Specs and Options
The Macho T/A offered a comprehensive upgrade to the conventional Firebird Trans Am in every conceivable aspect. From engine performance to handling, comfort to audio sound quality, every measurable static demonstrated considerable improvements from the stock specifications. Even when tested for emissions compliance, the Macho T/A with it’s modified ignition and custom designed exhaust passed CAFE emissions certifications to be sold in Californian dealerships.
The combination of the modifications made to the 800cfm Rochester Quadrajet carburettor, the recurved factory GM HEI distributor and opened shaker hood scoop in conjunction with the custom designed dual catalytic convertor exhaust system by DKM allowed the Pontiac 400 W72 powerplant to produce 270-290 horsepower with a torque rating in excess of 320 ft lbs at a mild 2,000RPM. Those equipped with the L78 400 or Oldsmobile 403 also saw a major increase.
Koni shocks behind all four wheels, lowered front springs and tuned suspension radically increased the handling capabilities on-top of the already highly competitive WS6 Special Handling Package factory equipment on offer from Pontiac.
These modifications gave the standard Macho T/A an out-of-the-box 14 second quarter mile range. This put the Macho T/A at the top of the food chain in an era where the previous year model Trans Am equipped with the L75 Pontiac 455 7.5L V8 and the same Borg Warner Super T-10 manual transmission struggled to accomplish a low 16 second quarter mile.
However, this was far from the peak of performance. For the discerning driver wanting even more performance, they could opt-in for the H.O. Specialties TurboFORCE upgrade package, proving the Pontiac 400 with a measured 50% increase in horsepower. For the driver wanting to really bring the heat to the streets, DKM offered the “Type E” performance upgrade, giving the driver the option of a 460hp small-block Chevrolet race engine sourced from TRA-CO Racing Engines, or an extensive overhaul of their existing Pontiac 400 driveline with new Ram Air cylinder heads and factory 455 H.O. aluminium intake manifolds sourced directly from the Pontiac Parts Desk at their father’s dealership. Of course, they didn’t stop there, also sourcing a transmission upgrade from Doug Nash, giving their Machos a gear up on the competition.
DKM Options
Dennis and Kyle gave their customers a large assortment of options they could order on top of the standard Macho T/A package, ranging from further performance upgrades to other ammenities and accessories to improve their driving experience.
Macho T/A Package:
This was the standard upgrade that every Macho T/A received. This package included all of the following upgrades as standard equipment:
Re-jetted Rochester Quadrajet: Dennis and Kyle’s team were all fully trained by a highly experienced carburettor builder in Phoenix. The team stripped down each Quadrajet individually and re-built them from the ground up using kits they would order in bulk from H.O. Specialties. H.O.S. offered a performance Quadrajet rebuilding kit that was installed by DKM’s team.
Tuned Distributor and Timing: The standard Pontiac HEI distributor responded effectively to advancements, so each Macho T/A had the distributor timing adjusted, and the timing advanced on each engine.
Opened Shaker Scoop: Each Macho T/A also had the factory shaker scoop carefully opened up with a mesh screen installed to allow fresh, cool air to be sucked down the intake while still keeping debris out.
Custom Dual Exhaust: DKM specifically designed a custom exhaust set up that was entirely manufactured at their dealership’s exhaust shop. Dennis and Kyle worked with their local exhaust guy to create a dual exhaust that used two separate catalytic converters and resonators that provided an excellent tone, performance and still managed to meet emissions requirements.
Hooker Headers: All Macho T/A’s received a pair of new Hooker Competition D-Port Headers to maximize the effectiveness of the new exhaust. On-top of that, a Hooker Headers sticker was placed on the air cleaner of all Macho T/A’s, approximately where the Keep Your GM Car All GM sticker was, because… well it wasn’t realllly all GM anymore!
Lowered Front Springs: While sometimes listed as a separate charge option, modified front springs were a part of the standard equipment on all Macho T/A’s. All Macho T/A’s received new replacement front springs that were 1.5” lower,
Koni Adjustable Shocks: Koni’s are king, all Macho T/A’s received brand new adjustable Koni’s on all fours. The best shocks you can get for a Firebird, and they’re still available new to this day.
Concord/Rockford-Fosgate Stereo: Predominately, Macho T/A’s were ordered with the UN9 Radio Accommodation Package, which was essentially the provision for all the stereo hardware with no GM Delco stereo. While there are a handful of Macho T/A’s that were ordered with a GM Delco U58 AM/FM Stereo most, if not all Machos received a Concord HPL-101 or similar stereo deck with the Fosgate amplifier system. Not all received “The Punch” Fosgate controller, and there was always the option to upgrade the audio set up further.
Western Wheels Cyclone II’s: Really only something that was standard equipment on the 1977 Macho T/A’s. Due to the 1977 model Trans Ams being limited to 15x7” factory wheels, and WS6 15x8” wheels not available until 1978, DKM sourced 15x8” Cyclone II’s for the ‘77 cars.
As seen on #114, this is the factory DKM opened shaker and correct filter mesh. This kept the fresh air coming in, and particulate out!
The correct “ <3 Hooker Headers” decal on #146’s Pontiac 400 L78 air cleaner.
The original Concord Stereo head unit on Macho T/A #142. Not all Machos received the exact same Concord model, but were similar.
One of the original (albeit, filthy!) rear Koni adjustable shock absorbers on 1978 #46.
Macho T/A Turbo:
The big one everybody loves to see. H.O. Specialties offered a blow-through turbocharged induction setup on a number different types of engines, and DKM offered this kit as an expensive upgrade for the Macho T/A. To accommodate the H.O.S. turbo system, a number of other DKM options had to be installed to support this major upgrade. The Macho Turbo featured as standard equipment:
H.O. Specialties Oil Pressure Restorer
Hurst Competition Plus w/ linkages
Rear Mounted Battery Kit
Goodyear GT Radials, GR60 front, 255/60R15 rear
All Macho Turbos received uniquely identifiable callouts on the L+R fenders, and rear deck lid.
H.O. Specialties Oil Pressure Restorer:
Keeping on the theme of clearing out the whole H.O. Specialties catalogue, another option on offer was the Oil Pressure Restorer system. This added a big canister bolted along the firewall, just behind the distributor and some hose routing throughout the engine bay that made sure the Pontiac 400 would not be starved on oil during aggressive driving or autocross racing. These are pretty hard to find, and there are a handful of Machos outside the Macho Turbos that were ordered with this option. The system held about a litre or 1 quart of pressurized oil inside it. When driving, if for whatever reason the oil pick up at the bottom of the pan was having a hard time collecting or picking up oil while it was sloshing around the pan, a valve would open and the Oil Pressure Restorer would flood all the chambers in the oil galleries to make sure the oil pressure would remain stable. A much cheaper option than replacing your main bearings!
1978 Macho #16’s Oil Pressure Restorer Cannister.
Hurst Competition Plus Shifter Upgrades
Another common option that was on many Macho T/A’s, for a bit more money than an OPS, you could upgrade to Hurst’s top-of-the-line Competition Plus shifter and revised linkages. All Pontiac Trans Ams (Firebirds as well for the most part) received Hurst Competition shifters from factory, but this upgrade replaced those shifters entirely with the Hurst Competition Plus
Hurst “T” Handle
Another little option for the manual cars was the diecast aluminium T-shaped shifter handle. Gave you a bit more grip and a bit more flare, but otherwise wasn’t anything too crazy you couldn’t find at your local speed-shop.
Trunk Mounted Battery Kit
This was a more effective option than many might think. While it was standard on the Macho Turbos due to engine bay space being at a premium, it was still a good option to have for any Firebird owner. This kit repositioned the car battery and put it tucked away in one of the rear quarters, with new battery cables running through the car to the engine bay. Herb Adams measured the impact of revised weight distribution on moving the battery to the rear of the Firebird body in his VSE Fire Ams, and found that mounting the battery in the rear was the equivalent of moving the engine back a full 10 inches!
Goodyear Radial GT Tyres
Something you won’t really see on many Machos, but a few were ordered with was the upgraded Goodyear Radial GT Raised White Letter Tyres over the conventional factory Polysteels. DKM would install GR60/R15 (which would translate to about 245/60R15) tyres on the front, and 255/60R15 on the rear. These gave a much better profile over the skinny factory 225/70/R15 tyres, and immediately better traction and grip. Brand new Goodyear GT Radials are sort-of still available from a handful of suppliers, but they are normally extremely expensive to source as they are mostly for Corvette restorers looking for factory correct tyres.
Hooker 4-Point Roll Bar
Eeeeeverybody wants a Hooker in the back of their Macho. A relatively rare option for Macho T/A’s, however it’s common to see as this roll bar became a very popular and desirable period option for Firebird owners. Hooker Headers being very familiar with selling chromed bent and shaped metal also sold roll bar kits for many cars back in the 1970-80’s, and many dealers, tuners and performance Firebird specialists would offer this roll bar for their cars as well. DKM being one of them, they offered the 4-point roll bar as an option for their Machos. DKM offered it in both the natural chrome finish, or for slightly cheaper, you could have the roll bar color matched to the interior. Many call this the Hooker “Show Bar”, as it’s more so for show than an actual safety upgrade!
1978 #202 with the chrome Hooker Roll Bar, and 1978 #16 with the color matched bar. Note, 1978 #202 did not originally come with the Hooker Bar option.
Recaro LS Seats
The king seat option for the second generation Firebird. DKM would import and source Recaro Race Seats for the customers smart enough to order this option, however it was disappointingly not many. Many Macho owners have added in Recaro seats, some peculated from 1981 Y85 Turbo Trans Am Pace Cars, into their Macho T/As, but few came with them factory. The Recaro model was generally the LS seat, and they required no modification to adapt to the factory Firebird mounting positions. The rear Firebird seats would be re-trimmed to match the front seats at an extra cost to the customer.
Scheel 401S Seats
These were the big job Scheel seats more commonly seen in the Macho T/A’s. These were designed to really hold the driver in place, had much bigger bolsters and looked like fighter jet cockpit seats. These were slightly more expensive than the Recaros, but were ordered more commonly over their counterpart. As with the Recaros, the customer could pay a bit extra to have the rear seats match the fronts. These were featured in quite a few different Machos, as well as both of the DKM Tallons.
1979 #8’s Scheel interior with matching trimmed rear seats.
Rockford-Fosgate Stereo System
DKM predominately used one specialized stereo system, and that was the Rockford-Fosgate speaker and amplifier system with a Concord stereo head unit. Dennis and Kyle both explained to me that at the time when they were testing different speaker set ups, the guy who would set them up in their cars made it “the best sounding car audio you could get at the time”. DKM specifically had this set up tested and tuned for the Firebirds and said the sound quality was second to none. For the main deck, they generally used Concord HPL series decks, the earliest units being the Concord HPL-101. The Rockford-Fosgate stereo system used the existing speaker sizes and while the Concord decks were standard equipment, the full audio upgrade with the controller, amps and all around upgraded speakers was a pretty expensive option for them. The amplifier they used was the Fosgate “The Punch” PR 220, later superseded by the PR 250. They would also install the 3-knob Pre-Amp in the center console for easy access.
Imron Paint
Hard to capture this in photos, but DKM could source an extremely high quality Imron paint that provided significantly better texture and a much thicker application. Goes to show how cheap a paint job was back in the day if the highest quality, longest lasting paint still wasn’t even the cost of a new transmission! Dennis explained that the quality was significantly better over the standard paints (the bar was set too high with the GM water based paint since the cars were built at the Van Nuys, Californian plant!) and lasted significantly better. Customers from their father’s dealership would have cars like Grand Ams come off the trailer brand new, and they’d still spend the money to be completely repainted in the Imron paint. You could order the Imron paint for the Machos separately for just the solid body color or the secondary accent stripes, and of course you could go the whole hog and have the entire car coated in this high quality paint. I don’t think there are many Machos with this option, Manny’s #100 Turbo is the only one that comes to mind.
Monocoque Wheels
Somewhat uncommon option due to these being discontinued pretty early. The only good photo we have of these wheels actually on a Macho is on 1979 #26, and these photos of a gold anodized set from a random google search. Dennis explained that he was finding that these wheels were cracking and failing not long after they were new, so DKM didn’t really continue this option. He recalled calling the guy in California that made them to report the issues, and it was deemed they weren’t really the best option for street use. The original owner of 1979 #26 also explained that he really wasn’t a fan of those wheels either. They had a lot of issues for a pretty expensive option, so it’s no surprise it wasn’t very common. You could also pay a tiny bit extra to get larger 9” wheels on the rear.
American Specialty Wheels
The better wheel upgrade option, if the factory 15x8 WS6 Snowflake wheels weren’t big or wide enough, DKM sourced wheels from American Specialty in larger sizes to accommodate fatter tyres. As much as I’ve searched, I can’t really find anything for who made these wheels or what happened to this company, they kind of look like Mini-Lites but those were manufactured in the UK. These were a popular option, and many Macho T/A’s received this upgrade, especially the top-of-the-line performance optioned ones. Like the Monocoque wheels, you could pay a small fee to go 9” on the rear wheels.
Compomotive Wheels
These were European super high end mesh type wheels seen towards the later model cars. A few black 1979 Macho Turbos received this type of wheel, it was a 3 piece wheel that needed to be torqued and adjusted when you’d change tyres or let them sit. Pretty high tech wheel for the time! Not to mention, pricey!
Doug Nash 4+1 Transmission
This was the big job transmission upgrade that many Firebird performance tuners would use as a direct bolt-in upgrade to the Borg Warner Super T-10. The Doug Nash 4+1 was a heavy duty super street/race transmission upgrade that would give your F-Body an extra gear and extra strength to handle big power. It was diametrically the same size as a Super T-10, so you could use the same driveshaft and mounting equipment with just some gentle massaging around the shifter hole to make suit. A few Macho T/A’s got this option, and it radically improved performance and quarter mile times due to the revised gear ratios.
Rear Gear Ratio Change
This option wasn’t really anything too special, it wasn’t really an upgrade to your gear ratio where they would just throw super tall gears like a 4.11 ratio into your diff (although, they would do this if the customer asked!), but more a better calculated rear gear change to suit the rest of the driveline. For example, some Macho Turbos and some Type E’s received lower ratios over the factory 3.42 or 3.23 gears. This was done to help the turbocharged engines respond better to shifting, or to lower the RPMs for cars equipped with the Doug Nash. Casing point, some Type E’s with the Doug Nash 5-speed would have their rear gears lowered from 3.23 to 2.73 for more effective RPMs for final gear highway driving and 1st gear take offs.