1974 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Hardtop

The Ford Mustang introduced the world to the pony car, but by the late 1960s the Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird had caught up. Strong sales of General Motors F-Bodies were growing partly due to their prowess on the track including in drag racing and the SCCA Trans-Am road-racing circuits. In 1969, Pontiac's limited-production Firebird-based Trans Am made its debut. They featured suspension and handling upgrades with big-block Pontiac power and a distinctive image and accoutrements.

The second-generation GM F-Body line was introduced in 1970 and they were longer, lower and wider than the prior designs. The new Camaro and Firebird benefitted from the lessons learned on the track. Shortly after their introduction, however, tightening emission safety, 5-mph bumper standards, gasoline prices, and insurance rates worked to bring the original American supercar era to a close. Within a few years, the V-8 performance car was nearly extinct.

Defiant to the anti-performance environment, Pontiac engineers led by Herb Adams introduced the Super Duty 455 V-8 engine for 1973. The Firebird Super Duty engine shared little with Pontiacs other 455s and many of its internal components were sourced from Pontiacs 366 NASCAR engine. It had a stronger block with four-bolt mains, forged-steel connecting rods, aluminum pistons, high-flow heads and manifolds, and a Ram Air III camshaft. They were conservatively rated at 290 bhp SAE net, but actually offered more than 350 horsepower in stock form. Zero-to-sixty mph was accomplished in 5.4 seconds and the quarter mile times were in the 13 second range at 103 mph.

The Firebirds entered 1974 unchanged, with the exception of the Firebirds new front-end design.

This example has 78,000 miles on its odometer. It has a matching number 455 Super Duty engine, TH-400 automatic transmission, Safe-T-Track rear, power disc brakes, power door locks, air conditioning, tilt wheel, power steering, and power windows. It has the original special order 2 tone white & blue bucket seat interior.

By Daniel Vaughan | Apr 2018