2000 Pontiac Trans AM - Bigger Is Not Always Better

To Hear A Woman Utter The Words:"Bigger is Not Always Better" would send shivers down the core of both the pharmaceutical and voodoo/magic-potion purveyors pandering to the fragile male ego. But wait, this isn't about "that" subject, but rather the quest of our heroine, one Michelle Skyy-Santana, to buck the trend and make her F-body run 10s with a little old stock bottom-end LS1. No monster cam, no power adders, no chop-shop surgery, just old-school naturally aspirated power and a lethal combination. Michelle has owned F-bodies since she was 17 and started out with a conservative V-6 powered '95 Camaro before the performance bug bit and an LT1-powered '97 Formula drew her in. It wasn't until the LS1-based F-bodies were out a few years that Michelle started looking for a good candidate to replace the Formula. As luck would have it, the stars aligned: She found a used, auto-equipped '00 T/A online at a local GM dealer in '02. In addition to being in good condition, the T/A was stock-and more importantly, shot in the rare factory Chameleon Green hue. According to Michelle: "Finding this green T/A ranks right up there as one of the best days of my life."

As the co-owner of a mobile mechanic business with her husband Sean, it wasn't long before learning about the inner workings of an LS1 became a nightly ritual, spiced up with some bolt-ons to enhance the educational experience. As the accumulated knowledge and bolt-ons accelerated, so too did the quest for power. It wasn't until late fall in '04 that the T/A was first launched at the dragstrip. "I knew that day that I wanted to spend my free time being a drag racer," Michelle said.

The journey from lightly modded LS1 to a consistent 10-second bracket racer came with the all-too-often-told tale of mismatched parts, dubious high-performance transmission rebuilds, and the wisdom to disregard the pack mentality and build your own combo. Rather than try to build the fastest stock-block LS1 in the land, the goal was instead to become one of the best bracket racers. In order to achieve those goals, it takes both seat time, talent, and a bulletproof combination.

As with most street cars that morph into lethal bracket racers, the engine, drivetrain, and suspension have been upgraded in a series of moves both to increase power and replace failed parts. From a build standpoint, the stock-block was retained and the initial round of modifications transformed the car into a cam-only combination that featured a mild Crane cam, headers, aftermarket Cat-Back (after-cat), and stock 10-bolt with 4.11 gears. Not long after, the stock 4L60E gave out, relegating her to runner-up honors in a local bracket-race with a forfeit. After getting the transmission rebuilt, it was the perfect time to install a higher-stall converter and upgrade the exhaust to a Texas Speed & Performance true dual system. Although the transmission lasted only four passes, the car ran 7.30s in the eighth-mile and 11.30s in the quarter. Not bad for a street-legal car that had a mild cam and a stock suspension that had been supplemented with just a Spohn adjustable torque arm and BMR lower control arms with slicks. After rebuilding the transmission with yet another service provider, the stock 10-bolt shattered at the '06 edition of the Texas Fastest Streetcar Shakedown on the top end of the track. As luck would have it, the car didn't slam into the wall. However, since Michelle was hooked on bracket racing, a Moser 12-bolt with 35-spline axles and a steel spool along with 4.56 gears took up residence. Not long after that, the transmission came apart yet again. While the transmission was out, Michelle made the decision to get serious about getting the car into the 10s and purchased a '99 C5 as a daily driver.

Michelle Skyy-Santana proudly poses beside her '00 T/A. "Without the support of my husband and our sponsors we would have never taken the T/A down into the 10s," Michelle said. "Although going faster is certainly a goal, the real satisfaction comes at the track when I cut a near-perfect light and roll through the rounds to collect cash awards. If I can drive each round as consistent as the car performs, I can continue making progress toward achieving multiple bracket championships." Recent accomplishments include a National event win in class at the Pontiac Southern Nationals and a runner-up in the 11.0 index class at the Clash of the Titans.

A diminutive 346 cubic-inch LS1 resides between the fenders. The engine features AFR 205cc Mongoose Street heads with 59cc chambers that have raised the compression to 11.8:1. A FAST intake and 90mm throttle body tops off the engine that was expertly speed-density tuned by Sean Freese of Corvettes of Dallas. It expels exhaust through a set of Pacesetter 1.75-inch ceramic-coated headers into a Texas Speed true-dual exhaust that absolutely shrieks when the byproducts of combustion exit the Dynomax bullet mufflers.

Texas Raceway in Kennedale, Texas, was the site of our test sessions and is famous for hot-and-heavy bracket racing. After warming the T/A up, Michelle brake-torques the Hoosier drag slicks until they are good and sticky and then stages the car for one of her 450-plus runs at the track.