One of my favorite lines in the 1977 Smokey and the Bandit movie is when Burt Reynolds pulls into the gas station and the attendant says “Trans Am, what’s your pleasure!” For this Trans Am, it wished it hadn’t been parked under a “lean-to” since 2003. If you did not grow up in a rural area, a lean-to is an improvised cover with rafters that lean against a structure or pole. It is a not a garage and is pretty much open to the elements. This car has patina in spades due to its exposure to the elements! It is a 1974 Pontiac Trans Am equipped with the optional Y Code 455 cubic inch V8 engine. It is located in Gray Court, South Carolina and can be seen here on eBay. The car is currently bid to $5,300 with 2 days left in the auction.
The seller states that the SD-455 sticker was put on the hood scoop in the 1980’s which was common for these cars but it is not a Super Duty. As many of you know, the base engine in the 1974 Trans Am was a 400 cubic inch V8 motor that produced 225 horsepower. It was the first year for the 400 in the Trans Am since 1970. There were two optional engines and both were 455 cubic inch V8s. The Y Code 455 cubic inch engine produced 250 horsepower and the X code 455 cubic inch engine produced 290 horsepower. The X Code engine, designated as the Super Duty, was only installed in 943 Trans Ams in 1974 which was much more than the 252 Trans Ams that received it in the prior year. The Pontiac Formula could also be optioned with the Super Duty engine. The Y code 455 engine could only be mated with an automatic transmission. The other two motors could be ordered with 4 speeds.
This car is cameo white with a white interior. The interior looks to have some mildew on most surfaces but is all there. The car was equipped with air conditioning and has the factory 8 track player mounted in the console. The exterior shows rust just about everywhere and the rear window is secured with duct tape. There are some good pictures of the rust and bottom of the car in the ad so you can see what will need attention. The 1974 Trans Am was the last year of the small rear window. From 1975-1981, the rear window wrapped around each side and was parallel to the side window. This car is going to need some work but it looks unmolested. The engine does not run but it turns over which is a good sign.
One surprising thing is that the honeycomb wheels look freshly painted and the vintage tires still hold air. This car could be gone through mechanically and put back on the road. The Y code 455 engine option was just about as popular as the base 400 engine in 1974. There were 4,648 Y code 455 equipped Trans Ams built compared to 4,664 base 400 Trans Ams produced that year. There aren’t too many of these cars left. I currently own a 1974 Y code 455 Trans Am that my son and I restored. It is a fun car but not near as fast as the 1974 Super Duty I sold last summer. What would you do with this car?
Unbolt tires/wheels, restore car, reinstall tire/wheels. Don’t kid yourself. This is going to take a lot of work….Oh, don’t forget to replace the tires…
Replace those tires! Goodyear stopped making Eagle STs around 2000
Replace tires every 6 years, regardless of mileage.
You mean every TWO !! years, in some cases. Especially if the car is parked outside, exposed to sun & big temp variations.
Online tire sites & local dealers can & will sell you “new” tires that can be as old as 4 yrs old!! & they will pick the oldest in stock(can’t blame em for that). With a local dealer, tho, one can request the newest ones in stock or in their local warehouse, but i still got “new” tires more than a year & 1/2 old!
& i’ve had NOTHING but problems with a whole bunch of shop & name brand tires that are H & V rated – premature dry rotting all over, bulges in the sidewalls, noise, etc. All with deep tread & low miles on em.
Best bet is an S rated tire if made in size you need.
Latest problem i got is deep wide cracks ONLY in the OUTER deep tread grooves going randomly all the way around on all 4 tires after < 5 years! Never ever seen that b4 (on 225-55-16 V rated local dealer shop tires). This famous brand has had a recall for its other model tires FOR CRACKING but not for mine!! Dealer said MY tires had those deep wide cracks due to dry rot(yeah right), tho there were not even hairline cracks anywhere else on the tires. & i ck/adjust air pressure every 2 weeks. Company refused to even have a regional rep LOOK at the tires!
I have heard modern tires are THINNER than those made 20 years ago, with less natural rubber.
Oh the memories. Kid down the street got one for his 16th birthday. White/blue. 4 speed. Dad was a CPA with more money than brains.
Kenny roasted the read tires off the car within 3,000 miles.
Pontiac shop manager told me he blew 5 clutches and 2 transmissions under warranty.
Fun times.
Um. Stupid kid. I know. I was one
I looked at this car a few days a go and wanted to put it on Barn Finds to see some of the comments that would come in. Elrod is correct, after you look closer you notice how much work this once beautiful TransAm will need to become great again. I’m sure it’s just me, but how do some people let such nice car go this far into neglect. Now that typed my two cents worth I can go back to watching Barrett Jackson and see what this will look like fully restored.
The car had to be in a high humidity or wet climate to get that bad. Plus neglect added. Before taking off the wheels remove duct tape from rear window
That’s a lot of rust any prospective owner will get for 5k, maybe even more…? Not only the trunk lid but also where the hinges attach to the body seems to have rot through as does the lower backlight/upper RH quarter area +++.
At least seller seems like an honest guy and points out what’s bad. Even his Westfalia may be a better project car. Being such a popular model I’m pretty sure every panel is available, however I’m really curious whether people bidding on this have any idea how comprehensive bodywork lays ahead to heal this TA…?
The FULL quarter panels on the ’74 camaro & firebird are 1 year only UNIQUE because they incorporate/accomodate the new 5 mph rear bumpers, but they STILL have the NON curved ’70-3 rear window. I would think a FULL repro qtr panel for a ’74 is not being made today – not much of a market – & a NOS one would be near unobtainium.
There is a website that has the formula for computing a car’s net horsepower if you input its weight and quarter mile time. Comes out pretty close to post-1972 numbers.
I have a mechanic friend that’s neighbor head one of these with one of the 455’s…. He changed the needle jet in the carb and really made that motor come to life !!!
Reminds me of HS & my 2nd car, a ’75 Formula the prior owner built that eng up. Had a turbo 400 Fairbanks trans in it. Yellow/black int & accents (a black shaker put thru the Formula hood) Blacked out tail lights & spoilers. After 3 yrs of tickets, figured if ya can’t beat em, join em lol! Nice to see ins rates drop not long after.
#MTAGA
Make Trans Am Great Again.
Why, oh way, would someone keep this beauty stored outside under a lean-to???
If you pull off the duct tape, the window may fall out.
It’s sad. These really were lovely cars, and a blast to drive. But they were coming into my dad’s body shop when I worked for him in the 1970s to have their rust repaired. God knows what one would be like stored outside for 40+ years anywhere but the desert. I’m sure you can buy the body panels for this car. The restorer can simplify his parts list by bringing in a 1974 Motor Crash Guide, point at all the sheet metal shown, and say, “Give me one of everything”.
If I were to purchase this automobile I would pay another $20,000.00 to get to beat the shoot out the guy that parked it 2003. There are some people that need their IQ raised by a thorough butt whooping or better yet a good old fashion switching. If you are from the southern United States, you will know what a switching is. The accused is ordered to go outside and cut a long “switch” for me a plum branch. My grandmother and grandfather should just used piano wire.
Alright I’m back. Just watched a fully restored 1974 Pontiac TransAm same color sell for $51,000 dollars at Barrett Jackson.. So I’ll past on this rust bucket and just save up a little more dough and buy a completely restored TransAm and enjoy it this summer while driving up Pacific coast highway heading up to Pebble Beach in August