The Red Bird

If you talk about iconic muscle cars long enough, the Pontiac Trans Am will inevitably become part of the conversation. For over thirty years, it captured the imagination of the American public whether on the big screen, the television screen, or black marks left on the asphalt! It doesn’t matter if it was Burt Reynolds, David Hasselhoff, or your crazy uncle. Someone in your life had a screaming chicken, and you wanted it! But the big question is…was the last generation the best?

There’s no doubt the 4th and final generation Pontiac Trans Am was a serious performer right out of the box. But it really came alive in 1998 when GM fitted the venerable LS1 in the F-Body. Unfortunately, time and miles have not been kind to many of these. However, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because it means they are now affordable to most gearheads. To demonstrate the incredible potential of these cars, Stacey takes a road-weary 98 Trans Am and begins to transform it into a stout performance machine. Fittingly named project “Red Bird”, this build focuses on how you can improve the handling of a 4th gen F-body on a budget by installing aftermarket front and rear suspension, front subframe, torque arm, and more.