Today I went through all the history of the car, when it was brought and imported. It's been in the UK since new. Which is surprising for it's condition. Created some text for the magazine. Should make some interesting reading.
HISTORY OF THE 1983 PONTIAC TRANS AM DAYTONA 500 PACE CAR
WHY PONTIAC BUILT IT
Pontiac had a long association with the Daytona 500, and in 1982 the new third-generation Firebird Trans Am was chosen to lead the field. For 1983 the honour was repeated, this time for the 25th running of the race, held in February 1983. To mark the occasion Pontiac offered the public a limited run of replicas, officially the 25th Anniversary Daytona 500 Pace Car edition, sold through its dealers. The Trans Am's sleek, aerodynamic shape, already familiar to many from the TV screen, made it a natural choice.
HOW MANY WERE MADE
Just 2,500 Daytona 500 Pace Car Trans Ams were built for 1983, and every one was a fully loaded car. The commonly quoted breakdown is:
- 1,980 cars with the Cross-Fire Injection 305 V8 and automatic transmission
- 520 cars with the carburetted 305 V8 and the new five-speed manual
- 2,347 cars had T-tops and only 153 were hardtops
That means the car in these pages, a T-top automatic with Cross-Fire Injection, has the more common of the two drivetrains, but it is still one of only a few thousand, and very few of them ever reached the UK.
WHAT MAKES IT A PACE CAR
The cars were finished in a two-tone scheme of white over dark sand grey, with "Official Pace Car Daytona 500" decals on the doors, "NASCAR" graphics on the rear quarters, "PONTIAC" lettering across the windscreen and rear glass, and 25th Anniversary Daytona 500 emblems on the front wings. A special graphic adorns the bulge of the bonnet, and the Aero ground-effects package (front and rear fascia extensions, side skirts and grille pads) was fitted exclusively to this model for 1983. It rides on 15 inch alloy wheels. Two wheel styles were offered that year, and this car has the alternative to the better-known "bowling ball" design.
Inside, Recaro bucket seats are trimmed in light grey with medium grey pigskin-style inserts, and the dash lighting glows red rather than the usual green. There are special Daytona 500 floor mats and a console knee pad. Equipment was extensive for the time: air conditioning, power windows, door locks and mirrors, cruise control, tilt wheel, rear defogger, a leather-wrapped wheel and an AM/FM stereo cassette with graphic equaliser and power aerial. The WS6 performance package brought four-wheel disc brakes and P215/65R15 tyres.
ENGINE, POWER AND TRANSMISSION
The car featured here has the optional 5.0 litre (305 cubic inch) V8 with Cross-Fire Injection, coded LU5. Instead of a conventional carburettor it uses twin throttle-body injectors, a system Chevrolet had introduced on the 1982 Corvette, and it is paired with a four-speed automatic with overdrive. Pontiac quoted 175 bhp for the pace car's Cross-Fire engine, although some reference books list 165 bhp. The alternative engine, the carburetted LG4 305 with the five-speed manual, produced 150 bhp.
Early fuel injection of this kind was a stop-gap on the way to the more efficient systems of the second half of the 1980s. It makes the Cross-Fire cars quirky today, but it also makes them an interesting snapshot of how the industry was moving away from the carburettor.
THIS CAR: FROM LONG ISLAND TO SOUTHAMPTON
The paperwork supplied with the car allows its early life to be traced almost day by day.
- 24 May 1983: Pontiac Motor Division, Pontiac, Michigan, issues the Certificate of Origin for VIN 1G2AW87S5DN210292, a 1983 Firebird Trans Am two-door coupe with a shipping weight of 3,205 lb, to Dyer Motors of Riverhead, New York.
- 21 July 1983: The car passes to Biener Pontiac of Great Neck, New York, billed as "Long Island's largest Pontiac dealer".
- 12 August 1983: Biener Pontiac sells the car new to Nigel Roberts, whose address is given as "PMO Queen Elizabeth, Pier 90, North River, New York", the Cunard terminal used by the QE2. The invoice lists the 5.0 litre V8 Crossfire EFI, automatic, heavy-duty radiator, cargo security screen, wheel-locking package and "Limited Edition Trans Am" for a total of $17,600.
- 19 August 1983: Exactly seven days later, a British Transport Docks Board pass at Southampton Docks is issued to "Dr Roberts" for "One Pontiac", ex berth 38.
Seven days from a New York sale to a Southampton dock gate fits a QE2 crossing, with the car travelling in the ship's hold and the owner aboard. It also matches the story passed down with the car and printed in a 2006 owners' club magazine article, which said that the original buyer was a doctor on the QE2 and that the car came into the country aboard the liner.
A BRITISH LIFE
In America the car had carried the New York plate 666 PZE, which is the registration written on the Southampton dock pass. In Britain it was first registered as NGR 1 and kept that plate for a number of years, before being re-registered as FWD 69Y, which it has carried since 1999. The MOT records give a first-use date of 31 December 1983. It remained a rarity. By the time of the 2006 magazine feature it had had only four owners from new and was described as having been "parked up quite a lot". That owner had bought it with MOT and tax, and carried out brake and tyre work and a few other jobs. It still had its original radio cassette player, a knee rest, the T-top storage bag and, remarkably, the original space-saver spare tyre.
The car has led a very gentle life. The MOT mileage history shows 77,931 miles in 2012, 78,501 in 2016 and 79,666 in April 2021. When the car was MOT tested in September 2026, the odometer read 79,778 miles, which is only 112 miles in more than five years. Its exhaust emissions were comfortably inside the limits.
In 2016 the car was declared off the road with a SORN, and it later stayed out of use in a garage. It then passed to a new owner as part of a house move, and in July 2026 it joined the Solent Renegades member who owns it today.
THE CAR TODAY
More than four decades on, the Pace Car is still wearing its original paint and has a remarkably sound body. It has been recommissioned with a new fuel pump, rebuilt brakes and new rear suspension components, and now has a clean MOT. The aim is to keep it exactly as it left the factory.
QUICK FACTS
Car: 1983 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, 25th Anniversary Daytona 500 Pace Car edition
Production: 2,500 (1,980 Cross-Fire/automatic, 520 carburetted/five-speed)
Engine: 5.0 litre (305 cu in) V8, LU5 Cross-Fire Injection (twin throttle-body)
Power: 175 bhp (Pontiac figure for the pace car; some sources say 165 bhp)
Transmission: Automatic overdrive
Brakes: Four-wheel disc, WS6 performance package
Wheels and tyres: 15 inch alloys, P215/65R15
Paint: White over dark sand grey
Original price: $17,600 (New York invoice, August 1983)
Recorded mileage: 79,778 (September 2026)
