If you are a Pontiac fan and you follow events like Drag Week or event stuff like the famed Lights Out drag racing in Georgia, you have likely seen the 1964 Pontiac Tempest of Dave Hoover. The car is awesome and it is fast but now it’s much faster. See, Hoover took the car to Steve Morris Racing Engines for some mechanical repairs and chassis dyno tuning. The end result was a significant gain in horsepower and torque and a Tempest that will be even faster on the streets and on the strip when Dave leans into the pedal.
The engine is a 470-odd cubic inch Pontiac built presumably by Butler (their logo is on the valve covers). There is a Vortech YSI blower forcing about 8psi of boost into through a carb that sits under a truly retro cool hat. The car is snappy and responsive as hell. When Morris’s son, who was operating the car on the dyno hammers the gas there’s no waiting around for the power to show up. It is there as soon as the pedal moves. The end result is 728hp and 661 lb-ft of torque at the tires in a reasonably light car.
Hoover has competed in and finished Drag Week multiple times and since he runs the radial tires, he does show up and some radial events to compete in sportsman style racing there. The car’s full interior, factory style paint, and perfect stance has us drooling. The fact that it makes more than 700 to the tire with a Pontiac mill? That’s got us seeing stars in our eyes!
WOW!!! Love that car. Good job.
Sweet looking and sounding Tempest, I enjoy seeing BOP cars still running BOP engines. Not a LS in sight!
I was a bit surprised to hear the car running now with an automatic. I thought I remembered the car being a stick car from past Drag Week events. In looking at the video closer It looks like the car actually still has the third pedal in place. Still a really cool car, especially with it having real Pontiac power.
Who made the brackets for the YSI blower mounted to a traditional Pontiac block??