Embarking on a big build with limited experience can be a disaster as the builder quickly finds themselves out of their depth — and while this scratch-built, tube-frame Pontiac Firebird Trans Am project wasn’t without its bumps in the road, builder Riley Stair has pulled it off incredibly well and learned a whole lot in the process.

Use “RILEY100” to get $100 Off HPA’s Fabrication Starter Package: https://hpcdmy.co/fabpackageb

Riley Stair had a unique journey towards cars. Before picking up a TIG torch or heading anywhere near a race circuit, he spent his days honing his craft as a professional BMX racer. 

It was only after one too many injuries on the bike that Riley decided it was time to stop racing and start building serious cars. Instead of following the usual route and enrolling in a trade school, he decided to dive in with both feet and build a vicious track car from scratch in what just might be the boldest hands-on learning exercise we’ve ever seen.

We start this episode by following Riley’s path towards starting his own business, RS Motorsport, and delve into his reasoning behind learning everything by doing. Riley came out the other side of this process as a great welder, fabricator, and builder of very cool cars. He also has a super-high-quality 1000hp, 10,000rpm, tube-frame Pontiac to show for it.

This conversation dives deep into a host of motorsport fabrication topics, discussing everything from TIG welding tips and tricks, to choosing the right material for your project, designing and building a tube frame chassis, and much more.

We also dig into the 1970 Firebird Trans Am build in detail, covering why Riley wanted to keep it NA, how he designed the pushrod suspension system and the mistakes that needed to happen so he could learn and improve.

As a one-man-band outfit, RS Motorsport has its limitations and challenges — so to finish up, Riley discusses the business side of the equation, talking about the hidden headaches of setting up and running a company offering services that are very much in demand.

Watch the interview with Carl Thompson here: https://youtu.be/9TIrPvG7iHM?si=Q75nyYJi5PC_r_EO

Follow Riley here:
IG: @riley_rsmotorsport
YT: RS Motorsport
WWW: rsmotorsportusa.com

Don’t forget, you can use “RILEY100” to get $100 Off HPA’s Fabrication Starter Package: https://hpcdmy.co/fabpackageb

Timestamps:
4:07 How did you develop an interest in cars?
6:41 What drew you towards road racing over drag racing?
9:09 Do you have any formal qualifications that relate to your business?
13:50 How did you learn to TIG weld?
16:23 Welding process for reactive metals, shielding gas
23:47 Accurate fit up when TIG welding
25:35 Materials for turbo manifolds pros and cons?
32:47 Using off-the-shelf merge collectors vs hand fabricating
34:31 Gas lenses and cups, what are they and how do they work?
40:12 What are the challenges with aluminium welding?
56:11 Pontiac Firebird build
1:11:11 How did you plan out the tube chassis?
1:17:05 Pushrod suspension
1:18:49 Why NA? And why the aim for 1000HP?
1:24:19 8 into 1 headers
1:27:42 What ECU is the Firebird running?
1:28:08 What happened when you got the car to the track?
133:58 What changes have been made since you got the car on track?
1:40:42 Challenges with RS Motorsport business
1:56:36 Are you using any 3D scanning or CAD in your fab work?
2:02:25 Final 3 questions