[oldskool]

'73 Pontiacs

(1) 1st year of the SD455 engine. They've won lots of races thru the years.

(2) The A-body got a radical body style change, which most Pontiac fans did NOT like, & still don't.

(3) No major change in the Bird body. They got grills with a large rectangle pattern. The SD455 Formy used the T/A shaker hood.

(4) The X-body Ventura got a Pontiac 350 as an option.

Because of the unpopular look, not many guys have run a '73 GTO. I suppose the most famous Pontiac racer to run one was Mick Leiferman.

But, from the time they 1st came out, there have been lots of SD455 powered Birds raced. John Clegg bought one new & got the D/S win @ Indy, that year. He soon switched it over to SS. They updated it a couple of years back & J.B. Clegg still runs it. It has run some mid 9's.

Bob Michael built an SD455 powered '73, raced it a while, then sold it to Don Kennedy.

One of the most famous '73's was the Herslow & Morlock SD455 powered T/A. It was a nat record holder as a Stocker, & made the cover of SS&DI mag. They switched it over to SS. It ended up being a multi-year record holder. A later owner was Phil Szupka. Then Phil Monteith got it & switched it over to a '74 model. Sal Biondo got a nat event win in it.

Michael Brand has been running a D-port '73, but in the last couple of years has switched to an SD455. His wife drives it some.

In recent years, the '73 455 D-port had the NHRA hp factor lowered, & some of the 455 D-port powered Birds have been running strong. One of these Birds has been passed to several different owners, beginning with Adam Davis. & is now being raced by C.W. Hoefer, in div 7.