Pontiac SOHC 6 Stockers ?

Ken Haase · 02-01-2010, 02:58 AM

Bill, are you shooruh your info on the '63 Tempest's is correct? How can you be so shooruh? And I say this with all due respect, but I heard Mona Lisa Vito swear under oath that 1963 Pontiac Tempest's have "independant reera suspension". Maybe it was just the one's painted metallic Mint Green paint. What a f*****g night mayrah!

Div.1 guys, please don't hesitate to correct my spelling. There was a time when I believed you all sounded like Sergei Dennebaum aka 'the Mad Russian'. Little did I know.

Yes, Your Honor. I plead guilty to having watched MCV more times than the Law allows. And, I will continue to do so.

bill dedman · 02-01-2010, 10:00 AM

Ken,

To the best of my recollection, at that point in time...

The most fascinating examples were the ones that were built with the 421, 405 HP dual-quad "AFX" motor. They built just a few of these, both coupes and wagons, before the front office dropped the hammer on racing, and stopped building the Z-11 Chevys and these Tempeats (along with the Swiss Cheese Catalinas.

Those few Tempests that were campagned by Arnie Beswick, Hayden Proffitt, et al, had 4-speed automativc transaxles that were, from all reports, available with either a torque converter OR a clutch and flywheel, both in the rear. They were fashioned from TWO Corvair Powerglide transaxles, and had great, close ratios, and were fully automatic.

They were blindingly fast, but proved to be disappointingly unreliable.

Eventually, a lot of them were replaced by a conventional, Dual-Range Hydramatic, bolted to the engine, a conventional driveshaft, and a complete Pontiac live axle.

It was a great idea, but doomed from the start because of the inherent weakness of the Corvair-based components.

Too bad; hardly any of these 4-speed transaxle cars remain; I have heard of only one, complete, original car, left.

Mark Yacavone · 02-01-2010, 12:53 PM

Bill, the clutch was in the conventional location on the early Tempests.
The automatic just had an adapter there, and the torque converter was in the back ,behind the differential.. Kind of opposite to the Corvair.

The driveshaft was a steel bar, held in the bowed position by support bearings

bill dedman · 02-01-2010, 10:19 PM

Thanks, Markl!!! I KNEW you'd have the straight scoop!!!

02-01-2010, 02:58 AM	#1
Ken Haase Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 233 Likes: 0 Liked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Pontiac SOHC 6 Stockers ? Bill, are you shooruh your info on the '63 Tempest's is correct? How can you be so shooruh? And I say this with all due respect, but I heard Mona Lisa Vito swear under oath that 1963 Pontiac Tempest's have "independant reera suspension". Maybe it was just the one's painted metallic Mint Green paint. What a f*****g night mayrah! Div.1 guys, please don't hesitate to correct my spelling. There was a time when I believed you all sounded like Sergei Dennebaum aka 'the Mad Russian'. Little did I know. Yes, Your Honor. I plead guilty to having watched MCV more times than the Law allows. And, I will continue to do so.

02-01-2010, 10:00 AM	#2
bill dedman VIP Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Conway, AR Posts: 1,739 Likes: 0 Liked 6 Times in 4 Posts	Re: Pontiac SOHC 6 Stockers ? Ken, To the best of my recollection, at that point in time... The most fascinating examples were the ones that were built with the 421, 405 HP dual-quad "AFX" motor. They built just a few of these, both coupes and wagons, before the front office dropped the hammer on racing, and stopped building the Z-11 Chevys and these Tempeats (along with the Swiss Cheese Catalinas. Those few Tempests that were campagned by Arnie Beswick, Hayden Proffitt, et al, had 4-speed automativc transaxles that were, from all reports, available with either a torque converter OR a clutch and flywheel, both in the rear. They were fashioned from TWO Corvair Powerglide transaxles, and had great, close ratios, and were fully automatic. They were blindingly fast, but proved to be disappointingly unreliable. Eventually, a lot of them were replaced by a conventional, Dual-Range Hydramatic, bolted to the engine, a conventional driveshaft, and a complete Pontiac live axle. It was a great idea, but doomed from the start because of the inherent weakness of the Corvair-based components. Too bad; hardly any of these 4-speed transaxle cars remain; I have heard of only one, complete, original car, left. __________________ Bill Last edited by bill dedman; 02-01-2010 at 10:25 PM.

02-01-2010, 12:53 PM	#3
Mark Yacavone Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Miles From Nowhere Posts: 7,816 Likes: 2,905 Liked 5,121 Times in 1,952 Posts	Re: Pontiac SOHC 6 Stockers ? Bill, the clutch was in the conventional location on the early Tempests. The automatic just had an adapter there, and the torque converter was in the back ,behind the differential.. Kind of opposite to the Corvair. The driveshaft was a steel bar, held in the bowed position by support bearings __________________ "We are lucky we don't get as much Government as we pay for." Will Rogers

02-01-2010, 10:19 PM	#4
bill dedman VIP Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Conway, AR Posts: 1,739 Likes: 0 Liked 6 Times in 4 Posts	Re: Pontiac SOHC 6 Stockers ? Thanks, Markl!!! I KNEW you'd have the straight scoop!!! __________________ Bill Last edited by bill dedman; 02-01-2010 at 10:23 PM.

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