1978 Pontiac Trans Am FAST EZ EFI Fuel Injection Overdrive Engine Upgrades

This 1978 Pontiac Trans Am arrived at the V8 Speed & Resto Shop looking like a bird of fire but driving like a lame duck. Instead of swapping in a crate motor, the crew kept the Pontiac 400 and modernized it with a rare FAST EZ-EFI 2.0 setup, a 2004R overdrive, fresh rear gears, and a COMP roller cam. The result is a screaming chicken that finally lives up to its hood. See how it came together.

There is a particular kind of disappointment that comes from owning a car that looks the part and refuses to act it, and that is exactly where this 1978 Pontiac Trans Am started its story. In the words of the V8TV crew, it rolled into the V8 Speed & Resto Shop “more like a lame duck than a bird of fire.” The screaming-chicken hood promised fury; the way it actually drove promised a nap. What the shop did next is the whole point of the video, and it turns a familiar late-second-generation Trans Am into something its original build sheet never imagined. The question is how far modern parts can drag a 1970s Poncho into the present.

From Lame Duck to Bird of Fire

The answer starts under that big shaker hood. Rather than pull the Pontiac 400 in favor of a crate motor, the team kept the Poncho power and modernized it, an unusual and welcome choice in a world quick to abandon Pontiac engines. The 400 received an unexpected refresh along the way and, most notably, a FAST EZ-EFI 2.0 self-tuning fuel injection system in place of the old carburetor. Seeing a fuel-injected Pontiac 400 is genuinely rare, and it is the single upgrade that changes how the car behaves on a cold morning more than any other.

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A Fuel-Injected Pontiac 400 Is a Rare Thing

Driveability was clearly the mission, because the fuel injection was only part of a coordinated package. The shop fitted new rear gears to sharpen response, then paired them with a 2004R overdrive transmission so the Trans Am could finally cruise at highway speed without the engine howling. A COMP Cams roller cam, roller lifters, and roller rockers woke up the top end, while a B&M lock-up converter controller and a Shiftworks conversion tied the overdrive together. Tanks Inc supplied a new fuel tank and high-pressure pump to feed the EFI properly.

Gearing, Overdrive, and the Art of Driveability

Taken together, these are the upgrades that transform a good-looking garage ornament into a car you actually want to drive across a state. That is the real lesson of this build: the second-generation Trans Am has the presence and the sound baked in, and a thoughtful combination of gearing, overdrive, a roller cam, and self-tuning EFI unlocks the rest. It is the difference between a bird that only poses and one that finally flies.

Watch the full video and share your thoughts below.

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