455-Powered: 1974 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am
Because the second-generation Pontiac Firebird had such a lengthy production run, fans break it up in to sub-generations: 1970-1973, 1974-1976, 1977-1978, and 1979-1981. As the owner of a ’74 Esprit myself, I know that the ’74-’76 shovel nose generation is a bit of a stepchild, but that is all overshadowed by the drivetrain options ordered on any individual car. And although this ’74 Trans Am does not pack the Super Duty engine, it does have a 455 under the hood, so the sky’s the limit on this restoration project.
One area where Pontiac guys have it comparatively made is in the documentation department. I ordered a Pontiac Historical Services packet for my ’74, and I know exactly when it was built, what options it was ordered with, and even the dealer where it was sold new. This Trans Am appears to go a step further with original documentation of its specific build, which makes sense because the seller bought it from the second owner, who owned it since it was six months old.
Under the hood is the non-Super Duty 250-horsepower (net) 455 backed by the only drivetrain available with that engine, a Turbo 400 with 3.08 gears (and standard limited slip on the Trans Am). Although a majority of ’74 Firebirds had the air-conditioning option, this Michigan car does not. I personally prefer it that way, because the compressor and heater box take up a lot of space in an already somewhat crowded engine compartment, but I know that many will disagree. The seller mentions that the engine does not run, but does NOT mention if it spins freely or not.
One thing that surprised me a little when I bought my ’74 was the not-as-good-as-I-expected parts availability. Much of that is a result of the comparative lack of popularity enjoyed by the shovel-nose cars, but even so, the first-generation Firebirds seem to be easier to find parts for. There are some good suppliers, however, such as Ames Performance out of New Hampshire, which is a staple of the Pontiac hobby.
Luckily, the interior on this car looks complete and decent – one less thing!
There’s clearly some rust to deal with on this ’74, and the seller is upfront about the fact that it needs a total restoration. Pictures of the car on the trailer immediately bring the term “flipper” to mind, but the seller says that it’s a project they “just don’t have the time to get to.” It’s currently on a fairly active eBay auction with a high bid of $6,000 and several days to go. A 455 Trans Am is hot, regardless of the year, so it will be interesting to see how high this TA goes.
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Comments
It seems like every other beat up Trans Am is creeping out of garages and barns, across America. The word is out. Time to get 4 times what you paid for when you bought it from the back lot of Honest Bob’s used cars, back in the 90’s.
That amount of appreciation seems about right. Many desirable cars have appreciated a lot more than that. I think so many cars are coming out if the woodwork because people’s wallets are getting squeezed at the same time they are coming face to face with the reality of time. You can really see it with the drop of value in cars that don’t have a strong following. Cars like this Trans Am and other cars that have been sought after since new, if they ever face similar depreciation it likely won’t happen for decades.
Steve R
I could have(and should have)bought driver condition T/A’s for $4,000-$5,000, all day long, in the 90’s and the early 2000’s.
Into the mid-1980’s you could find decent 68-69 Roadrunners advertised in Auto Trader for $1,000, Chevelle SS’s in the $1,500 – $2,000 range. I live in the SF Bay Area where rust isn’t an issue. There were 60’s muscle cars everywhere, I wish I’d known better ways to search out cars but was young and dumb and didn’t know anything publicly advertised was selling at a premium. It’s much harder now, people from around the country and the rest of the world have been picking California’s supply of cars for decades. There are plenty 60’s and early-70’s still out there, but deals (based on the current day market) are hard to find, those that are typically sell through word of mouth. The value in todays market are found in 1980’s and newer cars that are starting to appreciate.
Steve R
How true, I worked in a bodyshop/car dealer in the late 70s – early 80s when people were just dumping these cars ,we had a lot of cool cars we’d buy fairly cheap and redo them and run em to the car auction,we had one I believe a 72 with a 455 4 speed that I got to drive to the auction, we had to go across the Pennsylvania turnpike to get there and I can honestly say that car was a good handling Rocket 🚀 😂😂😂
I completely agree with you. There seems to be a mid-seventies Trans Am on here every day. (And most of them are overpriced for what they are)
Call me crazy, but there’s just something subtly cool about a musclecar with a trailer hitch.
I see it has a trailer hitch, I wonder what boat they hauled with it.
With an SD engine, they could have hauled @ss…
Says non SD
Definitely a cool trailer hauler , friend had a 1970 Monte Carlo 454 ss he bought of a dealer that used it to put a fairly large boat
I’ve seen this car for sale on different sites for over a year..
Fair market value of $2,500.
Apparently not, the high bid is currently $6,000 on a no reserve auction with over 5 days left.
Steve R
$2500??? You must have awakened from a 10-15 year or more nap! A fully intact Trans Am for $2500? 74’s are not the most desirable year but still. I’m willing to bet you could sell just the uber-rare heated back window for more than $2500, good luck finding one, less that 3% of these cars had that option. Even if this car was parted out (which I am not suggesting) your return on investment would greatly exceed that $2500
It ain’t $2500, it’s at 6K and climbing.
whoa a rare bird . its got the everlasting never usually found build sheet. this is more rare than hens teeth. why you can fix this baby up and go anywhere and show it with pride. why it still has the hairy duct on the intake system . the intake system alone would bring you $2000.00 if you could even duplicate. and a red documented carpet and interior offering…who ever did the console lid should have used a purple marking pen. this baby is gold jerry yes sir ree gold. someone save this ta cause this one is rare. this one could out value a SUPER DUTY if done right. all the numbers are there pass the ball and go for it…
Out value a Super Duty? If this was a 4 speed, AC and a couple more options it still wouldn’t approach SD pricing…
perhaps a 1974 sd firebird that came from an owner that blew up the sd motor and also did not have a build sheet and was in the same condition to this one for sale.
of course there are other things like a build sheet oem correct and still intact drivetrain like this comparison that also values a car.
For some odd reason, many of the beat up ones are now wearing whitewalls – maybe because of Rockford? – tho they dont look good on a t/a – even the ultra thin stripe ones.
I must say tho, w/o a/c & no air pump, this is a pleasure to work on under the hood.
With that HEAVY broken front bumper, i would replace it & its heavy brackets with a 7 lb fiberglass glass one – ez – upper & lower factory valences & spoiler remain – tho the front end will rise 3 inches!! That’s how heavy that bumper is!
Or put on a stock or glass ’70-73 nose – lot more expensive & difficult.
Not much left of that hood bird. lol