1963 Pontiac Tempest Paint Color Codes
In the thirties and forties, GM pioneered and brought to bazaar some of the best innovative, acknowledged and abiding new technologies: diesel-electric locomotives, the avant-garde agent bus, automated transmissions, algidity and air conditioning systems, aerial compression engines, absolute avant-garde suspension, and abounding more. But GM’s technology accomplishment was aloof one angle of its endlessly clashing assorted personalities. Planned obsolescence, chrome, fins and banking cause were the absolute moneymakers, abnormally during the technically bourgeois fifties. But in the aeon from 1960 to 1966, GM congenital three assembly cars that approved to alter the acceptable format: the rear engined 1960 Corvair, the front-wheel drive 1966 Toronado, and the 1961 Tempest. And although the Corvair and Toronado tend to get the aggregate of the attention, the Tempest’s architecture was by far the best constant one: it was a BMW afore BMW congenital theirs. If abandoned they had ashore with it.
A aerial achievement four butt agent with four-venturi carburetion, four-wheel absolute suspension; four acceleration stick shift; absolute 50-50 weight distribution; a light, bunched yet adequately ample body; acclimatized chiral steering; and aloof to over-steering administration qualities: sounds aloof like the specs for the all-new 1962 BMW 1500/1800. Or a Mercedes, or a Rover 2000 perhaps? But none of them had this: a rear transaxle and a absolutely advocate adjustable drive shaft. Aback GM gave its engineering aptitude the abandon to innovate, the after-effects were generally extraordinary. But in accurate GM fashion, avidity resulted in the 1961 Tempest accession flawed, like the Corvair. But clashing the Corvair, The Tempest never got a additional adventitious to array out its readily fixable blemishes. If so, the aftereffect would accept been alike added arresting than the 1965 Corvair.
John DeLorean may be added acclaimed for the ’59 Wide-Tracks, the GTO, the Pontiac OHC six, and the ’69 Grand Prix during his administration at Pontiac, but in my opinion, the 1961 Tempest is his best aggressive and artistic engineering effort. He was acquainted as anyone of the limitations of the Detroit big car formula: too big, thirsty, front-heavy and dull-handling. With the 1960 Corvair in the wings, DeLorean’s abiding affairs to anatomy a absolutely avant-garde and applied car assuredly came to (not absolutely ripe) fruition.
DeLorean was decidedly absorbed in the allowances of absolute rear abeyance that so abounding European cars like the VW, Porsche and Mercedes had been application aback the thirties. In the mid fifties, his engineering aggregation developed an alike added abolitionist change of the Mercedes access for the 1959 full-sized Pontiacs: a rear transaxle to antithesis weight distribution, and affiliated to the agent with a adjustable shaft drive central a adamant torque tube. That addition was his alone, and he accustomed a apparent on it. And amuse don’t alarm it “rope drive;” acceptable luck aggravating to accelerate adeptness through annihilation affiliated a rope. It was a distinct adjustable allotment of steel, added affiliated to a bewilderment bar or a speedometer drive shaft.
The big 1959 Pontiacs accustomed with their ad-friendly advanced tracks, but were contrarily absolutely conventional. But GM capital to appoint the new rear-engine Corvair on Pontiac, in adjustment to advance its aerial development and assembly costs. The ancestor Pontiac Polaris (above) was archetypal badge-engineering: a ’59 Pontiac-ish avant-garde end grafted on an contrarily changeless Corvair. But the Pontiac assumption Bill Knudsen, Pete Estes and DeLorean weren’t affairs it, in allotment because DeLorean was already accustomed with the Corvair’s catchy administration and awful addiction of spinning or alike flipping aback it got pushed too far.
DeLorean’s antecedent plan was to use the Corvair body, but about-face it into a front-engined car while abrogation the accomplished Corvair rear abeyance and its transaxle in place, not alike axis it about to face the motor. By application a alveolate shaft, the Corvair manual would absolutely be “driven” from the rear of the car, consistent in the torque advocate blind off the aback of the differential, area it would commonly accept akin up to the Corvair’s rear engine.
Very artistic indeed, and rather camp to see the torque advocate aloof sitting there in the accessible like an addendum (above). The drive shaft had three inches of angle (curvature), and that curvature was carefully induced by applying the acclimatized stresses on anniversary end; there were no average bearings all-important to locate it aural the torque tube.
The adamant torque tube’s allowances went able-bodied aloft consistent in an almost-flat floor. It was a key basic to acclimate the four butt agent and advice acclimatized its vibrations. A four butt apparently has absolute primary balance. But because it has abandoned two adeptness impulses per crankshaft rotation, additional adjustment and torsional accordance can be absolutely significant, abnormally in a beyond displacement motor. Traditionally, Europeans kept fours to two liters or beneath for that reason. Mitsubishi reintroduced the antithesis shaft with its 2.6 liter four in 1975, and it is awful able and now absolute accepted in cutting ample fours.
This is why Detroit alone fours like the plague; in adjustment to accommodate American-style torque and power, American fours had about consistently been large. At low agent speeds, like in the Ford Archetypal T and A, this was not too bothersome. A acceptable six adeptness accept been perfect, but Pontiac had little best but actualize a bunched and bargain four by architecture it the quick and bedraggled way: eliminating one of the banks of its 389 CID V8. This was absolute amount effective, because it acclimated a aerial allotment of the V8’s parts, and could be machined on the aforementioned ambit as the V8.
Rigidly ascent the four to the avant-garde end of the torque tube alone the charge for the agent mounts to ascendancy its front-to-back movements, so it was accessible to abstract it and its accordance from the anatomy to a abundant greater amount than if had been army in the accepted fashion. The mounts on the four abandoned had to ascendancy its vertical movements, so they could be absolute soft. That does aftereffect in an absorbing affectation of vertical “jumping” aback the burke is opened from idle.
That’s not to say that the 195 cubic inch (3.2 L) four’s noise, beating and acerbity issues were all miraculously apparent by DeLorean’s avant-garde ascent solutions. It’s a absolute big four, for bigger or for worse. It does accept a fatter torque ambit than a commensurable six or eight for its displacement, and accordingly is absolute responsive. And acknowledgment to Pontiac’s aerial achievement experience, it could be absolutely powerful; achievement started at 110 hp, and went up to 165 hp with the alternative four butt carburetor. That overshadows the 1961 Corvair’s 98 hp alternative engine.
As it angry out, Pontiac didn’t accept to use the absolute 108″ wheelbase Corvair anatomy afterwards all; GM relented and let them allotment the Corvair-based but hardly beyond 112″ wheelbase Y Anatomy that Buick and Oldsmobile were advancing for their 1961 compacts. But Pontiac was accustomed a absolute tiny account to acclimate it, so the 1961 Tempest (above) acclimated best of the Olds F85 sheetmetal with a ’59 Pontiac-derived avant-garde end and a new rear end grafted on. But the four cylinder, flex-drive and Corvair transaxle and its rear abeyance were retained, for bigger or for worse.
The affliction was that it was a simple beat axle: adamant half-axles jointed abandoned at anniversary ancillary of the durably army differential. This was the hot new affair in Europe aback in the thirties, but its addiction to jack up in fast corners and actualize breeze oversteer and flipping had become all-too able-bodied known.
That’s why Mercedes developed its avant-garde distinct low-pivot rear arbor (above) with an anti-jacking compensating bounce in the aboriginal fifties, a acting footfall afore it adopted a double-jointed irs in 1968. BMW’s “Neue Klasse” 1500/1800/2000 sedans aboriginal accustomed in 1962 with a double-jointed rear suspension. As did the Jaguar S sedan. Europe was affective on, and GM would bound apprentice this aching assignment in penny-pinching. The 1963 Corvette Sting Ray had a new double-jointed rear axle, which the 1965 Corvair additionally adopted to abundant effect.
I showed you the odd Tempest automated transaxle earlier, but here’s the (leaky) four acceleration in the featured convertible. That annular anchored awning on the end is area the Corvair bellhousing would accept attached.
And here’s the avant-garde of the aforementioned unit, assuming the about-face bond which the Tempest calmly aggregate with Corvair too. It wasn’t a archetypal of attention and quickness, but Porsche had to accept commodity larboard to advance aback it adopted a awful agnate torque tube rear transaxle for their 928 and 924/944/968. The 968’s three liter four was abandoned hardly abate than the Tempest 3.2, and its barbaric torque showed to best advantage the allowances of a ample displacement four with antithesis shafts. If John Z. had remembered about the 1904 Lanchester’s patented antithesis shafts and acclimatized them, the Tempest would absolutely accept been a anniversary car.
Speaking of Porsche’s claims about their pioneering:
a accessory absurdity in the text
The ’61 and ’62 Tempests did additionally action a adaptation of the aluminum Buick 215 CID V8 optionally, but abandoned 1-2% of them were congenital with it, and abandoned a tiny scattering with a stick. Theoretically, the aggregate of the ablaze and bland V8 with a four acceleration and the Tempest’s absolute abeyance and absolute weight antithesis would accept potentially fabricated a absolute ambrosial package. But the V8 was alarming from the beginning, and Pontiac had to “buy” it from Buick, so the four was pushed heavily. And the hi-po four did accomplish about as abundant application as the V8.
The Tempest was broadly (and rightfully) hailed aback it arrived. It won Motor Trend’s COTY, and accolades from the press: “a advance for Detroit”…”a affably auspicious automobile”…”a cogent accomplishment of aloft import”…”may be the advertiser of a new generation”…”unquestionably a ancestor American car for the sixties”. Testers accepted its 50-50 front-rear balance, which resulted in lighter steering, beneath understeer, bigger absorption and braking, and a acceptable ride. But its adeptness to actualize the alarming breeze oversteer in the wet or on bound apprenticed curves was not larboard abaft with the Corvair’s rear engine. The Tempest’s administration could additionally be tricky, and its agronomical aural four could not be absolutely tamed, alike if some of its afraid was mitigated. Consumer Reports was not so enthralled.
1962 Tempest LeMans
The Tempest met its sales expectations, affairs 100k in 1961, 140k in ’62, and 130k in ’63. That helped Pontiac assure third abode in the sales stats. But it suffered the aforementioned botheration as the Corvair: advantage was not up to snuff. The added costs in converting the Olds anatomy and the drive shaft and rear transaxle bit into the already abbreviate margins on bunched cars. The accomplished aggressive Corvair/Tempest/Olds F85/Buick Special Y-body abstracts larboard GM with a bad aftertaste, abnormally aback Ford was accomplishing so able-bodied with its absolutely accepted Falcon and Comet. The addled 1962 Chevy II was the able backup for the Corvair, and the B-O-P compacts became awful accepted mid-sized cars in 1964.
Our abutting aperture acquaintance in Iowa City, a Russian professor, collection a white ’62 LeMans convertible like the one above. I vividly bethink the beat of the big four as I rode with her to Sears to get her lawnmower fixed. But the accessible top was alike added able than DeLorean’s added efforts to asphyxiate out its agronomical sounds, at atomic aloft thirty or so. And I already briefly collection a co-worker’s abject ’61 auto in LA: admitting actuality elderly, its built-in antithesis (which could be all-too calmly agitated for agreeable purposes) and acclimatized council for an American car was absolute un-American. If abandoned its agent ran acquiescently like my Peugeot 404’s. But the accommodation was the torque: absolute American indeed.
Our featured car is a 1963 LeMans, which was the sporty/upscale alternative akin to the Corvair’s Monza with the aforementioned brazier seats and college trim. The ’63s were restyled to accomplish them arise bigger, added and longer. This convertible has all the appropriate options, at atomic for those that accept a bendable atom for the four. I begin it in avant-garde of this boutique area it had aloof been adapted to the branch 165 hp four butt setup. And it additionally has the four-speed stick. Not surprisingly, its buyer turns out to be a ’63 Tempest junkie; it was the car he consistently capital in aerial school.
Norman has over bisected a dozen ’63s in and a annular his boutique and aback yard, including this auto still on the bivouac that he aloof best up. And he has addition convertible (below) with the alternative 326 V8 that replaced the aluminum V8 for 1963. This was a clear-sighted move by DeLorean, and adumbrated the 1964 GTO.
The 326 is a 389 with abate bores (and absolutely displaced 336 cubic inches), and although no lightweight, it still after-effects in a absolutely acclimatized 54/46 weight administration because of the rear transaxle. With a two butt carb, the 326 fabricated a adequately bashful 260 hp, but the Tempest was ablaze (2800-3000lbs) so with the V8 it scoots appropriate along. Because of bound funds, the four acceleration was not upgraded to handle the V8’s torque, so as far as is known, all the 326s came with the three acceleration stick or the two-speed Powerglide/aka: TempesTorque automatic. Norman says his fours get 18 – 20 mpg, and the 326 about 16 – 18 mpg.
To abate its administration rep, the 1963 Tempest’s rear abeyance was revised with a adapted ascendancy arm geometry and added tricks. But it was still a beat axle, and the Tempest’s end was already in sight, to be replaced by live-axle conformity.
But in my imagination, I see a 1965 Tempest auto based on the stunningly admirable ’65 Corvair body, with the 230 hp Sprint OHC six beneath a diffuse avant-garde end and administration that Corvair’s new Corvette-based rear suspension. What a 18-carat American BMW that would accept been, appropriate bottomward to the birr (the BMW’s Tempest look-alike birr appeared on the ’66 1602). In my around-the-clock GM coulda-shoulda dreams.
A browse of an all-embracing SIA commodity on the Tempest is here
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