My 1975 Pontiac Trans Am with the Factory 455 and Hurst 4-Speed would bury the 150 mph on the speedometer.
Don’t know what top Speed was, but no one ever out ran me on the Hwy when I had it.
Me and a buddy out ran a factory 455 t/a in a Gremlin. Red light to red light.
And that T/A driver y’all raced was probably laughing so hard at a Gremlin trying to race him that he forgot to shift gears. 😜
Had a cousin that put a 454 Chevy big block in his Chevy Vega and took a lot of folks money street racing way back then.
So looks can be deceiving. 😬
Anyhow.......
My 455 engine was not stock. Blew the original engine at 30,000 miles racing a Corvette out on the Interstate.
I had a local guy that drag raced Top Fuel Dragsters Professionally rebuild it for me. Cost me $3K back in 79.
He over bored it, shaved the heads, added a 3/4 Racing Cam, balanced and blueprinted the engine. Also added EDELBROCK Racing manifold, Holley 650 Double pumper Carb, Hooker headers, and a pair of Thrush Straight-through glass pack mufflers. And, I added a set of traction bars and wider tires for the back, as it was tough to get traction out of the hole with the 4-Speed Manuel transmission and an engine making 450 horses.
I had two buddy’s at the time with T/A’s and Firebirds.
On had a 78 Trans Am with the 455 and the other had a 75 Firebird with the 400 engine. And another buddy with a 69 Barracuda with the 440 engine. Another buddy had a 1978 Corvette Pace Car, and another had a 69 Chevelle SS with the 396 engine, and another friend with a 1971 Mach 1 Mustang with the 429 engine.
We all hung out together and spent every Saturday night we could at the local drag strip. My car with the rebuilt engine would run in the high 12’s / low 13’s on the strip.
None of the friends I mentioned above ever beat me on the Legal Drag Strip or on the street.
And I never got beat street racing either in my hometown.
I took the 455 decal off the hood scoop and won quite a bit of $$$ racing on the street, from folks that would cruise Main Street looking for a race on Friday nights
And, also, I should have proof read my original post before posting. I’ll blame it on the small onscreen keyboard on my iPhone. 😬
Again, My Trans Am was a 1974 Model. NOT A 1975 Model. Sorry for the confusion, but the Specs EdM posted are for another model. Not the one I owned.
Pissed me off because I knew they weren’t the correct specs for my T/A. Sounded like was being condescending before I went back and reread his post.
My fault, not his. So I guess I owe him an apology for acting like a asswhole . 😬
Here are the the correct Specs for the 1974 Model.
Engine type Pontiac Big Block V-8 455 SD
Displacement 7.5 l (455 ci / 7456 cc)
Power 314 ps (310 bhp / 231 kw) @ 4000 rpm
Torque 529 Nm (390 lb-ft) @ 3600 rpm
Power / liter 42 ps (42 hp)
Power / weight 189 ps (187 bhp) / t
Torque / weight 318 Nm (235 lb-ft) / t
Transmission 4 Speed Manual (3.08 ratio)
Wished I had kept that car. Only 212 were produced with the 455 SD engine and Manuel transmission.
One with only 9,500 miles sold for $111,000 back in 2015 at a Barrett-Jackson’s Vegas Auction. 😢
https://www.sportscarmarket.com/profile/1974-pontiac-trans-am-sd-455
