62 Tempest

[Freiburger]

Re: 62 Tempest

Here's a complete '61 parts car for $1000:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1961-Pontiac-Tempest-4-Cyl-Auto_W0QQitemZ140182468895QQihZ004QQcategoryZ6426QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[JeffMcKC]

Re: 62 Tempest

1000.00 I bet he can get it for the 700.00 unless you, Turk and Chad are going to bid him up, there can't be that many people wanting a 4 door Temest

[goat racer]

Re: 62 Tempest

Thanks for the find David. These cars really have to grow on a guy, but they do have some pretty cool lines once you get past a touch of "fugley".
At first I wanted a '63 only, and then the '62s were sorta OK. Now the '61s are even somewhat attractive. Gotta be a 2 door though.

There is quite a bit of room underneath of these cars. I would like to keep the suspension (front and rear both) as simple as possible.
Now tell me If I'm crazy, but I had thoughts of puttings a set of leaf springs and Cal Tracs bars in the rear, Basically setting it up as if it were a ChevyII.
The problem is that these cars never had leafs, and I don't know if that would totally exclude the car from any kind of "factory style" bolt on suspension classes that I may want to run with it. If so, I may just want to do a ladder bar/coil over setup.

The front of the car is all welded together, and the inner fender wells dont seperate from the frame horns. To modernize things a bit, I wondered about cutting off the entire front structure. All the way back to the firewall. Then I could reinforce some attatchment points (integrated with the cage) and install one of the tubular front clips also intended for a ChevyII.
I may leave enough to properly mount and locate the fenders and radiator, but that all.
I figured that the modern rack and pinion, coil over, disc brake kit would be the easiest way to do the conversion.

It's all just a bunch of thoughts in my head right now, but I know that the right car will present itself sooner or later.
Meanwhile, I need to do a little cosmetic work on the GTO to really finish it off. There is still the EFI conversion to do as well so I can get the stock hood back on!

[JeffMcKC]

Re: 62 Tempest

Yeah, you would not be stock suspension  for any of the tracks that I know of, but it would be cool. I know a guy with a after market bolt on stub for a nova for sale, and can be had right too. I bet if you skin back the inner fender just where the arms go, you can weld a a-arm to the boxed front rails like the 10.5 cars do. I would a set of leaf springs and Cal Tracs bars simple and cool I am thinking most people would thin it was stock, I like 4 links better than ladders if you go coilover.

[ksj1]

Re: 62 Tempest

How did they do the suspension back in the 60s?Arnie "The Farmer" etc.If You do get one keep the shifter in the stock location!!!Watch people freak ;D Id forgotten all about that until DF's E-bay post.

[goat racer]

Re: 62 Tempest

The rear suspension deal was one of my big questions as well. I know that the cars used to be raced back in the day, and I know that there had to have been some kind of conversion, but I'm just not sure what it was.
If there were any kind of a bolt in live axle swap, then a switch from the IRS to live axle (like the IRS Cobra exception) might make for a legal change for a "stock" suspension class. (I'd only do it with Jeff's approval though! ;))
I was thinking that some of the V8 powered Buick and Olds equivelants may have not have even used the transaxle/IRS setup.

I'm going to see if I can post a few pics of the car here in a moment.

[goat racer]

Re: 62 Tempest

Having difficulty actually posting the photos, but here are the links.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-5/1014370/DSC00793.JPG

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-5/1014370/DSC00794.JPG

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-5/1014370/DSC00796.JPG

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-5/1014370/DSC00797.JPG

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-5/1014370/DSC00792.JPG

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-5/1014370/DSC00791.JPG

[ksj1]

Re: 62 Tempest

WOW!!!!! That is sweet!!!Nice pics.Mine wasnt that straight.

[Stoneshrink]

Re: 62 Tempest

The rear suspension deal was one of my big questions as well. I know that the cars used to be raced back in the day, and I know that there had to have been some kind of conversion, but I'm just not sure what it was.
If there were any kind of a bolt in live axle swap, then a switch from the IRS to live axle (like the IRS Cobra exception) might make for a legal change for a "stock" suspension class. (I'd only do it with Jeff's approval though! ;))
I was thinking that some of the V8 powered Buick and Olds equivelants may have not have even used the transaxle/IRS setup.

I'm going to see if I can post a few pics of the car here in a moment.

The Buicks and Olds both did not use a independant rear suspension. As for bolting them in, that maybe difficult since the Corvair was based on the same chassis so GM may have done substantial changes between those two families - the Pontiac/Corvair, and the Buick/Olds.....
One thing to keep in mind, they were a really light car without a frame (think it was like 2600 lbs) like the 64 up cars - so too much HP and you'll be doing Mustang like reinforcement work.

[Freiburger]

Re: 62 Tempest

Wow, that's clean!

[squirrel]

Re: 62 Tempest

from hot rod magazine yearbook #2 (1962)

[Scott Liggett]

Re: 62 Tempest

That would make a nice clean little project. It's amazing how much it looks like my Dads 62 Skylark.

[goat racer]

Re: 62 Tempest

Wow!, thanks for posting that. The more I see of these cars the more I like them!

Looks like they may have converted the rear control arms in to short ladder bars by welding a brace from the top of the diff tube to the front of the origional lower control arm. Probably way to short of an arm to handle a good dose of modern power, but you never know.

The other car to build that I had not considered before would be a 62-67 Pontiac Acadia. I thought it would be pretty cool to yank the Chev out and install a proper Pontiac mill in the Canadian ChevyII.
Then I already have good options for front and rear suspension both without excluding myself from the "stock style" bolt on classes.

Too many choices, not enough cash!

[squirrel]

Re: 62 Tempest

I thought you might get a kick out of seeing how they did it in the old days...

[JeffMcKC]

Re: 62 Tempest

I think you had better worry more about DF, he spent a lot of time looking under my car at Drag Week, before I was let run the stock class, and mine has not near the stuff changed as that would take. I think the Mustang guy might feel cheated more than me. There is always the Modified Suspension Class.