[mgarblik]

Friend of mine, Rob Holmes from Dayton, OH is debuting a 1974 Trans Am at the US Nationals. His father Don Holmes, (RIP), raced a 77 TA and a 60's era Nova called the "Boss A Nova" for decades. His father started on this 74 and had it roughed-in and in primer when he passed. His son, has the car race ready and this is the cars first NHRA race. It is a Stock eliminator KSA car. Nothing like throwing yourself directly into the fire at the toughest event in the country. Car is beautiful with all work done right where the pics were taken in his sheet metal shop, including the paint job. 400 Pontiac power. 12.65 Index, 2nd round qualifying time, 11.62 1.048 under index Currently qualified 40th out of 150 cars. Good luck Rob!

[sdbob]

Sorry for your loss. Prayers sent.Thanks for posting. Very nice. Curious the trans type and whose cam they are using. I have 74 TA shell like that sitting in garage. Those front end reinforcements are heavy.

[mgarblik]

The transmission is a 350 Turbo hydramatic with modifications and an appropriate torque converter. Probably rules have to be followed to be NHRA legal.

[Half-Inch Stud]

And i thought an auto 74 T/A would have TH400 when new.

[adam woodmancy]

It probably would have, but you just don't see TH-400s in stockers. They're almost always TH-350's or metric 200's. The TH-400's are just too heavy and rob too much power. Beautiful car, it's a shame his dad didn;t get to see it through. I am sure he would be very proud of how it turned out. I loveto see all Pontiac stockers, but this one looks exceptional. Great job and good luck!

[kingbuzzo]

She looks amazing...dad will be proud...good luck!

[misterp266]

Current K/SA record holder @ 11.38 is also a ‘74 Pontiac. Bob Mulry out of Gilroy, CA.

An 11.62 on his first outing is a good start! Car looks great.

[grandam1979]

We will be at the track Sunday definitely will look for him.

[Scott Stoneburg]

Beautiful car!

[mgarblik]

After 3 rounds of qualifying, still 40th with an 11.60. Picked up a little. He is a good driver, so you never know.

[sdbob]

I dont have rule book in front of me. I think as long as trans is GM automatic. That's the metric 5k trans that consumes the less hp. Old HO newsletter had comparison of m40 with m35 the hp loss. The m35 was the better.

[turbo69bird]

Originally Posted by adam woodmancy

It probably would have, but you just don't see TH-400s in stockers. They're almost always TH-350's or metric 200's. The TH-400's are just too heavy and rob too much power. Beautiful car, it's a shame his dad didn;t get to see it through. I am sure he would be very proud of how it turned out. I loveto see all Pontiac stockers, but this one looks exceptional. Great job and good luck!

I believe there used to be a Tom Kilgore TH400 that was kind of like a 727 torqueflite and weighed less and used a lot less power and was legal for stock class racing. Maybe something to look into

The stock class guys are the best racers in the world IMO

So happy to see another Pontiac stocker out there to rip up the track !! And the car looks really good.

[chiefbigb]

That's a nice really nice car. Great to see they finished the project. That's a tough class to jump into with a new car but being in the top 1/3 is quite impressive.

[mgarblik]

Well, he made it through the first round. Slow on the tree, but won anyway. Keep it going!

[mgarblik]

Rob lost in the second round. He dialed an 11.57 and ran an 11.52. So he broke out. But the car got quicker through the event. The winner dialed 10.240 and ran a 10.241, so he was deadly. Rob had a better light. .024. All in all, a good first outing for the new car. Better days are ahead.

[Jim Robertson]

Great looking machine. And a serious runner to boot. Congrats to the owner/driver on his first outing.

[mgarblik]

Little update: Rob has had the car out again and has been working hard on the little things and tuning the engine for best performance. Last time out it ran a best of 11.288 @ 116.61 ! Current NHRA class record is 11.42 @ 113.95. So he is nicely placed to be a very solid player in this crowd with PONTIAC power. Doing a great job with it.

[25stevem]

Super job and a gorgeous car!
With his work ethic and a Pontiac under the hood he will be at the top next season.
I have no doubt!

[prostreet64]

Fantastic #s! I don't know how they do it with the limitations on what can be done in these stock classes. All the best to Rob and his future successes.