[ponyakr]

This car has probably been brought up here many times. I just did a quick search & didn't find it. Not gonna waste any more time trying.

So, for those who know about this car, please post all that info here, so I'll know about it too.

While doin research on the 1972 NHRA Stock Eliminator season, I ran across lots of pics of this early 2nd gen T/A. The captions seemed to indicate Indy '72. But The track was obviously not the track where the US Nats was held.

The car had SD-455 on the shaker. It appeared to have a trunk mounted fuel tank, maybe, since there appeared to be a filler neck which came right up thru the trunk lid.

I just ASSUME that maybe this was some sort of test car for the SD-455 engine ?

Those who know, please post all the info you have about this car & it's performance.

Thanks !

Will post 10 of the pics I downloaded of it. The numbers & captions I put on each pic are just so I could have 'em in some sort of order.

[ponyakr]

Five More Pics

[ponyakr]

Trunk lid area.

There is also something on each side, beside the tail lights. Looks like a bunch of holes. But it may have been decals of some sort.

Can somebody tell us what those are ?

[napster]

Rocky

Great update. It is a shame Pontiac crushed that car. Do you know if it was one of the VIN #'s listed in Pete McCarthy's book?

I tried to get in the horsepower range you wrote with a 496 with cast iron SD heads. Fell far short of those numbers since the heads had a bad port job prior to my purchase and maybe a little under cammed.

Thanks,

Jim

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

The gold shaker may have been a flapper version , and the other perhaps a fully opened model for testing potential performance increases.
Just an additional thought

Would be great if pics of the red car and the black car surface someday too.

Supposing the inner metal rear body panel would have been slotted/drilled/cut/modified to go along with the venting holes in the fiberglass outer panel. Or the vents next to tail lights would have been useless.

Too used and modified to sell it out to Joe Public
But it would sure be extremely valuable if an insider had managed to tip their hat in time.
Not sure whether its Ram IV Inception would be worth more restored, or its test car configuration ?

[bird72]

"The Fabulous Firebird" (Michael Lamm) Has this car on P123. It has the Spyders front and rear in that shot.

Captioned:
"Herb Adams, as the head of Pontiac's special Projects adjunct, put together a raceable Trans Am in 1973, complete with SD-455, special wheels, and quick-fill fuel tank.

[jerry455]

It is too bad that it could not have been saved. That is the kind of car that belongs in the GM Heritage Museum. Early in the 90's, when Cadillac was scrapping old development and race support vehicles at their Clark Street Engineering Bldg., employees were hiding them in all kinds of places. Later, Cadillac had a museum at Mound road and 12 mile road in Warren Michigan, where they had a lot of these old cars on display. They are now with the other Heritage Center vehicles. GM has several hundred vehicles that are stored in several warehouses around the area.

[Rocky Rotella]

Originally Posted by napster

Rocky

Great update. It is a shame Pontiac crushed that car. Do you know if it was one of the VIN #'s listed in Pete McCarthy's book?

Unfortunately, I don't have that answer, but I'm pretty certain that it wasn't a production vehicle. I'd guess that it was an engineering mule or pilot vehicle used for press events.

[Transamric]

Interesting pics. Noticed; two different shakers, one without decals, odd added on rear wheelwell lips, no quarter panel flares, and if this is a '72 body, no front plastic valance, and no front bumper bird decal.
I don't think I've ever seen these shots before.

[giles]

PMD-owned car. 13M386 Michigan manufacturers plate

[napster]

If my memory is correct. That car is in Rocky Rotella's 2nd gen book in the SD section.

I looked at it just now. A back end 3/4 shot is on page 108.

['ol Pinion head]

Black & white pics of the rear of that particular car were in numerous early publications from CSK Publishing. Think writers Joe Oldham, Cliff Gromer, as well as early Thunder Am magazine articles.

[SD455DJ]

Yes, this was the SD-455 mule car that PMD allowed magazine writers to 'test' for there pre-production articles. The rear filler panel had 'vents' cut into it next to the tail lights.

Dennis

[jerry455]

It looks like it was at MotorCity Dragway, possibly. I remember pictures of that car in one of the magazines on Black Lake at the GM Milford Proving Grounds.

[keith k]

I've seen a few pictures of the car before, but not most of these. Pretty cool.
The pics I'd seen years ago were one of the things that inspired me to chase down a set of Motor Wheel Spyders for mine - one of my favorite vintage wheels.

[Formulabruce]

This car is now in Australia?
see post # 5275
https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...16#post5881316

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

I think its a 71 Body car - by the grills and front valance.
Has 1972 Mfg plates
Also has an interior roll bar

Must have been an ongoing test bed type vehicle
Not a TA color either

Have never seen or heard anything about this particular car before, that I can recall.
Thanks for finding all those pictures Ponyakr

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Originally Posted by Formulabruce

This car is now in Australia?
see post # 5275
https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...16#post5881316

no, that is a different car in Australia that belongs to 007.
But his was also pre-SD-production and used in magazine tests.
Was a general stock 73 Y-Code production car.
No body mods or special pieces, just an engine transplant.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

B.F. Goodrich Radial T/A tire in 1972
Never seen that lettering style before

iirc 1973 radial tire option were white stripe sidewalls
Those RWL BFG's would have been a Big Hit on new TA's

[bluebird455]

Originally Posted by Formulabruce

This car is now in Australia?
see post # 5275
https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...16#post5881316

Not in Australia, not the same car. this SD test car/prototype/test mule was destroyed.