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1973 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am
The 1973 Pontiac Firebird carried the styling from the 1972 Firebird.
Some minor exterior changes included a new egg crate styled grill
and redesigned endura bumpers. A new addition to the exterior styling
of the 1973 Firebird was the large bird decal which covered the
entire hood of the Trans Am. This memorable and appeciated "screaming
chicken" decal is well known by car lovers everywhere.
The highlight of the 1973 Pontiac lineup had to be the Super Duty
Trans Am or SD-455. This was a venerable beast of a car which could
strike fear into the most powerful of muscle cars. The "X"
coded Trans Am received a one year only high performance 455cid
motor which featured a reinforced engine block including addtional
main webbing support, forged crank, forged aluminum pistons with
massive 7/16 rod bolts, carefully engineered intake and 800cfm carburetor,
and a set of special high performance heads. These heads were the
key to making smog legal power in the Trans Am. This included a
specialized new manufacturing process which allowed thinner port
walls, swirl polished valves, and attention to detail. The results
were a highly effiecient cylinder head that made tons of torque
and horsepower. This all added up to a car capable of mid 13 second
quarter mile times at 104mph.
As with previous years, the Firebird was available with the Turbo
350 automatic or the Rock Crusher M22 (with Hurst Shifter). Firebirds
were also available for the first time with the Radial Tuned Suspension
The SD-455 Trans Am was likely the last great vintage muscle car.
It wouldn't be until the mid 1980's when car companies would start
to create similarly performing vehicles such as the Buick Grand
National and Corvette ZR1.
Production Information:
Base Firebird:14,096
Esprit Firebird : 17,249
Formula Firebird: 10,166
Trans Am: 4,802
SD-455 Trans Am:252 (72 M22, 188 auto)
Models:
Base, Esprit, Formula, Trans Am
Powertrain Options:
| Cid |
HP |
Info |
| 350 |
150 |
base |
| 400 |
170 |
R code |
| 455 |
255 |
Y code |
| 455 |
310* |
SD-455 |
* Net rated at 310hp. However, it is reported to be closer to 370
hp.
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