A few months ago, we brought you the story of five very special GM F-bodies that were owned by five individuals who wanted something more from their cars than what the original LS1 provided.  When the LS-equipped Camaros and Firebirds were new, their factory-issue 305-325 HP seemed like a lot, but with today’s V6 ponycars producing that kind of power right off the showroom floor, those numbers almost seem irrelevant.  To the average consumer, 300+ horsepower is more than enough from a car, but to people like us, it isn’t

So what’s a fellow hot-rodder to do? Trade up for a new car and start the 60-month long debt process all over again, or keep what they have and mold that car into the street-fighter of their dreams? If you’re reading this article, it’s the latter! So enjoy the second and final installment of our story, a tale of ten gentlemen who not only elected to improve the performance of their cars, but to also add boost to the mix.

Tiago Salies – 1999 Trans Am

We kick things off with Tiago Salies and his Bright Red Metallic 1999 Trans Am. When Tiago originally moved here from Brazil several years ago, he already knew he wanted to own an LT1 Trans Am based off of a previous visit to the States from when he was a high-schooler. Unfortunately due to financial reasons, the closest he could get came to him in the form of a ’94 3.4L Firebird. While most would be content and bide their time cruising around in such a tame ride until they can actually afford their dream car, Tiago accepted the challenge; building a homemade turbo kit for the tiny V6 engine. The end result produced 350 RWHP, and put a smile on Tiago’s face – albeit temporarily.

When the time came for Tiago to graduate from college, he picked up the aforementioned ’99 T/A as a gift to himself. Now considering the fact that Tiago took the initiative to turbocharge a 160-horse Firebird, somehow, we’re not too surprised that his Trans Am realized that same fate. Tiago first installed a single T42 unit under the hood, but once the original LS1 decided it had enough abuse, Mr. Salies did only what was right; persevered and built a reinforced 346 with a forged bottom end. The new setup produced 12 PSI and using the stock heads and crankshaft, resulted in 614 RWHP and 130+ MPH trap speeds.

• Displacement: 427 CI
• Power Adder: Twin TC-76 turbos
• ET: 9.51 at 151
• Horsepower: 1058 at the wheels

But that soon felt “slow” to Tiago, so it was time once again to take things to the next realm.  Having a solid foundation from the previous build, Tiago installed a couple of 70MM turbos, a set of AFR heads, a Thunder Racing cam, and a carb-style Victor Jr. intake. With the boost still set at 12 pounds and running on pump gas, Tiago put down 820 on the rollers. After cranking up the boost to 18 PSI and dumping some 106-octane down the T/A’s filler neck too, he saw 952 to the tires!

Now this could be the end of Tiago’s story, but fortunately for him it isn’t. Tiago has since rebuilt the car from the ground up with a 427 LSX, using a forged Callies crank, Oliver billet rods, and Diamond pistons. The 7-liter engine also comes to the party with a custom cam, ETP 255 heads, the Victor Jr. intake from the last build, a 90mm throttle body, and everything is buttoned down with ARP hardware. Obviously, Tiago couldn’t rely on naturally-aspirated horsepower, so he once again fabricated a twin-turbo kit employing a pair of Turbonetics TC-76’s. A custom front mount intercooler helps keep the twins cool during aggressive sprints down the quarter mile, and the LSX drinks fuel via a Magnafuel pump, stainless steel lines, half-inch ID billet rails, and through a set of 96-pound Accelleronics injectors, while a Aeromotive boost reference regulator overlooks everything.

Getting all of the that power to the wheels is no problem at all with a Rossler-built Turbo 400, a 3.5-inch PST chromoly driveshaft, and a Moser 12-bolt rear end spinning 3.08 gears with a set of polished 18-inch CCW SP500 wheels getting it all to the pavement. Bringing all of this to a halt is a set of Z06 calipers, Hawk pads, and Baer rotors. To help Tiago both launch the T/A off of the line and take the corners, a full list of suspension components from BMR, UMI, PA Racing, Koni, Strano, Wolfe and Madman all do their duties to keep this car planted! Tiago also installed a Wolfe 6-point roll cage as well, not only to keep him safe, but keep him legal with NHRA rules while he’s making those mid-9 second passes. Yup, Tiago’s best pass to date is a 9.51 at 151 and his new record for a dyno-pull is 1058 RWHP as a result of all of his efforts.

Chris Ciszek – 1998 Trans Am

In a case of déjà vu comes another red Trans Am, this one from Chris Ciszek of Byron, Illinois. Chris’s Trans Am is a 1998 model, and it comes packing everything it needs to conquer the quarter including a fully forged 370 CI LQ9, a set of CNC-ported Patriot Performance 317 heads, a custom cam from Texas Speed, and most important of all, a Precision GT42-76mm turbo with a Tial 44mm wastegate and 50mm blow-off valve.

• Displacement: 370 CI
• Power Adder: 76mm turbo
• ET: 9.868 at 146.69
• Horsepower: 761 at the wheels

Chris’ T/A is fed air through a large front-mount intercooler followed by a Edelbrock 90mm throttle body and Edelbrock ProFlo XT intake manifold, while a set of ported truck exhaust manifolds and dumps are responsible for expelling the used gases. Speaking of which, this thing drinks high-test via twin Walbro 340 fuel pumps with the help of a Racetronix hot-wire harness. Once the Walbros set to work, the fuel is then fed through a -8an line through a Fuelab in-line filter and a set of Speed Inc. fuel rails and FIC Bosch 95PPH injectors. A Forge Performance boost-referenced fuel pressure regulator helps keep the thirsty LQ9 fed.

With 110 octane leaded gas in the tank and pushing 17 PSI, the T/A made 761.11 horsepower and 686.65 pound-feet to the rear tires. Obviously an unmodified transmission wouldn’t be able to handle the healthy dose of extra power, so Chris swapped in a built Turbo 400 with a trans-brake and a converter sourced from Midwest Converters.

All of this extra power wouldn’t mean squat if Chris couldn’t get the ‘Bird to hook up, so he and his buddy, Sean Smyth who helped build the car, installed a complete array of suspension pieces from Midwest Chassis and Strange double-adjustable coil-overs in the front. Looking to the rear, a Midwest Chassis sway bar, a set of stock springs, and Competition Engineering 3-way drag shocks help keep the Trans Am planted off the line.

Bringing all of this power to a halt would require much more than the factory braking system, so Chris and Sean installed a manual master cylinder and a 4-wheel disc brake arrangement from Strange Engineering, along with a set of custom stainless steel lines. A set of Champion wheels (15×3 fronts, 15×10 rears) wrapped in Mickey Thompson sticky rubber make the connection to the road.

Chris’ car was put on a diet courtesy of a fiberglass hood sourced from VFN, a lightweight racing interior carpet, Kirkey aluminum racing seats, and a carbon fiber switch panel and B&M ratchet shifter helps drop a few unnecessary pounds off the weight of the ‘bird, while a Midwest 10-point cage, RJS 5-point racing harnesses and a Stroud window net help keep Chris safe on his brief, but ferocious jaunts down the 1320. There’s even a Stroud ‘chute in the back to help those Strange brakes stop the T/A. There are other odds and ends that complete the package, but frankly, we could be here all day going through the details of this car.

Anthony Green – 1998 Formula

We ended up running into Anthony Green and his 1998 Formula at a recent dyno day in Columbus, Ohio, and we must say it was a pleasant surprise. First off, it’s a rare color; 1-of-124 Chameleon Green Formulas ever produced. Although we find it somewhat ironic and a little amusing that the owner’s last name matched the color of his car, the downright overall sickness of this car is no laughing matter. It’s not every day that you run into a Chameleon Green Formula; rarer still is one powered by a ProCharger P-1SC-1 blown LS1.

• Displacement: 5.7L
• Power Adder: P-1SC-1 centrifugal supercharger
• ET: 10.33 at 130.56 MPH
• Horsepower: 618 at the wheels

What we found equally impressive is the fact that Anthony’s car makes 618 horsepower and 562 pound-feet to the rear wheels –even with a completely stock block and bottom end! The only actual internal engine mods to the motor itself (besides the blower, obviously) are a trick Comp cam with the complimentary valvetrain, and a set of port-matched 72cc 6.0 LQ9 heads, bolted down on top of a set of MLS 5.7 head gaskets. Of course, relying on the stock oil pump would be foolish, so an SLP ported LS6 unit was installed during the build.

The only other upgrades are a factory LS6 intake manifold that sits behind an Edelbrock 80mm throttle body, along with a set of Scorpion 1.8 rocker arms that sit under the valve covers. Focusing our attention back to the blower and you’ll find that ProCharger pumping out 13 PSI, thanks to the Reichard Racing 3.4-inch pulley and MMS overdrive crank pulley. An IPS Motorsports front-mount intercooler helps keep the huffer at cooler temps, while an LT1 radiator, Jegs/Zirgo dual fans, and a 160 degree thermostat keeps that engine cool.

While the LS1 is forced fed air via the blower, a set of MAC mid-lengths and a custom set of true duals make sure the spent fumes are spewed out of the engine in a quick fashion. Speaking of quick, this thing has ripped through the quarter mile in a best time of 10.33 at 130.56 MPH. But Mr. Green couldn’t get there without a solid foundation, so a Level 5 RPM 4L65E transmission was enlisted for shifting duties, with a Circle-D billet 3C 3800 stall converter helps rev this beast off of the starting line at the drag strip.

The power is then transferred to a 3.5-inch aluminum 1LE driveshaft that was sourced from a third gen, and into the factory 10-bolt rear end, if you can believe that!  The only reinforcements Anthony has made to the stock axle are a Zexel-Torsen HD diff,  3.73 cogs, and a T/A girdle –impressive, if you ask us!

This monster drinks Sunoco 93 through dual in-tank Walbro 340m/342s fuel pumps, Speed Inc. fuel rails, Jegs supply lines, and to keep everything in check and pumping smoothly, a Caspers hot-wire harness and an Aeromotive boost-referenced fuel pressure regulator with a custom tune are required.

Completing the package and helping Mr. Green keep his green Formula planted to the ground comes by way of a stock suspension setup in the front with the only modification being a set of Energy Suspension poly sway bar end-links, while the rear is a completely different story altogether. There you will find a pair of 8-way adjustable KYB shocks and V6 F-body springs, along with a BMR adjustable torque arm, lower control arms, adjustable Panhard rod, UMI relocation brackets, and Air Lift drag bags. But Anthony didn’t overlook the flexible uni-body chassis, so a boxed set of BMR subframe connectors were installed as well.

Rolling stock consists of Brake Specialties front and rear cross-drilled and slotted rotors sitting behind either a set of 15-inch Weld ProStars for drag strip duty, or a set of Y2K C5 magnesium wheels measuring 17-inches in the front and 18-inches in the rear whenever he feels like tearing up the streets. Mr. Green’s Formula seriously makes us green with envy.

Evan Dilworth – 2001 WS6

The ninth car in our two-part story belongs to our friend Evan Dilworth, from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and although Evan’s car looks pretty much stock on the outside, the truth lies within his 2001 WS6 Trans Am that he took on a trade with an ’86 IROC-Z and some cash as the bargaining chips. Pop open that hood and you’ll be greeted with an LS1 with over 100k miles on the clock, but that doesn’t mean this crate is worn out –far from it, actually. The stock cube, stock bottom end motor is holding up just fine, thanks in part to a ported LS6 oil pump and a top end refreshing.

• Displacement: 350 CI
• Power Adder: D-1SC centrifugal supercharger
• ET: Pending his first trip to the dragstrip!
• Horsepower: 615 at the wheels

Of course when we say refreshing, what we really mean is Evan installed a set of ported TEA Stage 1.5 241 heads, ARP head bolts, and rod bolts. Also, out came the factory cam, and in its place went in a Comp 228/228 bumpstick, complimented by a set of Comp 918 springs.  Shifting duties are left to a Liberty-built, heavy-duty T56, and a Centerforce dual-friction clutch.

At this juncture, we’re sure you’re anxious to find out what sort of power adder Evan relies on, and we’re happy to tell you that this car is packing a ProCharger D-1SC blower with a custom front-mount intercooler. The results speak for themselves, as 615 horsepower and 561 pound-feet were the final numbers that popped up on the dyno sheet. However, these numbers were realized at 10.73 pounds of boost with a 3.6-inch pulley, while a 3.8-incher is what Mr. Dilworth uses around town.

But all of this couldn’t be done without adequate fuel pressure, so a pair of Walbro/Racetronix 255 in-tank pumps and a hot-wire harness make up the foundation of the fuel system, as a set of 60-pound injectors squirt the go-go juice into the engine.  While Walbro and Racetronix are responsible for adding fuel, the factory LS6 intake remains in place to help the ProCharger inhale all of that air, while a set of ceramic coated long tube Pace Setter headers, an X-pipe and dual three inch pipes feeding into a pair of 4-inch diameter Magnaflow mufflers expel the remaining gases.

Rounding out the package are a set of Eibach springs (Sportlines in the front, Pro-Kit in the rear), 19-inch HP EVO wheels, a 10-point cage, and a set of subframe connectors; those last two are necessary when you’re trying to set some respectable times at the track. At press time, Evan’s ride was still sporting the factory 10-bolt with 3.73 gears, but future plans call for a 9-inch swap, along with some additional tuning.

Dwayne Shultz – 2000 Trans Am

At long last, we’re finally there; number ten in our story, and this one’s a doozie.  What you’re now looking at is a 2000 Trans Am owned by Dwayne Shultz out of Augusta, Georgia, and his car is a little on the extreme side of the spectrum. Let’s just put it this way; it’s a purpose built, professionally built drag car that packs 427 CI and a couple of turbos. Yes, really. The turbochargers in question put out an undisclosed amount of boost, and are actually a pair of 88’s that have been downsized to 80mm.

While Dwayne was more inclined to speak about his eighth-mile accomplishments, rather than the specifics of his car’s setup, we did manage to get some details out of him. For starters, he picked the Pontiac up four years ago from a guy who had it built by Stenod Performance into a 25.5 certified drag machine. Unfortunately, the previous owner felt the car was a “bit too much” for him, so as a result he sold it to our friend Dwayne.

• Displacement: 427 CI
• Power Adder: Twin 88mm turbos
• ET: 4.82 at 155.49 MPH (1/8th mile)
• Horsepower: Undisclosed

Shultz has since had the car redone, and the 427 LSX that sits under that owner-installed WS6 hood was built from the ground up by Billy Briggs. The Powerglide transmission and torque converter were carefully assembled by the good folks at Cameron’s Torque Converter Services out of Columbia, South Carolina. All engine tuning and exhaust work was completed with the help of a BigStuff3 and AMS boost controller by Chris Tuten – also of Columbia, South Carolina.

The power is sent through an aluminum-centered, Ford 9-inch rear end and a set of 3.55 cogs that spin the rear axles.  Mr. Schultz claims the suspension is “stock-type” with a pair of Afco double-adjustable shocks keeping the rear wheels of the 3500 pound car planted to the pavement.

With just a taste of what Dwayne’s Trans Am is cooking, we do know that his current best eighth-mile run to date is a 4.82 at 155.49 MPH –whew! But none of this would have been possible without the help of everyone who contributed to the car’s build, not to mention Dwayne’s girlfriend, Jessica Bobinger, and his buddy Steven Wheatly. Dwayne also gives special credit to his tuner Chris, who persisted by poking and prodding the engine management system to squeeze out every ounce of available horsepower to help Shultz complete his goals.

Well there you have it, folks. A total of ten breathed-on Camaros and Firebirds for your reading enjoyment that have been built by guys like you and me with not much more than a dream, a little imagination, and lot of perseverance. Thus, proving that anything is possible and that anybody can own the quarter-mile terror that they’ve always dreamt about.

–Note: We didn’t intend to have every one of the last five cars for this story be of the Pontiac Firebird variety, it just happened that way. We apologize to all Camaro fans in advance!