When there's that much entertainment associated with one car,
it's only fitting that one car have so much entertainment within
it. Chris Toffen's Trans-Am features a dvd/cd/mp3 system that
is controlled through an in-dash seven-inch touch screen and
outputs to Alpine speakers, multiple LCD video screens and JL
subs and amplifiers; all in custom crafted enclosures.
"I've always been a big audio guy, not so much a video
guy," he continued. "I always liked my music to
sound good and be loud. Then the video thing, I always knew
I wanted some of it, but I had no idea I'd have as much as
I do now."
Toffen said his plans for the car always included a heavy
dose of A/V. After the crew at Advance Electronics helped
him fulfill that requirement, he decided to take the vehicle's
performance to the next level.
"I planned on doing a lot of audio to it when I first
got it, but on the performance side I didn't really have any
plans," he said. "I'd worked on a '68 Camaro 454
that my buddy had, and as you work on the cars that are fast
you want yours to go faster."
While 2002 would be the last year the famous model would
be produced, Pontiac decided to celebrate the car's 35th anniversary
by making it one of the fastest ever produced.
From the factory the Trans Am sported the now notorious 5.7
litre LS1 small block V8 more commonly associated with the
Corvette. Its all aluminum design was matched with ram air,
high flow intake and performance clutch to produce 325 HP
out of the box.
Inspired by working on the 454, Toffen added a Vortech supercharger
and fuel pump to provide nine psi of boost, after cooler,
K&N air filter, custom exhaust and racing programs to
push the beefy 325 HP car to an astounding 500 HP. To get
that extra power to the pavement he further added SLP sub-frame
connectors, BMR lower control arms, front and rear sway bars
and low profile tires."I've opened it up before a couple
of times with the supercharger, and all I can say is that
it hauls ass," Toffen explained. "It buries the
needle."
While Toffen admitted that there would always be room for
improvement on the car, one area that can't be improved is
the factory stock metallic orange paint, a colour that is
frequently mistaken for a custom job. However, just because
it came from the factory doesn't take away from its definite
eye-appeal, and relative rarity. It was enough to turn Toffen
away from the tried-and-true colour that he'd always pictured
on his dream car. "I wanted a black one for the longest
time, but then I saw this colour," he said. "It's
a different colour, it looks good, and there aren't too many
of them around."
As for the next project on the last of the line model of
Trans-Am, Toffen had a few ideas, but for now, the major projects
can be shelved long enough to enjoy the fruits of his labour.
"There's a few more things I want to do," Toffen
said.
"Headers, a body kit maybe. But right now, I'm kind
of in the 'take a break from spending all my cash on the car'
thing. I'm pretty happy where it is now."
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