HIGHLIGHTS- 1973 Pontiac Trans Am Super Duty - PHS documentation - Frame-off restoration - One of 72 4-speed cars built - Original matching numbers 455 Super Duty engine - Believed to be 18,000 original miles - Brewster Green - Original Black interior - 1st place in class POCI 2012 - Scored 990 at MAACN 2012 DESCRIPTIONESTIMATE: $175,000 - $200,000 By 1973 the first muscle car era was practically over, with the single happy exception of the Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, which continued to sell to buyers still insisting on power, handling and style. At a time when the other manufacturers had reduced horsepower ratings under increasing government regulation and pressure from insurance companies, in 1973 Pontiac doubled down by resurrecting the Super Duty name it had used on its earlier high performance engines, introducing the new Super Duty 455 CI V-8. Like its predecessors, the SD455 was hand-assembled by factory technicians, incorporating a reinforced block, a special cam shaft, aluminum pistons, oversize valves and free flowing exhaust manifolds. Pontiac rated the SD455 at 310 HP and 390 lb-ft of torque, the former figure much lower than its actual output of over 360 HP. The SD455 once again established Pontiac’s image as the most performance-oriented manufacturer of the early 1970s, a position it would hold for the next decade. That image would be helped along by the introduction of the boldest graphic treatment ever seen on a production automobile: the colorful new Firebird hood decal that framed the Trans Am’s Shaker scoop and spread its wings across the entire hood. Those two daring offerings characterize this sharp-looking Brewster Green 1973 Trans Am Super Duty 455, which at just 18,000 miles has been the subject of a sympathetic frame-off restoration to exceptionally high standards that included retaining the original Black interior. The 455 Super Duty engine is mated to a Muncie 4-speed manual for the best performance combination of its era. |
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