MAY 2002, Volume 5, Issue 5

General Meeting-May 7th, 2002
Meeting was called to order by Sgt At Arms, Dante' Higgins. In the absence of the presiden, Ted Klein, the Vice President, Ted Bechtel, presiding.

Guests were asked to introduce themselves and what kind of car they drive. Robert and Stacy Bussell have a 1969 Red Firebird and a 1989 Silver Firebird. They visited our display at the Auto Rama. Joe Barnett has a 1987 TA that is for sale. Welcome to our visitors.

J.J. made a motion to accept the minutes as printed in the Trans Script. Dennis seconded. Minutes were approved as printed.

Old Business:

Chili Cook Off:
Trophies were awarded The 1st place for Wimpiest, yet the tastiest, was offered by Gary Vollstedt. It must have been pretty goodthere wasn’t any left. The 1st place for Green went to J.O. Raff. (He always get’s first because no one else makes green). The 1st for Hottest went to Dante’ Higgins. It was so hot that when the lid was taken off it almost set the cupboard above it on fire. Dante’ said it would be hotter next year. The 1st place for Red and People’s Choice went to Leo Brown.

Dyno Day:
Duane reported on this event. There was a nice Corvette that did very well, also a nice Cougar. The day went very well. Dave’s car was a dud, so was Gayle’s. There was also a big carburetor re-build. Mike Smith received the trophy for ‘least’ amount of power. J.J. had the pictures back for the Club to view. He also sent some to Jim Prinzivalli to put on the web page.

Kragen Car Show Roseville:
Ted Bechtel went into Kragen to buy some parts and Smitty said he had set the car show up a month. We were unaware of that so Ted went home and got on the phone and the message board to let everyone know. He must have done a pretty good job because we had 23 cars show up. Smitty had also set up a trophy just for our Club and Frank Brown won it for the nicest car. He has a 1986 convertible conversion.

Our Club also had visitors to the event. John and Judy Durette came by to say hello. They were members of our Club for many years. It was great to see them. J.J. bought John’s 1972 Trans Am and also took over the historian position from John. Thanks to John and J.J. we have a long line of photo albums to follow our history.
Bush League Racing: There was a good turnout for the day. Most fun went to the kids as they know nothing about racing. Just slam the right foot down and run into the walls or anything else that might be in the way. Forget the left pedal, that ’s only the brake.

Children's Receiving Home:
Only three cars arrived for the kids but they seemed to enjoy them. The younger ones wanted inside and the older ones wanted to see under the hood. It was suggested at the last board meeting, because of the small turnout, to have a raffle and donate the proceeds to the Receiving Home to purchase additional theater tickets. There were many items donated and we raised an additional $85. J.O. gave C.C. a check in that amount to be given to the Receiving Home.

Drag Racing:
Troy Cordosa was the runner-up for the evening and was voted as the nicest car. Duane Cleveland beat J.J. out of his position by 500 of a second. The Top Gun award for the Club is still Ted Klein. He beat his last years time with a 12/12.

Trans A Rama:
Two entries have been received so far. (Still a little early.) Dave requested everyone to get out and find raffle prizes. Be sure and let proprietors know their names and locations will be printed in our monthly Trans Script for one year.

Our speaker for the evening will be George Scala from Southern California. He was a participant in Trans A Rama for many years. He has published two books on the Trans Am and Firebird. These may be available for purchase at the Saturday night banquet.

Dave gave a brief overview for our guests about Trans A Rama. Friday night run from the hotel to Jasper’s Burgers in Rocklin. Saturday, all day car show at Reliable Pontiac. Saturday night awards banquet at the hotel and Sunday, auto crossing at Cal Expo.

There will be a Trans A Rama meeting, Saturday, May 11th, at Dave’s house at 3pm.

Up Coming Events:
Our two new Activities Directors, Leo Brown and Dante’ Higgins, have come up with some very good ideas for runs for the rest of the year. First on the agenda is the Kragen Car Show, May 17th at 6pm. They are looking at the River Cats for May 18th. Tickets would be $13 for both adults and kids. Also May 18th is the All American Car Show in Rio Linda. The cost is $15 pre-registration and $20 at the event
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How about a pool party for the 4th of July? The Orangevale Community Center has a beautiful pool and the area can be rented for $250 for two hours. Either 12  2pm or 6:30 to 8:30pm. We will have more on this at the next meeting.

Other events will be discussed at the next meeting.

Gary and Gayle said Jim Boy’s Tacos in Loomis have a car show every Saturday night, weather permitting. All kinds of cars and you get a free taco. This one could be fun for anyone that would like to go, doesn’t really have to be a Club run.

With no further business, Dennis Trimble motioned that the meeting be adjourned. Seconded by Gary Vollstedt, motion carried.

Respectfully submitted Irene Raff, Secretary.

SSgt. Mark Iriarte.
On May 21, 2002 our club suffered the lose of yet another one of it’s members. Mark Iriate, who joined the Trans Am Club of America in October of 2001. Mark was involved in an accident while on duty at Travis A.F.B. in Fairfield. He passed away at David Grant United States Air Force Medical Center. The following article is the biography that was printed on Mark’s Memorium. Mark will be missed by all of us!

SSgt. Mark A. Iriarte was born in Agana Heights, Guam MI, on March 9 1969. He graduated from Center High School in Elverta, Ca. June 1988,and enlisted in the United States Air Force on July 15 1991. He attended basic training at Lackland AFB, Texas, and technical training at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, where he was qualified as an Aerospace Jet Engine Maintenance Apprentice. On 30 April, 1992 SSgt. Iriarte reported for duty at the 92nd Maintenance Squadron, Fairchild AFB, Washington, where he put his talents and knowledge to the test while assigned as an Aircraft Engine Phase Specialist conducting engine inspections, servicing, modifications, repairs, and engine operational checks on both the TF33-P103 and F108-100 turbofan engines.

During his 8-year stay at Fairchild AFB, he gracefully worked his way through the ranks ending with a line number for Staff Sergeant as he headed to his next assignment at the 8th Maintenance Squadron, Kunsan AB, Korea. While there, he was officially promoted to the distinguished non-commissioned rank of Staff Sergeant, where he worked as an Aerospace Propulsion Journeyman for Jet engine Intermediate Maintenance/Test Section. Using his vast skills and superior knowledge, he performed scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, modifications, time compliance technical orders, and special inspections on the F110-GE-100 engine.

After completing his short tour in Korea, he transferred to Travis AFB, California, where he was assigned to the isochronal inspection section working for the 60th Component Repair Squadron, Propulsion Flight. SSgt Iriarte’s duties were to perform engine isochronal inspections on all C-5 aircraft for servicing, safety of flight inspections, and coordination of specialized maintenance. He also was responsible for providing on-the-job training for less experienced troops on those inspections techniques.

His outstanding support in his primary duties reaped huge dividends for the U.S. led global war on terrorism, Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. His dedication to his country and his flag, his love of the Air Force, and the pride he displayed in doing his job insired his peers. He was a friend to many, a proud and professional NCO, and a hero to his family and loved ones. He will be sorely missed.

He is survived by his mother, Marcella, and his father, Antonio Iriarte, his sister Tonie Iriarte-Jenkins and her husband Dale Jenkins along with niece and nephew Bailey Kathleen Iriarte-Jenkins and Alex Iriarte-Jenkins.

Pontiac's Final Hi-Performance T/A 6.6, Part II.
By John Witzke, POCI Tech Advisor W72 Performance Package 1977 T/A 6.6 Engine

MAIN BEARING CAPS
A little know fact was the use of slotted spring pin main bearing caps on T/A 6.6 engines in place of the solid dowel type used on the base 6.6 Litre engine block. These spring pins are said to help reduce crankshaft thrust stress during high RPM conditions.

OIL PUMP AND PAN
In place of the 35-40 psi oil pump used on the standard 6.6 Litre engines, a higher capacity 60-psi oil @ 2600 RPM pump was specified for the T/A 6.6 engine. The T/A 6.6 engines also received a baffled oil pan. These internal baffles help reduce oil starvation during hard acceleration, braking and cornering.
The change to the higher capacity oil pump insured that all vital engine parts received plenty of lube pressure during higher RPM conditions. It appears that this higher capacity oil pump could be identified by paint code. Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, I have been unable to determine the original color of this paint code.

HORSEPOWER & TORQUE
Like all engines of the same period, the horsepower and torque ratings for the T/A 6.6 engines were calculated using net ratings. The net (brake horsepower) ratings reflected the engine horsepower and torque with accessories and corrected to 85 degrees F and 29.36 in. Hg atmospheric pressure. For 1977 the SAE net horsepower rating was 200 @ 3,600 rpm and 325 net lbs. ft torque @ 2,200 rpm (2,400 rpm with 4-speed). For 1978 and 1979 the SAE net horsepower was 220 @ 4,000 rpm and 320 net lbs. ft torque @ 2,800 rpm.

CARBURETOR
A Rochester 800-CFM Quadra-Jet carburetor, model M4MC was used on all 1977-79 T/A 6.6 engines. The barrel sizes are 1.218 primary and 2.25 secondary. All T/A 6.6 carburetors use specific primary jets and metering rods that differ from the base 400 engines and are specific to year and transmission. However, all carburetors used the same lean secondary metering rod stamped DB. The secondary hanger varies for each carburetor. The T/A 6.6 engines used the shortest hanger per each carburetor to ensure the quickest operation of the secondary. The hanger letter code was originally marked with a black marker and is located on the backside of the carburetor. In addition, all 1977-79 W72 engines used a foam-insulated fuel line from the carburetor to the fuel pump.

AIR CLEANER
Not only did the air cleaners used on the T/A 6.6 engines differ between the Trans Am and Formula, the style also differed between 1977 and 1978-79. The air cleaner used on the 1977 T/A 6.6 engines was the same trumpet style used on the base 1977-78 400 engines. The 1978-79 version air inlet was flatter and slightly wider than the thinner, more oval 1977 version. The 1978-79 T/A 6.6 air cleaners used a specific air cleaner duct snorkel adapter, however, the air intake flexible duct, was the same used on all 400 engines. All 1977-79 T/A 6.6 engines used air cleaner filter A542C with an outer black foam covering. The air cleaner two-digit letter code is located in box number fifty-three on the factory build sheet. These two-digit letter codes are as follows; 1977 Trans Am (RE), 1977 Formula (RF), 1978-79 Trans Am (PJ), and 1978-79 Formula (PH). In addition, these codes are located on the air cleaner decal Keep your GM car all GM.

CYLINDER HEADS
Contrary to popular belief, there were at least two different 6X cylinder head designs produced between 1975 ½ and 1978. The base L78 400 engines from 1975 ½ through 1978 used the larger combustion chamber cast iron alloy 6X #8 cylinder heads that measured between 98-101 ccs. The T/A 6.6 engine used the smaller combustion chambered cast iron alloy 6X #4 cylinder heads from the Pontiac 350-cid 2bbl engine. According to several sources, the cylinder head volume of the 6X #4 heads has been measured between 91-93 ccs. Officially, Pontiac advertised the cylinder head volume measurements for the 6X #4 heads at 93.74ccs. These cylinder heads helped increase the static compression ratio on the 400-cid engines from 7.6:1 to 8:1. Although, it has been rumored, that the true compression ratio on a T/A 6.6 engine is around 8.5:1.

Both 6X #4 and #8 cylinder heads used intake valves measuring 2.107-2.113, with a seat angle of 30 degrees and face angle of 29 degrees. The exhaust valves measured 1.657-1.663, with a seat angle of 45 degrees and a face angle of 44 degrees. In addition, both 6X cylinder heads used dual valve springs, screw-in studs and 1.50 rocker arms. The 6X #4 cylinder heads can be identified externally by the number 4 stamped on the topside of a flat machine boss pad located towards the top front of the driver side head and the top rear of the passenger side head. This boss pad is just below the rocker cover and between the end and center exhaust ports just above the brass temperature gauge fitting. In comparison the 6X #8 cylinder heads will have the number 8 stamped in place of a 4.

In Part III, we will look at camshaft specifications, transmissions, axle ratios, and exhaust and production figures so please stay tuned.