As the owner of a ’74 Firebird, I am biased in its favor, but it’s no long branch to go out on when I say that Pontiac handled the five-mile-per-hour bumper regulations better on the Firebird than any other model aside from (maybe) the Corvette. While the front end may not be quite as clean as it was on the gorgeous 1970-73 models, an argument could be made that the rear end is more cohesive, as those earlier cars had a chrome rear bumper paired with the Endura bumper up front. Regardless of your opinion of its looks, it’s a fact that Pontiac kept muscle car performance going for longer than just about anyone else, and while this Buccaneer Red eBay example located in Belpre, Ohio, does not have the Super Duty engine, it is a factory 455 car, and that makes it worthy of a look. The current high bid is $6,500, but it hasn’t yet met reserve.

There are, however, a couple problems worth noting, and they might not actually be problems. First, the engine is not original; it comes from a 1973 Trans Am, and the 455 was rated at the same 250 horsepower for both model years (the torque rating actually increased by 10 lb.-ft. for 1974). Second, it hasn’t run since the 1990s, although the seller says that it turns over with the starter, so at least it’s not seized. Of course, that means that you don’t really know what you’re getting, and that’s a big gamble. The Turbo 400 and rear end are both original to the car, if that matters to you.

The interior appears to be complete, although it will need a good cleaning, and given the propensity of our mouse population to find nooks and crannies in long-sitting cars, it may need more than that. Fortunately, this Trans Am has a black interior, unlike my Esprit’s, which has faded to about six shades of red. The Trans Am interior had to be one of the best of the ’70s, with a purposeful engine-turned instrument cluster, Formula steering wheel, and console to remind the owner that they were driving one of the best performing cars in America.

Being the owner of an Ohio car, the seller did the smart thing and posted several pictures of the undercarriage, and it’s not nearly as bad as it could be. There are some areas that will need work, especially around the rear bumper and lower quarters, but there would be nothing left if it wasn’t taken care of by somebody along the way. It looks as if it may have been undercoated when new, and for all the bad talk that Ziebart and similar operations get today, it saved my ’74 from the salvage yard. My Esprit was undercoated when new and the car still has its original floors and subframes, and it’s been a Michigan car its whole life.

Theoretically, a new owner could do the major mechanical work and bomb around in a pretty cool Trans Am for a while, but in reality, this is a car that probably deserves a restoration. There are a lot of Trans Ams for sale in America, but the 455 makes this one a bit special, and you’ll be driving around in one of the best-looking cars of the mid-’70s.