The EPA HATES This Rare Muscle Car - The 1973-1974 Pontiac Trans Am Super Duty 455
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- Опубликовано: 1 сен 2023
- In this Rare Cars documentary, we go deep into one of the rarest and most exciting cars to ever roll of the Pontiac assembly line, the 1973 to 1974 Trans Am Super Duty 455. These ultra rare Trans Ams are in many ways the final muscle car of the initial muscle car era. Against all odds these cars defied the crazy emissions standards of the day and still were able to put down serious power when no one else could.
Learn all there is to know about the Pontiac Trans Am SD455 in episode 28 of our documentary series on the world's most fascinating cars.
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*Note, we are not historians. If you see an error in our research then please mention it in the comments!
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I've always been more of a Mustang guy but the 1973 S/D 455 Trans Am has always been one of my favorite cars. And the turned-aluminum dashboard is my all-time favorite of any car.
I remember the first time l saw one of those dash boards .It was cool .
These cars were a product of their time, took an emission strangled low compression 455 and retooled it into something that wasn't supposed to happen. Thanks Pontiac motor division for a really great car.
I don’t think it’s a thanks. That’s the engine they should have used in general and not in a special option super low production package. When you make a better engine you produce it and not just treat it like it’s an Uber expensive bit of iron like it was. If they had made that much effort in 1970 before the compression drop they made have made a statement. This says we weren’t willing to really try. Same reason it wasn’t in the GTO for those years.
The sd455 was developed as an unleaded fuel only engine from it's design inception. It couldn't run higher compression because of the severe spark knock with a points based distributor at higher compression ratio. When Delco developed the electronic ignition in '73 that helped all divisions for unleaded based fuel engines. Yes it was limited and pricey but at least it was available to buy. They knew that lead based fuels were going to be regulated out so they did what they could to give a performance engine to the trans-am. If they had done this in 1970 with the existing Ram air3 engine, it would have taken away from sales because of cost like you were saying. Forged engine components cost compared to cast nodular iron components. That's why they offered over the ram air4 in '70, it served the exact same purpose as the sd455 did on '73. For the upgrade you had to pay. Thanks for your opinion.
@@michaelroberts6450 the hand assembled engine with forged parts wasn’t needed. At the power level they were at those parts were a joke. A base L75 short block could have taken the massive 290hp without a problem. The compression didn’t need to be that low, but it wasn’t important. In 1970 would have been the time to make the effort for the SD455 at 10.5:1 compression or more. The distributor was not a cause for spark knock. In the end the effort to make the engine for 73/74 was cool, but a bit late and lazy. While there wasn’t much else going on it doesn’t make one thing great. Being the strongest at a nursing home isn’t first prize.
@@michaelking1869 the unleaded fuel was the cause for spark knock issues at higher compression ratio because of the lower octane change.
@@michaelroberts6450 all of the updated engines from the big 3 were being designed for the lower octane fuel coming as well as unleaded. The lead helps with the octane and the valve seats. Of course the SD was built to be run on lower octane fuel. It was built and designed for life after 1970. The compression was common to be lower than listed and most were made that low to keep Nox emissions down. The SD should have been made the same or similar in 1970 with much higher compression and the originally intended camshaft instead of doing this they waited and built the SD455 for 73/74. Time and sheer laziness kept it in the F-body only and only pride made them release a 290hp 456 cubic inch engine (never actually was a 455) as a super rare special option. It was so awesome that only some 250 or so were built for the public in the first year. Not many after either. I’m not saying it was all crap, but certainly not exciting. Everything about the car was what it was capable of if…
I have a 1973 SD 455 4,-speed that l paid $5000 for in 1991. It had 23k miles and was garage kept by it's 78 year old retired GM employee. It was for sale for over a year because no one paid that kind of money for an old Firebird. It now has 87k miles and looks almost new. It has most of it's original paint, not known for quality materials the dash, door panels, console and headliner all have been replaced. As mentioned in the video it has the Ram Air 3 cam, head work, headers and Borla exhaust vintage air and Wildwood brakes. My other cars are old Italian sports cars which l love but the old bird will hold it's own against any of them
Wow that is awesome that you have one, sounds like a sweet collection you have!
Zair congrats… was your built in California, or Norwood Ohio? SD owner here.
Thanks… a Treasure…yes , Build Quality…I ordered , “”a 77 TA/ SE/ Hurst Hatches/ **loaded /6.6,etc. :”” in late Oct,1976::: & ZIEBARTED:: (* probably waste, though noise Reduction,etc)), interestingly, (* &*before SMOKEY/ Bandit melodrama), we did get some 16-17 years FAMILY/ high mileage use….though lot of upgrades….& dollars, as was my dream new car,etc. The SALVAGE YARD, GAVE me $100.00 to haul away(* WARSAW INDIANA): the SNOWFLAKE GOLD RIMS probably worth more then also( 2023,
Absolutely love this car. This is when manufacturers still had balls and not run by marketeers. Thanks for the car history lesson. We don't get all these intricate details in Europe, so a big thank you.
Exactly, just car guys doing what they do best which was making fast cars!
Like many things... blame Nixon. As government started to build cars by mandate [notice the omission of engineer], things got more and more stupid. Marketeers? The EPA couldn't run a sandwich shop for a year that provided both flavor and showed a profit.
@@flinch622 by this time the marketeers were in full swing
@@timomomomo969 when it's not marketing killing a car's potential, it's regulations. It's worse this side of the pond.
@@chawenhalo0089 Marketing is what built the auto industry. The industry did it brilliantly in the 60s and 70s by drawing upon youth with a great range of colors and names. But I hear you, the bean-counters ruin all the fun.
When I was in High School a guy in our small town of 5,000 had a white SD 455 I used to see cruising. I hope it's still out there somewhere.
I'm in the UK. American muscle cars aren't exactly common over here, but from 1996 - 2005 I had a '76 T-top, 4 speed manual Trans Am. Originally it had a smog 455, but somewhere along the line it acquired a spicy '73 400 motor.
I wish I still had it.
Sounds like it was a lot more fun to drive than my '80 Turbo Trans Am 😅 although the handling (ws6) & 4 wheel disc brakes on a car that old was out of this world
Got a 76 T/A, no 455 in any 76 models.Biggest on 76 was a 400
But I did build a 455 and installed the Super Duty Ram Air 3 exhaust manifolds good for12 more HP the same as tube heads with out the plug wire problems of tube headers.
@@velocity5918 The 455 was available mid-year 1975 thru 1976. It put out 200 Net HP both years. It was the regular 455 that was available in any full-size Pontiac.
@@velocity5918 76 had a 455 also. 1263 of them
@@MrDrbullock Yes, I miss spoke, they had very low po 455's, never acknowledged them and pretty much concidered the 400 as the true go to block, sorry. But I must ad the 76 400 ci. T/A I restored did come with a lo po 455 swapped into it which I blueprinted into a very bottom end torgue engine, it's just that the 76 model 455 was never really worth mentioning, just a bad end to a once great engine aka: 455 SD 455 HO 455 HD and then the dismal last edition boat anchor.
When I was 6 in 1974 my grandmother bought one, it was a hideous lime green, with a green interior(she actually ordered it that way).
When I was 10 she gave it to my mother, who sold it 2 years later.
I always hated the way it looked!
I'd love to have that car now.
Man, that dark blue '73 Formula with poverty caps is one of the coolest looking cars I've ever seen, and I'm not a Pontiac guy at all.
Yeah, thought the same as soon as I saw it!
@@geoffhess2267 I found it on an auction site, it sold for ninety grand recently, but they're super rare. I think a man could probably recreate it with non-original stuff for less than a quarter of that, and it'd probably be faster and handle and stop WAY better. It was in absolutely amazing shape, though, a real time capsule.
When I had my SD, I knew a guy who had a Formula SD, with column shift. No power anything in the interior. Very rare. Midnight blue. I think maybe one of one. My Trans AM SD is midnight blue fully loaded options including original honeycombs.. Again rare based on the options.
My dad had a 68 1/2 Firebird with the RAII. Poverty hubcaps, bench seat and zero options. The other guys never knew what hit 'em
@@nucleargrizzly1776 Awesome. I love steelies with hubcaps on stuff that'll run. I had hubcaps on widened steel wheels on my 85 El Camino with 78 front sheetmetal (looks better to me), a .030-over 10.75:1 '68 Corvette 327 (later it got an 11:1 5.3L aluminum LS), a Tremec 5-speed, and a 3.89:1 Currie 9" with a TrueTrac. It was kinda loud, but if you were real fast (or a real dumbass, haha), it wasn't too intimidating. Miss that trucklet every day, I'll build another one one day. Nowadays, it'd be SLOW compared to actually fast stuff, but at like 2900 pounds and a fuzz over 400 horsepower in 2002 in a small-ish town in Appalachia it was PLENTY on the street. I'm honestly glad it was an El Camino and not a Regal, Cutlass, Malibu, Grand Prix, or Monte Carlo, that long wheelbase helped it not get out from under me, haha!
Still my favorite TA body-style even in '23.
The F bodies might be little rough by today's standards but they were a lot of fun especially with manual transmissions, I loved my 79 Z28
Love the F body cars
77 was when they made the cars light weight. my 74 trans am was thick steel and heavy. 1979 was a great year.
Anything that isn't a insulated spaceship crossover is rough for the average person today
@@redlight3932 Exactly! Now I own P71 Crown Vics, They are the newest " old car" you can get, no tech, firm suspension, a real "throwback" they are like the cars I drove when I was learning to drive, like my mom's 81 LTD also an old Cincinnati cop car
@@jrsmith1008 I learned in a 2000 Galant and went to a Buick Apollo so comfort isn't on the top of my list
I had a '71 455 H.O. with the M22. It was a fun, fast, and, for it's time, a very well-balanced car. Beautiful, too.
I also had a 71 455 H.O. GTO. It had a TH400 though. Bulletproof. Dearly miss it. My friend had a 72 455 GTO with an M22. Love that first gear whine. Sounded like a blower in first. Thanks for the post. It brought back great memories that we could never recreate.
The one that got away when I saw the thumbnail instantly took me back. Mine was the same color red 455 automatic, but it was the HO not DS and it was definitely a muscle car. I could only imagine trying to keep an SD in a straight line and anything with the shaker hood scoop. Well need I say more lol.
Damn, I wasn't gonna take my manual transmission supercharged V8 to work tomorrow but now I'ma gonna!
The only things that were close in '73 were the Boss 351, Buick 455 Stage 1, LS5 454 and the Mopar E86 440. By '74 there was even less competition in factory trim. It wasn't until the '78 EM1 360 Lil Red Express truck and the Pontiac W72 400 that performance began to pick up again. By 1980 and 1981 performance again hit an all time low with 305 Corvettes, 318s, Pontiac 301s, Olds 307s, the death of the Buick 350, weak knee'd blow through carburetted turbo Buick 3.8L V6s. Performance begain heating up again in 1985 with the 210hp 302 H/O Ford, 230hp L98 350 Corvette, Buick Grand Nationals.
Everyone is talking horsepower, but the torque numbers were crazy good on these SD 455 cars.... maybe 450 ft-lbs of torque. Torque is what separated American muscle from anything else! Also having an M22 rockcrusher trans and you were hard to beat.
I agree most people care about power numbers but Torque makes all the difference when it comes to how the car feels power delivery wise.
Not really. Transmissions multiply torque. A smaller, higher-revving engine is just as torquey at the wheels as a huge low-revver. You need to go figure out how gears work before spouting this nonsense.
@@lqr824 But the torqueyer engine will FEEL faster, and will be faster off the line. The smaller high-rev engine requires you do more work to get the most out of it.
450 bullshit......hahahahahhahaha
Actually it was 390lbft but SAE NET. Which was outstanding for da time.
290 hp was severely underrated.
Last stand of the classic muscle car. Who else could’ve delivered the end of the era than the group that started it all almost 10 years prior, Pontiac.
Actually Chrysler started it in 55 with the 300 - solid lifter dual quad HEMI, semi cam. The term "Muscle Car" just hadn't been invented yet, and it was a full-sized car, not an intermediate.
@@jamesbosworth4191im a Chrysler guy, but pontiac is who really kicked off the muscle car era and made it a big thing. I agree they didn’t make the first muscle car but they made the market
@@tl5108 Exactly, they made that market, and big time.
That SD 455 Firebird is a beautiful sleeper! 😍
Keep bringing these almost forgotten classics!
This looks fast as F just sitting still!
I don't think you could call a car with flares, spoilers & a massive screamning chicken on the hood a sleeper.
The formula SD455s would be the real sleepers!@@thomascardillo7099
@@thomascardillo7099Can't stand the people that say "SCREAMING CHICKEN"about the Phoniex decal! FORD THINDER BIRD was the Screaming Chicken....LEGENDARY PONTIAC FIREBIRD TRANS AM HAD WHAT WE ALL CALL THE "SCREAMING EAGLE" I HAVE A SILVER 76 T/A AND ALSO A SILVER 2002 T/A WS6, THE WS6 IS THE HIGHEST QUALITY CAR EVER BUILT IN IT'S PRICE RANGE, WHY THE PONTIAC DESIGN STUDIO NEVER PUT THE "Eagle" ON THE HOOD WAS A HUGE MISTAKE, IT COULD HAVE BEEN MODIFIED TO FIT THE DUAL SNORKEL HOOD AND CONTINUE THE HISTORIC HOOD EMBLEM aka: BEST DECAL EVER IN AMERICA AUTO HISTORY!!
@@rarecars3336DO YOU KNOW WHAT "SLEEPER" ACTUALLY MEANS? YOU CAN'T HAVE A SLEEPER THAT LOOKS LIKE A ROAD COURSE RACE CAR, A SLEEPER IS A PLÁNE JANE GROCERY GETTER LIKE MOM'S CAR WITH NO PERORMANCE MODS VISIBLE TO THE EYE. THE LEGENDARY 'Ram Chargers' OF MOPARS DESIGN STUDIO ACTUALLY GOT THE BIG WIGS AT CHRYSLER TO SELL WHAT I THINK I REMEMBER WAS PLAIN LOOKING DODGE DART WITH A 426 HEMI, THE CAR HAD A TINY
2 1/2 " BADGE ON THE FRONT FENDER BEHIND THE WHEEL WELL THAT SAID 'HEMI' TJAT WAS ALL...REAL STREET RACERS OF THAT TIME BOUGHT THESE RACE READY CARS, POPPED OFF THE HEMI BADGE AND WENT LOOKING FOR CHEVELLS, CORVETTS AND MUSTANGS!! THAT IS WHAT IS KNOWN AS A 'SLEEPER'. STRAIGHT FROM THE DEALERSHIP.
I have a fond place in my heart for the SD455. In '78 I beat one at a stoplight race on Metro parkway outside of Detroit with my L88 '68 Vette. I think the SD was a '73 that had some serious emissions stuff in it did not help. Back then, folks would remove the emissions stuff, reset the timing & pull the plugs out of the base of the carburetor to reset the fuel to air mixture for better performance. The oil companies were lowering the octane in premium gas & switching to unleaded didn't help. 106 racing fuel was crazy expensive also.
You'd be able to retire on that L-88 Vette alone now....
The L88 wasn't stock. It had a '73 front clip, a '72 rear clip, cross-wire mags, L60-15 GT radials. Hooker headers & a 1050 CFM Holley double pumper on an Edelbrock hi-rise manifold. Back then to return it to stock would have cost a small fortune & I had other priorities like a wife & raising kids.@@onazram1
Retire?? Only if you didnt plan on living for more than a couple years.
I love that green 73' at 0:55.
A tractor motor was required.
I'm a Ford guy, but I'd take Firebird over Camaro any day, especially the years you are talking about, 1973 + 1974.
The 290 hp motor still had the Pontiac HO cam. Still something like 218/220 duration with 410. Lift. Not terrible and they use this cam in the standard 350hp 400 GTO and Firebird motors. It’s actually the same cam used in the 1971 455 HO motor.
No actually the Super Duty had the Ram Air lll cam which was the next step up from 71-72 HO.
Also the SD intake and heads flowed 10% better than HO.
They just did a really really conservative horsepower rating on it. They rated it net horsepower at 4,000 RPMs but this is a 5700 RPM engine.
The HO may not have had the super strong block and all that. But make no mistake that 455 HO was a good Street engine with a good torque curve and ran similar to the SD.
HO cam 212°-225°
RA lll 224°-236°
RA IV 231°-241°
@@dannydennis318 Compression ratio? 4:09, 8:4:1
Love that raked '70s Charger. Brings back memories.
I have owned T/As most of my life. I had a 71 1/2 ( hexagon grill ) loved that car. This brings a lot of good memories back. Thank you.
My buddy worked in a Pontiac dealership at the time. If I remember he said that this was the first engine with a torque to yield bolts.
If you search online : valve cover decal super duty 455 pontiac 👍
@@Sheisthedevilyouknowwho-ft9weYou can buy perfect T/A Decals in all the exact color combinations. Shaker decals were 400 455
455 SD 455 HO 455 HD. I HAVE A FULLY RESTORED 76 SILVER (of course) with a very built low end torgue engine, borg warrner 'rock crusher' 4 speed with the factory hurst aluminim t handle shifter.I decided upon the 455 HD Shaker decale since I'm makin a whole lot more HP than the original 455HD did. Scatter shield, 2 drive shaft loops aluminum Ram Air 3 exhaust manifolds, 1981 10 bolt.Disk Brake rear, 2nd gen Snow Flake rims (the better version). Looks good parked next to my Silver 2002 WS6. IN 1976 I paid a mere $5,300.00 for a 350 C.I. (Chevrolet engine, Pontiac never produced any 350 block engines) new wonder color of the year FIRETHORN RED, White interior with red carpeting, auto matiç. Never once rolled up to a chick and said " hop in I can give ya a ride" and got shot down!
I remember when new cars switched to unleaded fuel and catalytic converters. That was when our interests shifted to Japanese cars, because regulations killed American cars overnight. Be very careful when you say, "There oughta be a law". They're doing it again, by the way.
@@user-ex5fx5jj7z it's on.
@@user-ex5fx5jj7z real ones never leave home w out a tinfoil condom on
Remember, it's rude not to lick the butthole after you've licked the boots
> regulations killed American cars overnight
It wasn't regulations, it was the unions. Regulations now are 20x more strict than then and we make the fastest cars ever. And no regulation prevented Pontiac from doing in 1974 what import brands were doing, just a horrible greedy workforce.
The real reason sales numbers dropped in '72 was the gas crisis and on top of that was the UAW strike in '72 which cut production of cars in the US that year. Shame that this was just skipped over in this video.
The Arab oil crisis was in 1973, not 72
The gas crisis started in late 73, not 72.
Shame we live in a world where facts are over looked
My dad had a 1974 non-SD 455 TransAm for many years. He sold it when we moved to SC and expanded our family in 2001. The next year was the last Firebirds ever built and the price undoubtedly doubled. He says it would foul plugs, but it was indestructible.
I Love the GTO front end, the '70 1/2 Firebird 400 had the same front end. I had a '79 black and gold TA with T tops, that didn't leak, for 6 years I loved it.
After mentioning the EPA in the video title I''m surprised there's no mention that Pontiac was heavily fined by the EPA for the 73 SD455 and had to change them in 74... Pontiac had installed a delay device in the EGR vacuum control system so it ran for only a minute or so and then was cut off .. just long enough to pass the tests at startup.
I was waiting for that to come out my dad worked for Pontiac since 1963 and they were very performance driven his buddy at the dealer had 63 389 tempest and I think my dad said he had put on a 421 but I'm not sure if I remember straight my dad is passed on now but the love of Pontiac and hi performance cars was not what my dad ment to have rubed into my make up but I thank him every day for working for such proud and classy division of the greatest car company of the 50 60 and 70s. So goes GM so goes the world as my realatoves used to say about the once mighty company. And you execs that ran this once proud and great company should hang your heads in shame for what you did to this fabled company and what you idiodicly did to my beloved Pontiac . I am stepping outside to spit on he ground at the mere bought of you fools. JOSEPH ALLEVA
😅 I was looking to see if anyone would say this.....I did not know about the fine part.
@@joealleva582 I agree with you 100 %. Also got my love for Pontiac from my dad, & it's moreso in me. I believe I read from Bob Lutz who was at GM at the time, when they needed that big loan from the Gov't 2009 or so (?) That the Obama administration told GM if they wanted the $$$, they had to discontinue Pontiac. That was the same about Saab, Hummer (Sold it ?,) killing off Saturn,etc. Its Obama's fault. And keeping Buick not Pontiac was ridiculous. Buick , before and after the bailout, doesn't sell much in the U.S., mostly China. Pontiac was still selling well here. Thanks Barack
It wouldn't matter anyway. The EGR doesn't work at WOT.
I hate EGR. When my mother complained about her new 1979 Mercury not having any power, I plugged the vacuum line to the EGR with a little BB. Way better part-throttle performance. True, not much different at full throttle, but we don't normally for extended periods of time at full throttle
I loved the grilles on the older T/A’s. Looks bossy.
Totally agree, this generation of them looks great!
Another great episode. Thank you.
F bodies didn't have power like that for another 20 years from the lt1 and the early 2nd gen f bodies are things of beauty even 74 to 81 dealt with the bumper regulations with grace instead of the bridge girder I had on my 78 nova great video again
You forgot the W72...very impressive for its time rated at 220hp really was 260 when dynode..I know I have a 79 W72 25k mile survivor
I have a friend with a 74 SD 455 car. He bought it from a gentleman that swore the engine had never been opened up. It had a distinctly cammy idle. We did some research and discovered it did not have a serial number stamped on the block. He made a couple more phone calls to the guy he bought it from and found out the engine had been replaced by the Pontiac dealer under warranty about 6 months after he bought the car new due to excessive piston slap noises. From what we could gather the Pontiac replacement engines were equipped with the ram air 4 cam. Apparently Pontiac had built a group of engines with the big cam before they found out it would not pass emissions. So they took the ram air 4 cammed engines and crated them up and used them as warranty replacements.
According to one of the Performance Mags. at the time, IF you put High-Compression Pistons in that engine, it would put out about 500 hp!
There would be NOTHING at the time that could touch it on the street, except High-End Exotics that aren't practical to drive on the street.
As a Gearhead, I wished for one of these, so I could have "the Fastest Car on the Street"! 🥰🤠
You wouldn’t have wanted to run into me with my 71 Z/28 with an LS6 454, we swapped out the cam for the road race 600/600 and went hunting hemis so I never worried or got challenged by one of the overweight ponchos
@@hilleryclifford1350 God, 50 yrs later, and I still hear this crap. Some kids never grow up.
@@joequillun7790Ok, yeah, maybe try running again a 70-73 Baldwin Motion Phase 3 Camaro and see what happens!!😁🛠️
@@williamfoster9039 Sure, now you're comparing a stock 73-74 T/A against a professionally modified car. Well, Ill see your Motion car, and raise you a Royal Oak prepared, 68 FB, with a modified 428, that ran 10s. Or do you even know about Ace Wilson's garage?
This is true on the 500 horsepower but you got to put compression back in it and the original Ram Air IV cam they intended.
In 1976 I test drove a 73 455 SD 4spd. I have been in love with them since. Wish I would have bought it. Couldn't justify the price then, can't afford them now.😢 Still my dream car.
You gotta get one some day!
The SD-455 was a near racing engine with a provision for dry sump oiling, forged rods, among special other features like Super Duty only exhaust manifolds. I believe the heads were developed by working with AiResearch, they flow like few other factory produced cars ever. It goes back to their not well publicized racing engine program in the late 60s, like chevy, ford,and mopar had, such as the Ram Air V, or the 303 that they didn't get ready in time before GM told their divisions they were getting out of the 5 liter & under trans am racing series. The block is very similar to a NASCAR 366 block they were working on as well. Pete McCarthy put out a book in about 1989 that goes into detail about Pontiac V8s, especially the ones that were high performance, even these racing program engines. From what I read years ago, GM really didn't want to let Pontiac put out this engine, the high performance era sort of ended in 1970 or 1972 depending on your criteria. But from what I understand, the tooling was ready, the blocks, heads, intakes, exhaust manifolds, rods, that were all unique to the Super Duty 455 had been in development for years, so the tooling was ready to crank them out. The 455 H.O. which had many of it's own unique parts was sunset in 1972. It reads like or sounds like the engineers or whomever, at Pontiac basically begged "please, please let us build this & get it out into the public, please,this would be so cool." That what I get from decades of collecting a lot of Pontiac literature. Story goes, you could drive it off the lot, just put slicks on, (no need to swap headers in), take it to the strip and run deep into the 13s at 104 mph
A “race” engine would have a forged crankshaft.
@@drippinglass you make a good point, forged crank. Probably why whenever I read about or saw sd455 on tv they referred to it as a "near" racing engine. Possibly a reason they didn't make forged cranks, I got my hands on hundreds of HPP & Pont.Enth. magazines over the last 30 years. I know I read more than once that dyed in the wool Pontiac engines builders talk about their crankshaft. They were labeled as Arma-Steel, no they were not forged, but some Pontiac guys said, you don't need one, I've never seen or heard of a Pontiac crankshaft breaking. (Something like that) but I do understand your point
@@Sheisthedevilyouknowwho-ft9we I think my problem is… my two muscle cars that I got back in 80’s for nothing compared to today are 440 Six Pack Mopars. A good high performance package, but all 440’s up til ‘74 had the same forged crankshafts. Chrysler could only afford to build one, so they put the good one in everything. I think the last forged Pontiac crank was in the SD 421 back in ‘63.
@@Sheisthedevilyouknowwho-ft9we Btw… arma steel is still hot poured metal. A forging is a hot blank that is pressed into shape. Better density, and no porosity.
@@drippinglass 👍
Nothing prettier than the Brewster Green 73 SDs
Ok, I will be 71 at the end of this year. I was quite in the mix when these cars were released. I worked at an Olds dealer at the time (1973). The EXXON fuel station next door had a woman attending that business at the time. She bought a brand new '73 SD in RED.
I fell in love with that car right away. I had a brand new '73 Olds Omega custom ordered with the 350 and Q-Jet. Could not afford the auto, so I got bench seats and 3 speed manual. I really wanted a 442, but, at the time, the Olds 455 was only in the mid 200 hp. range.
Ended up with a '68 442 only 7 years old, but needed a restoration and I got laughed at by everyone because it was during the GAS CRUNCH, but I KNEW the supercar era would be a mark in auto history down the road and proceeded onward. I had a great time with it for nearly 12 years.... Many cars later...................
I am a long time FORD guy, and now have a MINT 1997 SHO that I have owned 25 years now. UNrestored and needs nothing (low miles). Love taking to the car shows and turning heads because there are very few left, being a true limited production. Many attendees, ESPECIALLY the young ones, never heard of a Taurus with a V8 !
I DO find it interesting, that my TINY 207 cid. V8 makes only about 55 hp. LESS that the honkin' SD's 455 ((O: will out handle the Firebird and also run over 140 mph (FACT!) with it's OEM Z rated tires!
Amazing what the tech from now, 26 years ago was producing and meeting emissions at the same time! Nearest competition at the time was the Pontiac GTP, but Pontiac had to mount a BLOWER on the top of a larger 3.8 v6 to make 5 hp more then the SHO.
It is all fascinating auto history when you have lived through the days of the muscle cars first hand. Thank you for this presentation. (O:
My favorite part about making these videos is hearing about the stories people have with the video topic cars back in the day, so thank you for sharing!
This car proved to me back in the mid 70's that power was to be found in the heads. Not having the money for it at the time, the car I had was my moms old 1969 Chevelle Malibu. It had a 307 2bbl, but add a set of 327 heads, 4 bbl quadrajet and dual exhausts (all from the junkyard back in '75) you had pretty neat sleeper.
We couldn’t afford the insurance back in the day much less the car. I owned a worked 350 69 firebird convertible in the mid 1970s and couldn’t afford the awesome 455SD trans am. We dreamed of owning one. ;)
That's OK I hate the EPA, an unconstitutional, bureaucratic, non regulated, form of tyrannical, government overreach, illegal operation, that should be disolved at once
Agreed. FTEPA!
I knew this one because the 3 inch book i obsessively read on the history of cars. This was the last listed as the last muscle car
I had a 73 SD-455. It had 10,000 miles on it in 1999 when a UPS truck T boned it.
Well, that sucks.
What a shame. Bet you wanted to do something illegal to him!
Hey man, great video! I love the f body. I own a 88 trans am GTA hatchback, and a 99 Trans Am Firehawk. Both are awesome cars. This second gen looks so unapologetically awesome. It knows what it's about and doesn't care what others think. Awesome car
Don't forget about the big UAW strike in '72 that affected Firebird production, it wasn't because nobody wanted one...
Thanks for the SD engine being made, GM also made extra rods. GM had to limit to customers the forged rods to 2 per customers, due to Factory workers stealing the rods.
Lol that is hilarious
My dad used to have a 73, but had to sell it. I really did ding a ding dang my dang a long ling long
@Rare Cars - I had a 74 Trans Am and it was curiously marked "455 HO". It didn't say "Super Duty" on it anywhere. Tons of HP and torque. No idea what it actually produced, but it was STRONG. White leatherette interior, T-Tops, 400 TH automatic, color matched honeycomb wheels and those glorious chrome "Balogna-slice" exhaust tips. Loved that car. I have never been able to find any documentation about it's production. The motor had some work done before I owned the car - headers, solid lifters, bored .030 over, maybe a few other things, so I suspect the actual performance was significantly above stock. The markings on the shaker and the wheels may have been custom. I may never know.
I’d ❤ one of those. Had a 78 400 ! But this one had no bs or apologies on fast ! My friends mom had one a 75 formula 350.
I think the sales slump of 71-72 had to do with the UAW and them targeting the Norwood assembly plant. You can’t sell what you don’t build.
Right. There was a long strike in 1972, and that's what killed sales - not lack of demand for the cars. Thousands of 1972 base bodies had to be destroyed because they were unable to use them for 1973, due to a change in bumper regulations.
☝🏻 what you say is true. I was there in those days. And own a SD built in Norwood. I have separate comment about mine… if you’re want to read. BTW, union thieves at motor plant (and parts suppliers) when they went back to work for 73 model year kept stealing SD pistons, rods, and got a few SD cranks and heads.
I bought a black and gold1976 455 trans am with a stock four speed in 1978.That was truly the last of its kind .l wished I would have held on to it,but I was an 18 year old kid ...and you know the rest of the story
Great video! I remember a red one hanging around Hickory Hollow Mall in Nashville in the 80’s. I’ve always loved Trans Am’s; I’ve had 6 of them
Favorite car ever. Part because I grew up on the Bandit. Then mixed with my birth year. It's the best TA and just a beautiful car. I've had that green one you showed early as a screen saver since phones had screen savers. Lol. Loving your channel all around. Great content!
What a ballpark home run was that design! It still looks relevant today.
At least the 75-76 still had a 455, so cam and headers and you were rocking again
that is my favorite bodystyle, 74-76 are so underrated for the TAs
@@rarecars3336 and the birds in general. Everyone talks camaro but I almost always liked the bird better
A buddy of mine had a
1974 SD TA, it was pretty
badass.. Oh, and the
horsepower was rated
at least 100 HP below
actual..
Yeah Pontiac was definitely playing some games with those HP ratings!
@@rarecars3336 Pontiac was not the only one - the industry said that Net horsepower ratings were about 33% lower than gross ratings, but I have a Chilton manual for 1940 - 53 cars, and it shows Net for many of the cars in it, and that net rating is only about 12% lower than the gross rating. Allowed them to reduce the power year by year, but keep the published figures almost as high.
my favorite car of all time
The nicest looking front end of ANY car ever made.
Such a amazing car ! 73-74 stuck to the EPA!!😁
I have a 73 SD-455 4-speed that l bought in 1996 for $5000 which at that time was a premium price but the car only had 48k miles and was a one owner garage kept car. At 70k miles l had the engine rebuilt with a more aggressive cam, higher compression pistons and head work. Nothing super radical but it still dynoed at 412 hp at the crank. That along with 373 rear gears transformed it from a quick car to a total beast. I've had to get some interior work done and have had it's dark green paint refurbished but it still wears about 60% of it's original paint. For having that huge heavy engine up front the car handles surprisingly well and is fun to hustle through twisty back roads. I have a collection of mostly older ltalian exotics which l love to drive but the old Pontiac gives up no performance to any of them.
good buddy of mine bought a 1973 loved that car...
Couple a years too late. 73 and 74's were severely neutered compared to their previous counterparts due to smog regulations. Today's cars are truly the last of the internal combustion muscle cars. Even 4 cylinder turbo charged cars like like Camaros, Mustangs and Challengers blow this era of muscle cars away in every category. Happily though, these old cars can now be restored to their fire-breathing former majesty, but they will never handle and stop as well without major modifications. This doesn't mean i don't still love the shit out of them, I had a couple Z28s and a Formula 400 Firebird from this time. I'd give my left nut to have them back. Love this channel.
If you appreciate the modern muscle cars, you have Pontiac to thank for them all. Pontiac held out until the very end of their V8 production making performance cars. The SD is a good example but certainly wasn’t the last. They failed to mention that in 1975 that the 455 was dropped from the Firebird line completely. This was until public outcry from the lackluster performance of the 75 Trans Am. Pontiac purposely sent out fully loaded automatic Trans Ams with 2.41 rear gears to magazines. They only made the 455 a mid year option. They made the mistake of putting 455 HO on the shaker because in reality there was nothing special about it. It was the same 200 HP 455 from a Grandville or Grand Prix. The only difference was carb jetting and distributer curve since the 455 was only available with a 4 speed manual. I don’t think Pontiac trusted the THM350 behind the 455 and don’t think they even liked it behind the 400. The 455 was retained for 76 and the HO on the shaker was dropped. The 455 was discontinued after 1976. In 77 they came up with the W72 400 that had the same 200 HP rating as the previous 455 (though torque output was lower). It was up to 220 HP in 78 and 79, the last year for Pontiac’s 400. After which they turbo charged their 301 V8 for better or worse but it made 210 HP in 80 & 81. While they were turds in the heavy 80-81 T/A, they would have been an excellent choice for the 3rd gen T/A that was about 600lbs lighter. But GM being GM they scrapped the idea and Pontiac’s V8 engine production in the 11th hour and Pontiac was stuck with the garbage Chevy 305. The offset scoop in all 3rd gen T/As was for the 301 turbocharger. What else was there in 1982? The Mustang was put on the Fox chassis in 79 but the 302 was making what like 140 HP and Chrysler was in bankruptcy and churning out K cars. The horsepower wars began again in the late 80s when GM was tired of getting its ass kicked by the Mustang and Pontiac came out with the Formula 350 in 87. And it’s been going on ever since though it looks like it’s coming to the end.
But a 4 cyl still sounds and feels like a 4 cylinder.
@@jamesbosworth4191 Absolutely. A V8 produces a lot more torque at lower RPM than a 4 cyl. Time will tell the truth. There are still a good number of old V8 powered cars from 40 or more years ago. I don’t think there will be nearly the number of “vintage” cars from the 2010’s in 2050. Let alone many people who would want to collect them.
@@mikee2923 For one thing, you won't be able to get replacement computers or sensors. Electronics become obsolete very fast, then go out of production. Much faster than mechanical parts.
I had a 1970 version but with a 400ci motor, I've always loved that body style n front nose clip n rear trunk spoiler. I wish I still had it today.
i still have a 74 firebird ,one of my favorite cars ,hard-top and was considered the fastest car in the world for a brief moment in time ,it said formula by the side panel ,was green dry metalic paint, but i liked most of the coupés from the first half of the 70´s including 69 cars
One of my brothers had a red 1972 455 SD Trans Am, damn it was fast!
Could you make a video on the Pontiac Mera? It was a factory re-bodied Fiero that looked eerily similar to a Ferrari 308. Ferrari ended up suing pontiac in a large legal battle. I could even put you in touch with the president of the Mera Owners Club.
Pontiac took them to a different company to change the body panels and other stuff. Pretty good looking car.
@@lunsy9420 cooperate concepts were chosen to build the meras, but they were nevertheless sold officially through Pontiac dealerships
@@k00lkidz4 yeah I read the Wikipedia page. A lot of specialty cars were rebuilt by other companies. Shelby, the McLaren Mustangs and countless others
The UAW strike had a lot to do with the low numbers for 1972. Not a single car was built for 22 days. I think everybody's numbers were down for 1972.
That would be the Norwood plant.
@@joequillun7790 Right
Just swap the heads and cam and up the compression to about 10:1 and you'd be easily putting down over 400 hp to the wheels. In comparison, you can get a modern 454 LSX crate engine that makes over 600 hp out of the box. Ironically, nowadays these cars are so old that they are usually exempt from emissions, even in California.
Good vid.
The limited number of engines was mainly due to the UAW workers “walking off” with the special con rods , like the AMX production number dash tags
Hats off to Pontiac Engineering for creating this car. And thanks also to the Pontiac Sales Department for going out and getting 600 advance orders to make this car a reality.
Pontiac, gone too soon :(
Love the SD trans am now it's very suaght after today
Simply Badass!!
Absolutely
Although I'm a ford fan, I still like these old firebirds.its just a reminder of how it used to back in the early days of musclecars:OH yeah and by the way,I like anything the EPA hates, Long live the musclecars!!
There's a T-37 running around here with it's original 400. The guy pulled it for a rebuild and used everything either NOS or aftermarket stock replacement for an SD.
My brother-in-law had a white one 1973. It was fast as hell!
@rarecars you should do a video on the 1977 Pontiac Can Am 💯💯, I'm in the midst of restoring one
The '73 Camaro and Firebird are probably the most gorgeous version ever of the F-body generations. A buddy of mine had a 74 Formula 400 (in the mid 80s) and it would easily chirp the tires in 3rd gear. By the time I was old enough to buy my first brand new car, I got a '79 Camaro.
That speedo at the end 😆
There were a few of them around Toronto. Saw them in the early 80's as daily drivers in town. In 1989 there was a white 4 Speed (!!!!)
73 SD455 Trans Am for sale in the Auto Trader weekly newspaper. He was asking $13,500......... mint condition never winter driven.
From 1975 to 1985 the only way you could get any power was to buy a super car or buy a limited production run car which usually had to be special ordered from participating dealers.
Can you do a vid about the 73 chevelle the first car shown? That's my #1 on the wish list
Nearly bought a used 1973 back in 1978.
There is still a lot of nuance in EPA rules. I’ve worked with several engine manufacturers on engine certification, and there’s a lot of nuance built in deliberately in some places, accidentally in others.
That sounds very interesting. Can you give a specific example of one of those nuances? I tried going to the EPA's website (Annual Certification Data for Vehicles, Engines, and Equipment) and downloaded a spreadsheet. Can't make sense of any of it. LOL
@@ragingbull94mtx
The standards are set by engine class - so if the standard says 3.0l and above, and I turbo the hell out of a 2.0l engine to get better torque/hp than the 3 but the standards are looser…
Some of the nuances are to drive innovation. That’s why specific technologies aren’t written into the law, but emissions levels. Honda looked at this, and gave us the CVCC engine that didn’t require a catalytic converter to meet standards back in the Seventies.
Then there was the swap to EFI, which wasn’t legislated, but had enormous end user benefits. Legislation led to better engines.
Hell, I used to have to set the timing in my cars every second month if I wanted them to run right. It was a pain in the ass.
Now? They just work. By making the legislation open ended the manufacturers were free to improvise however they thought best. Now the current 4 cylinder Camaro could stomp my 1974 350-4bl 4 speed in 0-60 and quarter mile easily, and give a 1967 Z28 a hard time.
@@ragingbull94mtxspecific numbers of nuances???😂
@@fastinradfordable All of the above! Just want to learn, I find that stuff fascinating... but the spreadsheet looked like matrix code, so I just shut it down. LOL
I was an early Chevy guy. But the Trans Am I always prefered to the Camaro. The suspension and styling was certainly better. Especially the early 70s models. They are still really cool and I appreciate them now more then ever.
The beauty of the Pontiac engine.
One size block. Remove the emissions, Swap the heads to an older hi compression one, free up the exhaust open up that hood scoop and you get close to 100 hp. Switch out the cam to any of the ram air cams, upgrade the carb and manifold and the “stock” 180 hp is well over 300-350 hp.
Back in 1973 MGB couldn't reach the emissions numbers. They pointed out to the EPA that there are more automotive engineers in the GM transmission department than there are in all of England. They got one more year. The 74 MGB was the last one worth having.
Wow, great car!
It sure is!
My dad had a 455 Buick 1971. I did some work on it in high school. It had a problem with the tires..............................
my favourite trans am.
Hard to not like these, they are gorgeous!
Man, as always if I had the cash. Do a modern/retro build. Go back to “pre-emissions” setup, 6 or 8 speed and modern brakes. I can dream.
Oh yeah the restomod builds are just so unbeatable. Old school feel with modern reliability
My 1973 Pontiac station wagon with a 455 would run neck to neck with firebirds
The ultimate family hauler!
I would just love to get a '70-'73 Formula or Trans Am. I think they are the best looking cars ever. The '70-'73 Camaros are a close second.
This car was the firs to pass the stupid emissions and now we have bad ass vehicles that burn clean.
Only because of computerized fuel and ignition systems. If computers and fuel injection had never been invented, today's cars would be so slow that a late 30s V8 car would have no trouble showing them it's tail.
The european 1990s had the Audi RS2. The american 1970s had the Pontiac 455 Super Duty. Every malaise era has its monster.
70-73 were the best looking Trans Ams.
Remember the uaw auto strike in 1972. This hurt production alot
My dad bought my sister a new lmpala in the early to mid 70s that was a custom order 454v8 w/ extra rear leaf springs and a factory trailer hitch to pull her horse for barrel racing. Every power option they had back then as well. Factory dual exhaust. lt was faster than the Camaros of its time. l remember that.
Umm, (Sir/Ma’am) ☝️just 1 more thing 🤔. This was way after the SD455, but I drove my sister’s brand new 78’ Bandit to the prom. When I pulled up, got out, fixed my Afro and put the T-Tops on, I got a standing ovation, and was the talk of the school all the way up to Graduation. Imagine, a 17 year old kid driving a Bandit Trans Am to a prom..??🤔😊
My fav !
Some people in the EPA might 'hate' it... but even as a Ford & Mopar guy I love it.
Maybe the best looking F-body, too: Pure, simple and elegant.
With Olds being GM's experimental division.....I wonder if they had developed a good fuel-injection system for THEIR 455 which could have been then also utilized on Pontiac's 455.....and maybe thus given an economy and performance advantage unique to Pontiac.
The technology investment could have paid off for Olds anyway on their B and C bodies, plus the Toronado. And benefitted Pontiac in my wishful thinking scenario.