This is Brian’s low-mileage...
This is Brian’s low-mileage SD-455 automatic T/A. Aside from one repaint, it is otherwise original, and has provided a wealth of details for Brian to apply to the restored four-speed T/A.
I wasn’t prepared for what was about to happen, and as a result, I didn’t get a photo to document it either. But it did lead to this feature. It was show day for the GTO Cruisin’ Tigers “Indian Uprising” all-Pontiac event. My first awareness that something special was happening was the sound—the sweet raucous rumble of four Super-Duty Trans Ams arriving in tandem, four of them together burbling and gurgling independent of the others. I turned around and saw a gleaming ’73 Brewster Green SD T/A leading the invasion. What an impression they made—visually and audibly!
Each of them looked really sharp, but it had been a long time since I had seen a Brewster Green stand-out like this one. It’s not an easy-to-paint color—it demands excellent preparation to look its best. The Brewster T/A caused quite a stir as the day progressed, and I had to learn more about it.
The restored SD’s 15x7 Honeycomb...
The restored SD’s 15x7 Honeycomb wheels are shod with F60-15 reproduction Firestone Wide Oval tires.
I soon found out that it was a four-speed car. What are the odds of finding a ’73 Brewster Green SD-455 T/A four-speed? With just 72 four-speed SD-455 T/As built that year and considering the rarity of the hue, the chances must be infinitesimal. Nobody told 49-year-old Brian Hoffeller that though. This sales manager from Amberg, Wisconsin, already had a low-mileage ’73 Brewster Green SD-455 T/A with an automatic trans when he found this one. I can’t imagine the likelihood of finding two of these Pontiacs.
Brian first saw the four-speed model at the 2003 T/A Nationals in Dayton, Ohio, but was not able to purchase it until 2005. He recalls: “As soon as I saw it, I was hooked! I had to have it. The car showed such detail, it pulled you right in to look for more.
“Owner Neil Cofell (who unfortunately passed away in 2011) and I had talked on the phone and by email on several occasions, but we had never met or saw each other’s cars. I remember it like it was yesterday! Neil had not been feeling well that weekend and had stayed in his hotel room until Sunday morning [show day]. I was sleeping in a motor coach ... in a field with a lot of show trailers. Being awakened by a ’73 SD popping out the back of a trailer will brighten things right up. I jumped to the window and watched as the beautiful Pontiac pulled out and headed for the show field. I had coffee on and was ready to move within minutes. Neil won First Place in the 1970-1973 Trans Am class at the Trans Am Nationals, the only time he showed the car at this level following its restoration in 2001.
The code WW7 hood bird featured...
The code WW7 hood bird featured a light green secondary color to better integrate with the Brewster Green hue.
“Over the next couple of years Neil and I became good friends. We talked often regarding the cars … always trying to improve something along the way. He guided me during the purchase of my automatic SD, confirming numbers and tags to verify it as a low-mileage original.”
In 2005, Brian offered to purchase Neil’s four-speed SD and the deal was made. He drove to Neil’s home in Bismarck, North Dakota, and spent a weekend going over every inch of the SD in order to learn more about how the restoration was performed. He even had lunch with Mike Dahl, owner of Northland Auto Restoration, who restored the car for Neil. Mike has over 35 years of experience in the paint and body business and provided more details for Brian.