1LE SUNOCO SCCA American Sedan Winning Race Car, 1 of 4 Built by Pontiac in 1990

Pontiac Trans Am 1990 Description

1990 1LE Trans Am – 1 of 4 Built

There are a lot of myths, misinformation and outright lies regarding the 1LE program that was introduced by Pontiac & Chevrolet in 1988 but one thing that can’t be disputed is this was the first time Pontiac produced a factory race car since Johnny Mauro’s 1963 421 SD Catalina headed to Pike’s Peak. While cars had been built over the years to satisfy various homologation requirements such as the 1969 Trans Am and the 1986 ½ Grand Prix 2+2, the 1LE Firebirds were built to go to the track!

With over 2 Million Firebirds & Camaros built between 1982 and 1992 there were only 1532 1LE cars built. Chevrolet produced 1,360 of them with Pontiac only building 172. Production by year is as follows:

Chevrolet Pontiac

1988 4 Camaro IROC-Z 3 Trans Am

1989 111 Camaro IROC-Z 26 Trans Am

1990 64 Camaro IROC-Z 4 Trans Am

1991 13 Camaro RS (B4C) 46 Formula

456 Camaro Z-28 62 Trans Am

1992 576 Camaro RS (B4C) 22 Formula

82 Camaro Z-28 9 Trans Am

This 1990 Trans Am was ordered through the in-house employee order processing system by John Bennet, a Design Leader in the Draftsman Department at GM Chassis Division in Flint, MI. It was 1 of only 4 1LE Trans Am’s that Pontiac produced that year. According to its documentation it was priced 08/14/89 but not marked as invoiced or delivered until 12/22/89. Following is an e-mail explaining the process from one of John’s co-workers:

John Bennett was a draftman in the Chassis group at GM. He was very good and worked his way up to being a "design leader - technical" which meant he supervised and delegated work for draftsman in the chassis structure and suspension areas.

Outside GM, he built A-sedan cars and owned/managed an IMSA team which raced Firebirds. His mantra was: "If you are not cheating, you are not winning". His cars were very trick, with many hidden body reinforcements. In IMSA, he built what he called "50-50" engines, where one bank of the engine was the bore for a 305ci and the other bank was the bore of a 350ci engine. He wanted more displacement and by overboring one side of the block, he had a "50-50" chance of being caught for cheating during tech inspection, as usually only 1 cylinder head was asked to be pulled. He was sponsored by Sunoco, but liked Mobil One oil, so he would pour Mobil One oil into Sunoco bottles to maintain his sponsorship. I think his cars were purchased new and immediately turned into race cars.

About your car, my guess is it was ordered by a GM executive on John's behalf. The executive would have driven it for the required 4 months, then turn it in. John could have worked with a fleet coordinator so he could "tag" the car through the employee purchase program. In the 1990s, there was a lot of shenanigans played by GM employees who raced by ordering special edition high performance cars as their company cars.

I’m not certain if John raced the car as is in showroom stock first or immediately converted it to SCCA American Sedan (A/S) spec with the new & more aerodynamic 1991 Formula body panels, but what we do know is that on February 23, 1993 it was registered with the SCCA as an A/S Race Car. Built with John’s special body bracing and one of Pontiac’s ultra-rare/special ALUMINUM HOODS it was finished in the blue you see here, lettered under Sunoco sponsorship and delivered/sold to Jim Crist of The Toy Store in Largo Florida.

Jim was an avid racer and racked up a number of track records, poles and wins at some of the most famous tracks in the country including Road Atlanta, Sebring, Daytona and Homestead Miami on his way to the 1994 regional SCCA Championship. I’ve owned the car for a little over a year now and performed the cosmetic restoration with almost daily input and assistance from Jim – the older photo, provided by Jim is of the car when they first got it and was the blueprint for our restoration.

It’s had 3 other owners according to the log book between Jim & myself, is equipped with a Chevrolet spec 350, T10 transmission and a 9 inch rear. It has a full certified cage, safety fuel cell, race seat, radio, cabin fire extinguisher system, Accusump oil system, Painless wiring box and current belts – it should be good for club or classic classes but I cannot guarantee that for you as I am not well versed on their rules. If there are specific numbers off of parts you want me to get – send me a message and let me know what to look for.

It has been published taking the cover & centerfold of the September 2016 issue of Poncho Perfection Magazine and has been recently highlighted in a May 30th 2017 online edition of GM EFI Magazine. Most of the photographs were taken by Photographer Hannah Rachael at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, CT. Thanks to the generosity of Rick Roso and his staff, we were given full access for the shoot, and Rick even drove the photo truck for us – I got to drive the car!

If you are looking for a collectible car built by the factory to go racing, that was ordered through the in house employee system, has single digit production, an ultra-rare factory aluminum body panel, a top tier sponsor, an epic track history, excellent documentation, with period racing equipment then this is the car for you. If on the other hand you are looking for a car that has low miles, has led a charmed yet uninspired life and is, for all intents and purposes, indistinguishable from all of the others made that year other than 1 RPO code were the closest it ever got to a race track was a conversation - then there is a 1990 IROC 1LE available on e-bay now too.

This vehicle is sold AS-IS, WERE-IS and there are no express or implied warranties. The vehicle has never been titled according to the Michigan Secretary of State's office yet still retains it's original VIN tag on the body. Like all purpose built race cars, the transfer of ownership is done with the SCCA Log Book - I will include a notarized bill of sale and the original notarized bill of sale I received with the car from the prior owner. For auction purposes it has been listed as Rebuilt.

If you would like to inspect this vehicle prior to placing a bid, please get in touch with me, I will be more than happy to make myself & the car available to you. Please do not bid if you do not intend to purchase the vehicle - it is just a waste of your time and mine. $2,000 deposit paid via FEDEX bank check or wire transfer must be completed within 48 hours of auction end. Balance to be paid within 7 days from auction end and prior to pick up. Transportation can be arranged with any shipping company however I have had excellent experience with Reliable Carriers www.reliable-carriers.com and Door To Door Transport www.doortodoortransport.com I would highly recommend either of them.