If you say the words Super Duty to a Ford enthusiast, they think of a work truck. If you say those words to a muscle car enthusiast, they immediately think of Pontiac. Typically, they focus on the 1973 and 1974 Pontiac Trans Am and Formula. When all other engines were being gutted, Pontiac introduced a low compression, high performance engine that could hold its own with the greats in muscle car history. This example is located near Kerrville, Texas which is just west of San Antonio. The car is listed here on eBay as a classified ad for $115,000. There are 25 days remaining in the auction.
The engine compartment looks fantastic on this rare piece of automotive history. The seller is a dealer who I have bought a car from and presents the car nicely. The only variation from stock that I see is a 4 core aluminum radiator. Pontiac designated the Super Duty 455 engine as UPC code LS2 and RPO code 35X. It was rated at 290 horsepower and 395 lb ft of torque from the factory but many enthusiast believe this was vastly understated based on where in the RPM range the horsepower rating was reported. The base engine for the Trans Am in 1974 changed from the L75 D Port 455 engine in the prior year 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 is Cameo white with a white interior. For 1974, the colors of the Trans Am were limited to Cameo White, Admiralty Blue and Buccaneer Red. This car is equipped with a few options including power windows, 8 track stereo, air conditioning and automatic transmission. The car rides on Rally II Pontiac wheels and what appear to be some very old Goodyear Eagle GTII tires.
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.This leaves 731 cars equipped with automatic transmissions backed by an automatic transmission. This car comes with its Pontiac Historical Services build sheet to verify its authenticity.
I prefer the ‘73 SD to the ‘74, but unfortunately wasn’t wise enough to buy one before they became six figure cars. Nice example that will probably bring that much to the right buyer.
115k? Wow!….Nope!
Wow! is right. How could that investment ever be recovered?
The same question was asked when these cars hit $20k.
Repeat after me…”cars are not investments”…They are toys that go for what the market bears.
Eye watering 😭 price
SD cars cars in in the 85k range in todays market
Just saw two last week. One sold for 74k and the other is on the market for 120k.
I have always thought that the 70s Trans Ams were overpriced, but this one stands out as such. This thing is in SS 454 Chevelle territory, not to mention a veritable plethora of other investment grade cars. A really hard “no thank you”.
Beautiful car. It is reminiscent of the first Trans Am I ever seen with the bird on the hood, just wow.
Wouldn’t you think at that price they would have a cover over the flywheel? And what happened to the original starter? I’ve had a few mini starters and had horrible things happen. More than I would pay for sure.
With the right color and with a 4 speed, I could this price happening. But, white over white with an auto, I think that number is going to be a stretch. Time will tell.
I’ve never cared for the Gen-2 Firebirds much. But I really like this one. It must be the color combo.
The build sheet says it came with a 400 engine, not the 455. Clone? Also has a Champion radiator in it. Exhaust has been up graded to newer, better breathing unit, but once again its not original. Nice car and good luck selling it, but it has been modified.
Maybe I missed that in the ad. If this is not an actual SD-455, then nothing will justify its price. It would also be unethical to market it as the real deal…
Nick is right, the X in the VIN verifies it’s a factory 455SD. Build sheets are easily misinterpreted, what’s often overlooked is starting in 1972 all VIN numbers incorporated the engine size. It’s easy to research using Google, most desirable cars have web pages dedicated to deciphering VIN’s, giving a breakdown for every number. All someone needs to do is type in the the year and model, with this car if you type 1974 Firebird VIN there is a link that decides this cars VIN, it takes less than a minute. This is something that prudent buyers do for any car they are interested in, it’s the starting point of any research.
Steve R
Actually the build sheet and window sticker both say it came with the optional 455 and 400 transmission.
The top line on the items list is 400 BBL V8 ENG.
I don’t know Pontiacs well, but this jumped out at me. So which is it?
Car is listed as having its numbers matching VIN stamped 455 engine as well as having the x in the VIN. Non SD cars had a Y in that spot
I worked with a gentleman from New Jersey who brought a brand new one in 1973. He said that it ran so lean out of the factory that it couldn’t get out of it’s own way. He brought it to Nunzi’s in Brooklyn and he took care of the issues. He said after the it ran like it was shot out of a cannon. He never mentioned if it was a 4 speed or auto.
I spent a lot of time in my best friend’s ’74 455SD T/A. It was a rocket, and cool as heck! Never did I dream it could sell for this much! This one looks great, but wow, that price!
You never dreamed that one could sell for that price because it won’t. It is the sellers dream.
Absolutely crazy asking price. Owner should be a little more realistic. It’s a trans am…
In 1975 bought a brand-new Formula 400 automatic straight off the showroom floor while stationed in Brownsville, TX. Admiralty Blue/blue interior. What a highway cruising machine it was, small valve heads, smog everything, not much out of the hole but the faster in went the more stable it got…hit 140.
It was quite the chick magnet for its time. Got married and ended not able to keep the payments up. You know the rest.
I liked the Formula’s better than the T/A’s
I know where their is a 74 Trans Am with the 4 speed –455. The guy tried to sale it to me awhile back. Said it had some flood damage and for me to stop buy and look at it. I might in the spring. He never rove it much and bought it new. it had Thrush side pipes on it.. It had the orangish color on it.
Clint now knows what happened to his SD-455. It didn’t leave Texas.
Who’s Clint?
It’s from the movie Dazed and Confused. Clint drove a white SD-455 and Wooderson (Matt McConahey) drove a ’70 Chevelle SS 454 named “Melba Toast”. Other classic rides make an appearance, like a ’70 Orange GTO Judge.
Decent movie, if you’ve never seen it.
for those curious about original engine. Note in options list on Window Sticker, 4 bbl, 455 SD $525 option. A/C $435.
I’ve had to take a good look at the 2nd generation TA to try to see what the market See’s. I’m trying to understand why and how the market value of these cars have increased so much. Even the 75 – 81 non 455’s have risen unbelievably. Maybe because Pontiac doesn’t exist anymore. Just trying to make sense of it all.