Fuel prices and insurance costs were rising but Pontiac was still producing large cubic inch V8 performance cars in 1973. This is an example of a 1973 Pontiac Trans Am that left the factory with a Y code 455 cubic inch V8 and 4 speed transmission. The car is listed for sale here on eBay with 3 days remaining in the auction. Currently, the car is bid to $15,600 after 19 bids. The Trans Am is located in Vancouver, Washington.
This car was originally delivered and sold at Coggin Pontiac in Jacksonville, Florida. It was not heavily optioned but did come with tinted glass, center console and the $55 hood decal which was first offered in 1973. From 1970-1972, Pontiac only offered the Trans Am in Cameo White with a blue stripe or Lucerne blue with a white stripe. In 1973, Pontiac opened up the color palette and offered Trans Am in Buccaneer Red, Cameo White and Brewster Green. Unfortunately, there are no pictures of the interior of this car but the ad says that the interior is nice and the dash is not cracked. However, the seating is not correct, the car needs new door panels and the console is missing.
In 1973, a buyer had a choice of the base engine which was a Y code 455 cubic inch V8 engine and the optional X code 455 cubic inch V8 engine. The Y code motor was rated at 250 horsepower and was installed in 1,420 Trans Ams with a 4 speed. The X code motor was the famous Super Duty engine that was developed why Herb Adams and produced 290 horsepower. Most enthusiasts believe that Super Duty engine was underrated in terms of horsepower. A Super Duty 455 cubic inch V8 engine equipped Trans Am tested by Motor Trend ran a 13.8 quarter mile but it was probably a pre-production model. Only 252 Trans Ams were built with the Super Duty engine.
Unfortunately, the original engine and transmission is no longer with this car. The current engine is a 400 cubic inch V8 engine and the transmission is a Borg Warner T-10 4 speed. From the factory, this car came with a Muncie M-21 4 speed transmission. The trunk pan does have rust in it that is probably from leaky weatherstripping. I am restoring a Brewster Green 1973 4 speed Trans Am currently which is the rarest combination, excluding the Super Duty, for this model year. This 1973 Trans Am is a great candidate for restoration. If this car is restored, it could bring $40,000 to $60,000 so the bidding will probably ended up in the $20,000 range because the car is running.
eBay hyperlink?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1973-Pontiac-Firebird/174674274269?hash=item28ab65e7dd:g:sMAAAOSwhYVgR3dj
I had a 73 4 speed Bucanner Red with AC and the optional heated back window… another one of those cars I wish I kept.
This really makes me pine for my one of 72 red 73 SD455 X code Transam 4spd that I sold when I retired 11 years ago. I needed the money at the time and got a lot of money for it, but it has gone up another 40k since I sold it…sigh.
They call him Flipper, Flipper, Flipper, faster than lightning…… The car was listed for $8500 asking and apparently sold on Portland (Oregon) Craigslist about 60 days ago, the car was in Scappoose Oregon in the hands of a supposed 35 year, “long term” owner. Transmission had issues per seller. Seats were unmatched right to left – different and torn, aftermarket radio in cut dash, no headliner, probably why there are no interior pics. It was a quirky ad with lots of oddly angled pics and no phone #, with a comment something like “you can pay me more if you are thinking I’ll take less”.
I’d have loved to own the car, depending on how pervasive the rust was as I have a Jones for a driver level second generation T/A but the seller never contacted me, though the ad ran 3 weeks and I tried to find the car every way I could. Left my trailer hooked to my pickup and my AAA card handy if needed ready to roll out but nothing except crickets. All the pics were in a yard, nothing of underneath – but seemed a pretty “honest” description of condition, no PHS docs so current ad is most likely a different seller that sent to PHS for the docs and is moving the car on. No surprise there. It’s interesting however that the previous owner’s ad had stated “all numbers match”? There seems to be a hotbed of Early Gen 2 F-bird activity in our area and a pretty aggressive Trans Am buyer / seller in Vancouver so it’s possible that some of the ‘bits’ have been gleaned and what’s left bolted back together and now on the ‘Bay. The hunt continues :-)
Thanks for the update! I have a 1975 trans am with a 383 striker and the original 400 on the side of my garage. Needs floor pans, trunk pan and talc. This one looked good for a minute until I read your post. Thanks
God, I wish it was a super duty !!!
One of best looking cars-ever. I had the ‘square headlight bezel/round light 1974 SD-455 Automatic Admiralty blue over blue; Screaming Chicken.Had some issues from previous owner bein that motor would occassionaly overheat. In Detroit for The Woodward Dream Cruise, a local radio station would have a restoration shop restore , then donate, a neat muscle-car. This year it was The Stone Soup GTO. The shop they had build it was on Woodward. I called the shop and I was assured that if engine could be saved their”guy” could do it. A couple months later the shop offeredf to dtrop off the SuperDuty at our farm in Detroit exurbs. The man who drove it and explained everything was Milt Schornack!..Never had problem with car again, and it ran amazing. These cars with a period tune were the real deal. I equate them in performance to MOPAR Hemis. They were all handbuilt with forged internals, special heads, etc. Incredible cars, but the car above 455 was an awesome performer in its own right.
I had one that belonged to my boss, we sent the motor to Butler and had them rebuild it ,but used only OEM parts on the outside, internally they built it better then Pontiac did. It ran like a raped ape but looked totally stock from the outside including the decal on the drivers side valve cover.
Butler is the king of Pontiac engines, they built a total of 5 for us, including a 505 in my own Smokey and the Bandit 78 TA. Mine was built for Nitrous and I run a 200hp fogger system. I never really use the juice because the engine dynoed at 460 without hitting the button. It is plenty strong enough on its own ! They are the ones that built Big Chiefs engine on street outlaws. If I decide to use the Nitrous it smokes the tires at 40 mph and goes sideways.
I did not notice much difference in performance between a heavy hi option non sd 455 vs a stripped 400 bird in ’73 & ’74 with same trans & rear. No special internal components in either motor, but quite durable nonetheless with reasonable maintenance & not too high revs with the cast rods. But that 455 is of course missing here.
I believe these & sister tire Grand Prix Radial GT from the late 90’s to be the most durable tire ever made. I’m still usin mine. Yeah i know what u r gonna say.
On the ’73 bird be careful not to drop anything down the small “slot” between the bumper & radiator support!
The SD engine was only available in 73 and 74, not in 72 at all…
brian,
If you are referring to Dennis Fitzmorris’s comment above(?), re-read his post – “my one of 72” – meaning one of the 72 4-speed Super Dutys that were built in 1973. It’s a production figure. Cheers.