1971 Pontiac Trans Am by Auto World
I learned something new today. I never knew the shaker hood scoop on the Trans Am was non-functional.
I learned something new today. I never knew the shaker hood scoop on the Trans Am was non-functional.
Hi Marty,
I do remember that the flap would open on my 70 Trans Am when I would hit the gas.
Clarify the shaker hood scoops on Pontiac Trans Am models, the 1970 1/2, 1971 and 1972 models the rear flap was functional, however from 1973 forward the rear flap was not functional.
The '70 1/2 Firebird Trans Am shaker hood scoop was functional, allowing the engine to ingest cooler outside air via a throttle-actuated, solenoid-controlled "air valve" at the rear of the scoop. Dual solenoids were mounted on an internal bracket within the scoop housing using a small T-shaped rod extending to the air valve, which was basically a hinged door. The air valve was used to keep weather elements and foreign objects from entering the air cleaner assembly under normal conditions but for more spirited driving, specific throttle position caused the solenoids to energize, opening the air valve and allowing outside air into the air cleaner.
This design carried through 1972 on Trans Am models before ever-increasing federal standards on drive-by noise and emissions output rendered the hood scoop inoperable. From 1973 through the end of Second-Gen Firebird production in 1981, no other Trans Am would boast of a functional shaker hood scoop from the factory.



