Well, there's not much perf anymore in Detroit, so if you add therenewed image of the GTO to its 455-power...
it may well be the kingof the 455's.
Road Test Results
To most prospective "enthusiast car" buyers the1973 Pontiac GTO represents "just another attempt" at marketing a big-motored intermediate sized to a pseudo-performance market. Theydon't really see that much difference between the GTO,4-4-2, SS-454, GS-455. Unfortunately they're allgrouped together under a common banner titled"General Motors campaign to save face in 1973." Mostshoppers now realize that the GTO is no longer a car andis simply a model option-Code 341/UPC-Code W-62, available as a LeMans 2-door Colonnade Hardtop orSport Coupe. Just another intermediate with a big enginegeared to help salvage a dying performance car marketplace.
Well tire kickers, we're here to tell you like it is. What the average handicapped new car salesman refers to as Code 341 /UPC Code W-62 is a hell of a lot more than just another anything. No way. More effort has gone into making the '73 GTO the best damn GTO since Jim Wangers was cut off at the pass by the government, insurance companies, environmentalists and all sorts of corporate pressures. (For all those too young to recognize the name Jim Wangers. he was the man who created the whole GTO mystique. He did it all-from rock & roll songs and shoes to the hardest charging GTOs on the strip
(Royal Bobcat drag cars).
Jim Wangers was the GTO for many years.If it were not for a last minutemanagement change the '73 GTOwould probably not only be thesexiest and best packaged"supercar" on the market it wouldalso have been the quickest andfastest. The GTO was just toogood with the SD-455 engine,which helped it win the covetedCARS Top Performance Car of the YearAward. The SD-455 engine is available only in the Firebird andover the counter from yourfriendly dealership partsmanager.
A bunch of die-hardenthusiasts who rememberedwhat the GTO was originally allabout including Tom Goad andHerb Adams (boss wrenches ofPontiac's engineering staff) puttheir all into making the '73 GTO acar that Jim Wangers would beproud of. So next time you kick aGTO's tire on the showroom flooror go for a demo ride, rememberit's not just another big-enginedintermediate. A lot of guys puttheir blood and sweat into makingthe '73 GTO a car worthy ofcarrying the nameplate.
The GTO that we put throughits paces represents the top endof the GTO scale, being loadedwith just about every option available. While the originalconcept behind the design of the'73 was to cater to the needs ofthe "young Adults who areprimarily interested inperformance" and keep the priceas low as possible, we justcouldn't resist loading one upwith all the niceties available. Inaddition to the basic GTOpackage which includes blackedout grille, dual hood scoops, firmride suspension, GTOidentification, G-6O x 15-inch tires,Moon-type hubcaps, dualexhausts and 7 inch wheels, weadded full power, Turbo Hydro,AC, stereo, towing package, airshocks, factory installed towhitch and wiring connections andpower sunroof. The overall effectis dynamite.
For the first time in a while theGTO can be truly classified as adriver's car, one that a proficientdriver can really enjoy. One thatgoes where you point it andresponds to each and everycommand executed by the driver.The GTO with the super heavyduty suspension does just that.And, if anyone thinks that thesuspension is too firm, there'salways the Grand Am with itsmore cushioned European GTtype suspension.
The investment in suspensionand chassis engineering havepaid off as the new GTO canhandle the highest lateral G loadspossible in a car of this size andweight. The 15-inch wheels and6O series tires offer a distincttraction and handling benefit overlast year's combination. Thenthere are the sway bars toconsider. The GTO packageoffers a 1-1/8-inch front barwhich is 1/8-inch thicker than thenormal model and a 1-inch rearbar which is also 1/8-inchbeefier. The philosophy here isthat the control of the rollstiffness factor has beendelegated to the front and rearstabilizer bars and the standardspring rates have been retained tooffer reasonably good ridecharactertistics. The suspensionis firm allright, but the ride andhandling benefits are quiteobvious.
Realizing that much had beendone in the area of ride andhandling, we were quite surprisedto find that radial tires, as usedon other cars in the Pontiaclineup including the same sizeGrand Am, could not be had withthe GTO package. We tried to order them and were advised byPontiac's Tom Goad that theywere not available. " We've keptthem out of the GTO package for amultitude of reasons. First offthey're more expensive and not inkeeping with the pricing of thecar. Secondly, believe it or not,they don't have as muchcornering ability as the tiresspecified with the package. Andthirdly, radials don't come inwhite-Lettered versions which themarketing people feel are morefitting for the GTO-type buyer, "added the top engineeringhoncho.
We had originally ordered ourGTO with the SD engine with 3.42Posi gears and Turbo Hydro, anengine combination that TomGoad felt would be as economicalfor around town driving as theregular 455 yet potent enough tobring back the good old days.Unfortunately only two SD-455GTO cars were ever built andneither will be sold to the public.The option was cancelled andthere's no way that Pontiac cansell those cars with line-installedengines. There are other SD-455GTOs being run for testing andevaluation purposes. Theperformance differential betweenthe two 455 engines isphenomenal, as we've donecomparison testing on theproving grounds track. The obovious differences such as aslight compression increase, 60more horsepower and 20 morefoot pounds of torque really don'ttell the whole story.
We questioned Tom Goad onconverting a conventional 455 toSD status by buying the rightparts over the counter and he wasdead set against it. All theimportant parts of the enginemust be changed, making it mucheasier to buy a complete motor orblueprint one from scratch. Therpm limit of the component partsis not compatible with thestrength and durability factorsdialed into the block. You needthe four-bolt main block with thereinforced main bearing webs tomake use of the good crank andvalve train. Some benefits couldbe derived I'm sure from using thegood heads, intake manifold andstock headers, but whether theincreases would be worth thecost is something else. We're allin favor of making a completeengine swap and selling the stockengine back to the dealer.
The SD-455 engine is a superresponsive engine, one that is anideal compromise between production practicality andperformance potential. The stock455 engine, as installed in ourGTO is like the rest of theindustry big-block engines,nothing to write home about. It'stoo lean, retarded and laborsunder the pressures of emissioncontrol devices. Our particular carhas good low end response buthalfway through mid-range fallsflat on its face. Under a steadythrottle cruising situation it tendsto surge which is also a commonailment in 1973. With 3.42 gearsand Turbo Hydro,
performance by1973 standards is respectable.
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