1973 Pontiac Trans Am 455 - A Primed Example

More Go Larry's quest for maximum performance took the T/A to the next level in the mid-'70s. "To be honest, I was a bit disappointed with its performance in stock form, so I pulled the SD-455 and took it to Arnold Motors in Ames, Iowa, where it was balanced and blueprinted. We also added a set of domed TRW forged-aluminum pistons that I purchased from former Pontiac engineer Tom Nell, which boosted compression to 13:1."

At this same time, Larry replaced the Super-Duty's factory Ram Air-style exhaust manifolds and original muffler with a set of tubular JR headers and a cross-flow muffler from H-O Racing. "I also added a shift kit to the Turbo 400, and replaced its original valvebody with a manual unit to provide full control over the shift points. I know the car ran much, much better overall, and I had it on the dragstrip several times, but I honestly can't recall what it ran."

The Trans Am remained in this state for the next few years, but once it became difficult for Larry to find fuel for the high-compression mill, he reinstalled the stock pistons, exhaust system, and Rally wheels, and removed the non-stock decals. Looking much like a stock '73 Trans Am once again, he parked it in a back room of the dealership, where it mostly sat for the next several years.

Though Larry never considered the T/A much of a show car, he attended the Trans Am Nationals in Dayton, Ohio, with it once. "All the stock pieces were in place, so I tried entering it into a stock class, but the judges and tech guys told me it wasn't original because black wasn't available for '73. So I asked them to tell me just what color it should've been. They found only dashes on the data plate instead of a paint code and couldn't provide an answer. We went back and forth, but they placed me in a custom class anyway."

The Next Chapter Sheer age began affecting the Trans Am's black finish and Larry rarely drove it, so he considered parting ways with it in about 2001. "It only had about 20,000 miles on it and the lacquer paint had started checking. I didn't have as much fun with it after putting it back to stock anyway, so I started thinking of selling it," he says.

Since taking possession of the T/A, Ron says he's done very little to it and has no plans to sell it. "I've only put a few hundred miles on it. It's such an original car that I can't bring myself to restore or modify it. The only change I've made was having the pieces that were once Buccaneer Red painted black to match the rest of the body, which I think is more appealing," he admits.

Conclusion Larry attends many Pontiac events, selling N.O.S. parts and enjoys sharing stories with hobbyists about some of the rare and unique Pontiacs he's ordered for himself or customers over the years. But none draw as much skepticism as the no-color Super-Duty Trans Am he purchased new. "I tell people the story about the T/A and they look at me as if I have rocks in my head," he jokes.

This particular Trans Am is just one of many unique Pontiacs produced over the years, and like all the rest, it too, was assembled in a specific manner for a special reason. Whether the others' original owners or selling dealers knew someone within the Division's corporate ladder who "could get things done," or it was just one in a series of several fleet vehicles to receive a special color or group of options, this story further proves that nothing was impossible-no matter how tall the tale seems.

Editor's note: You may have noticed that the photos in this story are a bit smaller and grainier than you normally see in an HPP feature. That's because most are scans from vintage 3x5-inch prints that were taken in the '70s and in 2001 by Larry Leist, the original owner of the SD T/A. Because the Pontiac has since had its red body parts painted black by its current owner, Ron Melvin, modern photos don't tell the whole story as much as these vintage ones do. So please take these photos in the spirit in which they are offered, as photographic evidence of a true factory-freak '73 SD T/A that we thought you'd enjoy seeing, regardless of the photo sizes and quality.