Categories
2017-2018

The Lingenfelter Collection with Bill Owen

Bill Owen presents 1989 Pontiac Trans Am
Speaker: Bill Owen

11-Sep-2017
5:00pm – 7:30pm Tour, 7:45pm Program
The Lingenfelter Collection 7819 Lochlin Drive, Brighton, Michigan

The Lingenfelter Collection

What started out as five cars packed into a modest three-car garage has grown into a huge, beautiful collection of unique cars in a 40,000 square foot space. While the collection is not open to the public, it is available for corporate and charity events. Ken Lingenfelter supports the American Cancer Society with moneys from tour events. Do not miss this opportunity to visit the Lingenfelter Collection and meet Ken .
Among the many Classic, Custom, Exotic, and Unique automobiles Ken has in his collection is a 1989 Pontiac Turbo Trans Am Indy 500 Pace car.

The Speaker 

William “Bill” Owen
A graduate of the University of Michigan with a degree in Mechanical Engineering worked for General Motors at the Buick Motor Div. and later at GM Powertrain. Bill now manages his racing business Owen Engine Development. Bill was inducted into the Michigan Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2009. He is an accomplished NHRA Drag Race drive and engine builder. He has won numerous NHRA events and was a Division #3 Points Champion. Presently he is a tuner/consultant with Big Stuff 3 EFI systems assisting professional Drag Racing Teams. 

In his presentation, Bill will tell the REAL story behind the creation of the 1989 20th Anniversary Pontiac Turbo Trans Am. The story of bringing the TTA to production is a tale filled with road blocks and creative engineering. Not only was there only a small budget to work with but GM Corporate politics tried to block the release of a Buick powered Pontiac Trans Am. 

Bill Owen, the Buick engineer, who directed and assisted the merging of the Buick engine with the Pontiac Trans Am chassis will reveal what makes the 20th Anniversary Turbo TA so special. It is a complete mechanical package, and not just some tape stripes. Starting with the engine, Pontiac borrowed Buick’s 3.8 liter (231cid) V6 turbo power-plant from the fabled 1986-87 Grand National. Some difference exists between the TTA motor and the GN version. Different heads were necessary in order to squeeze the motor between the strut towers. These heads, adapted from the transverse FWD version of the 3.8 liter motor, have the added benefit of improved exhaust flow and combustion chamber design. Subsequently, different pistons were required in order to maintain combustion chamber volume. Other changes to the TTA motor are a cross-drilled crankshaft, larger 12 fin/inch in place of the GN’s 10 fin/inch design, specially-designed , a higher-pressure Bosch 237 fuel pressure regulator, and a recalibrated engine control GNX-style intercooler stainless exhaust headers module. 

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