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1974 Pontiac Trans Am SD 455

- Rotisserie Restoration
- Numbers Matching 455ci SD V8
- Numbers Matching TH400 Automatic Transmission
- 3.08 Rear End
- Buccaneer Red Exterior
- Rare Red Interior
- Window Sticker
- Factory Cruise Control
- 53k Miles Shown

In the early 1960s, Pontiac was well into their rebranding from an older man's car company to a more youthful brand. Part of the strategy was to be more involved in racing, and in 1961 the Pontiac Catalina was redesigned to prepare it for competition on the oval and the quarter mile. A specially prepared version of the Catalina was offered spec built just for racing. This competition-only option included lightweight body parts, stripped-down with minimal options, special race-only chassis components, and in between the swiss-cheesed frame rails was a 421 Super Duty V8. This car later led to the GTO in 1964, the car that spawned the performance youthful market, aka; The Muscle Car Era. In 1974 however, this era was drawing to an end due to rising insurance costs, stricter exhaust emission, safety regulations, and a looming energy crisis. Pontiac was now in a tight spot as it built its reputation as a performance brand and it appeared the automotive market was moving away from this trend. In a bold move, when other car companies were pulling back on high performance and large cubic inch powerplants Pontiac offered in 1973 the optional 455 Super Duty (SD) in their performance flagship the Firebird. Much like the original 421 SD produced in 1961, the 455 SD was a near-race spec engine offered in both the Pontiac Firebird Formula and Trans AM in 1973 and again in 1974. Only 1296 units were produced equipped with this motor during the two-year production making these cars very collectible.

Garage Kept Motors is very excited to feature here for sale, one of these very rare birds; a 1974 Pontiac Trans Am equipped with a 455 SD. This Buccaneer Red Trans Am has been treated to a very accurate and carefully completed full rotisserie restoration. The red finish was professionally applied over well-executed bodywork and polished to a deep luster. The underbody is coated in the correct red oxide finish with attention to re-creating the correct factory over spray in this area. Factory stainless has been fully restored and polished and all the correct Trans Am decorations have been applied including the subtle 455 SD decals on the functional shaker hood scoop.

The Buccaneer Red exterior over the red interior is a unique and rather rare color combination. The interior has been fully restored with new seat upholstery, headliner, and carpet. The dash features full instrumentation and engine-turned dash trim which was a Trans Am only feature that carries down to the shifter plate in the console. This T/A is well optioned including power windows and locks, air conditioning, cruise control, rear window defogger, power trunk release (in the glove box), and console mounted 8-track tape player. The factory AM/FM radio has been upgraded internally to offer a digital screen and auxiliary phone input. The trunk space has been fully detailed with the correct vinyl textured floor cover and the original jack and spare tire present.

Under the hood sits the numbers matching 455 SD V8 with the correct Y8 casting number. It is rumored this mill was underrated by the factory at 290hp (net) horsepower at 4000 rpm and 390-lbs.ft. of torque at 3200 rpm. The truth is the venerable Super Duty prepped engine blocks bottom end with forged connecting rods and nodular iron crankshaft was capable of much higher power producing RPMs but for insurance reasons, GM wanted to downplay the output of the engine. The engine has been completely rebuilt and the under-hood compartment has been restored to near-showroom fresh condition with all the correct factory decals. The power is transferred through a GM 400 Turbo-Hydramatic 3-speed automatic transmission to the GM 10 bolt limited slip differential. As this car was factory equipped with air conditioning it came standard with 3.08:1 rear gears. The suspension and underbody have been fully restored with no bolt left unturned during the restoration process and features power steering and power disc brakes up front and rear drum brakes. The power meets the road rolling on factory 15” Rally II steel wheels wrapped in 225/60R1 5BF Goodrich Radial T/A tires.

Engine is numbers matching. Block casting code is 490132, correct for 1974 455SD. Another 132 casting code also appears on the front driver side corner of the block. Block suffix is Y8. This suffix code is correct for a 1974 SD455 (290hp) mated to an automatic transmission. A matching VIN stamp derivative was observed in the expected location on the lower passenger corner of the block. The stamping is a "double stamp" done because the first hit of the tool was too light to read clearly, so the line worker punched it again, commonly seen. Block casting date is L203, which is December 20th, 1973. This is about 5 months ahead of the scheduled build of the car. The cylinder heads show "16" casting codes, which are correct and specific to both 1973/74 SD455 cars. Both heads show G143 casting dates, which is 7/14/1973. Which is around 10 months ahead of the scheduled build of the car. While this is a longer than normal between casting, there were several variables around the design and production of these engines and heads for these engines were documented to have been cast well in advance of engine assembly as there were delays in the EPA certification process for the SD engines. The carburetor is a 4 barrel Quadrajet. The carb number is 7044270 SF. The date is 0644, the 64th day of 1974 (3/5/74). The carb is both part number and date correct for the car. The distributor is a Delco unit, part number 1112205, which is correct and specific for 1973 and 74 SD 455 engines. The alternator is date correct for the car, showing a 4D25 date code (4/25/1974). The transmission is a numbers matching TH400. A partial VIN stamping was observed in the expected location on the drivers side edge and there is a 1974 dated trans tag on the passenger side with a PQ suffix which is correct and specific for a 1974 SD455. The rear differential is showing a GY suffix, which denotes a 3.08 diff with posi. The axle assembly date is the 123rd day of an unspecified year. This would be May 3rd of either 1973 or 1974 and which would be correct for the car.

This is a highly collectible car that offers future ownership an opportunity to own and drive a one of the last of the breed of true American Muscle. This car is truly stunning and will be sure to draw a crowd at your local cruise in or on the show field. Please call if interested or e-mail with specific questions. Thank you for looking.