The 1970 - 73 T/A's were the best T/A's ever! My favorite muscle cars of all time! Thanks Lou!

I had a Starlight Black, on Black Velour '78 W-72. Every option but T-Tops. The W-72 engine's came with factory chrome valve covers. BF Goodrich Radial T/A Tires were a must back in the day. My buddy had a Lucie Blue '72. 455 H.O. 4 Speed handed down from his is father, who worked in the design department at Pontiac. Also, he had a role in the design of the 2nd Gen Firebird and Trans Am. The (Rear view and Spoiler) you and I are so fond of... One Saturday they picked me up in the 1974 Pontiac Banshee III. 455 SD engine, Automatic transmission. Talk about turning head's on Woodward Ave! This Buccaneer Red '73 is a Beaut! Thanks, ~ John

When i went to college a buddy that I went to school with here in the Dallas area had a '73 with a 455 except in silver. We both went to college in Waco, @ 100 miles south. Many a time I would leave my brand new '76 Cougar parked at the dorm and hop a ride home and back to school with him on weekends just to ride in that car. Great memories! Thanks for sharing.

What a beautiful car!! That Super Duty engine was also available in the Firebird Formula. Those cars were the only Firebird Formulas to come with the factory shaker hood scoop. They are super rare! Way less produced than the Trans Am Super Duty. Thanks for another GREAT car story Lou.

This was my brothers car Mike Pergande that sold it to Sean. I spent many, many years underneath the car getting it ready for autorama shows in Houston. My brother taught me the details about Trans Am's and detailing them. I grew up idolizing this car and his Brewster Green 73SD car as well. Thank you for sharing the video. I had talked to Sean years ago about the car, really nice guy.

My dad owns a 73 cameo white sd T/A for over 45 yrs(2nd owner). You are 100% right the honeycomb rims are a PITA to clean but the best looking rims. I know because I spent some time in the 80s cleaning these rims after a wash. Everythings original with 85,000 miles. when I takeover ownership first thing new paint, the lower quarter infront of the back tire on one side is starting to rust and paint thining and starting to wear off on edges.

I almost bought one of these in the mid 70s. It was a 73 SD 455 in red with an auto and it had around 30K miles on it. I took it for a test drive with my dad as I was around 19 or 20 at the time. The price was around $4,500. My parents didn't want me to have it due to the higher insurance cost. Now they are worth a fortune. As an older guy now, I would have preferred a 4-speed manual. I do recall punching it in first and it got a big scratch when shifting into second gear. What a beautiful car and the last of the era. I did get a 74 Trans Am (white) with 455 and loved it, but it wasn't a super duty and the performance was nowhere near as good. Now I have a 2006 moded Z06 and it makes the super duty seem slow. Always wanted a fast muscle car and finally got one at age 60. Also had a 71 Boss 351. But I wanted a super duty 455. That was my dream car. Well, that and a 427 or 454 Corvette.

What a beautiful trans am Lou! Red is my very favorite color on trans am no matter what model year! You know me Lou! As I told you many times my love of Pontiacs and trans am the most in the general motors division. This guy sure has a real treasure there! I enjoyed the engine sound as well! Never knew much about a super duty heard about him before but don't know much about super duties! Thanks for sharing glue I really enjoyed it!

Another marvelous video Lou. I had a Buccaneer Red '73 Formula Firebird 400 a few years back and it had the sexyist exhaust sound ever.

What a beautiful car.... It's like a glass of wine it gets better as it gets older like me .. lol Thanks..

Awesome Lou《☆》Not often You see an unrestored 73 SD T/A, especially in such good condition ☻

OH Yes the S.D. Trans Am, absolutely the fastest new car you could buy in 73 and 74, everyone knows about the Trans Am, but very few know about the Super Duty. Amazing car for the time period. Thanks Lou!

This was my dream car going back many years,,,4 bolt mains the lot,,,a friend of mine had one of these engines and dropped it in a Range Rover,,,incredible torque,even in top gear it pulled good and we drove with just manifolds/headers,he mated the engine to a 420 TVR manual box,,,we went in it to the Ace Cafe London which was a legendary Cafe Racers cafe though now hosts many events for bikes/cars,,,, Had to smile "Big Red" is the name used on HA merchandise,,,, and in 86/87 I saw The then British Drag racer at the HA Bulldog Bash with his Ford pop and one year saw the sky go black as the jet car failed,,I've only been in a 79 eco Esprit version,,not the same of course but was nice, Thanx to you and the owner,,,have a " SUPER DUTY " weekend,,,

Another beautiful car Lou! Amazing car from 1973! I'm not a fan of any cars from 1973, but this one has won me over and I would take 'er home!

My absolute dream car. I have loved and wanted this car since the early 80's and used to draw it all over my notebooks in high school. Then one day while in drivers training, we drove past a red 1973 Super Duty 4-speed parked on a nearby street. I nearly screamed! I would walk past that car daily while doing what I could to save up enough money and courage to ask the owner if I could buy it. Then one day, it was gone. I later bought a 1973 Formula Firebird 455 with a 4-speed ( non Super Duty) while in college, and someone crashed into it one day, and totalled it. I still yearn for this car and hope to find one for sale one day.

I mean the car is sweet enough, but that diorama in the trunk is over the top phenomenal!!! screaming chicken, fire chicken, thunder chicken lol! we called them all kinds of stuff ! besides fast!!! thanks again guys! ☆☆☆

I thought the Black Bandit SE is the only car for me, and now your Red SD is also on my wish list.

I had a '71 TA.455 HO painted in red. Engine rebuilt 30 over with forged pistons (stock were not good) and the head shaved to give 10:1 compression. Muncie 4 speed desperately needed an extra gear. I should have kept it!

This is model of car is so special to me, since my first car was a 1975 Trans Am. Lou 👍 from Dallas Texas

Going back to the late 50s and early sixties I was generally imp r essed by Pontiac engineering especially the e ngines. Especially the 421 SD and 455SD. BOTH engines were seriodly underrated by the fsctory. Almost certainly deliberatelyive seen a 421 SD engine on a dyno pulling 483 hp. The factory rated it at 405 hp. In 1975 coming out of A illo we Springs headed to I5 I encountered a white 455SD Firebird. At the time I was driving my q971 Ford Pantera. It was not stock. Id pulled the engine and gone thru it. Compression was 11 to 1 Crane solid lifter cam heads ported and extensively reworked aluminium dual plane f and Holley 780 cfm carb. Equ a l length headers rumming into gutted mufflrrs. On the dyno the engine put out 432 hp at 6500 rpm aroundc130 more than stock The Firebird was cruising at a round 50 mph. I downshifted from 4th to 3rd and started around him. Game on. I was running the standard ZF 5spd. He was running a 4spd dont know the gearing but probsbly around 3.36 . I wasnt able to pull even with him till the last part of 5th and had to shift to 5th by which time we were over 145mph. After that I ran off and left him. But it was clear Id simply run him out of gearing. I shut down at w 60backed off and pulled over. He pulled in behind me and we talked. Except gor hesders he said he was stock. And yes Id run him out of gearing. For my part I was surprised that he had been able to stay with me as long as he did since the advertised hp on the car in old terms as I recall was only around 370 hp and he was appreciably heavier than I was. I figured he had to have been making inorth of 400 hp. Another PONTIAC I liked and own w a s a 1965 421 2 plus 2 4 spd with tripower the hot cam and a 3.9 Posi rear. These cars were serioully underrated and were perfectly capsble of beating GTOs of similar vintage all day long. Years later around 2013 I had a customer with a 68 Firebird convertible that had been a 326 but came in with a 428. The engine had around 4000 miles on it and was not running right at all. It was put plainly a weak suck. Which was odd because acvording to the customer it had been built by a big name Pontiac guy out of Tennessee as I recall. Compression and leakdown numbers were bad and all over the map. Pulled the pan and found a LOT of metallic in it. Pulled the engine and rod and main bearings were wiped. Cam had 3 flat lobes the heads werent the good casting numbers which they were supposed to be deck height was down in the bore and it was running cast dished pistoons. Fortunately he had signed invoice that made it plain that almost nothing that was in the engine was what was on the invoice and what he paid for. So I called the shop that had done the eork and told them what I had discovered. I initially talked to the owners son who was arrogant and definant. Finally got hold of his father who I emailed pictures to. After a discussion involving fraud and breach of contract got almost all his money back. Discussed with him what he wanted the car to do. It boiled down to he wanted to beat big block Cevelles etc So I built him a 455 with CNCd Edelbrock aluminium heads a very hot hydraulic roller cam with steel roller lifters a dual plane sluminium manifold with an 850 Holley. H beam rods an aftermarket forged steel crank flat top pistons a compression ratio of 10.0 to one equal length headers a 3 inch exhaust all the way to the back of the car MSD 6AL ignition etc. I knew the car would have enormous torque and he had a Tremec 5spd in the car already so we installed a 3.5 gearset in the 12 bolt rear end. The little Firebird had so much torque you could take it off the line at idle in 4th gear. Without slicks it wouldnt hook from a dead stop but from a 20mph roll feathering the throttle it pulled like a diesel electric train engine. The power was pretty much all in by 5600 rpm He loved the engine and frequently told me for years about his encounters with 454 Chevelles 455 Hurst Olds 440 MOPARS etc. Since he never bothered to replace the 326 hood emblems it seemed he never had a problem finding an unwary victim

Awesome 73 SD car.beauty

Dream car ? If it was a 4 Speed. Cool car ? Yes.

Hey Lou. Awesome looking 1973 Pontiac Trans Am. I've seen my share over the years, but none in this nice condition. Lovely! :)

Awesome...you get to see the best Lou for sure. Love the T.A.

I had a 74 SD $55 the exact colour combo , takes me back, wow do I miss that car !

Forget the car that model is amazing. My brother-in-law makes museum displays and I know how much work went into that model. I have a picture of me holding the Stanley Cup (the real one) from the Hockey Hall of Fame display my brother-in-law made. Thanks for another great video Lou.

The 70 thru 73 were one of the best around! imo

im watching all of your trans am videos, getting me wound up

Nice friend to take the Time to make that tiny garage,those are even harder to find than the cars..👍 really nice car too.

Dam that’s nice and comes with a great documentation

Thanks for nailing one off my wish list Lou!

A very nice car. That engine looks and sounds like a beast! I always love all the detail you show in your videos. Thanks, Lou!

Always Loved my Firebirds since I can remember! Great Find and I learned a few things too. You the Man Lou! :)

Awesome job Lou!!!! I really enjoyed this video!!!!! You all ways do a GREAT jo of presenting such awesome cars!!!!

Love the 73 trans am Bill porter was the one who was responsible for designing the Phoenix on the trans ams hood Bill Mitchell was opposed to having the the Phoenix on the TA but Bill porter convinced Mitchell to have it as an option to the TA it was a big hit with the public its nickname to the Phoenix was the screaming chicken

I've been a fan of both f bodies but the trans am always looked cosmetically than the Camaro love this 455 sd trans am rare and special car

Great review as usual Lou. WOW 😮 what a car!!

2nd gen round headlight firebirds are the best looking. Thanks for spending time with this one Lou

Love the car, love the videos!

THE ULTIMATE dream car!! Thanks Lou! 😎👍🏾🥳🥰

Very cool! Thanks!!

All original...this would be a 6 figure car on Mecam easily. Very very desirable. Lou, you keep coming up with these lovely cars!

A true thing of beauty. And this is coming from a die-hard Ford guy. Just about every manufacturer had their crowning acheivment, and this, IMHO, was Pontiac's (be it in black, red, or white base paint).

Car Life magazine tested a SD 455 Trans Am in 1973 and cut a 13.8 at 103.6 mph in the quarter mile.

He had to open the garage door so you guys wouldn't choke on the fumes on that untouched 455, oh the 70's exhaust fumes!

Just a beautiful car! A true gem.

I've got the 74 pontiac firebird trans am with the 455 super Duty

My Dream car

Thanks very much.

Most beautiful and well made T/A ever made!! They had a gem!

Love this car! Awesome looking car! The best looking trans-am ever! Nice color!

Lou, yet my dream car again in red!! 🥳😎👍🏾😆

If I could find a 73 Brewster Green SD 455/4 Speed car, I could be convinced to do anything to own it!

Long live the SD-455.

Awesome

Awesome, Lou! Back in high school a friend of mine had 1 of these. Another friend had a T/A 6.6. Both were great cars & it was a friendly rivalry, but I don't think the SD ever saw the tail lights on the 6.6...

Love the model garage amazing

Definitely a beautiful rare SD 455 trans am plus it's all original nice color too the dash on this car is the same as the 78 I used to have.

Actually, it was only 1 year that you could get this with a Chrome bumper and a large hood. Bird 73 is a 1 year only.

Jerry titus raced those trans ams when he was alive there's is the first 1968 concept trans am that Jerry titus drove that went to auction in the recent years it was fully restored awesome car

great mine is very similar in green metalic paint , not dark green but a softer and dry shade of green, the eagle had took flight, but it didn´t made the car faster so, no problem it said formula in the side panel ,front part of the car behind the wheel

Great car Lou I love these old firebirds and trans am do you have a video on 77 or 78 firebird or trans am like the one from Smokey and the bandit

Very nice firebird

Hi Lou, this owner mentions Mike Pergande as the previous owner. I am Mike’s 3rd daughter, Michelle. Many memories come back when seeing this car video. Can you please connect me with the current owner? Thank you.

Dream car!

TA Guy Loved the video as I also own a low mile (18k) 1973 untouched survivor. What’s odd about both our cars are the interiors. This car should have the custom seats based on the red inserts in the exterior door handles and the grab handle over the glove box door. My car doesn’t have the colored door handles or the grab handle, but does have the custom interior seats and door panels. Both are August cars. Wonder if they were running out of parts and just put in whatever interior they had in stock?

Love the 70-73 front end

Super Duty!!!

The trans am was the GTOs younger sibling it even shared its split exhaust pipes with the exception of the earlier years

Beautiful survivor Trans am

Sweet 😀

This was the first year that the TA to have the screaming chicken 💯👍

GREAT JOB..I left you a VM

Much fine car I love it, will never get one.

"Last Real Car of the Muscle Car ERA" was the 74 SD 455!

Hey Lou I can’t find the one where Cuda Tom drives in Chicago

Actually, F body, 2nd gen 70-81, did not say Trans Am, any where in Interior. Good catch.

I have One of these engines. And everything under the hood. Nobody wants it. Crazy world.

I had one of the 4sp SD 455 mine was white with brown interior ,I had the Pontiac factory mags that came on the GTO

One of my goals is to own and restore one of these beauties.

I remember I could have bought one of those in 1988 for $5000...but I had no money.

Miss my ‘73 Esprit . Great handling car.

That whole engine is far from being a standard 455 Pontiac block. Nothing about it looks much different than a standard 455. They beefed it up internally with larger castings, special heads and combustion chambers. The government at the time considered it an older engine which had already been certified for emissions. That's how they were able to squeeze that one in on them. If they had sold a lot more they probably would have gotten into trouble with it.

My favorite T/A out of all of them, besides maybe the 69 Ram Air IV. Tough choice lol

The last Real car of the Muscle Car era was the 74 SD455, 310hp was pre production rating.

The Fisher Body tag do not have the rivets on them

Muscle Cars never automatic! 455 In Formula YEPPERS!

the original shaker hood has normaly a vacuum valve system to open for more air. On this car it's replaced by a sort of wire mesh. For the rest it's a nice original car, cost a lot of money now!

👍

That car is gorgeous! I have always listened to Christopher Cross ride like the wind and imagined my self running from the police in this car. But I have to wonder now if I tried to run from a modern police car in this Trans Am Would I have a chance?

LOL - did Sean say "1873 Pontiac TransAm"? - of course, I would never ever make such goofs. Not me. I'm perfect. I also sell winged camels to fleas. Okay - I had to rewind and watch his mouth and listen closer - he said 1973 - but it really sounded like 1873. I LOVE The Heck out of this TransAm! I also dig the encased diorama in the trunk, almost more! I love detailed miniature stuff like that.

🚙🔥🔥🔥🔥💨💨💨💨Super duty 455

1973 was the last year that the TA had a functioning shaker hood scoop after 1974 Pontiac completely closed the shaker after that

That guy owns all those cars?

He was trying to get rid of the exhaust fumes but you had to have him close the car door first ,,hmmmmmmmmmm ,reverse light was out. the horsepower on that sd 455 car was no where near what an sd 421 was in previous years .My friend had one just like that car same color ,and it was a dog . (I'm 68 years old) lou, and I remember when the muscle car era started. No room to work on that car under the hood.I've drove em all from Mercedes ,Nissan,chevy ,a bunch of fords ,6 mustangs 2 corvettes lotta cars .Right now I own a 2018 Dodge Challenger RT with the HEMI V8,and a six speed Tremec manual trans. Very comfortable doing anything under it's hood, and it's probably the finest fit ,and finish car I've ever owned destroyer grey with the black top edition package,and by the way,my friend had those honeycomb wheels ,and you got it ,he complained about those rims everytime he washed it .No horsepower ,loads of torque, drank gas like a hog,and then he wrecked it over some girl that broke up with him.Drove it right into a stone wall .totaled it.As always Lou very informative......

once i seen a white with blue letter outside blue inside 73 trans am sd 455 auto for sale i thought wish i could've bought it that older cars easier work on no ecm etc.

Pontiac never advertised their engines as big or small block they only advertised the cubic inch displacement of their engines and Pontiac was one of the first GM divisions to advertise their engines in literes the first car to have that badge was the GTO thier 389 was 6.5 liters

I sold mine in 1983 to support a move to Texas. Mine had the white interior like your diecast model with honeycombs, it had less than 40k when I sold it. Dumbest thing I have ever done in my life!

The early pic shows Rally II wheels, so I guess this owner switched to Honeycombs.

Trans Am, is mentioned on exterior, many times!!