12/19/2023 0 Comments 1963 pontiac tempest![]() While not currently running the seller says that the oil pan needs replacing as well as the gas tank, and the brakes could use some help. All the SD Tempests were painted white with blue interiors. What we see of the body mostly displays surface rust. Looks more like a Corvair inside to me and the interior is in okay condition but could use a restoration. ![]() We’re told the interior resembles that of a Corvette, but the seller is mistaken. We assume the 421 is under the hood, but the photos don’t show a lot of detail. How the seller came to have this car is unknown, as well as the rest of its history. To make room for the longer tranny, the fuel tank was cut in half and the battery was moved to the trunk for the 14. The clutch was used to engage first and reverse, and the driver manually shifted into second through fourth. Pontiac built a 4-speed version of the Tempest’s 2-speed automatic transmission for the job, called the PowerShift, which replaced the torque converter with a hydraulic clutch on the tail end. Since all the Pontiac’s V8 blocks were the same size, a 421 would work there as well. The quirkiness of the Tempest included its use of a ¾ inch flexible-steel driveshaft that connected the crankshaft in Pontiac’s standard big 4-cylinder engine (essentially half of a 389 V-8) to the rear-mounted transaxle, running in a curved “torque tube.” The setup allowed a flat floor inside the car. Somehow, the seller’s car is reported to be one of those coupes. Thinking this could be a workaround to the GM ban, Pontiac approved the production of two ‘63 Super Duty Tempest coupe prototypes and a dozen production models (six Tempest LeMans coupes and six Tempest wagons). Looking for Plan B, racer Mickey Thompson went to the Royal Pontiac dealership in Royal Oak, Michigan to put Super Duty 421s into modified compact Tempests to compete in the NHRA’s Factory Experimental class. In 1963, GM placed a short-lived ban on all factory-supported racing, which left the 421-powered Catalinas out in the cold. Located in Belgrade, Montana, a starting bid of $5,000 has been cast here on eBay, there is a reserve, but $7,500 is the Buy It Now price. The seller says this non-running car is one of the five that are known to survive. This resulted in a light car that caught the attention of drag racers and 14 are said to have been built for that purpose with 421 Super Duty V8 engines. The Tempest departed from the others by adopting a rear-mounted transaxle and independent rear suspension like that used by Chevrolet on the Corvair. In 1961, General Motors launched a new series of Y-body compacts, the Buick Special, Oldsmobile F-85, and the Pontiac Tempest (Lemans in top trim).
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