Super Duty 455

There are a lot of Pontiacs powered by 455 engines around today. The 455 is the block of choice by many Pontiac enthusiasts because it is a proven platform for building power. With a small investment, a basic 455 can easily be built to deliver well over 450 horsepower at a very streetable rpm. The ultimate 455 blocks, the SD-455s from 1973 and 1974, are quite rare and cars so equipped are sought after by collectors. As a result, the SD-455 powered Trans Ams (or 1 of the 101 ultra-rare Formulas, and some other Pontiacs) are usually near the top of many collectors' wish list. The pictured Buccaneer Red 1973 Trans Am equipped with an SD-455 is owned by Larry Navarro.
LS2 engine option cost less than $600. 800 cfm Q-jet, 4 bolt mains, forged rods, TRW forged pistons, provision for dry-sump lubrication, a round port low compression head, dual exhaust and 290 net horsepower @ 4000 rpm.
Classic Trans Am interior without bells and whistles? Neat and simple!
Psst...Larry's TA has a working fresh air scoop for more power.

Larry's comments:

Well here’s the story about my 1973 SD-455 Trans Am.

The history of this car is very interesting. It has been bought and sold 4 different times (within Texas), owned twice by the first owner and suprizingly kept in its original factory form over 26 years. Every person that owned this car acknowledged its future collectability and had recorded a maintenance/mileage history (started by the first owner) that is documented on the back pages of the original owner’s manual. The odometer shows just over 63,000 miles at this time, which is low for a vehicle of this age. The car has been repainted original Buccaneer Red using a base coat/clear coat process, the engine, transmission and rear-end are untouched and have all the codes and numbers that the SD cars are known for. Options include air-conditioning, automatic transmission, honeycomb wheels, power steering, power windows, power locks, tilt-column, custom interior, rear window defroster, full instrumentation, AM/FM stereo, and the option code LS2, which of course is the SD455.

The car was originally purchased from a man who took delivery of the car in July, 1973 at Permian Pontiac located in Midland, Texas. Guy Mabee was a successful businessman who owned an oil company in west Texas known as Mabee Petroleum. Mr. Mabee ordered two Super Duty cars with every option that was available, but one Trans Am had to have a retractable power sunroof option that was only offered through a factory sub-contractor. He had the car shipped back to Detroit to have the sunroof installation performed by GM sub-contractor, American Sunroof Corp. better known as ASC.

From what I’ve been able to gather, this car is possibly the only SD455 Trans Am known to have this option. I called ASC in Detroit to verify if in fact they had any records of cars dating back that far. Of course I had received the run-around, calling different offices across the country before finally talking to a man located at an ASC office in California. He confirmed that he was in Detroit in 1973, back when the roof conversions were being performed; and told me that a majority of the cars that received sunroofs were the large luxury cars. "A few Grand Prixs, and maybe some Firebirds, but rarely if any Trans Am cars", he said.
I hit a dead-end as far as records go but was surprised to find out that service parts are still available for the sunroof should any problems arise.

All in all, the car is in exceptional condition. I am in the process of making the car show ready; only a little engine detailing and slight undercarriage cleaning is all that's needed for this SD to be a real show piece.