What if ???
John Delorean was Prez of Pontiac.

Here is my take on what he'd do with the 1984 TA.


It's October 1981. The first third generation firebirds are being sold and the reports are coming in from critics and new owners alike, the car NEEDS more power. The cross-fire 165 hp 305 has left pontiac fans wanting. The common phrase "All show, no go" comes up quite a bit to describe these cars. But this lack of power predicament can be traced back to the oil embargo, insurance coverage problems, and EPA regulatory cursing for the last 10 years.

John Delorean, President of Pontiac Motor Co. sat down with his design team for Pontiacs F-body to discuss this issue. Having designed the Firebird himself, Mr Delorean took the lackluster performance of this new generation of Firebird very personal, some would call it borderline obsessive compulsive.

"I was driving my 1982 Recaro TA around Oakland the other day and a Datsun 240ZX blew my doors off!!!! That is completely unacceptable!!!" Mr. Delorean said.

"I know that the Turbo 4.9 was our last V-8 motor, I want to build something better, something that will be a limited edition for 1 year only. And I want it for my 1984 model year. " "it is up to you to design an engine that will give me 400hp/tq and it will need to be fueled by the CCC quadrajet carburetor to get the Engine to pass those damn EPA regs!" I want this next engine to be the Super Duty 455 of the 1980's!

So the idea of the SD355 HO 1984 Y84 Trans Am SE was born!

They started with a 350 roller small block design that was reserved for the future C4 Corvette.

The ideas of the engine specific design was done with engineers from other parts of GM. Some GMC truck motor engineers have been working on a new swirl port cylinder head design called "Vortec". It's strong mid range torque capability makes it ideal for spirited streetlight to streetlight driving. It was years ahead in its design and was a stepping stone to the design of future GM V-8 small blocks that were to be built well into the 21st century. These cylinder heads were able to flow air much more efficiently than current stock and aftermarket heads of 1981.

The next was the cam design. Aggressive cam profile was the rule. 226/234 112 were the most aggressive cam specs that the team figured can work with the Computer Controlled qjet.

The Computer had to be reworked to accept a wider timing range, this new computer would also help the performance of the lesser powered L69 305 which was a common option and suitable replacement for the cross-fire injected 305. The new ECM consisted of 350 knock sensor and module, specifically designed PROM and the new computer itself.

New lower control arms, panhard bar, inner and outer subframe connectors, adjustable shocks, wonder bar, 4 wheel disc brakes, aluminum driveshaft, beefed up T-5 and 10 bolt rear end with larger axles and alloy cover helped keep the car together.

Gold laced 16" wheels that were going to be rolled out in 1986 were to be rolled out for the 1984 TA SE.

And of course, Recaro seats.

 

You mean the man that came up with the DeLorean? The car that had a small motor from the start? Or the 67 Firebird Sprint? The car with a piddly 6 cylinder when most muscle of the era was sporting big block motors. I feel if anything he would just try to squeeze more out of a 6 than try to make an 8 have more pony under the hood.

 

And I don't think he would say his doors were blown off by a Datsun 240ZX. There was no such thing.

 

Edit- Datsun 240Z

 

Come on guys, it's all hypothetical so roll with it. Sure, there wasn't a 240ZX, but there could have been. Or maybe he meant to say 280ZX. Anyway, keeping with the theme, why wouldn't DeLorean have used the corvette motor? I know it came out with cross-fire injection in '81 I believe. But I like where you are going with this. The Firebird T/A could have been a much more potent car when it first came out. It eventually did start coming around in 1985. Remember that during those years GM thought the 350 would go away and were putting all their collective marbles into the 305 for economy. The 350 was putting out too much torque for the unibody and the GM engineers knew that there would be issues. The bean counters didn't want to spend the money for subframe connectors because they wanted to keep the price point close to the Mustang. But, I'm sure that John D. would have had his whiz kids come up with something in a limited run.

Mr. Peabody, fire up the Wayback Machine, we're going to make this happen!

 

Good point about the DeLorean car that had the V-6. We will never know what he would have done with the third gen birds, but suffice it to say, he may have been more passionate about it. That is what I was trying to convey and that is how I framed my own build for my 84 TA.

 

Im glad SOMEONE got the idea. Its fun to contemplate and its really not too far fetched

 

Keep in mind as well that since GM didnt have a 1983 Corvette, there was no "glass ceiling" during that year for the Trans Am to be hindered by.

 

While there was no 83 model year Corvette that wasn't intended so even if that "glass ceiling" did exist, you wouldn't of had some all out Firebird in 83 or 84. By the time they realized there would be no 83 MY it was too late to do anything about it by anyone else. 84 Corvette production started in Jan of 84, so it wasn't like there was a large gap in time between the end of C3 production (which I couldn't find the date for) and the beginning of C4 production.

 

The 350 wasn't putting out too much torque for the unibody. The official 1982 Camaro Pace Car had a modified 350 in it without body mods. It produced 310 lb ft of torque in the 1982 body.

 

I realize this is all in fun, and I'd love to play along too, but as the Owner, CEO and President of his own company, in complete control, no longer a "yes man," nobody telling him what he couldn't do or what he had to do, able to do whatever he wanted to do, he still didn't try to do any of that to his own product, so I don't think he would've tried to do those things if he had stayed at GM.

The PRV engine he chose to use in his car was a fuel-injected V6 with only 130hp, built by one of the worst manufacturers in the history of the automobile. Part of his leaving GM was so he could make his own decisions and build whatever he wanted to build, and that's what he came up with?

Maybe that was just an inexpensive way to get his creation into the market, then once established, he'd planned for something more exciting? Or perhaps his extracurricular activities were affecting his decision-making, and it turned-out better for us that he left GM. Regardless, even if there had never been a DeLorean, it's doubtful that Doc's time-machine would've been a 3rdgen lol.

 

I'm somewhat surprised by the level of push back on this "alternative reality" possibility that I see in some of the posts above, which is everyone's right to feel and state...it's all in the name of fun.


Having said that... I built my car up with the same premise that was brought up. Using an existing platform and engine parts out of a GM parts bin (some dated years from 1984, some around the same time frame) and some aftermarket suspension pieces to extract a significant increase in quality and performance.

 

I prefer the alternate reality that they didn't kill the 301 turbo and it survived until EFI became sophisticated enough for it to work really well. I have an 82 TA that I've considered building to that reality.

 

The Turbo 301. Perfected. That would have been interesting.

 

The Turbo Pontiac was supposed to come in the 1982 Firebird, BUT GM Nixed it... I suppose it had to do with multiple factors, 1) The cost of making the same engines for multiple cars brings costs down. 2) Chevrolet probably pooped their pants and had a hissy fit because if they continued to develop it, chances are it would have beat the Corvette. 3) Emissions may have played a factor.

There was talk as early as 1982 of introducing a 4.3L V6 Turbo in the Camaro, and a 3.8L (Buick) Turbo in the Trans Am. The 3.8L Turbo of the Grand National finally came to fruition in 1989 in the TTA. The 4.3 Turbo made it's way into the Cyclone and Typhoon...

 

And into one prototype Camaro, but don't remember the year. I have the article.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0...kdSd2pEZ1lDZFE

 

4.3 Turbo would have been a beast in a 3rd gen! Them cyclones were a rocket on the road.

 

. . .stainless steel firebird with gull-wing doors?


lol.

 

Stainless steel with gull wing doors...

That's another story with an eccentric inventor, of course I suppose it's not too much of a stretch to consider John Delorean an eccentric inventor. Okay then, ramble on!