1973 Pontiac Firebird Formula

1973 marked the fourth model year of the second generation Firebird. It was the first year of the federally mandated 5mph front bumper and, while the Endura snout is externally identical to that on the '72 models, the grille inserts have been moved slightly forward in their opening to clear the structural reinforcement beneath the outer skin. Also, the previous year's honeycomb grille pattern is replaced with a rectangular eggcrate.

The Firebird trim levels remained unchanged for '73, with the base model, the plusher Esprit, the performance-oriented Formula, and the top-of-the-line Trans Am. The Formula came with a standard Pontiac 350cid 2-barrel V-8 motor with dual exhausts, rated at 175 SAE net horsepower. The car in the photos had the optional 4-barrel 400, which put out 230 horses. There were also two versions of 455 on the menu, the 250hp L75 version and the snarling LS2 Super Duty 455, based on Pontiac's racing motors and rated at 310 ponies, the last gasp of the Muscle Car era.

Formulas made up a little less than a quarter of the 46,313 Firebirds sold for 1973, and 4,622 of them were Formula 400s, like the Navajo Orange example in the photos. On a stock Formula the hood scoops were cosmetic dummies, but this one's had them opened up. Off the showroom floor with a 4-speed transmission, you could expect 0-60 times of about seven seconds flat.

The top photo was snapped in May of 2025 using a Nikon D300 and 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom lens, while the lower one was taken with a Nikon D7100 and 16-80mm f/2.8-4E zoom lens in the same month. 

1973 Porsche 911T

The 1972 model year saw the Porsche 911 get a displacement bump from 2,195cc to 2,341cc. Although the new displacement rounded off to 2.3 liters, the badging on the decklids of the new models proclaimed "2.4" in a little bit of stolen valor.

The 911T was the bottom of the 911 model range, and rode on 5.5" steel wheels instead of the wider light alloy ones of its more expensive siblings. It also had a lower output variant of the 2.4, putting out 157 SAE gross horsepower on 91 octane regular gas.

Car and Driver tested a '72 911T 2.4 and managed a 6.9 second zero-to-sixty time and a 15.1 quarter mile at 92 mph. Price as tested was $8,804, or $68k in constant dollars. I think the chonky rubber bumper blocks on this Aubergine 911T make it a '73.

This one parked across the street from me while I was dining al fresco in August of 2020, and I scooped my Nikon D7000 and 16-80mm f/2.8-4E zoom lens off the table at Byrne's Grilled Pizza and jogged over to get some photos.

1973 Dodge Charger

The Charger began in 1966 as a sporty specialty vehicle at Dodge that was intended to split the difference between Ford's compact-based Mustang and the Thunderbird personal luxury coupe. It was a swoopy-looking four seat fastback coupe based on the midsize Coronet (so as not to steal sales from the Plymouth Barracuda) available with a wide range of performance and luxury options.

The second generation Chargers that appeared for 1968 put a heavier emphasis on sporty and toned down the plushness, but the third generation 1971 Chargers, with their bold new "fuselage" styling, veered back toward plushness and toned down the performance message, with lower emissions and greater safety and fuel economy becoming increasingly important. 

The third generation of Chargers received a mid-cycle refresh for the '73 model year, becoming wider and slightly taller. Long gone were performance models like the R/T and 500, as well as fire-breathing Street Hemis and Six-Packs. You could get a base Charger in regular coupe or hardtop form like the one in the picture. There was also the plush Charger SE and the slightly sportier Charger Rallye. One notable difference from the previous year is that in 1973 hidden headlights were no longer available, even as an option.

Base Chargers had either the 105-horsepower 225 cubic inch Slant Six or the 150hp 318 two-barrel LA V-8 as the standard engine, backed with either a three-speed manual or Torqueflite automatic transmission. Order a Rallye or SE and the 318 was the smallest engine available.

Optionally, buyers could order the 340 four-barrel small block, now de-tuned with 8.5:1 compression ratio and smaller valves, but still rated at 240 SAE net horsepower. There were also two- and four-barrel versions of the 400 cubic inch big block V-8, making 175 and 260 horses, or the 440 cubic inch four-barrel that put out 275 ponies. The '73 440 Magnum RB block was a shadow of its former glory, but it was about as badass a motor as you could get out of Detroit in the closing months of the Muscle Car Era.

Speed & Supercar magazine tested a 440-cube '73 Charger and managed a 14.8 quarter at 92mph, while Consumer Guide reported a 10.0 second zero-to-sixty time from a Charger test car with the two-barrel, single-exhaust 175 horsepower 400.

The hardtop in the picture has been repainted and has an aftermarket hood, so it may have begun life as a Rallye, but who knows? It was photographed with a Nikon D7100 and a 16-80mm f/2.8-4E VR zoom lens in June of 2022.

1973 Pontiac Bonneville

By my personal reckoning, 1973 was the last year of the Muscle Car Era. Engines were advertised in SAE net horsepower, compression was down, and 5mph front bumpers had showed up. It was the last year for the first generation of Mustangs, the Street Hemi had left the scene after '71, and the big block 'Vette only had one more year to run.

For 1974 the Bonneville nameplate remained the middle tier of full-size Pontiacs, nestled between the basic Catalina and the premium Grand Ville. It could be had as a hardtop coupe or a hardtop or pillared four-door. While the Grand Ville emphasized plushness, the Bonneville carried the sporty flag for full-size Ponchos, with the ad copy emphasizing its "wide-track" heritage.

The base motor in the Bonnie was a two-barrel version of Pontiac's small-journal 400, rated at 170 SAE net horsepower.Optionally, the buyer could spring for a 200 horsepower four-barrel 400, or the large-journal 455 V-8 making 215 ponies. Spring for the optional dual exhaust package and the numbers jumped to 185, 230, and 250, respectively. An array of rear axle ratio choices were available between 2.73:1 and 3.23:1. You could get any transmission you wanted so long as it was a 3-speed Turbo-Hydramatic 400.

The stance, tires, array of gauges, and the big Sun tach strapped to the steering column of this nice, straight Buccaneer Red example would seem to indicate that the owner is down to party.

It was photographed in June of 2023 using a Nikon D7100 and a 16-80mm f/2.8-4E VR zoom lens.

1973 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible

1973 was the third model year for the Eldorado's ninth generation. It was also the first model year that the Eldo was formally separated out of the Fleetwood series to become its own model.

It gained the clunky new mandatory five mile per hour front bumper and lost the faux intake vents from the rear fenders that the '71-'72 models had sported. The hood was flatter and the grille was now a huge egg crate-styled expanse between the quad headlamps.

The 8.2L V-8 carried over from the previous model year, still rated at 235 SAE net horsepower, as the real Malaise Era haircut wouldn't start until the '74s debuted.

Variable ratio power steering was, of course, standard and you could get optional steel-belted radials from the factory.

This Cotillion White '73 ragtop rides on a 126.3" wheelbase, casts a shadow 222" long, and has a curb weight of 5130 road-hugging pounds.

It was photographed with a Nikon D300S and 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR II zoom lens in June of 2022.

1973 Jaguar XK-E Roadster

For 1971 Jaguar introduced the Series 3 E-Types (known as the XK-E over here). Standard power steering, an optional slushbox in all models, and improved disc brakes at each corner were among the changes, but they weren't the ones that set tongues to wagging.

Externally the car sprouted newer, uglier bumpers with rubber overriders. To comply with US impact standards, cars sold in North America had grotesque, chunky rubber blocks affixed, to the front end in 1973 and both fore and aft for '74 and on.

While a few were still sold with the 4.2L DOHC inline six, the big news under the hood was Jaguar's new V-12. This was a 5.3L (326 cubic inch) DOHC motor that was initially intended to be fuel injected but debuted with four Zenith-Stromberg sidedraft carburetors instead. Stateside, this '73 Pale Primrose drophead two-seater would have had a 7.8:1 compression ratio and been rated at 241 SAE net horsepower.

Road & Track tested a 1973 convertible with a 4-speed manual, and the V-12 pushed the 3,450 pound ragtop to a top speed of 138 miles per hour. Acceleration was reasonable for the dawn of the Malaise Era, with a zero-to-sixty time of eight seconds and a 16.2 quarter at 89 miles per hour, and the big cat circled the skidpad at 0.73g, comparable to the contemporary Corvette or 911. (R&T lamented that the loss of compression ratio made the '73 noticeably slower than the '72.)

Base price back in '73 was $8,475 and the total for the magazine's test car, including $521 for air conditioning, was $9,665. That's $68,635 in constant dollars, but at the time it was a Corvette and a half, or half a Ferrari Dino.

This example was photographed with a Canon EOS M and EF-M 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM zoom lens in May of 2019.

1973 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am

This Cameo White Trans Am is a little bit of a puzzle. The rectangular grille indicates a 1973 model year, as does the hood scoop, which  says "455" rather than "455 H.O.".

For most Trans Ams, though, 1973 was the first year of the huge screaming chicken decal that covered the whole hood, while this one has the smaller bird on the nose cone plus the Admiralty Blue centerline stripe, like a '72 car. A '72 would also have an elongated honeycomb grille.

The 455 cubic inch engine in the Firebirds happened in response to a corporate edict from GM, that capped the compression ratio of all their divisions' cars at 8.5:1 so as to run on low-lead fuel. Pontiac decided that a 400 small journal V-8, thus neutered, wouldn't keep the Firebird competitive in the horsepower wars still raging, so they did the only thing they could do: Stuffed a 455 under the hood.

By 1973, the 455 Trans Am could be had in two flavors. The "455" on the hood scoop lets us know it that this one has the base engine for the Trans Am package, the 250bhp L75, rather than the optional 290-horse Super Duty LS2, which would have added another $550* to the MSRP and an "SD-" prefix to the decal on the shaker scoop. '73 was the first year that emissions regs began taking a really noticeable bite out of the Trans Am's output, with most previous reductions being a result of shifting from SAE Gross to SAE Net power measurement and some fiddling with numbers in the marketing department.

It's too bad it's not an SD-455, because the 1973 Super Duty Trans Am sent the Muscle Car Era out with a bang. Car and Driver tested one with a 3-speed automatic and the 3.42:1 Safe-T Track Limited Slip performance axle, and it cranked off a 5.6 second zero-to-sixty time and a 13.8 quarter at 104 miles per hour, with a top speed of 132 mph. It'd be the mid-1980s before TPI Corvettes and turbo Buick Grand Nationals would put up those kinds of numbers again. All this for $5,295... or about $37,500 in today's money.

The top two photos were taken with a Nikon D7100 and 16-80mm f/2.8-4E VR zoom lens in August of 2022, while the lower one was snapped in March of 2024 with a Canon EOS-1D Mark III and EF 24-105mm f/4L IS lens.

*$550 was a steep option in 1973, when $2500 would buy you a whole Pontiac Ventura coupe.

1973 Triumph Spitfire 1500

Triumph's Spitfire was launched in the early Sixties as a competitor for the Austin-Healey Sprite. Like the Sprite, it was a teeny little thing. Unlike the Sprite, it was a little more plush, with features that made it more suitable as a daily driver.

It was what the British call a "drophead coupe", rather than a true roadster, meaning it had a permanently-attached folding convertible top. Rather than detachable side curtains, it had actual roll-up windows. And it had an actual trunk (or "boot"), which the first generation of Sprites had lacked.

Originally equipped with the 1,147cc four from the Triumph Herald, the motor in the Spitfire swole up until the the final variant's 1,493cc.

The U.S. version of the 91 cubic inch motor had a 7.5:1 compression ratio and sipped gas through a single Zenith Stromberg carb. Horsepower was rated at 53 SAE net, and that meant that performance was...modest. Road & Track clocked a zero-to-sixty run of 15.4 seconds and a 94 mph top speed.

If I'm not mistaken, the grotesque 5 mph front bumper and slim rear bumper tag this Leyland White Triumph Spitfire 1500 as a 1973 model. It was photographed in September of 2016 with a Nikon Coolpix P7000.
 

1973 Jensen-Healey

When BMC built its last Austin-Healey Sprite in 1971, Donald Healey had to find someone else tu produce his sports car designs. He hooked up with Jensen Motors, who had done the bodywork for the "Big Healey" cars in the Sixties.

A new, low-slung unibody 2-seat convertible was designed and Healey went engine shopping. For one reason or another, Ford of Europe V-6's and BMW inline fours were rejected. Colin Chapman at Lotus had a new alloy 2.0L DOHC four-cylinder motor, designated the 907, that fit the bill and that's the one Jensen-Healey went with.

While home market cars got a brace of 2bbl sidedraft Dellortos, cars destined for the U.S. were fitted with a pair of 1bbl Zenith-Strombergs for emissions purposes. U.S. cars were rated at 140 SAE net horsepower, which may not sound like a bunch, but those ponies only had to haul 2,400 pounds down the road. The base 2-barrel 302 in a '72 Mustang was also rated at 140hp and it was laden with half a ton more car to drag around.

The early cars had a 4-speed manual transmission sourced from Chrysler, but that was upgraded to a Getrag 5-speed for the Mark II cars.

The Jensen-Healey was only around for a few model years, 1972 to 1976, over the course of which 10,503 were produced. That sweet Lotus 907 DOHC 2.0L motor, though, would pop up again in various Lotus cars, including the 1976 Lotus Esprit.

The Mark I in the pictures was photographed in July 2024 using a Fujifilm X-T2 & XF 16-80mm f/4 R WR OIS (the parked photos) and in September of 2021 using a Canon EOS 5DS and an EF 24-105mm f4L IS zoom lens (the pic on the street).