..not so sure. If the Hot Rod Magazine part is true, it'd be cool to see some scans of it. I mean, not every car in a magazine is worth something, but sounds like it might have a neat history behind it.
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/mld/cto/4017568666.html
The grammar is appalling though...
Why do people always do the transmaro thing? Trans_Maro can you answer?
lol its on blocks too.
It's redneck. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
looks like a solid foundation for a good car for a not too bad price...
so remind me again what's so "redneck" about this, and also why that's a bad thing?
CLynn85 wrote: The grammar is appalling though...
Plus he can't even spell the name of where he lives correctly. 
DirtyBird222 wrote: Why do people always do the transmaro thing? Trans_Maro can you answer?
My guess is for similar reasons to the Sileighty - someone wrecked it and parts from a different model happened to bolt on and be readily available.
Just add mullet.
DirtyBird222 wrote: Why do people always do the transmaro thing? Trans_Maro can you answer?
I only deal with second-gen car so here goes:
Chevy guy with bowtie tunnel vision buys himself a Camaro that's all grown up. This car is called a "Trans-Am"
You see, the T/A comes stock with all the stuff you need to add to a Camaro to make it fun and fast. Bigger engine, more torque, stiffer springs and swaybars and a nicer interior.
Unfortunately, Chevy owners don't understand that torque trumps horsepower and they see a strange engine under the hood that seems to make all it's power below 3000 rpm.
This is confusing and scary to the average Chevrolet owner and rather than learn about it, they simply yank out the offending 400 cubic inch torque-monster and install the mighty Chevrolet Three-fiddy in it's place.
What they didn't realise is the huge difference between the two engines and they now hack into the factory wiring harness with house wire and marettes in an attempt to extend the Pontiac starter and alternator wiring over to the starter and alternator which Chevrolet has installed on the wrong side of the engine.
Usually, they also end up doing the very desireable manual-to-automatic transmission conversion at the same time. Again this is because of the "Hurr-durr, they're the same car ain't they?" school of thought that generates the Trans-Maro in the first place.
The conversion happens because the bellhousing that was carefully crafted by the General Motors School For The Gifted was designed to work with Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac and Cadillac. Being the wayward, red-headed stepchild of GM, Chevrolet wanted none of that and designed their own bellhousing.
So, the TH-350 automatic is also transferred from the same smog-choked 1983 pickup truck that donated it's mighty 105hp 350-2 barrel to the drag-strip terror that will be the Cheviac Trans-Maro.
This is how a Trans-Maro is created.
One day the owner of the mighty Trans-Maro hopes to install the holy grail of Chevrolet engineering, the world beating 383 hermaphrodite-stroker!
The 383 herm-stroker is the unholy child of the 350 and 400 engines.
You see, in the Chevy world, displacement doesn't matter, it's all about confusing combinations.
You take a crank from a 400 cubic inch motor and put it in a 350 cubic inch motor. Somehow, this is actually better than just having the 400 in the first place!
The Chevrolet world is a strange and confusing one, it breeds really strange cars when Chevy owners actually start looking at the other cars in GM's stable and wondering what potential they have.
This is how my own, personal Trans-Maro was created, it was my first T/A and my first Trans-Maro.
The misguided and I can only assume, inbred previous owner of thes car was also taught the "they're all the same" mentality and installed the very mightiest of smallblocks into the car I purchased from him.
It was equipped with the world-beating Chevrolet 267! All the stroke of the 305 with none of the bore! Another engineering feat!
I'm ashamed to admit that I soiled this bastion of automotive inbreeding by removing the Chevy infection and installing a 389 4-barrel from a 1964 Bonneville.
That is the story of the Trans-Maro. A mythical beast like the Jackelope and the Sidehill-gouger.
Trans_Maro wrote:DirtyBird222 wrote: Why do people always do the transmaro thing? Trans_Maro can you answer?I only deal with second-gen car so here goes: Chevy guy with bowtie tunnel vision buys himself a Camaro that's all grown up. This car is called a "Trans-Am" You see, the T/A comes stock with all the stuff you need to add to a Camaro to make it fun and fast. Bigger engine, more torque, stiffer springs and swaybars and a nicer interior. Unfortunately, Chevy owners don't understand that torque trumps horsepower and they see a strange engine under the hood that seems to make all it's power below 3000 rpm. This is confusing and scary to the average Chevrolet owner and rather than learn about it, they simply yank out the offending 400 cubic inch torque-monster and install the mighty Chevrolet Three-fiddy in it's place. What they didn't realise is the huge difference between the two engines and they now hack into the factory wiring harness with house wire and marettes in an attempt to extend the Pontiac starter and alternator wiring over to the starter and alternator which Chevrolet has installed on the wrong side of the engine. Usually, they also end up doing the very desireable manual-to-automatic transmission conversion at the same time. Again this is because of the "Hurr-durr, they're the same car ain't they?" school of thought that generates the Trans-Maro in the first place. The conversion happens because the bellhousing that was carefully crafted by the General Motors School For The Gifted was designed to work with Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac and Cadillac. Being the wayward, red-headed stepchild of GM, Chevrolet wanted none of that and designed their own bellhousing. So, the TH-350 automatic is also transferred from the same smog-choked 1983 pickup truck that donated it's mighty 105hp 350-2 barrel to the drag-strip terror that will be the Cheviac Trans-Maro. This is how a Trans-Maro is created. One day the owner of the mighty Trans-Maro hopes to install the holy grail of Chevrolet engineering, the world beating 383 hermaphrodite-stroker! The 383 herm-stroker is the unholy child of the 350 and 400 engines. You see, in the Chevy world, displacement doesn't matter, it's all about confusing combinations. You take a crank from a 400 cubic inch motor and put it in a 350 cubic inch motor. Somehow, this is actually better than just having the 400 in the first place! The Chevrolet world is a strange and confusing one, it breeds really strange cars when Chevy owners actually start looking at the other cars in GM's stable and wondering what potential they have. This is how my own, personal Trans-Maro was created, it was my first T/A and my first Trans-Maro. The misguided and I can only assume, inbred previous owner of thes car was also taught the "they're all the same" mentality and installed the very mightiest of smallblocks into the car I purchased from him. It was equipped with the world-beating Chevrolet 267! All the stroke of the 305 with none of the bore! Another engineering feat! I'm ashamed to admit that I soiled this bastion of automotive inbreeding by removing the Chevy infection and installing a 389 4-barrel from a 1964 Bonneville. That is the story of the Trans-Maro. A mythical beast like the Jackelope and the Sidehill-gouger.
it doesn't always happen that way... sometimes they make the car better with a 454..
and i believe the Chevy bellhousing design came first- 1955 on the V8, maybe earlier on the I6- and it was the BOP cabal that got together to say "herpa derp. we don't wanna be like them" and used a different pattern for no real reason other than "it's different than Chevy"..
ultimately, the Chevy engine designs outlasted their BOP cousins by a couple of decades, and the Chevy bellhousing pattern is used to this day (with metric bolts and one hole relocated) in every GM car and truck that is built with a V8 in it..
so, uh, neener neener, Chevy Rulez and BOP drools....
In reply to novaderrik:
Chevy started their bellhousing with the smallblock. The gen1 and gen2 I6 motors used a different bellhousing.
When the gen3 six came out in '63 or '64, they used the SBC bellhousing.
Pontiac started using the BOP bellhousing in '64, I'm not sure when the other siblings used it.
Remember, it's not different than Chevrolet, it's better. 
I still don't understand the mentality of stuffing a Chevy motor into a Pontiac. Chevy guys have plenty of their own cars to mess up, leave mine alone.
Just remember, GM isn't well known for keeping the best designs in production but they are very well known for keeping the cheapest. 
GM had a few fights on their hands in the late '70s when angry Cadillac buyers wanted to know why a Chevy or Olds engine was sitting in their expensive new Cadillac.
Shawn
ROFL Shawn. And oddly enough, nobody bothers with the bastard offspring of the 383 stroker.......the high winding 377 destroker.......which is hated amongst the chebby faithful because it revs past 6k.
yamaha wrote: ROFL Shawn. And oddly enough, nobody bothers with the bastard offspring of the 383 stroker.......the high winding 377 destroker.......which is hated amongst the chebby faithful because it revs past 6k.
why would you wreck a perfectly good 400 by making it smaller with a crank out of a 350?
I still don't understand the mentality of stuffing a Chevy motor into a Pontiac. Chevy guys have plenty of their own cars to mess up, leave mine alone.
We had the best of both worlds: Canadian Pontiacs.
Pontiac looks, Chev motors.
Well that gen f body is the lightest i hear
fidelity101 wrote: Well that gen f body is the lightest i hear
Being the lightest F-body is a lot like being the thinnest contestant on "The Biggest Loser"
Shawn
Trans_Maro wrote: What they didn't realise is the huge difference between the two engines and they now hack into the factory wiring harness with house wire and marettes in an attempt to extend the Pontiac starter and alternator wiring over to the starter and alternator which Chevrolet has installed on the wrong side of the engine.
I would like to pause here a moment and observe, as someone who has worked on many Pontiac-powered cars, all of which had four-speeds and all of which had headers either before or after we were through with them...
Putting the starter on the non-Z-bar side was the only thing Chevy did right.
novaderrik wrote: the Chevy bellhousing pattern is used to this day (with metric bolts and one hole relocated) in every GM car and truck that is built with a V8 in it..
Except for any V8 designed for transverse use, those all have the 60-degree bolt pattern. Even the 5.3 Monte Carlo block.
novaderrik wrote: why would you wreck a perfectly good 400 by making it smaller with a crank out of a 350?
Trick question! There are no perfectly good 400s. Trying to make power with one is a time bomb, so you have to go to an aftermarket block, at which point you just order one with normal sized mains.
(That's kind of a loaded statement. You need an aftermarket block for ANY Chevy if you want to make power.)
Speaking of 400s and aftermarket blocks... didja know that they make 8.2-deck Fords now with 4.125 bores? Living in the future is sweet.
Trans_Maro wrote:DirtyBird222 wrote: Why do people always do the transmaro thing? Trans_Maro can you answer?What they didn't realise is the huge difference between the two engines and they now hack into the factory wiring harness with house wire and marettes in an attempt to extend the Pontiac starter...
I can spot a Canadian all the way from here 
Knurled wrote: Trick question! There are no perfectly good 400s. Trying to make power with one is a time bomb, so you have to go to an aftermarket block, at which point you just order one with normal sized mains. (That's kind of a loaded statement. You need an aftermarket block for ANY Chevy if you want to make power.)
Rumor has it that the stock Ecotec block can stand up to more horsepower than a stock 350 block. Supposedly the safe limit on a factory 350 casting is around 360-375 hp.
Side note: the venerable small block Chevy is one of the LeMons 'blow-uppiest' engines.
MadScientistMatt wrote: Rumor has it that the stock Ecotec block can stand up to more horsepower than a stock 350 block. Supposedly the safe limit on a factory 350 casting is around 360-375 hp.
Rumour is right. We were doing that all the time in the 70's and 80's and never lost a single one. LT1's made that kind of power and didn't routinely grenade.
I wonder how many of you guys have actually built a decent 350?
The number seems to be what GM officially rates their current castings for. It could be they're being very cautious (something like "safe limit = a 99.9% chance of passing the emissions warranty at 70,000 miles"), or it doesn't apply to some of the high performance versions. I suspect it's the former, as the number seems a bit conservative to me too.
But I opted to skip trying to build a 350 when the starter mount cracked and I thought I'd try an LS swap.
Sometimes it just what parts you have on hand. This guys seems to have a Firebird that needed a front clip, and the Camaro was the one he had lying around..
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