63 Super Duty Pontiac LeMans

D.Holly · 11-10-2008, 07:22 PM

Who says old race cars aren't worth much?
Stan Long Pontiac Super Duty LeMans just sold sunday night for 226,521.63 on ebay.
One of 6 built and only the second to surface.
Car needs everything, missing aluminum front end, 421 Super Duty engine and 4 speed auto trans axle.
What A Deal!

Johnny Gray · 11-10-2008, 10:04 PM

Watch this car all week I don't think the guy knew what he had. Here's the address, hope it works auction ended on Sunday night. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...3AIT&viewitem=

Geerhead55 · 11-10-2008, 10:33 PM

Wow,,that car drew a ton of bids! I see the seller mentions Jay Leno in some of the text, regarding bidder feedback. I wonder if he ended up with it? Still its a pretty impressive find,,,should really be something special if it gets reunited with the original front clip and other various pieces and gets restored properly. Keep an eye on your favorite musclecar magazines in the coming months, it may end up in there.
Danny Durham

bill dedman · 11-11-2008, 01:55 AM

Probably the main difficulty in restoring one of these Tempests would lie with attempting to locate the parts necessary to re-create the unique, automatic transaxle that was built for these few cars.

It was a swing axle unit that was made from what started out life as two Corvair Powerglides. It had the option of either a clutch, or, torque converter, and had four nicely-spaced, close ratios. It was a true transaxle, with everything in the rear... no conventional drivetrain pieces were attached to the engine, iirc...

The (reliability) glitch was due to its design parameters (Corvair heritage.)
It just wasn't nearly strong enough to withstand the kind of drivetrain torture that drag racers had in mind for it (match racing on bleach and resin-prepared surfaces), and it was so very easy simply to replace it with a B & M Hydro Stick and a '57 Pontiac "live axle" assembly, a lot more reliable setup for such a severe-usage environment.

I think that's what happened to most of these cars. The weak, original transaxles were deemed useless and were deep-sixed. Very few survived to see restoration, 40 - 45 years later.

Yet, the transaxle setup was one of the most fascinating aspects of these cars. I hope it's possible to locate and build a proper, "original"-type drivetrain for this car. I wish the new owner luck in his attempt; he's going to need it.... and lots of cash!!!

lstanford · 11-11-2008, 10:23 AM

He can't have much money left after the purchase. Maybe Bill Gates has started collecting and restoring old race cars. The rumor is that the seller bought this car at a self storage auction and really didn't know what he had. The underside of the car looks like it sat in a swamp for the last twenty years. I would guess the buyer knows what he bought by the VIN. Sellers description is vague and the work of an amateur comedian. Our hobby never ceases to amaze me.

SSDiv6 · 11-11-2008, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FECARMAN

He can't have much money left after the purchase. Maybe Bill Gates has started collecting and restoring old race cars. The rumor is that the seller bought this car at a self storage auction and really didn't know what he had. The underside of the car looks like it sat in a swamp for the last twenty years. I would guess the buyer knows what he bought by the VIN. Sellers description is vague and the work of an amateur comedian. Our hobby never ceases to amaze me.

The buyer must be a real serious Pontiac guy with lots of $$$$$.

He paid a ton of money for a pair of Ram Air V heads, intake, gaskets and several other items.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...m=250312752697

He will probably restore the car and eventually put it in the auction block.

bobby · 11-12-2008, 08:46 AM

back in the ealry 80's, i was working a my local autoparts store. This guy had one that loked like that but was a convertible. i remember it having a 4 cyl and one of those transaxles in it.. wonder what something like that would be worth?

Stick Racing · 11-12-2008, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobby

back in the ealry 80's, i was working a my local autoparts store. This guy had one that loked like that but was a convertible. i remember it having a 4 cyl and one of those transaxles in it.. wonder what something like that would be worth?

Was that a mint green metallic 1963 Pontiac Tempest with Michelin model R14 tires parked outside the Sac-O-Suds?

Andy Stone

X-TECH MAN · 11-12-2008, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobby

back in the ealry 80's, i was working a my local autoparts store. This guy had one that loked like that but was a convertible. i remember it having a 4 cyl and one of those transaxles in it.. wonder what something like that would be worth?

Not much unless it was a total restoration.

bobby · 11-12-2008, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stick Racing

Was that a mint green metallic 1963 Pontiac Tempest with Michelin model R14 tires parked outside the Sac-O-Suds?

Andy Stone

funny

11-10-2008, 07:22 PM	#1
D.Holly Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Mid Michigan Posts: 149 Likes: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts	63 Super Duty Pontiac LeMans Who says old race cars aren't worth much? Stan Long Pontiac Super Duty LeMans just sold sunday night for 226,521.63 on ebay. One of 6 built and only the second to surface. Car needs everything, missing aluminum front end, 421 Super Duty engine and 4 speed auto trans axle. What A Deal!

11-10-2008, 10:04 PM	#2
Johnny Gray Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 72 Likes: 15 Liked 40 Times in 6 Posts	Re: 63 Super Duty Pontiac LeMans Watch this car all week I don't think the guy knew what he had. Here's the address, hope it works auction ended on Sunday night. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...3AIT&viewitem= __________________ Johnny Gray 1109 STK

11-10-2008, 10:33 PM	#3
Geerhead55 VIP Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Tacoma, Washington Posts: 1,632 Likes: 0 Liked 5 Times in 5 Posts	Re: 63 Super Duty Pontiac LeMans Wow,,that car drew a ton of bids! I see the seller mentions Jay Leno in some of the text, regarding bidder feedback. I wonder if he ended up with it? Still its a pretty impressive find,,,should really be something special if it gets reunited with the original front clip and other various pieces and gets restored properly. Keep an eye on your favorite musclecar magazines in the coming months, it may end up in there. Danny Durham

11-11-2008, 01:55 AM	#4
bill dedman VIP Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Conway, AR Posts: 1,739 Likes: 0 Liked 6 Times in 4 Posts	Re: 63 Super Duty Pontiac LeMans Probably the main difficulty in restoring one of these Tempests would lie with attempting to locate the parts necessary to re-create the unique, automatic transaxle that was built for these few cars. It was a swing axle unit that was made from what started out life as two Corvair Powerglides. It had the option of either a clutch, or, torque converter, and had four nicely-spaced, close ratios. It was a true transaxle, with everything in the rear... no conventional drivetrain pieces were attached to the engine, iirc... The (reliability) glitch was due to its design parameters (Corvair heritage.) It just wasn't nearly strong enough to withstand the kind of drivetrain torture that drag racers had in mind for it (match racing on bleach and resin-prepared surfaces), and it was so very easy simply to replace it with a B & M Hydro Stick and a '57 Pontiac "live axle" assembly, a lot more reliable setup for such a severe-usage environment. I think that's what happened to most of these cars. The weak, original transaxles were deemed useless and were deep-sixed. Very few survived to see restoration, 40 - 45 years later. Yet, the transaxle setup was one of the most fascinating aspects of these cars. I hope it's possible to locate and build a proper, "original"-type drivetrain for this car. I wish the new owner luck in his attempt; he's going to need it.... and lots of cash!!! __________________ Bill Last edited by bill dedman; 11-11-2008 at 10:39 AM.

11-11-2008, 10:23 AM	#5
lstanford Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Michigan Posts: 312 Likes: 1 Liked 134 Times in 32 Posts	Re: 63 Super Duty Pontiac LeMans He can't have much money left after the purchase. Maybe Bill Gates has started collecting and restoring old race cars. The rumor is that the seller bought this car at a self storage auction and really didn't know what he had. The underside of the car looks like it sat in a swamp for the last twenty years. I would guess the buyer knows what he bought by the VIN. Sellers description is vague and the work of an amateur comedian. Our hobby never ceases to amaze me.

11-12-2008, 08:46 AM	#7
bobby Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: League City, Texas Posts: 243 Likes: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: 63 Super Duty Pontiac LeMans back in the ealry 80's, i was working a my local autoparts store. This guy had one that loked like that but was a convertible. i remember it having a 4 cyl and one of those transaxles in it.. wonder what something like that would be worth?