Rare Brewster Green: 1973 Pontiac Trans Am 455
I generally take a pass on second-gen (’70-’81) Pontiac Trans Ams – it’s nothing personal, they just don’t draw my interest. This one, however, caught my attention for two reasons. One is the SD-455 decal on the shaker hood scoop and the other is its deplorable condition, as in, how’d this happen? I’ll have to dig in to find out. Located in Lincoln, Nebraska, this old Poncho is available, here on eBay for a current bid of $15,100 with the reserve not yet met.
According to Junk Yard Life, of the 4,472 Trans Ams produced in ’73, only 146 were finished, such as this example is, in Brewster Green. Normally I’d say that’s great, I like green and believe that it’s a preferable choice to the over typically found white and blue combination. The problem here is that if I had not read that this car is green, I would have never known it. Colorblind? Not really but the finish is just that faded and worn. The exterior appears to be original and intact but that rust! I understand surface rust bleed-through but this Trans Am has a lot more than that going on. Supposedly, it was originally shipped overseas and then returned to Texas where car flipper and Jeep parts supplier Dennis Collins got a hold of it. Collins in turn sold it to the current seller. Besides the heavy surface corrosion flake-off, there is substantial rust-through in the fenders and quarters along with a smattering of dents. Anyway that you cut it, what’s left of the original Brewster Green is going to have to go to effect a full restoration.
The shaker hood decal is a ruse, the VIN, and included documentation, tells us that sitting under it is a 250 net HP, 455 CI, non-SD V8 engine, and no, it doesn’t run. The belts, fan, hoses, and radiator are among the missing on what is a number matching engine – images of the engine ID included. No word if it can be spun by hand. While there is some interesting early documentation with the listing, none attests to this car’s 65K mile recording. It’s safe to assume the engine will need a complete teardown and rebuild. A Turbo-Hydramatic 400, three-speed automatic transmission handles gear changes.
The interior may be the worst aspect of this car. The rust and scale would leave one to believe that it has been a victim of water intrusion, as in a flood. The floors are rotted through, and the top of the dash is so corroded that the VIN is barely legible. As expected, the upholstery, door panels, and dash pad are pretty well destroyed. The entire interior will need to be gutted and then step by step brought back to life piece at a time. Likely, there are some reusable and/or restorable interior items but it will be a long slog to figure it all out.
The rusted-through condition continues into the trunk with a failed trunk pan. There’s also a flexplate in there that got me wondering about this car’s drivetrain but the underside images show an intact and attached transmission.
This one will not be for the faint of heart! It’s going to be a very expensive restoration. The good news is that it’s complete, the bad news is that every aspect of this Trans Am will need to be touched. To get a more thorough look, there are additional images here. As stated earlier, what’s left of the rare Brewster Green finish, this car’s seemingly primary value trait, will cease to exist. And that begs the question, even though the trim tag will still reflect the original shade, will it be a value enhancer once this car is completely redone and refinished?
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Comments
What a rust bucket and NOM at that. I’m surprised to learn that even D. Collins purchased this pile of iron oxide.
Was probably part of a group buy. He seems to know the market pretty well.
It does have the original engine, it’s just not a true Super Duty 455 car.
My guess is that the guy had his rose colored glasses on while dealing with the Dennis Collins fluff. I mean his money makes him an expert.
Once home reality happened and the WTF have I done set in.
Later HEI(on this motor) was not available at all in ’73, tho i think optional GM UNIFIED ignition may have been – good thing this motor don’t have that. lol
HEI was not even available(would not fit/clear firewall?) on the ’74 SD-455, but was std starting mid model ’74 year on other avail 400s & 455s.
This car only needs to be half restored! – the front endura bumper already fits reasonably well & is not appreciably cracked. Have a good look tho at the non reproduced bumper brackets for serious rust – that bumper weighs a ton!
Not a big fan of those new for ’73 “brushed” wheel trim rings – would look better with no trim rings at all, IMO.
The 1974 SD-455 came with standard points and a condenser ignition system. In 1975 HEI was the standard ignition.
Not quite as ‘beat’ as John ‘McQ’ movie hero car, but not THAT much better…
McQ has some very good car chases. Squished/compacted for McQ’s car.
Some of the scenes had McQ chasing on streets that didn’t connect with each other. Kinda funny if you know Seattle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHtTwacRpTI&t=210s
So, we are supposed to believe that at least one person thinks that this turd is worth 15k? You have got to be kidding. Shill bidder? Bidders? This whole thing is out of control. So much rust literally makes me nauseous.
That rust looks unmanageable to me. Id be in for select parts on the CHEAP….
Sheesh, how long did this thing sit on the deck of the ship being splashed with sea water?
Clint Eastwood owned a Brewster Green 73′ SD-455 once..that’s all i have to add to this :P
The Duke drove one like he stole it in McQ. And it got crushed in said movie. . . .
I thought Clint only owned the white one from “Thunderbolt & Lightfoot” for a while
https://www.imcdb.org/v007889.html
& a black ’77.
Oddly, he did not drive the white one in the movie – Jeff Bridges did – i would have thought Jeff would have bought it instead.
was thunderbolt and lightfoot a good movie??????????????????? i never saw the movie or were the cars the interest and not the story line…
Even the ignition key seems to be rusty
https://ibb.co/8xhRYP5
Got to be some shill bidding on this rust bucket!
I have never seen the inside layer of a decklid rusted away, particularly when the top skin is still present. I cannot figure this one out. But, I’m not his target, either. Good luck, regardless.
Happens a lot , at least here in New England . When a car sits for a long period of time, dead leaves, seed pods , etc get stuck in the gaps between the hood and trunk. they get wet,rot, turn to dirt, and collect more debris. The moisture stays and rots out the inner panels, which many times aren’t as heavily painted as the outer sheet metal
i would say it happens in most places.everytime i see a restored or nice vehicle parked under a tree i think there ruins another car . this is usually done either to keep rain drops off the paint or cooling the interior. in fact lay a white canvas blanket under a tree and see how much debris you can catch in 1 afternoon. now this stuff gathers in the heater / cooling vents in your firewall. this is a place where its impossible to clean. and then when theres enough gunk / rot you can kiss your carpet / car floors good bye. then they show a picture under a tree when there selling if and they quote never been in bad weather. and you are correct with the lacking of paint in the crevises of your car. this is why they should be acid dipped and primer dipped in a bath of fluid. this type of restoration yields the best result. and lasts the longest.
if its all original it has the 1973 one year only AIR CONDITIONING that goes for 1500.00. has the original shaker assembly scoop and air cleaner, thats 1500.00. original engine and heads and exhaust thats 5000.00 if it only needs a rebuild. original carburetor 1700.00. i paid 600.00 for a date code correct intake manifold. ive seen these correct date coded exhaust manifolds go for 650.00 a set .original trans 1200.00 . original differential 1800.00. original vin coded subframe 2500.00. original rear bumper and brackets 1000.00. original date coded tinted glass all around 1800.00 original dash cluster 1200.00. original tilt steering column 1200.00. original odds and ends screws, chrome, seat springs, trim . you can see these one year only 1973 trans ams have a lot of unique 73 features. i can see why it has to be sold, rusty vin tag . someone out there is looking at an all metal 73 espirit and there thinking i could put all the ta stuff on my firebird thats sitting in the desert. these cars are worth a lot in pieces and will be worth more whole …it just needs a transmission fluid bath to restore the rust to metal or at least slow the rust down. another ac car with the potential of being an optioned green TA. some will say its 2 rusty but ive seen worse get restored . wonder what the build date is that would have smog parts that are hard to replace. this i would say is very close to OEM if not completely OEM
fubar
i say drive it the way it is. and fix the little problems that come up. the drivetrain looks surprisingly intact. and the front clip doesn,t look that bad, its just surface rust. and the fenders and hood most likely have the vin codes stamped on them . can any one verify if the OEM codes are on the sheet metal…
If what V says is true, I take back half of that mean stuff I said about this car. Just shows my ignorance about this particular situation. Those are some big numbers for the parts you cited. I stand corrected.
the only thing i can think of is it got salt water inside while the captain of the ship was sleeping. the nosy crew realized there mistake and sealed it back up with the salt water still inside. at any rate it was a dirty trick to do on one of our GI’s while he is out there protecting our world and we are all safe here at home…thank you for your sacrifice to our country. peace be with you…
oh boy i forgot the driver and passenger doors they also are unique for 1973 with crash protection, that and the outside door handles are longer for 73. worth 500.00 a piece. front nose is also 73 only…1500. for a extra nice one…needing no repairs.
Oh, absolutely! This diamond in the rough is easily worth $20k, or more! The total rust through gives it character! LOL
They probably removed the radiator to cover up that the…..engine is blown.
So Rust bucket with no engine more than likely. Yeppers where is the Buy Heap Now ! button.
This T/A needs 15k to 20k in sheet metal work. Good move on Dennis and the seller to move it on.
in the grand scheme of things 20g’s of sheet metal work is not to bad. this car is perfect car for school age welders and restorers. or even a father and son project. something that training and not time is the value… most cars that are restored either have the value in it or there already pretty and they only need the completely overdone LS engine again and again and again…………so if your a rebuilder and you can afford an early trained restorer , this car is the one that will show there early trained expertise. if you have an empty 3 car garage at your house and you have got the tools or the cash, go for it. you may be creating the next Foose . how rewarding would that be…go ahead take the chance… remember ALL IN WILL BRING THE GREATEST REWARD…