If you read many of my past blogs, you know my love of Firebird Formulas. My dad owned a nearly-new ’73 Formula 400 and when I was little, we had a ‘74 Formula 350 that introduced me to that beautfiully-sculpted dual scooped hood. My dad and I each owned a ’90 Formula 350. And then, of course, there’s the ’74 Formula 455 that I purchased a couple of years back—a car I couldn’t be happier to own.
Not long after I purchased my ’74 Formula, fellow-Firebird fan, Dave Witt was visiting one of my neighbors and they walked over for a look at it. I first met Dave about 30 years ago at an Omaha-area car show. My dad and I drove his ‘72 Trans Am and Dave was driving his ‘64 GTO. Dave shared with us that he’d ordered a new ’72 Formula with the 455 H.O. and M22 4-speed manual transmission. Always intrigued, I’d ask Dave many questions about his Formula in the years that followed. It wasn’t until recently that I thought to ask, “Do you happen to have any photos of it?” Indeed, he did! And better yet, I get to share them with you!
Absolutely stunning in Wilderness Green, this photo of Dave’s ‘72 Formula 455 was taken in June 1973. Equipped with the Y99 Handling Package, its 15 x 7-inch Honeycomb wheels lack trim rings (correct for 1971-1972). Note the original F60-15 Firestone Wide Oval tires, which we’ve seen on more than a few late-built 1972 Firebirds. Most F60-15 cars were equipped with Goodyear Polyglas GTs.
“I’ve always been into Pontiacs,” the 70-year-old retired computer engineer says. “My mom had a ’67 LeMans that I learned how to drive on. Later she had a ’68 LeMans. When I turned 16, my first car was a ’64 LeMans with a 6-cylinder. It wasn’t fast, but it was fun to drive. My oldest brother, Jerry, had a dark green ’67 Mustang. I absolutely loved the color and knew that if I ever bought a new car, it would be dark green too.”
As a right-of-passage gift of sorts, Dave’s father, Jerry bought each of his sons a new vehicle after they’d graduated school and entered the workforce. “My brother, Jerry bought a Jade Black ’69 Mach 1 Mustang. My brother, Larry bought a light green ’70 Camaro Z28. When it was my turn, I wanted something that my brothers didn’t have. I liked Pontiacs and knew the Trans Am was a performance car like the Mustang and Z28, so I started thinking about getting one.”
This photo of Dave and his new ‘72 Formula 455 was snapped not long after taking delivery. The forward facing scoops were functional with the 455 H.O. engine.
Mike Witherspoon and Dave were childhood friends and Mike had a Lucerne Blue ’71 Trans Am that he drove quite spiritedly. “Mike offered to let me drive his car one day,” Dave recollects. “It was so powerful and fun to drive with the 4-speed. I could literally steer it with the gas and brake pedals. I beat the hell of that car, but no worse than Mike ever did! I decided then that I needed a Firebird like it.”
In February 1972 Jerry took Dave to Stan Olsen Pontiac in downtown Omaha to order a new Trans Am. “Sam Marasco pulled out an order form and asked, ‘So what do you want on it?’ I wanted dark green paint, but when I found that Trans Ams were available in white or blue only, I wanted dark green more than the spoilers and Shaker, so I decided to order a Formula with all the same equipment as the Trans Am.”
While difficult to read, we can clearly see the equipment that Dave selected for his ‘72 Formula on its original factory-to-dealer invoice supplied by PHS Automotive Services. I wouldn’t have changed a thing!
The go-fast goodies that Dave selected included the LS5 455 H.O. (with functional Ram Air) and M22 4-speed. The standard 3.42:1 ratio rear axle gearset was complemented with a G80 Safe-T-Track differential. The Y99 Handling Package delivered Trans Am-level suspension with F60-15 white-lettered tires and 15 x 7-inch wheels. “I liked the look of the Honeycomb wheels, and they also matched the grill texture, so I selected those. I was 18 years old and all about going fast at the time. I didn’t want any options that would slow me down, so I purposely left air conditioning off the order,” he adds.
Otherwise blacked out on the Trans Am, the 1972-only Honeycomb mesh in the grilles is quite visible on the Formula. The yellow parking lamp lenses are correct for the later-built ‘72 Firebirds.
The window sticker price of Dave’s high-performance Formula 455 totaled $4,700. With his ‘64 LeMans as a trade-in and some negotiation, the purchase came in at $4,200. The order was placed and Dave’s Formula was produced at the Norwood, Ohio assembly plant in late-March 1972 and shipped to Stan Olsen Pontiac on March 30, 1972.
In early April 1972 Sam Marasco called to inform Dave that his Formula 455 arrived at the dealership but hadn’t yet been prepared for delivery. “I was extremely anxious,” says Dave. “The car took about six weeks to come in and I wanted to see it. My mom and I drove to Stan Olsen Pontiac and the car was parked inside on the second level. It was instant love the moment I saw it. The Formula hood scoops looked amazing. The plastic covers were still on the seats, but I sat in it anyway. The interior was beautiful—you felt like you were in a racecar—and the new car smell was incredible. I really loved the look of the Formula’s hood scoops from the driver’s seat.”
This photo of Dave and Debi was snapped in 1974 as they prepared to drive the Formula 455 to their prenuptial dinner. Dave had replaced the original white-lettered tires with black walls by that point.
Dave accepted delivery of his Formula 455 the next day. “I babied it on the drive home and was very careful with it for the first few days during break in,” he says. “My brother said, ’Drive it like you want it to run.’ I started driving it hard and it really started to perform well after that. The Formula was my daily driver, but I also street raced it on weekends and it was always competitive. It was so fast when the back barrels kicked in. I really never felt the need to modify it. It always ran like a top. The exhaust note was great, but the M22 whine is something I’ll always remember.”
Dave and Debi drove the Formula 455 away from the church on their wedding day. Note the Firebird decal on the rear spoiler, which was otherwise unadorned for 1972. The ‘70-72 Trans Am nose bird was a gift from Dave’s brother.
One day, while the Formula sat parked in a lot, a lady hit it and damaged the driver’s side fender and door. “I had the damage repaired by my cousin. It looked ok but the paint flaked off pretty quickly and the bare sheet metal rusted. Dave continued driving the Formula daily and that included cruising with his then-girlfriend, Debi.
Dave and Debi married in May 1974. “Three days later I installed a tow hitch, hooked up a trailer, and moved to Las Vegas,” he says. “The car performed great the entire way. We even drove it to California on a vacation.” The lack of air conditioning made the Formula tough to drive in the desert heat, however. “I installed an aftermarket air conditioning system from Sears.,” he adds.
The Formula 455 was a part of Dave’s young family. They did, however, soon outgrow it. When considering that some areas of the body needed attention, Dave sold it for a more sedate family sedan.
The new couple eventually moved back to Omaha and in 1975, Dave and Debi welcomed their daughter, Ali. Within a couple of years, their son, Brian was on the way and it quickly became apparent to Dave that he needed a larger vehicle for his growing family. “A kid who knew of the car bought the Formula from me. I instantly regretted selling it, but I needed a larger car and didn’t have the money to keep it.”
Dave advertised the Formula 455 in the classifieds section of the Omaha World Herald in late June 1978. How quickly would you hand him the $2,000 asking price today?!
Not long after Dave sold the Formula to its new owner, he’d learned that a tree fell on it during a storm. “I drove by and saw the damage. It was pretty bad, but I knew it was fixable. I then heard that while he was working on getting it fixed, it was parked in the street in front of his house and a drunk driver hit it and totaled it. When I heard it went to the scrap yard, I was devastated. I always dreamed of buying it back someday.”
Dave says his love for his ’72 Formula 455 hasn’t waned in the 50-plus years that have passed since taking delivery. “I was blessed to have the parents I did for letting me have such a car,” he says. “I have lot of memories with the Formula. I know that I’ll never be able to get that one back, but I’ve always wanted to find another like it and am actively looking for an early Formula today.”
Dave recently found a vehicle tax statement that contained the Formula 455’s VIN. With it, we were able to obtain its original factory invoice show above.
With only 276 Formulas produced with the LS5 455 H.O. engine during the 1972 model year—and just 82 equipped with the M22 4-speed—Dave’s ’72 Formula was extremely rare. He was certainly lucky to have owned what many would consider the ultimate ’72 Formula, and even luckier to say he ordered it that way!