1999 Pontiac Trans Am - White Lightning

"I've been a motorhead all my life, it started with Hot Wheels and model kits and has extended into an adult hobby that I truly enjoy. When I bought my Trans Am it had headers and was lowered, that's it. I knew I had to put my own personal touch into it." Since 2006, when Mike bought the car from the second owner, he has been careful to make modifications that add to the WS6's personality without stepping over the line and taking away from the Trans Am's original intent. "Each year, a new project" was Mike's goal and for '06, he started with just a clutch install. In early 2007, Mike installed a Flowmaster exhaust and QTP electric cutout for when he wanted to "raise hell" and he was happy with that until he met John Rutan of Rutan Performance, who, like every master accomplice, helped push Mike along, further than he could have gone by himself. "I had John give the car a tune. That started a friendship and the beginning of building this car." In late 2007 Mike installed a Texas Speed MS4 camshaft, an LS6 intake manifold and an LS2 timing chain, which was enough to help Mike's WS6 lay down 423-rwhp on a local college's dyno. "It ran mid-11's, but I knew there was more..."

What Mike would end up with is the engine you see here, a Scoggin Dickey 413 cubic-inch "El Torro Grande" short-block, an engine built by Scoggin Dickey Performance Center using a stroked LS2 stuffed with a 4.100-inch Callies crankshaft, Scat I-beam connecting rods and Manley forged pistons. Never one to leave well enough alone, Mike decided to add a set of ported and polished All Pro 245cc cylinder heads to the new engine, along with a custom camshaft designed by Patrick G., which was cut on an aggressive 251/254 duration at .050-inches with .623/.623-inches of lift and a lopey 112 LSA. While waiting for his new engine to arrive, Mike took the time to tear down the front of his WS6 and painted the entire engine compartment gloss white, to help it match the gorgeous factory exterior, which he had restored using nothing but elbow grease and a couple days worth of his time. While under the hood, Mike hid the factory wiring harness that usually runs down the passenger side of the bay and managed to sneak a tubular K-member down below the factory frame rails, which he hung with a pair of Strange coilovers before dropping the new 413 cubic-inch bullet in place. At Big 3 Racing near Cleveland, Ohio Mike's new combination laid down a stout 520-rwhp and 457 lb-ft of torque on Big 3's in-house Mustang dyno, which was validation enough of how well the SDPC engine combination and custom camshaft really worked.