and XX481988) used for the W72 Performance Package were only produced through
1977. To help verify an original numbers matching car with it’s original block,
the car’s partial serial number is stamped on the passenger-side lower front-machined
surface of the block next to the water pump.
The stamped engine block
identification code for the T/A 6.6 engine is located on the machined surface
on the front of the block below the right (passenger side) cylinder head. The
block codes for 1977 were Y6 for the automatic
and WA for the 4-speed manual. For 1978, the
block code for the automatic was X7 and WC
for the 4-speed manual. In 1979, the block code was PWH,
4-speed manual transmission only. On the factory build sheet, these codes can
also be found in box number twenty-six labeled ENG. A bar code scanner label with
the engine block code and initial timing was originally located on the driver
side left front end of the rocker cover. It appears that some engines may have
a small label on the right front rocker cover with the engine serial number printed
on it.
Continued next month!!
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