1973 GTO - what could have been

[442w30]

http://deansgarage.com/2009/’73-gtogrand-am-renderings/

[442w30]

Some Javelin stuff too:

http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2011/04/25/jav-olution-the-seventies-javelin-that-never-was/

[Tracker1]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 442w30</div><div class="ubbcode-body">http://deansgarage.com/2009/’73-gtogrand-am-renderings/ </div></div>

cool post Diego.

Just as an addendum, here is also what could have been:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&amp;item=290553121163&amp;viewitem= &amp;sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT#ht_1234wt_1167

[al8apex]

There WAS a 73 GTO, I had one for a company car when I worked at Pontiac, it looked like this (minus the goofy aftermarket wheel):

http://www.gtoalley.com/gtopics/73GTO8.JPG

[njsteve]

Check this out. It was at the PerformanceYears open house last weekend. 1973 4-speed Grand Am with a dealer-installed SD455 and paperwork to back it up.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/S7006621.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/S7006622.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/S7006626.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/S7006625.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/S7006628.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/S7006623.jpg

[mockingbird812]

I like it! Hey, maybe I'm related to them!

[al8apex]

A side note on the 73 Grand Am's, the very 1st Grand Am down the assembly line in Pontiac Michigan was a 4 speed 4 door maroon car, I was a GMI student working at the plant and I was amazed to see a 4 speed 4-door with the twin chrome tail pipes. IIRC it was maroon on maroon, details beyond that I can't remember.

[olredalert]

----Cal Wible Pontiac in Medina Ohio took my order for a 1973 Grand Am with the SD engine and 4-speed. Navy blue with saddle. I waited and waited and finally they told me it wouldnt be built. My cousin then talked me into ordering a 1973 Riviera with the Gran Sport option. He claimed that it would be as good as the Grand Am. He was wrong!!! I really wish I had explored doing what this fella did. I kept the car for about three months, sold it and bought a new GMC El Camino from Knafel.......Bill S

[442w30]

Why didn't you buy a Grand Am after selling the Riv?

[olredalert]

-----By that time the year was about up for ordering, or at least I thought so. The El Camino was in stock and as I remember I thought I could use the bed.....Bill S

[RAIIIT/A]

There's a '73 Grand Am 4 door at the local pick-n-pull. Its a burg on burg 400 automatic with buckets console floor shift gauges etc... It was kind of intresting that the horsecollar bucket seats didn't tilt forward. As of a week and a half ago.... the car was still there.

[69hurstSC]

Great pics of the clay Javelin from Iconografix! That line of books really digs deep into a particular make and gives you something new and fresh!

[StealthBird]

Very cool 73 Grand Am. The Grand Am nose was supposed to be on the new 1973 GTO, but Pontiac marketing decided to create an entirely new model called the Grand Am instead. They hoped the Grand Am would appeal more to a European-style buyer.

That NASA-duct Ram Air setup is ridiculously rare. None were installed at the factory, about a dozen ended up in the Pontiac Parts bins.

The original intent of the SD-455 engine was to make them available on the 1973 Lemans, GTO, and Grand Am. And the Ram Air setup was supposed to be exclusive to the SD-455 option. With delays in engine production, orders for SD-455 cars began to pile up. Halfway through the year, still no SD-455 cars were built. Then without warning, Pontiac announced that the NASA-duct Ram Air setup would not available on the 1973 A-bodies at all, and the SD-455 would only be available on the Firebird Formula and Trans Am.

The people that ordered SD-455 Grand Am's and GTO's must have been pretty ticked off. Not only did they not build the SD-455 GTO or SD-455 Grand Am they ordered, but Pontiac took the Ram Air system AND the SD-455 away from the A-bodies, all in one memo.

[olredalert]

The people that ordered SD-455 Grand Am's and GTO's must have been pretty ticked off.

-----I was!!!.....Bill S

[StealthBird]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: olredalert</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The people that ordered SD-455 Grand Am's and GTO's must have been pretty ticked off.

-----I was!!!.....Bill S </div></div>

<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/haha.gif

Bill, I have the original Pontiac memo if you're interested.

[olredalert]

----Mike,,,Thanks for the thought but I am now a died in the wool Grand Prix slappy (SJ style).....Bill S

[StealthBird]

I've noticed that for the past 2 years, the 69-70 Grand Prix's have been steadily increasing in value, now getting around $25K at Mecum. A few years earlier, they were trading in the $10k-$15K range. These cars have finally been noticed by collectors for their uniqueness, and for being the first of the short deck/long hood personal luxury cars, a design that influenced the 70's designs of the Thunderbird, Monte Carlo, Toronado, Riviera, etc.

DeLorean hit another home run with the 1969 Grand Prix.

<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif

[olredalert]

----I agree on all counts! I wanted a 69 GP SJ in 69 in the worst way and just couldnt swing it.
----That blue J-model at Mecum was a very nicely restored car. I liked it. However, it wasnt an SJ, and that and other things help value-wise with GPs alot. An original leather interior adds tremendously. After all it is a luxury car. 4-speed SJs seem to bring roughly $20,000 more than comparable T-400s. HOs are very desireable. Put the two together and you have a very valuable Pontiac.
----I wish I would have kept the triple black 69 SJ-HO with leather and AC that I had back in my Classic Motors days, but something else caught my eye. It wasnt a 4-speed but had just about all the other good attributes.
----I really like the one I have now. It isnt an HO but has just about every other option on the option list and its an excellent color combo. I went thru the motor and pumped it up just a bit so its probably a bit stronger than an HO anyway. It just suits me.....Bill S

[RAIIIT/A]

It is nice to see that the early G-body GP's are finally getting some well deserved recognition...... On the subject of '69 Grand Prixs.... About a month ago this black plate 1 family owned original paint '69 428 SJ fell into my lap.... The elderly owners saw my '71 GP parked in front of my business and asked if I would be intrested in buying a '69.

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w65/764spdta/69GP002.jpg

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w65/764spdta/69GP004.jpg

[RPOLS3]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: olredalert</div><div class="ubbcode-body">----I wish I would have kept the triple black 69 SJ-HO with leather and AC that I had back in my Classic Motors days, </div></div>

Hey Bill - was that the one that you borrowed to us while waiting for the 81 to arrive? That was one sweet ride!

Jake

[olredalert]

----Must have been, Jake, as thats the only one I had during that period. It was a good old GP. I had to fix the edge of the trunklid twice while I had it but cant remember touching another thing. Bought it in Naperville at a gas station down the street from Stretches first shop. Sold it to a guy from northern Indiana, I think.
----Joe,,,I was just about to post just how rare it would be to find a saddle leather GP and this one falls in your lap. WOW!!! Looks very nice. Does it need a new home?.....Bill S

[RAIIIT/A]

olredalert - I would consider cutting loose of it as I am running out of garage space.

[GTO_DON]

Steve I was there also looking at that Grand Am. The Sd engine was not dealer installed in that car. I spoke with the owner at length and know the previous owner. The original owner bought what he could over the counter and installed it himself a few months after he bought it and it does not have a true SD block in it.. Anyway It was a very cool car!!!

[njsteve]

GTO-DON, What car did you bring to the show?

I always loved those 73 Grand Ams. I remember when they first came out. As kids we would always go up and squeeze the beaks on those cars because the urethane noses were such a new and innovative technology.

[StealthBird]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: GTO_DON</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Steve I was there also looking at that Grand Am. The Sd engine was not dealer installed in that car. I spoke with the owner at length and know the previous owner. The original owner bought what he could over the counter and installed it himself a few months after he bought it and it does not have a true SD block in it.. Anyway It was a very cool car!!! </div></div>

Don, so is that invoice that was posted above a fake? It appears the dealer installed the SD-455, as the invoice shows the total price of the car? <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/hmmm.gif

[njsteve]

Not necessarily. I think that invoice reflects what the original owner ordered in Feb 1973, but then it didn't get built that way by Pontiac, so he then put the engine he wanted, in the car on his own.

Back in early 1973 Pontiac was advertising all sorts of vehicular applications for this new SD engine. After months of waiting and waiting, Pontiac killed the other applications and restricted it to Trans Ams and Formulas, and further restricted them by permitting A/C only on the automatic transmission equipped F-Bodies. No A/C in a four-speed SD455.

[GTO_DON]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: StealthBird</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: GTO_DON</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Steve I was there also looking at that Grand Am. The Sd engine was not dealer installed in that car. I spoke with the owner at length and know the previous owner. The original owner bought what he could over the counter and installed it himself a few months after he bought it and it does not have a true SD block in it.. Anyway It was a very cool car!!! </div></div>

Don, so is that invoice that was posted above a fake? It appears the dealer installed the SD-455, as the invoice shows the total price of the car? <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/hmmm.gif </div></div>That was the way the original owner ordered it but like steve said it did not come thru that way. If you turned the page in the guys book it had the original bill of sale minus the sd engine and the money credited back. The owner told me that the guy got a ram IV service block and used that.

[GTO_DON]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: njsteve</div><div class="ubbcode-body">GTO-DON, What car did you bring to the show?

I always loved those 73 Grand Ams. I remember when they first came out. As kids we would always go up and squeeze the beaks on those cars because the urethane noses were such a new and innovative technology. </div></div>Your a Trans Am guy at heart, I had the 77 special edition Bandit Trans Am there. I was playing my Wings greatist hits 8 track all day and the battery didnt die. Did you get a pic of it?

[njsteve]

Sorry, no photos. Nice car, I checked it out while walking around the show. I too, was surprised that your battery lasted that long!
<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif

[olredalert]

----Joe,,,You have a PM!!!....Bill S

[TimG]

Bill, as I consider you a good friend, I'll offer to drive it from California to your door.........

That would be a fun drive......... <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/3gears.gif

[olredalert]

----Tim,,,Accepted!!! Now if only Joe will return my message we can get the ball rolling. You will love the one in my garage, Tim......Bill S

[smallblockhero]

had 2 of them in my shop some years back .i did a little resto work on them and then the guy sold them both. i have no idea what became of them.

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w95/drillsgt98th/scan0019.jpg

[RAIIIT/A]

olredalert - You have a PM.... sorry for the delay.... I was out of town.

[1970Bluel78]

Was't the 73 GTO with the SD-455 Car of the Year for &quot; CARS &quot; Magizine. Pretty sure Pontiac made 2 or 3 for mule reasons

[PeteLeathersac]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 1970Bluel78</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Was't the 73 GTO with the SD-455 Car of the Year for &quot; CARS &quot; Magizine. Pretty sure Pontiac made 2 or 3 for mule reasons </div></div>

Yes Pontiac did build at least one 455 prototype that was in CARS mag...a silver one?.
Someone here in Canada built a replica of it in recent years, it was on eBay a couple years ago and sold for 40 something there or somewhere else?.

<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif
~ Pete

[StealthBird]

Yes, the replica 73 GTO SD-455 came out great! Very cool car! These pics are from the 2009 Pontiac/GTOAA Nationals in Dayton, OH.

<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=download&amp;Number=25895&amp;filename= IMG_2308.JPG

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=download&amp;Number=25896&amp;filename= IMG_2309.JPG

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=download&amp;Number=25897&amp;filename= IMG_2311.JPG

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=download&amp;Number=25898&amp;filename= IMG_2310.JPG