1974 Pontiac Firebird Trans AM SD 455 - Eastbound and Down

There aren't many cars from the mid to late 1970's that have retained their value or have even appreciated. Corvettes and Porches come to mind. Trans Ams are another.

 

Several things drive the price on T/A's. First, Chevrolet didn't offer anything comparable between 1974 and 1977 1/2 since they chose not to offer a Camaro Z28 then. Even if they did, chances are they would not have offered it with a "big block" engine since, with the exception of 1974, they didn't offer one in the Corvette. Odd enough that GM's best performance car of the era was not a Corvette so why would Chevrolet have a car in their own showrooms that could show up the Corvette? Shows you how much autonomy each of GM's divisions had back then. So, the T/A gets points for being the only thing resembling a performance car from that era. Sorry, Corvette lovers; the T/A, especially a SD 455 like this beast, had you beat. Beat big time.

 

Secondly and perhaps more importantly, starting in 1977, Trans Ams got a sizable amount of marketing with the very popular "Smokey and the Bandit" movies featuring Burt Reynolds, Sally Fields and that marvelous black '77 T/A. You can't discount the power of having one of Hollywood's biggest stars hawking a particular ride in a blockbuster movie. What red blooded American man, of a certain age, doesn't think of himself as The Bandit when they see one of these?

 

Finally, in particular to this T/A as mentioned, it has the much vaunted, 290 horsepower, "SD 455" (Super Duty); the most powerful passenger car engine GM offered in the mid 1970's. That alone commands a considerable premium over "lesser" Trans Ams.

 

Now, aside from all that, its hard to say why T/A's are so desirable, taste being so subjective. Personally, despite the lack of a real power, I've always thought the Camaro of this generation better looking.

 

 

One of many challenges with purchasing a car like this is getting a handle on how much you should pay for it. This particular T/A, for sale at a dealership in Central California, has an asking price of $18,000. That is a lot of beans for a 1974 General Motors product that has a body not made of fiberglass. Doing some mental gymnastics, though, if this was a project car you'd probably still end up paying 9 or 10 grand for it and need at least another 10 to 15G's to make it look this good and perform like new. To that end, this car is a "bargain".  

 

Breaker, breaker...son, you got your ears on? I learned long ago and the hard way that it's best to pay more for an old car in superb condition that buy one that needs work. If it's a restoration piece, let someone else take the financial hit. You'll save a ton of money in the long run. Money you can spend on gas and tractor trailers full of Coors that needs to be shipped from Texarkana to Atlanta.