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A restomod that leans hard into Trans Am styling while hiding a modern GM V8 under the hood has surfaced on eBay Motors. The 1973 Pontiac Firebird, listed by Chatsworth, California seller nosferatu999, is built around an LS-series engine swap and is up for grabs at $40,500 or best offer.
The seller's photos show a bright yellow coupe with a shaker hood, front spoiler, and Trans Am-style graphics, paired with a black three-seat interior and an automatic transmission. The listing shows just 2,800 miles, a figure that almost certainly reflects use since the restomod work was finished rather than the car's total lifetime mileage. The VIN field on the listing is filled with zeros, a reminder that tribute builds like this one don't carry the paperwork of a factory Trans Am and are worth a closer inspection before any money changes hands.
That distinction matters for value. A genuine 1973 Trans Am left the factory with either a 455-cid V8 rated at 250 horsepower or the rare SD-455 rated at 310 horsepower, and this car swaps either for a contemporary LS V8, likely chosen for easy power, fuel injection, and parts availability over an original Pontiac big-block. It's a common path for builders chasing Trans Am looks with modern drivability, but it also means the car gets judged as a custom build rather than an original muscle car.
Hagerty's valuation tools illustrate just how wide that gap can be. The price guide lists a number 3, or Good, condition 1973 Trans Am with the 455/250-horsepower engine at $27,900, while the same condition rating for a genuine SD-455/310-horsepower car jumps to $129,000, up 15.2 percent recently. Hagerty pegs the average good-condition 1973 Trans Am around $44,114 across trims, and its sales data shows the model has brought as much as $286,000 and as little as $5,500 at auction over the past three years, depending on originality and condition.
Restomods and tribute cars don't chase those numbers; they're judged on build quality, drivetrain choice, and curb appeal instead. Motorious has covered plenty of similar builds, including a garage-kept 1951 Ford Country Squire hiding an LS2 under its wood body and a big-block 1967 Chevrolet El Camino that pairs 454ci muscle with modern comfort, both good examples of how swapped-in modern drivetrains are reshaping what collectors want from a classic.
Buyers drawn to unmodified 1973-era Trans Am character can look at Motorious's roundup of the 10 coolest Trans Ams for sale, or a numbers-matching 1978 Trans Am Y82 SE that still wears its factory T-tops, for a sense of what original examples command by comparison.
As with any private-party classic car purchase, it pays to do homework before sending a deposit. Motorious has also detailed how scammers exploit eBay Motors listings, a worthwhile read for anyone bidding on this Firebird or similar tribute builds. The Chatsworth listing calls for a $500 deposit, and the seller notes they're best reached by phone for build specifics. Whether it sells at asking or drifts toward offer territory, the listing is a good snapshot of where 1973 Firebird restomods sit right now: a fraction of what a documented SD-455 Trans Am commands, but wrapped in a modern drivetrain plenty of buyers value just as much as an original build sheet.
