A billet no-drill balance Callies crank shaft, GRP aluminum rods, and ARP fasteners throughout keep the impressive build going. 970 solid roller lifters, custom tapered 7/16 pushrods, a custom ground Cammotion billet camshaft, Jesel shaft rockers and a Jesel belt drive. Perched atop the banks is a pair of Dart 368cc 10-degree canted valve heads, which have been loaded with Victory titanium valves and PAC springs with titanium retainers. The foundation for the engine is a 400-cubic inch LSX Dart LSNext2 iron block. With his three requisites - 10,000RPM, 1,000HP, and natural aspiration - he knew Motor Machine would be equipped to build it. Riley turned to Motor Machine in Carmichael, California, to build the engine he wanted. Allow me to formally introduce: Riley Stair’s 1970 Pontiac Trans Am.Īs the centerpiece of the build, it’s only fair to start with the engine and its surroundings. Finally, though, we hauled the car to the outskirts of Los Angeles, and did what we do best. The desire to yank the car from the booth to photograph it peaked the moment we pushed the car into the central hall, and that desire failed to wane, through to the show’s end. Passers by and photographers alike swarmed the car, making it tough to even snag the preview shots we shared during SEMA a week and a half ago. Understandably, heavy crowds surrounded the car all week long. Every weld, every component, every inch of thought and design: the physical, realized signature of Riley Stair. The finished product was built solely and entirely by Riley himself, save for the final paint. It broke the mold of what a build is, and what one single person is capable of. The Trans Am was unquestionably one of the stars of the 2018 SEMA show. The final product was intended to surprise, and surprise it did. No detail slipped to the public, and Instagram teasers were stritcly limited to photos of tools and welds. For two years, Riley seemingly disappeared, devoting every resource available to him to the project at hand. On rare occasions, he’d lift his welder’s mask to take a call or send a text, only to return his attention to the machine he was shrouding in secrecy. The drive home from work every afternoon was spent figuring out what projects were next on the docket, and weekends were celebrated as a pair of 18-hour stints to spend melting metal, week after week. In the 20-something months that followed, Riley gave every spare minute to his passion project. Seeking a redline of 10,000 RPM and an all-motor output of 1,000 horsepower, Riley conjured an idea of a vintage SCCA Trans Am-racer built in the modern Trans Am era. And of course, what better car to build than the iconic Pontiac that shares the same namesake? After tracking down the right example, Riley loaded the car into the 10×20-foot carport on the side of his parents house, closed himself off from the outside world, and got to work. In fact, its the V8 that represents the core of the Trans Am build as a whole.

He’s clearly got a passion for the un-substitutable thump-and-rumble of a V8, having stuffed one into almost every project he’s built so far, ranging from his own E28 and his dad’s E24, to the Datsun 240Z, the C10, and now the T/A, too. It’s a far departure from the BMWs Riley Stair has built his name around, although not totally unexpected, if you’ve ever seen the C10 Pickup he tucks away. This story begins with a rusty, battered Pontiac Trans Am.

1970 firebird