WOW! The Find of a Lifetime! 1963 SD 421 Tempest!

[bkhpah]

The 68' Dana Camaro comes to mind..BKH

[tjs44]

I have not talked to Stan since the auction ended.Question how the front end from a Michigan was in West Virginia and then sold by someone in Ohio to someone in FLA around 1979.Also if he ever blew up the original motor now rummered to be owned by someone.Still lots of unanswered stuff to unfold.And yes this car should be spoke in the same breath as the likes of a 69 T/A convert.There were actually 8 coupes but 6 white "production" cars.Tom

[69hurstSC]

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FYI,I helped line up the original frontend and a original SD transaxle for it today so with Tiemanns help it WILL be what it once was.Im sure the mags will pick it up and the project will be great to watch.Tom

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sorry, no original motor (which is practically impossible)the car wont be perfect.

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original motor in a S/S or AFX car is nearly unheard of. If it does have an original motor it wasn't run hard and didn't win many races or it was restamped . Also, these early cars did not have partial VINS like the late 60's cars so there is no definitive way to determine originality in most cases. Non-original motors in this stratospheric realm does not hurt the car at all (imho) This car was bot right and will bring a ton when and if it resurfaces on the market (again imho)

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but you have to agree that if the original motor (which is rumored to exist) ends up with the factory body the price value WILL go up. this is common sense.

[JIM]

I am confusd Now will the restoration include returning it to as built spec's or leave it as raced. Isn't it worth more and more well known as a drag car as it was the fastest car in 63????????????

Jim

[Paul D]

This is amazing.....ya gotta love the PHS documentation and the great work of Pete McCarthy and his incredible book on the factory race Pontiac Super Duties.

I probably have this story a little wrong, so the Pontiac guys can chime in, but didn't one of these Tempest SD Coupes win the Daytona 200 mile Race of Champions, and maybe lap the second place car?? Then as the story goes, it was bought by Mercedes (or Porshe?), taken to Germany and reverse engineered, never to appear again??

[Jeff H]

This should be a really cool project to see restored. But I keep thinking that it doesn't look that much like a factory built race car. Is there really that much of the original car missing? Was there a roll bar in the car back in the racing days? Obviously the VIN will prove what car it is, but is looks like a very basic car the way it sits now. Did somebody swap a ton of parts over to the body and repaint it back in the day? Can't wait to watch this one. Great find!

[PhilS]

It's interesting to watch the ebb and flow of the hobby. Just a few years ago these factory race car got very little love. I almost had to beg someone to buy my fully restored Z-11. At that time you could sell a high end musclecar with a couple of phone calls. When I bought the car the owner also had one of these Tempests. It took him a long time to move that car. Out of his 40 or so cars it and the Z-11 would now be the first to sell but then they were near the last. I think that was about 7 years ago.

[John Brown]

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This is amazing.....ya gotta love the PHS documentation and the great work of Pete McCarthy and his incredible book on the factory race Pontiac Super Duties.

I probably have this story a little wrong, so the Pontiac guys can chime in, but didn't one of these Tempest SD Coupes win the Daytona 200 mile Race of Champions, and maybe lap the second place car?? Then as the story goes, it was bought by Mercedes (or Porshe?), taken to Germany and reverse engineered, never to appear again??

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That's the story in the Angeles / McCarthy book. It shows the Paul Goldsmith driven / Ray Nichels prepared "Daytona" LeMans as "dissapeared". Gotta extend the search to include Germany now.

[olredalert]

-----Go back thru the posts and I think you will read that the paint is mostly original. I have heard that Pontiac knew going in that their strange rear-end wouldnt have the durability and an axle and trans kit was made up by Pontiac. It is possible that this "kit" may have been first trialed in this car..........Bill S

[Tenney]

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I am confusd Now will the restoration include returning it to as built spec's or leave it as raced. Isn't it worth more and more well known as a drag car as it was the fastest car in 63????????????

Jim

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The look on Tiemann's mug might be worth something
... otherwise go as-built all day long - transaxle's a pretty key ingredient.