There is just one day left on the auction of this 1974 Pontiac Trans Am SD-455. The car is listed here on eBay and is located in Mesa, Arizona. It is being sold by a dealer and is reported to have an odometer reading of 72,678. Many enthusiasts consider this the last muscle car while others consider the 1977-1979 W72 powered Pontiacs to be the last muscle car. This Super Duty powered Trans Am has only been bid to $5,600 with 30 hours left in the bidding. The Buy It Now Price is $119,499. One reason for the lack of bids is that the buyer’s description sounds like it is AI generated and does not have a lot of details and history most buyers of this car would be interested in knowing.
The car is not heavily optioned but does boast a blue deluxe interior. The “horse collar” seats held the driver in place better than the standard seating. These seats were used from 1973-1977 in the Trans Am and Formula. The car does not have tilt steering, air conditioning or power windows but the engine is backed by a 4 speed transmission. There were 73,729 Firebirds built in 1974 and of those 10,255 were Trans Am which was more than twice as many as the year before. Only 943 Trans Ams were equipped with the Super Duty engine and, of those, only 212 were 4 speed cars. The performance of the Trans Am dwarfed its competitors in a year that Ford introduced the Mustang II without any performance models.
The Radial Tuned Suspension was introduced in the Trans Am as radial tires became the norm. This car is Cameo white with a blue interior. It is equipped with the optional honeycomb wheels which looked like alloy but were actually heavy steel wheels with a coating. The LS2 Super Duty 455 engine was rated at 290 horsepower and 395 lb ft of torque. The base engine for the Trans Am changed from the L75 D Port 455 engine (used in 1973 as the base engine) to the L-78 400 cubic inch V8 engine. This was the last year for true dual exhausts before the catalytic converter was introduced.
This car appears very clean and well presented. As with 1973, the colors of the Trans Am were limited. Cameo White and Buccaneer Red were still available. However, Brewster Green (available only in 1973 on the Trans Am) was replaced with Admiralty Blue. The engine bay is very nice and appears correct. There are plenty of excellent photos of the car’s exterior, interior and engine compartment in the ad.
Probably the best thing in 74′.
3.42 ⚙️ gear standard equipment.
Great car here.
“One reason for the lack of bids is that the buyer’s description sounds like it is AI generated and does not have a lot of details and history most buyers of this car would be interested in knowing.”
Hey Bruce- I’m still trying to figure out how The Google works so can you give me a tip on how to spot an AI generated ad? I looked at the Ebay description and it struck me as pretty detailed and more readable than many entries on that site. Thanks!
Frank, Unless you specify a professional format. Chat GPT will write a flowery description with a lot of adverbs. I would have liked to see the history of the car, did it come from a collection, etc. Best, Bruce
Thanks!
The description looks like it was a cut and paste job from a magazine article. Bidding ended at $42k
Actually 1976 was the last year you could get true duals.My 1976 Trans Am was a true dual car,no cats,no smog pump,no fuel filler baffle.It was federal emissions,built in Norwood,OH.Cars built in Van Nuys CA were 50 state legal and came with all the smog equip and cats.
Must have been an export model or someone goofed on the assembly line.
Or the dealer installed duals & a ’74 or earlier fuel filler.
(& possibly sold it as a used car.)
The EPA would have fits, tho, if they found out.
’74s had trouble enuf meeting ’74 emission standards w/o a cat. It would be impossible for a ’76 to meet the tougher ’76 standards w/o a cat.
I have never seen a ’75, much less ’76 car without a cat converter, even made for outside California. The only CAR ’75 or newer that had no cat was a Honda with a CVCC motor.
Oddly, unlike the Chevy V8’s, none of the Pontiac 400s came with an air pump, even in the later ’70s, unless they were for the Calif market.
Great low option 74 SD-455 T/A – Perfect for Stock Class Racing – A 74 SD-455 T/A Has run a 12.46 @ 109 mph in Stock class Racing – factory style street tires etc. :)
Very nice car! Would love to have one just like it but not at that price.
Great car but my least favorite looking front end.
Clint loves it, but he might not want to go up against Wooderson and Melba Toast.
Buddy of mine in high school in 1991 had a 75 with a built 454, an 1150 Double pumper Dominator that sat on top and a Hurt shifter. No power steering. Boy that thing was fun to drive.
Beautiful car! An almost identical one of this car with 12k but an automatic recently sold for $104k on another auction site (behind with “B” as well) on 10/2. Had a white leather interior.
Is the engine paint correct? Mine was a darker shade of blue. Supposedly the darker shade made engine easy to identify on assembly line
In awfully good condition with that many miles. Was this car restored, or driven all those miles mostly at night – or at least kept out of the sun when parked.
& certainly never driven in bad weather, if original?
Hood bird looks new.
Is this car still available? Im interested here in CA
Ended at $42,199, Reserve Not Met.
Yall Funny and I actually purchased the car 70,000 original miles garage kept since 1997 no rust tuned up new brake system new tires she’s on the road as of today and the owner is a wonderful and honest guy you could ever met i drove 16 hours to purchased this GP and wasn’t disappointed at all and it was turning heads from WV all the way to Mobile Al were her new home is