1972 Pontiac Trans Am - Topographic Temptress

Sriyantha Weerasuria's 1972 Pontiac Trans Am

Sriyantha Weerasuria (SW to his friends) owns an exotic-car dealership in Austin, Texas. The 53-year-old describes himself as a true car fanatic. "I presently own 14 cars, including two Ferraris, a Lamborghini, and a Porsche. I've always owned at least one Trans Am since my high school days and presently have a 1970 and a 1973. Even though I track a Ferrari and Porsche, no other car I own gives me the feeling I get when I drive the Trans Ams."
As a savvy car dealer, SW cruises the web daily searching for interesting cars at reasonable prices. "I'm constantly looking for Trans Ams too," he adds. "I came across a 1972 about five years ago on an Internet search. It was a four-speed, that had 54,000 miles, and looked to be a solid Texas car. I immediately contacted the listed owner only to discover he'd already sold it. He passed the new owner's information on to me, and we stayed in contact ever since. In 2013, the new owner decided to sell the car, and I jumped at the chance to buy it."

2/9 The original 3.42:1 gear set on the limited limited-slip carrier within the 8.5-inch GM 10-bolt differential has been replaced with 3.73:1 gears for improved grunt off the line. A Pypes exhaust system emits an authoritative bark.

Upon taking possession of his newest T/A, SW found the 1972 in excellent condition overall. It had'd been treated to a frame-off restoration in 2009 and still had its original red oxide primer visible throughout the entire undercarriage. The original engine had been professionally rebuilt, and the car was well-optioned, including air conditioning, power windows, tilt steering wheel, and Custom custom interior. "I was very pleased with the purchase and its shape, but wanted to add my own special touches," SW says. "The exterior looked very nice, but when compared to my other cars, it wasn't quite as glossy as I've come to expect. It was then that I decided to take the Trans Am completely apart and repaint it."
Griffith Metal Shaping in Austin disassembled the rust-free body and block-sanded all of its panels to ensure they were as straight as possible. Ofelio Guevara Paint & Body in Austin applied several coats of PPG base and clear. SW chose to refinish the Trans Am in modern GM Summit White as opposed to the original Cameo White because he prefers the brighter hue. The finish was sanded with papers varying from 800 to 2,500 and was polished using 3M products. The insides of the fenders, doors, and hood were painted Hot Rod Black and a reproduction accent stripe kit was applied.

3/9 These days, most hobbyists desire the early Second-gen Trans Am over other model years for its attractive appearance. This 1972 Trans Am is owned by SW of Austin, Texas, and was tastefully modified to create a sedate open-road cruiser.

During body reassembly, Griffith Metal Shaping replaced the original front suspension components with modern coil-over-shock assemblies from QA1. The original rear leaf springs were replaced by a pair from DSE, which reduce ride height by 3- inches. The stock 1.25- and 0.875-inch front and rear sway bars remain, but urethane bushings were used in place of the original rubber units.
A previous owner had Butler Performance in Leoma, Tennessee, rebuild the Trans Am's original 455 H.O. and it needed very little at the time of SW's purchase. The original WM block was honed and bore size remains at 4.15-inch. The main and rod journals of the stock, 4.21-inch stroke Nodular iron crankshaft were undersized by 0.010-inch each. Total displacement remains at 455 ci. Sealed Power forged pistons ride on stock-replacement forged-steel connecting rods from Eagle, and a high-volume Melling oil pump resides in the stock pan and pressurizes the lubrication system.
The stock, round-port number-7F6 cylinder heads were ported to flow 270/198 cfm at 0.600-inch lift. The castings were filled with Manley stainless steel valves in 2.11/1.77-inch Manley stainless steel valves, sizing and the deck surface was milled to produce a compression ratio of 9.5:1. Comp Cams valve springs control the action initiated by the Comp XE274H hydraulic flat-tappet camshaft, which features 230/236 degrees of duration at 0.050-inch intake durationtappet lift and a gross valve lift of 0.488/0.491-inch with the 1.5:1 ratio roller rocker arms from Comp Cams.

4/9 The numbers-matching 455 H.O. was rebuilt by Butler Performance. It's stuffed full of performance goodies, including ported cylinder heads, a high-lift camshaft, and tubular headers.

The Carb Shop supplied an NOS replacement Quadrajet carburetor. It sits atop a cast-aluminum number-488945 intake manifold ported by Butler Performance. An MSD Ready-To-Run distributor ignites the combustible mixture. Timing is set at 34- degrees at 2,800 rpm ignites the combustible mixture. Spent gasses are routed through 1.875-inch tubular headers from Doug's and a 2.5-inch exhaust system from Pypes featuring an X-type crossover and transverse-mounted muffler.
From start to finish, the entire project took just 60 days to complete. Of the result, SW remarks, "I just love Trans Ams and always wanted a 1972. This one is just amazing. I love the stance and the way the car drives and handles. The 455 H.O. sounds great and runs very strong."
Few will argue that SW could further improve on his Trans Am, but he found one area that will soon receive some attention. "I want to add a five-speed manual transmission with overdrive like a TKO-600 so I can cruise at 80 to 90 mph all day on the Texas highway." What away to enjoy the wide-open Texas topography!

5/9 With 54,000 miles on its odometer, the Trans Am's body was rust-free and simply in need of a fresh coat of paint to meet SW's stringent standards. Its suspension was modified to lower the stance by 2 to 3 inches.

9/9 To keep the passenger compartment cool during the sweltering Texas summers, SW installed a modern air-conditioning compressor from Old Air Products. It replicates the look of the original A-6 unit and reuses the factory brackets. The system is charged with R134a refrigerant.