My dad has owned his 74 sd 455 since 1975 and has raced just about every car except a stage 1 Buick , nobody in the area had one. He said the only car to give him a run was a ls6 chevelle owned by his buddy, but he never lost to it. The sd had long tubes and a cam. Ran high 12s at the track. We got it out of storage after over 15 years of sitting and it ran a 14.0, stock exhaust and cam, 245 dry rotted tires and all.
Nice ride. As far as 160 goes.... sure it will with right gears. My RA III Formula auto runs 13.5 and my LT1 M6 13.8 and I can tell you that the old Pontiac pulls much harder in Drive than the LT1 in 4th (both drive and 4th being 1:1 ratio). So, if like tests say, my LT1 is good for 159, then the old pontiac will do it too with the right gears or another gear (overdrive) and then some. My old bird feels the same at 70 as it does 120. If you about off the road at 140 in the 79... rebuild frontend
That was not full out take off she would of burned the tires and got sideways I know because I have a 74 TA with a 455 and it's not a SD those things have torqe out the ass
The Problem with SD 455s. I had one like this. Wanted a motor rebuild. These engines are way diff than any other 455. I had a real hard time finding someone I could trust to do the job. The guy was suppose to be Pontiac expert. Said he had only ever seen one other SD. Told me how much faster he could make the engine. Port polish heads ect..He ruined my heads. NEVER let any idiot cut the heads on a SD-455. They are made special from factory for max flow. Dont touch um!!
@firehawk71 The crank on mine was gouged. I sent it to a machine shop for repair. After 4 months, and several demands for it back, he finally told me that "it was junk, measured .40/.40". After looking for bearings that size, I found none existed and again demanded my crank back. He said he just "threw it away" because he figured I didnt want it anymore. Come to find out he's a Pontiac fan. (Hmm...) I ended up having to buy a new crank. btw... Rockauto.com has the SD455 short block for $1,700.
@jhamilton07 Man that is not right the guy sould have gave you that crank back I think he kept it on you did you get any cash or anything out of him?? you sould sue his ass he has no right to throw away your stuff without your permission
Much as I like the SD Trans Am, I honestly doubt it can do 160 plus. It simply didn't have the aerodynamics (nor the horsepower) to do so. Even the far more aerodynamic late nineties Trans Am with the 305 hp LS1 could just hit 160.
Much more important than top speed, though, is that this car is original and pristine. Yeah, the owner could put in a different intake & cam, etc., but to have a perfectly original specimen is worth so much more than a few miles per hour. Beautiful car!
@crispiegee1 The SD 455 should have no problem hitting 160+. The SD 455 was under rated at 290 hp so that GM would allow it to be used in the Formula or Trans Am and because of high insurance rates at the time. In reality these engines were capable of 500+ hp with only minor modifications. My dad went to high school with a dude who had an ls-6 Chevelle (454 BBC, under rated at 450 hp) and the only race he ever lost was to a SD-455 Trans Am.
@1979Formula455 Yeah, I'm not buying it. If you could point to a contemporary road test that found that it was that fast (in top speed), I'd consider it, but there is none that I could find. In terms of quarter mile, the best times I've found for an SD455 is mid-thirteens (with the Chevelle being in the low-13s), so it's conceivable that the T/A could win with a better driver, better tires, etc. I'm not knocking the SD455, I love it. But people tend to romanticize the reality of their cars.
@1979Formula455 160+ there is no way it would go that speed on a road plus you would have it blow up on you from over reving it depending on your rear gear I had my car at 140 and it was all I could do to keep it on the road and the motor was ready to pop and thats with a 308 rear gear
@1979Formula455 An ls6 chevelle will never lose a race to a s.d trans am .Stop repeating bullshit stories that have been enhanced over time.Here in montreal we have a guy who owns the worlds fastest stock bolt on s.d he se owned it since new and has repeatedly told us that all stock it was a 14.0 second car,no better.Its a 74 automatic.Car now runs 12 flat.
@camirocz 73' SD could hang with an ls6 but not a 74'. The SD 455 had the most power in its 73' edition. It was the last GM car to hold on to its power. For 74' it was a ghost of its former self. 73's were almost right on 13seconds.
@judgegixxer Baloney one was rated at 310 h.p net and the other at 290.They are the same exact car except a slightly more agressive cam in the 73 .Not more than a tenth seperates them in a quarter mile drag race.High thirteens at best in totally stock trim.THOSE ARE THE FACTS!
@crispiegee1 number cruncher...... !!! my 400 RA III goes past 110 alot faster than my LT1 M6 (which was tested at 159mph). I know that with the right gears or an overdrive the car would def do 160 but more like 175 imo
@crispiegee1 The SD455 was rated at "290" hp. However, since the engine was going to originally be used for racing, a simple cam swap, bigger carb and headers would yield nearly 500hp. Little more than a few mph!
My dad has owned his 74 sd 455 since 1975 and has raced just about every car except a stage 1 Buick , nobody in the area had one. He said the only car to give him a run was a ls6 chevelle owned by his buddy, but he never lost to it. The sd had long tubes and a cam. Ran high 12s at the track. We got it out of storage after over 15 years of sitting and it ran a 14.0, stock exhaust and cam, 245 dry rotted tires and all.
murdertrain03 1 month ago
enough room an he could see 160. i have a 89 F'bird GTA completely stock (350 T.P.I) that has seen 145 and it was still climbing before i let off
vicmason25 1 month ago
Nice ride. As far as 160 goes.... sure it will with right gears. My RA III Formula auto runs 13.5 and my LT1 M6 13.8 and I can tell you that the old Pontiac pulls much harder in Drive than the LT1 in 4th (both drive and 4th being 1:1 ratio). So, if like tests say, my LT1 is good for 159, then the old pontiac will do it too with the right gears or another gear (overdrive) and then some. My old bird feels the same at 70 as it does 120. If you about off the road at 140 in the 79... rebuild frontend
ztwntyn8 2 months ago
That was not full out take off she would of burned the tires and got sideways I know because I have a 74 TA with a 455 and it's not a SD those things have torqe out the ass
79tazman 2 months ago
Nice car, but I expected just a little bit more from that.
methodsofmayhem1 3 months ago
The Problem with SD 455s. I had one like this. Wanted a motor rebuild. These engines are way diff than any other 455. I had a real hard time finding someone I could trust to do the job. The guy was suppose to be Pontiac expert. Said he had only ever seen one other SD. Told me how much faster he could make the engine. Port polish heads ect..He ruined my heads. NEVER let any idiot cut the heads on a SD-455. They are made special from factory for max flow. Dont touch um!!
firehawk71 3 months ago
@firehawk71 The crank on mine was gouged. I sent it to a machine shop for repair. After 4 months, and several demands for it back, he finally told me that "it was junk, measured .40/.40". After looking for bearings that size, I found none existed and again demanded my crank back. He said he just "threw it away" because he figured I didnt want it anymore. Come to find out he's a Pontiac fan. (Hmm...) I ended up having to buy a new crank. btw... Rockauto.com has the SD455 short block for $1,700.
jhamilton07 3 months ago
@jhamilton07 Man that is not right the guy sould have gave you that crank back I think he kept it on you did you get any cash or anything out of him?? you sould sue his ass he has no right to throw away your stuff without your permission
79tazman 2 months ago
Much as I like the SD Trans Am, I honestly doubt it can do 160 plus. It simply didn't have the aerodynamics (nor the horsepower) to do so. Even the far more aerodynamic late nineties Trans Am with the 305 hp LS1 could just hit 160.
Much more important than top speed, though, is that this car is original and pristine. Yeah, the owner could put in a different intake & cam, etc., but to have a perfectly original specimen is worth so much more than a few miles per hour. Beautiful car!
crispiegee1 5 months ago 4
@crispiegee1 The SD 455 should have no problem hitting 160+. The SD 455 was under rated at 290 hp so that GM would allow it to be used in the Formula or Trans Am and because of high insurance rates at the time. In reality these engines were capable of 500+ hp with only minor modifications. My dad went to high school with a dude who had an ls-6 Chevelle (454 BBC, under rated at 450 hp) and the only race he ever lost was to a SD-455 Trans Am.
1979Formula455 3 months ago
@1979Formula455 Yeah, I'm not buying it. If you could point to a contemporary road test that found that it was that fast (in top speed), I'd consider it, but there is none that I could find. In terms of quarter mile, the best times I've found for an SD455 is mid-thirteens (with the Chevelle being in the low-13s), so it's conceivable that the T/A could win with a better driver, better tires, etc. I'm not knocking the SD455, I love it. But people tend to romanticize the reality of their cars.
crispiegee1 3 months ago
@1979Formula455 160+ there is no way it would go that speed on a road plus you would have it blow up on you from over reving it depending on your rear gear I had my car at 140 and it was all I could do to keep it on the road and the motor was ready to pop and thats with a 308 rear gear
79tazman 2 months ago
@1979Formula455 An ls6 chevelle will never lose a race to a s.d trans am .Stop repeating bullshit stories that have been enhanced over time.Here in montreal we have a guy who owns the worlds fastest stock bolt on s.d he se owned it since new and has repeatedly told us that all stock it was a 14.0 second car,no better.Its a 74 automatic.Car now runs 12 flat.
camirocz 2 months ago
@camirocz 73' SD could hang with an ls6 but not a 74'. The SD 455 had the most power in its 73' edition. It was the last GM car to hold on to its power. For 74' it was a ghost of its former self. 73's were almost right on 13seconds.
judgegixxer 1 month ago
@judgegixxer Baloney one was rated at 310 h.p net and the other at 290.They are the same exact car except a slightly more agressive cam in the 73 .Not more than a tenth seperates them in a quarter mile drag race.High thirteens at best in totally stock trim.THOSE ARE THE FACTS!
camirocz 1 month ago
@crispiegee1 number cruncher...... !!! my 400 RA III goes past 110 alot faster than my LT1 M6 (which was tested at 159mph). I know that with the right gears or an overdrive the car would def do 160 but more like 175 imo
ztwntyn8 2 months ago
@crispiegee1 It can go 160 easy, if a 396 camaro can it can to
DEATH94SQUAD 2 weeks ago
@crispiegee1 The SD455 was rated at "290" hp. However, since the engine was going to originally be used for racing, a simple cam swap, bigger carb and headers would yield nearly 500hp. Little more than a few mph!
APontiacof455cubes 1 week ago
How fast can that car go?
jpmeyer95 1 year ago
@jpmeyer95 as fast as you want it to go as long as its a straight line lol
MrTransAm1979 1 year ago 8
@jpmeyer95 160+
CrazyForCooCooPuffs 6 months ago
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@jpmeyer95 mph
CrazyForCooCooPuffs 6 months ago