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It started in 2003, when the restorer bought a really nice '68 champagne gold Pontiac LeMans 350 V-8 Automatic, with tan seats and only 57,000 miles since new. Over the next three years or so, the car was completely disassembled, leaving only the rear body shell partially attached to the frame. Virtually everything was disassembled. All mechanical components were removed, as was the entire front end sheet metal and the full interior.
The factory 350 V-8 was replaced with a 1975 455 big block Pontiac "blue" V-8.
Edelbrock Performance Cylinder Heads
2.110" diameter intake valves and 1.660" exhaust valves with hardened seats
Comp Cams High Tech Pushrods and Magnum steel roller tip rocker arms
Crane hydraulic flat tappet camshaft
Eagle Pistons
Hardened race rods and forged race crankshaft
850 CFM Holley Double Pumper carburetor
Pro Torque starter
High Flow aluminum water pump and brand new 4 row radiator
ProBillet Distributor
Aluminum Air Cleaner
ThunderVolt plug wires
Finally, it was Dyno tuned and balanced, and produces approximately 500 Horse power and well in excess of 500 Lb/ft torque
The factory exhaust system was replaced with Hooker Super Competition high output headers, Flowmaster Delta Force 3" exhaust pipes and high flow racing mufflers. The exhaust note is not like modern "buzzy" or deafening roaring sounds. More like deep, bottled up thunder. I cannot describe the sound, nor could my video equipment handle recording it correctly. Once you've heard it, you will NEVER forget the earth pounding rumble and nasty snarl of this monster Pontiac.
The Factory Turbo Hydramatic 350 automatic was replaced by a heavily reinforced Turbo Hydramatic 400, built by B&M with a "Hole Shot" high-stall speed torque converter. It has a Phase 1 shift kit and is wide ratio. In normal driving, it shifts smoothly, but under full load, it becomes much firmer, but never slams into gear.