The Pontiac Tempest is an automobile that was produced by Pontiac from 1960 to 1970, and again from 1987 to 1991.
The Tempest was introduced as an entry-level compact in October 1960 at the Paris Auto Show for the 1961 model year.Road Research Report: Pontiac Tempest Sports Car Illustrated, vol. 6, March 1961, p. 9 Built on GM's first unibody chassis, its new Y-platform was shared with the Buick Special/Skylark and Oldsmobile F-85/Cutlass.
While the Buick and Olds versions used a conventional drivetrain, the Pontiac had a unique, innovative design. The Tempest featured a front-engine/rear-transaxle layout that very nearly resulted in an ideal 50/50 weight distribution, together with independent rear suspension for nimble handling (a swing axle design similar to the Chevy Corvair). A Slant-4 engine connected to the 2-speed automatic transaxle via a flexible "rope" drive shaft. This configuration eliminated the driveshaft hump, yielding a flat floor with increased interior space. The Pontiac "Trophy-4" was also unique, created by basically halving a standard Pontiac V8 block.
Buick's aluminum 215 V8 was also optional in 1961 and 1962, but very few Tempests were so equipped. The Tempest line offered an optional LeMans trim upgrade.
In 1964 the Tempest was redesigned as a mid-size car on the updated GM A-body platform, which used a conventional drivetrain. The base Tempest, Tempest Custom, and Lemans became separate trim packages, with an optional GTO performance option available on the LeMans for 1964 and 1965. The GTO was offered as a separate model line beginning in 1966. The Tempest name was retired after 1970, replaced by the T-37 as the base model, which in turn gave way to the LeMans name in 1972.
In Canada from 1987 to 1991, Pontiac marketed a rebadged version of the compact L-body Chevrolet Corsica under the revived Tempest name.
First generation (1961–1963)
The Tempest was the result of a decision by the Pontiac division to enter the compact car market following the success of the Chevrolet Corvair.Grand Delusions by Hillel Levin p. 36 The division wanted to produce a clone of the Corvair, but instead GM gave Pontiac the lead to develop a new car in an interdivisional program coded named "X-100." John Z. DeLorean, Pontiac's chief engineer and general manager, went to work on a car that would meld components GM already produced. His objective was for the new model to be more than just an ordinary compact car. The Tempest was Motor Trend magazine's 1961 Car of the Year. Road & Track praised the Tempest as "exceptionally roomy" and "one of the very best utility cars since the Ford Model A." In hindsight, DeLorean admitted that the Tempest was "less than successful," adding, "there was no mechanical problem, but the car rattled so loudly that it sounded like it was carrying half-a-trunkful of rolling rocks."
It shared sheet metal with the Oldsmobile F-85, the first-generation Tempest had several features that differentiated it from the other compact GM cars. The engine was a 195 cubic inch (3.2 L) straight-4 marketed as the "Trophy 4," derived from the right cylinder bank of Pontiac's 389 cubic inch "Trophy 8" V8 engine.1961-'63 Pontiac Trophy 4, Hemmings Motor News August, 2010 The Tempest featured a drivetrain with a rear-mounted transaxle that was coupled to a torque shaft arcing in a downward bow within a curved, longitudinal tunnel. Use of the torque shaft was the result of being forced to use the Corvair floorpan which, being a rear engine platform, had no drive shaft. To combine flexibility with strength in the proper proportion, the shaft was forged of SAE 8660 steel (high nickel, chrome and molybdenum alloying percentages) for torsion bar specifications. For automatic cars, the shaft was in diameter and long, while the manual-box shaft was by . This joined the forward engine and the rear transaxle (therefore no transmission hump) into a single unit, helping to reduce vibration. The design, known as "rope drive," had been seen previously only on General Motors' 1951 Le Sabre concept car.
The combination of a rear-mounted transaxle and front-mounted engine very nearly gave the car an ideal 50/50 front/rear weight distribution. This, along with a four-wheel independent suspension, helped make the Tempest a nimble-handling car for the era. The front engine/rear transaxle design also eliminated the driveshaft/transmission tunnel in the front of the passenger compartment, while lowering the driveshaft tunnel in the rear compared with a conventional front engine/front transmission layout.
The Trophy 4 four-cylinder engine was promoted for its economy, but Pontiac also saved money on its assembly: Because it was based on the right cylinder bank of the Pontiac 389 V8 engine, both engines could be built on the same assembly line. There were three versions of the Trophy 4: An economy version with a relatively low 8.6:1 compression ratio and a single-barrel carburetor; a hotter version with a 10.25:1 compression ratio and a single-barrel carburetor; and the most powerful Trophy 4 engine, which had a 10.25:1 compression ratio and a four-barrel carburetor. While both Trophy 4 engines (low and high compression) equipped with single-barrel carburetors produced , the high-compression, four-barrel Trophy 4 engine produced at 4,800 RPM and of torque at 2,800 RPM (all ratings are SAE Gross). The three Trophy 4 engine versions offered fuel economy ratings ranging from 18 to 22 MPG. Popular Mechanics reported fuel economy of 21.3 MPG at 60 MPH.
The Trophy 4 engine was generally reliable, but could be harsh when it was out of tune, due to its inherent lack of secondary balance and absence of balancer shafts.
The Tempest was offered with quite a few options such as air conditioning, transistor radios, windshield washers, a parking brake warning light, padded safety dash, child-proof door locks, and dealer-installed seat belts, as such restraints were not yet Federally required at the Tempest's introduction.
Another departure from the other Y-body cars was the Tempest's brake drum, which used five studs on the same bolt circle ("five-on-four-and-a-half") and wheels - a configuration unique among General Motors cars. Both Buick and Oldsmobile had standardized their Y-body cars on an odd brake drum with four lug studs on a -diameter circle (a "four-on-four-and-a-half" bolt pattern), with wheels. This arrangement was also not used by other General Motors cars at the time.
Along with the Trophy 4 engine line another optional engine for the Tempest in 1961 and 1962 was the innovative aluminum Buick-built 215 cubic inch (3.5 L) V8.Flory, p.1021. It is estimated that just 3,662 Tempests were ordered with the 215 engine, or about 1% of production. This engine produced, in its various incarnations, from despite weighing just installed.
The engine blocks used for 215-V8 engines installed in Tempest models were distinct from 215-V8 engine blocks used in other models because, in addition to Buick factory markings, they were also hand-stamped at the Pontiac plant with the Vehicle Identification Numbers of the individual vehicles that they were installed in. Thus, in 1961, all Pontiac 215 engine blocks begin with "161P"; for 1962 the stamping began with "162P". Further code numbers indicated the car's transmission (manual or automatic).
In 1961, the transmission choices were a three-speed column-shifted manual with a non-synchronized first gear, or a two-speed automatic transaxle controlled by a small lever to the right of the ignition switch on the instrument panel. Called TempesTorque in company literature but unmarked on the unit itself until 1963, it was similar in concept to the Chevrolet Powerglide automatic transmission used on the Chevrolet Corvair, although few parts overlapped. For 1962, a floor-mounted, fully synchronized four-speed manual transmission became available.
At its introduction, the Tempest was available only as a four-door pillared sedan and as a station wagon that, like other Pontiac station wagons of the time, had the name Safari added to it. A pair of two-door coupes (one of which was named LeMans) were added at the end of 1961, both in the 1961 body style.
For the 1962 model year there were four Tempest models available: a sedan, a coupe, a station wagon, and a convertible. Customers wanting something fancier could opt for the LeMans trim package upgrade, which featured front bucket seats. Tempest LeMans models were available with either the coupe or the convertible; there was no LeMans sedan or station wagon. And although Oldsmobile and Buick offered pillarless hardtops on the Cutlass and Skylark respectively, Pontiac did not offer a pillarless hardtop LeMans model.
In 1963, the LeMans became a separate series; its sales were nearly 50 percent of combined Tempest and Le Mans production. 1963 models, referred to as senior compacts, were slightly larger and heavier than the 1961 and 1962 models had been. These new models featured a redesigned transaxle that improved handling, as well as a high-performance option that was much more powerful than the rarely-ordered 215-V8. This new V8 option for 1963 was Pontiac's 326 cubic inch (5.3 L) V8, an engine with the same external dimensions as the venerable Trophy 8 389, but different internal components designed to produce more torque relative to displacement. A new version of the automatic transmission (now officially stamped TempesTorque on the case) was redesigned to handle the new V8's additional torque. The four-speed manual transmission had not been redesigned, and very few V8-equipped Tempest models were built with this transmission. The three-speed manual transmission remained available for all engines.
The high-compression 326 V8 engine's output was and of torque (SAE Gross). The actual displacement was 336 cubic inches, but according to lore, since General Motors management edict declared that no GM compact was allowed to have an engine that was larger than the Chevrolet Corvette 327 V8, the advertised displacement for the Tempest V8 was 326 cubic inches. However, for 1964, the engine's displacement was adjusted so that it actually was 326 cubic inches, making the 1963 "326 V8" a single-year engine.
The cast-iron V8 engine increased the Tempest's weight by over the weight of a Tempest equipped with a Trophy 4 engine; front/rear weight distribution changed somewhat to 54/46. Performance with a 326-powered Tempest was strong enough that Car Life magazine wrote "No one will wonder why they didn't use the 389." Fuel economy with the 326 could be as high as 19 mpg. The V8 option proved popular: 52 percent of the 131,490 Tempests and LeMans models sold in the 1963 model year were ordered with it.
Super Duty Perhaps the most famous of all Tempests were the twelve 1963 "Super Duty" cars built to compete in the NHRA Factory Experimental class. These were assembled at the Pontiac plant in Michigan over Christmas 1962 with the knowledge of an impending General Motors ban on factory racing. Among those who successfully raced them was Wild Bill Shrewsberry, who turned low 12-second quarter-mile runs in the 1963 NHRA Winter Nationals driving for Mickey Thompson. Shrewsberry still owns his car, and it is still equipped with Pontiac's "Powershift" transaxle as retrofitted later in the 1963 season. Developed specifically for the Super Duty model, this was essentially two Chevrolet Powerglide automatics in a single four-speed unit, allowing clutchless shifting in much the same manner as modern drag racing transmissions do.
On October 31, 2008, one of the rarest factory race cars, the missing Stan Antlocer Super Duty Tempest Le Mans Coupe, was auctioned on eBay. The seller started the auction at $500 being unaware of the car's true value. Eventually, the car was sold for $226,521.
Second generation (1964–1967)