Super Duty V8: 1973 Pontiac Trans Am
The 1973 model year would be four years before the first Smokey & The Bandit movie that would turn the Pontiac Trans Am into an instant star. So, its sales volume had not yet exploded and 1973 would be a soft year. Only about 4,800 Trans Am’s were built in 1973 and a few hundred of those came with a Super Duty 455 cubic inch V8 (SD-455) with Ram Air. This one is not an SD from the factory but the motor was added later and the auto has been owned by the seller since 1976. The car has been treated to at least a partial restoration over the years. Located in Northridge, California, this asking price is $75,000 here on craigslist.
In the early 1970s, all domestic automakers had been dealt blows by both the insurance industry and Federal regulators with enhanced emissions standards, so muscle cars weren’t quite what they once were. But the spark wasn’t dead yet and for 1973-74, there was a 455 V8 offered in the Pontiac Firebird Trans Am as a special version called the Super Duty 455 (SD-455). It was unique because it consisted of a strengthened cylinder block including four-bolt main bearings for additional strength, along with other adjustments. We’ve read that the SD-455 in the Firebird made it “the fastest Pontiac ever” but I don’t know if that’s factual.
This Trans Am has only had two owners and the current driver has had it nearly 45 years. At some point, the car’s original engine was replaced with an SD-455. The odometer reading is just shy of 70,000 and the motor was rebuilt at 50,000. It’s paired with a 4-speed manual and the seller says the car performs well. This is a nicely-equipped car with plenty of amenities and was recently repainted and had all the decals replaced, including the amazing “bird” on the hood.
You’ll be treated to cold A/C (not something that factory SD-455s with 4-speeds were built with), all power accessories, T-tops, and a factory 8-track tape player (zounds!). The seller has kept every receipt over the past four decades along with the original owner’s manual, window sticker, and some Pontiac historical documents. He says he’s invested another $2,800 in the car by installing new Goodrich TA radial tires, among other things, which may or may not include the full tank of gas that’s onboard! If this Firebird doesn’t float your boat, he has what we would suspect is a real 1973 SD-455 for sale that’s painted white (blue decals?). But you’ll have to ante up $180,000 for that one.
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Comments
The reason the engine was changed – owner found a Super Duty 455 to install in his standard 455 4 spd w/optional A/C T/A
Non-matching numbers, because the car was not an SD455 car to begin with.
Still, very nice…
That makes more sense. The seller wasn’t clear (to me). Have adjusted content. Thanks!
You’re welcome! Thanks for all of your great articles! We can tell you write with passion for the subjects!
I’d still take it with the SD motor!
I’m guessing the T-tops were added at some point because they were not available from the factory til 1976. I love T-tops but if this is a 73 they are not stock. Car is beautiful but have some questions.
Right, several aftermarket t-top installers popped up in the late 70s after the popularity of the 77 SE. This one appears to be the “American” brand, which were really nice (I had them installed in my 77 TA back in the day) but now are a problem because of no parts availability. I love t-tops also, but they look out of place on a ‘73 from a period correctness and big money standpoint. JMHO
Yep. Pretty car with the stones to back up it’s look. But….non-original engine, and the roof’s been spliced? Not $75K nice. I’m thinking $25-30K nice.
I agree with you, but we are not buyers. If we were, we wouldn’t be sitting around a computer screen, we would be contacting the seller and see if we could make some numbers work for both of us. The market will bear what ever someone is willing to pay. Who knows, maybe someone just has to have this and will pay near that ask. Won’t be us, but then again, we won’t have this fine ride either.
U might want to bone up on your SD values. The motor alone is worth 20K!!
It’s a real, real nice car. The t-tops are a disappointment. The red is striking-but since the motor is traded, I’d like it in British green and tan interior. It’s worth it.
Did you mean Brewster Green?
Not only was it not an SD, originally ordered with “delete functional ram air” for a $77 credit.
Sacrilege!
Seller sure is proud of it @ $75K. That line is going to be in the water for quite a while.
All 73’s were “delete functional ram air”
Yep, the EPA got into the act, emission and noise standards killed the open scoop. I had a 73 Buccaneer Red T/A (not a SD) 4 speed AC car with honeycombs, heated back window, AM-FM, no screaming chicken on the hood. The worst feature it had was the K65 Unitized Distributor, the successor to the transistor ignition. I believe it was first offered in 1972, and was dropped in favor of the HEI during the 1974 model year. Parts for it are basically unobtanium. The spark plug wire set is 1 piece, you cannot replace a single wire. The wires are bonded into a circular ring that sets into a special distributor cap. Needless to say it gained a HEI setup shortly after I got it. Another of those cars I should have kept…
I recently was lucky enough to purchase on original 1974 SD-455 4 speed from the original owner for less than the asking price of this car. While my car is in fantastic shape for a mostly original unrestored car (original paint, interior, drivetrain, etc.), I wouldn’t claim it to be as nice as this ’73 for sale. Maybe that’s part of the reason for the $75k asking price?
Nice car. I always wanted one that year. Can any of you Pontiac guys tell me if the window sticker is legit? Seems a little too good. Or if you can tell what the car came from the factory with on the VIN?
Car looks great!
Hey Ed the CL ad says it has a original owners manual. Also says it has PHS docs and window sticker. I take that to be the window sticker is a reproduction that is offered by PHS.
I’d like to know how that motor was procured? Wrecked SD? I read where one couldn’t build one across the parts counter as one had to prove he already owned a SD to buy the critical parts. Nice looking car.
19sixty5, believe it or not, i am not a fan of early pontiac HEI – in ’74 for 2 reasons:
1. The original ’74 GM white ignition rotor was such cheap plastic that HEI evenutally burned a hole thru it, sending the spark down into the distrib instead of the wires. Result – no start.
2. Even more ridiculous was Pontiac skimping on the length of at least 1 of the thin pickup coil wires. What happened to my ’74 bird was with the back & forth movement of the vacuum advance, eventually the too taut pickup coil wire started to slowly break its connection, causing backfiring, & i barely made it home. My friend’s earlier pts & condenser ’74 bird had no such nuisance problems as those.
Not sure if early ’74 Chevy, etc. HEI had similar problems.
I see new HEI distributors on ebay for Pontiac v8’s for as little as $48!
Rest assured i would not be comfortable with one of those in the car either. lol
Also, unlike on ’77-81 scoops, it was ez to drill out the 3 rivets to open up that ’73-76 shaker hood scoop.
I would have ordered the above car back in the day, if i had the money, with NONE of the options that this car has – except tinted glass & maybe a console – to maximize performance of the motor.