First, I have to apologize for the lame photo. The original plan after buying this car was to drive it (yes, drive it) from Long Islang to Santa Monica. But the planned 2,800-mile drive ended after 18 miles (you can read more of the details on our Straightline blog). Bottom line, this is the only shot I got of the car with the hood closed. It's now traveling to California in the back of an enclosed trailer, and should be here next week. When it gets here I'll post some proper images that show off that Buccaneer Red paint.
So why did I buy it?
If you already know about the the 1973-1974 Super Duty you probably already know why I bought this car. If you don't, check out this site. The short version goes something like this: by 1972 muscle car performance was essentially dead in the water. You couldn't get a Hemi or a a Six Pak in any Mopar, and you couldn't even get a big block (383 or 440) in the Dodge Challenger or Plymouth 'Cuda. Engines like the LS6 454 or Boss 429? Those were like a fading dream for muscle car buyers still looking to go fast.
But Pontiac decided to give big-block performance one more go, and set about to produce a powerful V8 that still met the emissions requirements of the early '70s. That meant wrestling with low compression and a catalytic converter, among other things. Somehow, despite these restrictions, the Pontiac engineers created a 300-plus horsepower engine that could get the Firebird through the quarter-mile in just over 13 seconds. Ask anyone who knows the muscle car era, "What was the last true muscle car?" and they'll give you a quick answer: "Pontiac Firebird with a Super Duty 455 V8."
Pontiac only made around 1,200 of these cars between 1973 and 1974. This is one of the last SD455s produced (delivered in June of 1974), and it was originally ordered by, and delivered to, a Pontiac executive who kept it until October of 2008. It's loaded with nearly every option (power locks anyone?) and it has -- get this -- 16,870 miles on the odometer. It's also got a stack of documentation thicker than the Los Angeles yellow pages. This exact car was actually featured in a recent book about Pontiac.
I've admired the "last stand" attitude of the Super Duty 455 (and the engineers who created it) since I first learned the history of the engine, appoximately 25 years ago. I've been seriously considering a purchase for at least 8 years, and when this one showed up I felt like, if I was ever going to buy one, this was the one to get.
So far I've only driven it about 40 miles as part of my aborted cross-country drive plan. But I'll share more thoughts after the car arrives on the West Coast and I dig into the ownership experience.
By yankeez
on May 4, 2010
05:54 AM
So why was your road trip aborted? Did it break down on you or did you figure it was more trouble than it's worth to drive it..?
I've always loved the 2nd gen F-bodies. Growing up my Uncle had a Brewster Green '73 SD-455 TA, 4-speed no less (if he ONLY had that car today...). Last one I had was a '78 Formula that I sold last year, granted not nearly as desirable as what you got. Good luck with it and look forward to the subsequent write-ups about it.
By yankeez
on May 4, 2010
05:56 AM
D'OH! Just saw the link for the Straightline blog about your aborted road trip details.
By vwblues
on May 4, 2010
06:17 AM
yes please, more pictures. Man that thing looks sharp, I just keep scrolling up to look again.
By dougtheeng
on May 4, 2010
07:31 AM
Always cool to hear about classic car purchases. I'm not a huge fan of this particular vehicle, but I definitely enjoy reading the story and I look forward to more posts.
By brn
on May 4, 2010
07:52 AM
I had a neighbor with one of these (except blue). He seemed to hide, so I never met him but I saw the car a lot (never moving). It's a borderline ridiculous vehicle, not necessarily in a bad way.
By cruiserhead1
on May 4, 2010
08:05 AM
If you replace the Firebird TA SD with Pontiac G8 GT, the story could be about the last musclecar sedan that Pontiac ever made.
History repeats... maybe you should get a G8 GT next!
By iskch
on May 4, 2010
08:27 AM
Nice! The 455 is a very smooth engine and very capable.
By dscain
on May 4, 2010
05:22 PM
Outstanding choice and an amazing find! I look forward to hearing more about it as you put it in "Karl Condition."