Learn more about the 1961 Tempest and its unusual drivetrain, including the 195ci Trophy 4-cylinder engine, "rope" driveshaft, and rear transaxle.
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@kevinbarry719 ай бұрын
This cars layout is discussed in the movie, my cousin Vinny. Turns out to be rather important to the plot
@soaringvulture9 ай бұрын
It was only important because it got Marisa Tomei a well-deserved Oscar.
@megastick93242 ай бұрын
No, that’s a totally different iteration. What was discussed in the movie was posi-trac rear end vs open diff rear end. Those cars were more akin to the chevelle of the time than the 61 tempest, a league of its own.
@paradoxworkshop46592 ай бұрын
@@soaringvulture although, hearing her say 'shaft' might have been nice.
@KDoyle49 күн бұрын
No, that was the true mid-size car that replaced this "senior compact" for 1964.
@jhaedtler9 ай бұрын
When I was a kid I bought one used from a neighbour, I only paid $75.00 for the car. He was told he needed a new transmittion! The drive shaft cover had just came loose at the engine. Cost to repair was one bolt! I loved that car.
@williamlittle79879 ай бұрын
My dad had a 62 Lemans with the 4 cylinder 1 barrel and 4 speed..when i was a young teenager..i would help my dad do maintenance on the Tempest...in exchange he would take me out to a empty parking lot to teach me how to drive the Tempest...that was one of the most fun times driving that awesome car !!!
@757boing9 ай бұрын
I've been a car guy my whole life,70 years,and I never new about the unique drive train of the Pontiac Tempest.Thanks for sharing the knowledge.
@Ed_Stuckey9 ай бұрын
My younger brother had one. He referred to it as rubber band drive because of the strange noises coming from the floor when he did hard acceleration. He said the thumping was the rubber band unwinding. (jokingly or course) - I had a 1965 Corvair Corsa so we were both driving 'unconventional' cars.
@joed59012 ай бұрын
I think it was a real nice simple economical car that I wouldn't mind having today!
@RobertRuhe-ep6lwАй бұрын
@@joed5901v v
@KevinCoop19 ай бұрын
When I was 7, my grandmother bought a Tempist with the 4 cyl and automatic transaxle. The shifter was a small handle sticking out of the dash. As far as how much power it had, I would have no idea. Her TOP speed was 45 mph. No matter back then the limits were 70 and 65. My older brother and I went on a 500 mile each way trip with her! We watched the small animals run past as she drove! Not really, but it felt like it.
@524kirkd9 ай бұрын
We always joked that if my grandmother was as ever in an accident it would never be because she hit someone. She drove so slow that there was plenty of time to get out of the way. 😂
@dansmusic57499 ай бұрын
This must have greatly extended the service life of her Tempest. lol
@TexJester-no8th2 ай бұрын
My gramma wound up with a 77 Mercury Grand Marquis with the big 460 engine. Her top speed, regardless of speed limit - 35 mph!! And she never used her mirrors ... I drive a truck (18 wheeler, flatbed, 40 years now), and one day while going through town, I spotted gramma in her land yacht, pulled up beside her and tooted the horn - she JUMPED! She told me later she had no idea I was beside here, even though I drove my BIG International truck beside her for FIVE BLOCKS!! 🤣
@SnifBelch-fs6ly9 ай бұрын
My 85 year old uncle said it was his favorite car, and he said it was the four cylinder. It's neat to have just been talking to him about his favorite car the other day and I am now getting a chance to look at it! Thank you for your reviewing it!!!
@DSP19689 ай бұрын
I've always been kind of fascinated by these early Tempests due to their unique engineering. I'm glad you covered it, Adam.
@tiki_trash9 ай бұрын
My friend has a photo of his father in a 4cyl Tempest doing a wheel stand at the Christmas tree back in the 60s!
@tiki_trash9 ай бұрын
Any parts you could get for the Pontiac 421 you could get for the slant 4 and you got a forged and balanced crankshaft from the factory.
@toddbonin69269 ай бұрын
Totally agree. I always thought if GM had continued with this kind of innovation, they would still be the world leader.
@sp-yj5wr9 ай бұрын
Its too bad our great grandparents never bought great ideas like this and instead bought old tech land yachts. Similar to today with huge useless trucks/SUV's. Progress stalls if customers all buy the same thing. Of course, greed ruined the US car industry too.
@tiki_trash9 ай бұрын
@@sp-yj5wr They did buy these cars. They were among the most popular and most affordable cars of their time.
@bruce29009 ай бұрын
I learned to drive on a 61 Tempest. It was my Mom’s computer car. I was in the car when it was totaled on hill in upstate NY. My Mom used the transmission to slow her decent on ice by manually shifting down, the rear end basically locked, and proceeded to swap with the front, then slid into a culvert. I was a junior Motörhead and was aware of the unique drive train. Thanks for triggering some very precious memories. Excellent video.
@foxtrot3129 ай бұрын
A COMPUTER car? WTf?😮
@chrispnw25479 ай бұрын
I can't say it enough. Thank you for your channel as it does something magical: entertaining and educational.
@christianheidt57339 ай бұрын
Agreed!
@jamesbusch5669 ай бұрын
Agreed
@dvdosterloh9 ай бұрын
Trans was from the corvair, they used a hollow shaft with the "rope" running through the center of the transmission to transmit the power to the torque converter literally feeding the power in from the rear. In the corvair the torque converter was driven from the other end. So really Pontiac did not develop a new trans, they used the trans and some of the rear suspension parts from the corvair
@LongIslandMopars9 ай бұрын
Thank you!! I thought that would be the case (the transaxle being from the Corvair). After all, it was still General Motors.
@martinliehs25139 ай бұрын
That trick of driving the Corvair transaxle from the rear allowed the Tempest engine to rotate in the conventional direction.
@mrdanforth37449 ай бұрын
Pontiac considered making a modified Corvair as a Pontiac but rejected the idea. Instead they developed the Tempest which had a lot of Corvair in it. The body was modified Corvair, the transmission and rear suspension and possibly the front suspension.
@clarkinthedark19 ай бұрын
So it was a powerglide?
@Primus549 ай бұрын
My family bought a ‘61 Tempest automatic with the Trophy 4 as a second car. In addition to the strange drivetrain, the gear selector was mounted to the dashboard with a very short perpendicular handle. I was only 7 at the time but I remember it well enough to attest to the pronounced vibrations from that motor. Thank you, Adam. 👍👍👍
@stevegordon52439 ай бұрын
Yes! As a very young child I pushed the dashboard mounted Reverse button on our Tempest as we were going down the road at 35mph. My dad thought for sure the transmission was left on the ground behind us but it was not and it did not affect the transmission what so ever........LOL!
@davidpancerev96589 ай бұрын
Yes my uncle Nestor had a '63 2dr (4)..I too recall the inherent vibrations..a true cocktail shaker !
@beer1for2break3fast49 ай бұрын
Yes you're right and if I recall there was no park, just R,N,D,L
@kenmarsh26689 ай бұрын
Your correct on the shifter. I was in high school when my folks got one and took it on many a date. Got my license with our 56’ Ford Fairlane Victoria but I really enjoyed the Tempest; wanted a Le Manns when they came out. Regards
@Primus549 ай бұрын
@@kenmarsh2668 Ahhh… memories! 😉
@christinecrawford2 ай бұрын
That 59 Bonneville at the beginning - chef's kiss! It's beautiful! My dad had a convertible version for many years so it holds a special place in my heart. 💟
@sunbeam88669 ай бұрын
As a teen in the early '70s, while staying at high-school friends home for the weekend, I saw their neighbor had one of these Pontiacs in navy-blue. She gave me permission to look under the hood. Wow! I'd never seen a 'tilted' 4-cylinder like that one. I didn't know about the unique drivetrain or transaxle until the late '80s, when I saw a '63 Tempest up on a lift in a shop, with the engine running. Watching that naked torque-converter spinning behind the rear-end was something else! It's the kind of engineering we should've had in the '70s, but didn't!
@mpetersen69 ай бұрын
The quick and dirty way Pontiac engineered the four cylinder lead to a number of its quirks. The large displacement due shafting the bore and stroke with the 389. The Trophy Four is a very large and heavy for a four cylinder given its origins. The only inline automotive four cylinder with a larger bore center l can think of is the 3 liter four used in the Porsche 944. And as I understand it that motor was derived from the V-8 used in the 928. Myself l would refer to engines such as the IH and Pontiac four cylinders as true Slant engines given the pan rail is horizontal while the cylinder bank is inclined. Versus those engines which are merely leaned over.
@gt-37guy69 ай бұрын
You are right, I would have LOVED to have an OHC six in my 70s car that actually performed like DeLoreans Sprint 6 4 BBL, put in a darn OVERDRIVE GEAR and you could get some milage and have fun too!
@mpetersen69 ай бұрын
@@gt-37guy6 In the 70s l doubt you are going to have anything that really performs all that great. It wasn't until electronic controls of ignition and fuel delivery came of age that real performance started coming back. Plus the US auto industry was really slow on going to Fuel Injection.
@sunbeam88669 ай бұрын
@@gt-37guy6 Yeah! instead of an OHC six, we got the malaise-era! Oversized, overweight, sluggish & thirsty, wallowing barges, with just the Pinto & Vega to take on Toyota, Datsun & Honda!
@jameslandry59529 ай бұрын
@@mpetersen6Hahahahaha! You had performance up until around '72 when the communist organized EPA CAME ON THE SCENE!!! 🙄
@325xitgrocgetter9 ай бұрын
When GM innovates....it returns to old tech in a few years. Corvair supplanted and replaced by the X-Body Nova and the F-Body Camaro to a lesser extent....and the Tempest....advanced architecture but returned to a more traditional layout with the introduction of the 1964 A bodies...The Tempest was a plot point in My Cousin Vinnie with it's independent rear suspension. . Personal connection to the 1963 Buick Special...my Dad's first new car....a "keys and a heater" special. Had the V6, a three on the tree and no radio or A/C. Eventually Mom convinced Dad to get a car with an automatic and air conditioning...and picked up a 1966 Impala Sport Coupe...which was eventually replaced by a 1970 Kingswood as our family grew.
@Low7609 ай бұрын
Holden Kingswood?
@danielulz16409 ай бұрын
@@Low760Chevrolet Kingswood station wagon.
@325xitgrocgetter9 ай бұрын
@@Low760 Chevy Kingswood...nameplate used on the full size wagons in the US Market for a few years in the 60s to early 70s.
@dansmusic57499 ай бұрын
This is yet another example of a car that I used to think was ugly. That picture of the red Tempest with fender skirts is very beautiful and classy right down to the wheel covers. It’s a part of the past that is too distant even for me. I really think the late fifties and early sixties were some of the most interesting years for automobiles and American culture.
@lostpony48859 ай бұрын
Modern cars are uglier every year making old ugly cars look a lot better
@johnmaki30469 ай бұрын
Well, it LOOKED great...
@MichaelLSeery9 ай бұрын
Pontiac also offered some "sports car" options on the LeMans version: streamlined "Talbot" exterior mirrors, a real oddity at the time, and a frameless wraparound competition windshield for the convertible, absolutely unheard of. This did a lot to raise awareness and demand for road-race styling, in the era of the Mustang I.
@johnwilburn83199 ай бұрын
Yes,I think the most beautiful art in automotive history was created between 1955 and 1966.
@dansmusic57499 ай бұрын
@@MichaelLSeery Thanks for the additional info.
@tdvandy29 ай бұрын
I have been a car guy my entire life and have learned more from your channel in a couple of years than in all the years prior. Thank you, Adam.
@RareClassicCars9 ай бұрын
I appreciate that!
@madmike26249 ай бұрын
I second that! Outstanding videos!!
@UberLummox9 ай бұрын
That's great! Most "car guys" are sadly lacking in automotive history knowledge. Great channel for sure.
@UberLummox2 ай бұрын
@@TomSpeaks-vw1zp Right on!
@TomSpeaks-vw1zp2 ай бұрын
@@UberLummox Thank you. I’m an 82 year old car guy. There’s always something new & interesting
@detroitdan84879 ай бұрын
Thanks, Adam. My very first car. Dad bought this for me used in 67 so I could get to college in the Upper Peninsula. It was a good, roomy car. Automatic gear shift was on the dash. Two speed automatic made passing cars on state roads an interesting proposition. If you tried flooring it to pass, the trans down shifted to low making you go slower. So, you had to leave 6 or 7 car lengths distance from the vehicle you were passing, wait for clear road ahead, gently increase pedal pressure to get up to passing speed, and if the road was still clear you could pass. Excellent car in the snow.
@jetsons1019 ай бұрын
That was my first car, very used..... Mine had the 215, I think it was alumiuum, it was fun car, just be careful with fast sharp turns.... Thanks to Adam for posting...
@larsongh9 ай бұрын
I a ‘62 convertible that bought I ragged condition. I restored it whit white paint and a red vinyl interior. Wish I had not sold it. It was fast and fun! Thanks for the video!
@buttguy9 ай бұрын
a crossflow inline 4, in a car with 4-wheel independent suspension, and a nearly 50/50 weight distribution thanks to the transaxle. Period tests reported about 24 MPG as well. Honestly if they would have gone with a more conventional displacement for the 4-cylinder, something more optimal in the 2-2.5 liter range, this would have been a perfect car, and a serious contender for an import killer. Beautiful styling to boot! Hands down probably my favorite GM car of the era, and one I'd absolutely love to have. I never realized the driveshaft was so unconventional. Wish the innovative and adventurous era of a GM that really thought they could never be beat would have never ended...
@sneff10529 ай бұрын
I have never understood why the american auto maker all produced contra flow inline 4 and 6 engines. Was there any advantage over the cross flow head design? It probably would have increased the efficiency and smoothness of these engines by a lot.
@NBSV19 ай бұрын
@@sneff1052The advantage was cheaper to produce. You only have to machine one side of the head and packaging can be easier since the intake and exhaust is on the same side. They weren’t really concerned about performance since the small engines were considered just the economy base models so low cost was the main focus.
@buttguy9 ай бұрын
@sneff1052@@NBSV1 to be fair, a reverse flow engine does (allegedly) burn cleaner and has better volumetric efficiency than a crossflow engine, and since nearly every american car at that point was carbureted, the fact that the intake and exhaust manifolds were usually directly connected to one another would make starting easier in cold weather. I do believe serviceability was another consideration, especially when you look at the big blank side of, say, a Chevy inline 6 with incredibly easy-to-access spark plugs, coil, oil filter, starter, distributor and fuel pump, but kind of a silly one as a crossflow inline engine is usually every bit as easy to work on if it's designed well enough.
@sp-yj5wr9 ай бұрын
...And GM could have kept improving it too but difficult to do when no one buys it. Its too bad our great grandparents never bought great ideas like this and instead bought old tech land yachts. Similar to today with huge useless trucks/SUV's. Progress stalls if customers all buy the same thing. Of course, greed ruined the US car industry too.
@mikebronicki82649 ай бұрын
@@sp-yj5wrI'm with you on the SUVs and trucks. As a used car buyer it really limits the field of available options.
@The_R-n-I_Guy9 ай бұрын
I would love to have a Tempest with the Trophy 4, or a Corvair, or pretty much any GM car from the 60's truthfully.
@thomasallen67979 ай бұрын
I had a 1962 Corvair. Great little car.
@markdc11459 ай бұрын
To be honest, these early 60's GM compact cars were just not on my radar as a kid. They were somewhat frumpy cars that an older teen going off to college or a newly widowed aunt would drive. Only now can I appreciate the interesting engineering they had. The Tempest grew into a truly handsome car by mid-decade and was a beast by 1969.
@carlosstinechez53389 ай бұрын
It was a Monster in1965 and the most beautiful
@rogerdodrill47339 ай бұрын
@@carlosstinechez5338same as gto with different name
@dennisbrookssr29039 ай бұрын
An era when each divisions automobiles, both full size, and compact, had power trains, unique to their division…A great era for GM, and an Awesome era for the Customers. I turned 16 in the mid 60’s, and the Pontiac line, was my preference, because they truly did ‘Build Excitement’ in the 1960’s…Beautifully designed, and Exciting to Drive.
@atikovi19 ай бұрын
Back in the 80's I had two 62 LeMans coupes and a 61 Tempest coupe. Even back then when they were just 20 something year old cars, nobody knew they were ever made. The 4 cylinder engine came in four versions. High and low compression, and one or four barrel carb. You could mix or match either one. Mine were all one barrel but always thought the 4bbl on a 4 cylinder would be cool. I bought a 4bbl manifold at a junkyard and a carb on Hemmings but sold the cars before installing them.
@charlesb70199 ай бұрын
Very interesting! I had heard of that “rope”, but never really understood how it worked. Thanks for explaining!
@bwtv1479 ай бұрын
It was often called the "speedometer cable" drive shaft.
@ced30989 ай бұрын
Impressive design , thanks for the video and also a beautiful car from the 60's
@kevinvoyer50539 ай бұрын
Not mentioned in the video was the optional 3 or 4 speed transaxle that was also available in the Corvair, that in the 4 speed was robust enough for a 160 hp turbo engine. So with the 4cyl 4 brl carb, with an available 4 speed and 3:98 posi gears, along with the 4 wheel independent suspension, made for a sporty handling car. I remember a family in my neighborhood that would car pool us to school on rainy days. The mother had a 4 dr Tempest, that had plenty of room for 6 passengers, 7 once in a pinch of kids. The Dad in that family drove a LeMans Coupe, with the HO 4cyl with 4 brl carb and 4 speed with posi I remember getting a ride one day with his son and I in the car and Dad chirped the tires in second gear!
@Sedan57Chevy9 ай бұрын
The era when GM's engineers were willing to try different ideas. I'm sure some of the Trophy's power vs other inline motors was the fact that it had a cross flow head. I've always really loved the looks of these early tempests, a long with the other '61 compacts.
@j.kevvideoproductions.64639 ай бұрын
I would like to see american auto makers step outside of their comfort zone of copying foreign vehicles and become trendsetters once again.
@adotintheshark48489 ай бұрын
It's a shame they couldn't use a counter-balancer inside the engine. It would have quieted its vibrations immensely. All of the early 60s GM compacts were handsome cars.
@HighlanderNorth19 ай бұрын
Although you don't see them around, I think the '61 Pontiac Ventura looks great. It's a midsized car though. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/r8WAh6mKqdqXiIE.html
@ednauseum30609 ай бұрын
Oh, GM engineers are STILL "experimenting" - take the 2-ton HUMMER EV battery, for example....🙄🤣😢
@sp-yj5wr9 ай бұрын
Its too bad our great grandparents never bought great ideas like this and instead bought old tech land yachts. Similar to today with huge useless trucks/SUV's. Progress stalls if customers all buy the same thing. Of course, greed ruined the US car industry too.
@victorceicys71409 ай бұрын
Ultimately Porsche used a similar half-a-V8 concept when it produced the large capacity four cylinder engine derived from the 5.0 L Porsche 928 V8 for the 944 engine. Unlike John DeLorean's concept and then Pontiac's development of the non balance shaft large V8 derived four cylinder, to quell the vibrations of their relatively large capacity 944 2,479 cc four cylinder, Porsche added a balancing shaft and additionally paid a technical patent usage licensing fee to Mitsubishi to allow the shaft usage. Ultimately Porsche grew the 944 four cylinder from 2.5L to the 3.0Lfour cylinder engine used in the Porsche 968. So even Porsche engine thinking was influenced by the clever, quickly developed Pontiac Tempest four cylinder.
@Raptor33889 ай бұрын
The 1976 Porsche 924 already had this set up, the 944 was more or less an upgraded 924. The 924 was initally as a project for Volkswagen, so it was meant to be an affordable parts bin sports coupe. In that way, it does share a lot with the Tempest.
@Flussig19 ай бұрын
Not to mention they share the torque tube as well.
@thomaswallace4799 ай бұрын
When I was in college, my parents became so alarmed by the rusted-out wrecks i was, they gave me my mother's '61 metalic brown Tempest. I loved it. It had good acceleration, good handling
@Finnigan99 ай бұрын
I had a slant 4 Tempest 3 speed manual. GREAT car, drove nice, rode nice, good in snow...loved it.
@wingsley9 ай бұрын
One detail you did not cover: how many units of this model did Pontiac sell?
@FaeraOthronus9 ай бұрын
According to Hemmings they sold around 375,500 of them
@62Madison9 ай бұрын
I love the BOP unibody ‘Y’ bodies. The 215 Aluminum V8 the went the power Rovers for years. The Buick V6 that went on to power AMCs and then back to Buicks for years. The turbo Olds that didn’t go on to power anything and the Pontiac that you did a great job covering with its 4 cylinder which people preferred over the V8. GM really was on a roll in the early 1960s. I would love to collect all three, my favorite being the ‘62 Skylark hardtop.
@davidpancerev96589 ай бұрын
Watch out for the rust.
@davidpancerev96589 ай бұрын
Actually the Buick V-6 was adapted for Kaiser Jeep (67)
@emjayay9 ай бұрын
The original V8 based Buick V6 was rough too until reengineered later for even firing.
@billdurham84779 ай бұрын
Back in the 80's I worked for a parts store with a full boat machine shop. Steve The Wizard says hey can you hand me that block? Sure. I almost tossed it over my head I yanked so hard. Bare block was just a few pounds. Steve thought it was funny......And that was the basis for the Rover 3.5. And back in the day at Oshkosh there was a Bede-5 with that V8. Won best engine sound of show.
@cameronearnshaw22599 ай бұрын
Actually, AMC never used the Buick V6 in its cars. The engine tooling was sold to Kaiser Jeep in 1967, and AMC acquired it when they bought Jeep in 1970. The engine was used in AMC Jeeps for one year, after which they switched to the AMC straight six, but AMC still owned the tooling and sold it back to GM in 1974. The engine continued to be used in various GM cars through 1987.
@UberLummox9 ай бұрын
They've always looked like such a grandma mobile. Love the plain jane '61 4drs. Tons of character!
@GereDJ29 ай бұрын
When I was 16 my dad bought a 4 door, 3 speed stick, white, 1961 Tempest. I loved it immediately and he actually let me take it out a few times, which I immediately raced with my friend who had a 1961, 6 cylinder Ford Falcon. The Tempest just edged it out. It seemed to have a little more torque although the Falcon was quicker out of the hole. As mentioned in the movie "My Cousin Vinnie", the 1961 Tempest did indeed have independent rear suspension and a Positraction transaxle. It was nice and clean inside and had a decent looking body. It would get near 30 mpg if you kept your foot out of it. Would love to have that car today.
@mitchellbarnow17099 ай бұрын
We had one of these amazing Tempests in our High School shop class in 1977!
@johnplovanich95649 ай бұрын
I love your channel Adam.I am a petrol head from way back.I enjoy your content and thoroughness. Cheers mate from Eluethra, Bahamas.
@88SC9 ай бұрын
In one magazine article that was published at the time of the car’s introduction, it was pointed out that the curve in the shaft matched the bow that you would get from gravity by supporting each end of the driveshaft on a sawhorse. So the two bearings didn’t impose the curve by force, but merely kept it in place inside the housing. And of course, the angle at which the engine and transaxle were mounted aligned with it.
@donQpublic9 ай бұрын
And it spun around like jump rope!
@charlesangell_bulmtl9 ай бұрын
@@donQpublic Chief in reefer?🤨 No, with it supported bearings in a rigid housing, no such silliness. Any whip would have had to have been minor. Actually...length of the shaft & the controlled flexibility probably aided vibration dampening....There's you some (engineering) magic to ponder.... Now I have to see why the bearings suffered.
@88SC9 ай бұрын
@@charlesangell_bulmtl naysayers will assume things, but what would be fun is to observe one that has windows cut in the torque tube, running on a chassis dyno. With and without bad bearings (within reason). Obviously not on a relatively pristine car, except by replacing the car’s own tube with a cut up spare! One could do a modal analysis as well. Given that the shaft has to align with the engine and transaxle, it won’t move around too freely.
@sp-yj5wr9 ай бұрын
Bearings are better today, but there is still no such thing as a lifetime or maintenance free bearing.... (well, except maybe full 100% ceramic bearings)
@geekthesteve62159 ай бұрын
@@donQpublic Nope, smooth as silk in the one I owned.
@Daniel-lv8ze9 ай бұрын
I just appreciate that the trophy 4 was a cross flow engine. Something that couldn't be said for many other American inlines.
@tettazwo98659 ай бұрын
It is truly delightful to watch your videos as one notices that you actually know what your talking about!
@ohio06109 ай бұрын
Love this video. I have a 61 Tempest sedan that absolutely adore for its uniqueness and quirkiness. The engine does have some vibration issues, but overall nothing horrible. It also has pretty good ride quality for a car of that era with its 4-wheel independent suspension.
@paulgracey46979 ай бұрын
I owned a Corvair during the time when those Tempests were also around, and when working on it noted that its much shorter driveshaft passing through the differential to get to the gearbox just like the Tempest's did, was the same small diameter. Coincidentally two of my siblings had one each of the Pontiac Tempest and The Buick Skylark.
@67marlins9 ай бұрын
Excellent post. I really love the elegant, clean styling of the first Tempest. I'm a Ford and Mopar guy, but I'd love to buy a first generation Tempest wagon.
@danreagoso39399 ай бұрын
When automotive engineers colarorated and came up with ideas and solutions . Products of the War ! Great men and minds.👏
@AbcDef-iq4no9 ай бұрын
In my opinion, the 1960 Corvair was created as a direct competitor to the VW Beetle, whereas the 1961 GM compacts were direct competitors to Ramblers, which gained quite a bit of popularity in the late 1950s especially after the 1958 recession.
@johnking62529 ай бұрын
Strange that you mentioned the 1958 recession in retrospect. 👍 Same as it ever was.
@charlesangell_bulmtl9 ай бұрын
A GD shame Nader screwed that pooch...It was a very well executed car considering it a GM 1st. Actual problem: Nader(aspiring political noob) / inexperienced with rear weight bias (noob) public. A far better execution than it's descendant Vega... Had GM not cheep assed with the Briggs and Stratton engine and built the Vega with a V8 capable front substructure...they would have had a winner👍
@nlpnt9 ай бұрын
@@charlesangell_bulmtl Lee Iacocca killed the Corvair. If anything Nader indirectly put its' body on life support. People wanted their "sporty" compact with conventional engineering and long hood/short deck proportions, Mustang was that, and by the time Nader's book came out GM had already zeroed out the Corvair development budget and launched the crash program that led to the 1967 Camaro. If it weren't for Nader, the last Corvair might well have been the 1966 model. GM built 3 model years' worth out of pure spite and not wanting to be seen as capitulating to an activist. He did screw the pooch by spoiling the 2000 election, though.
@toyyoda37109 ай бұрын
@@charlesangell_bulmtl No ... The Corvair was garbage. it didnt even have independent suspension. It had these awkward seesaw designs that made the car handle worse than a shopping cart
@AbcDef-iq4no9 ай бұрын
@@denniswilson8013 Those Larks sure were some bulletproof cars. I have always wanted one with the 289 V8.
@StupidFastTruck9 ай бұрын
When I think of the 1961 Tempest, I instantly remember Marisa Tomei in the movie My Cousin Vinny.
@bobhill39419 ай бұрын
Thanks for the heads up, I recently watched that movie.
@chickenfishhybrid449 ай бұрын
Great movie
@soaringvulture9 ай бұрын
Positraction.
@jthampshire9 ай бұрын
Great story. On toque multiplication. Engine torque is multiplied by not only the torque converter but by the gear ratio of the transmission. A 3to1gear reduction equals a 3to1torque multiplication. So in the Tempest the drive shaft was always at a 1to1 torque ratio.
@RareClassicCars9 ай бұрын
Great point.
@scrambler69-xk3kv9 ай бұрын
Just wish GM would have given these and the Corvair a park position. Parking brake would freeze in the winter because not having a park position, you had to use the parking brake to prevent the car from rolling away.
@Piggypong3679 ай бұрын
My father had a 62 tempest. Two door. Same color silver as the 4door you showed in the video. I have a picture of him standing next to it when he was a young man.
@antera779 ай бұрын
1) 0:10 1959 Pontiacs just stunning, and way ahead of their time. Almost as much as the 1957 Chryslers 2) I get the impression the huge, rough 3.2 liter half-a-V8 four, and the transaxle / rope driveshaft -- came more from GM engineers experimenting with available parts--i.e. the Corvair transaxle reversed, than an optimized solution to a problem. Especially given the 215 cu in (3.5 liter) Buick aluminum V8 was readily available and fit under the hood, and it wasn't clear GM had any complaints about drive tunnel height.
@michaelbrown56019 ай бұрын
I first learned about this vehicle from Marissa Tomei.
@turdferguson41249 ай бұрын
The car at 0:59 almost looks metallic mint green.
@soaringvulture9 ай бұрын
What a great way to learn about a car.
@danweyant490928 күн бұрын
Are you shoe-ah?
@freshdougg8 ай бұрын
I found this very interesting. My folks had Pontiacs in the 60’s and mom got the ‘62 Tempest station wagon in the divorce. I don’t recall the flattish floor but that car hauled me and her all over SE Wisconsin! By the time she traded it on a new Tempest T-37 in September 1970 (I was 9) that 62 was costing her a lot in various engine repairs. I just distinctly recall something with a clogged oil breather cap.
@AlexanderWaylon9 ай бұрын
A man I worked for is married to the owner of a Buick GMC dealership and his wife owns a beautiful yellow Tempest convertible flawless in all aspects. I never had the opportunity to discuss the car at length, compared to his classic GMC trucks some being the V6 (which I owned one myself at one point), that he works for his construction company. My uncle had an F85 which had an aluminum engine, if I am not mistaken. Nice cars. Good video.
@andrewadams4889 ай бұрын
In 1962 the local Pontiac dealer donated a new Tempest to the high school for drivers ed. Quite a step up from the 1953 straight stick Chevy we were using
@paleghost9 ай бұрын
A lot of innovation from GM back then in these early compacts. Tempest, Corvair, turbocharged Olds F85 and Buick Special aluminum V8. The next Tempest generation was my favorite with the 230 CID overhead cam straight six. The Sprint version of the engine produced 205 HP. IMHO that engine was a lot cooler than the V8. The styling of that generation was sharp too.
@mpetersen69 ай бұрын
It's a shame that between the bean counters at GM and the lower hood lines of the 2nd generation F-Body the OHC 6 was killed off.
@mrspandel57379 ай бұрын
@@mpetersen6Thankfully if you ever wondered where the Pontiac OHC could have developed, look no further than the Australian Ford Falcon. Even the very last Turbocharged Barra I6 from 2016 is at its core a direct descendant of the 144 found in the 1960 Falcon, with 56 years of continuous, incremental engineering upgrades, first separate intake manifolds to accept better carburettors, a crossflow head in 1976, later an aluminum head with fuel injection, OHC in 1988 and finally the 24V Barra in 2002. A superbly dependable and rugged Motor, with amazing Tuning potential
@mpetersen69 ай бұрын
@@mrspandel5737 Oh I have. Along with the 232/4.0. The 4.0 equipped with a DOHC 24V head is used for racing in Argentina. Along with Chevy and Ford inline 6s using the same basic head design.
@gcrav9 ай бұрын
Was that the same engine Pontiac used in the Banshee concept car? That was a project of Zora Arkus Duntov and is said to have reflected the direction he thought GM should have taken with sports cars rather than the C3 Corvette that followed, which was a glorified straight-line muscle car. The Banshee is an intriguing car that reminds me of the Datsun 240Z and presents a lot of "what if" questions.
@michaelhurley33339 ай бұрын
@@mpetersen6 when I was around 10 or so my brother in law had an early Temptest, not sure which engine but it would raise the front wheels off the ground, I remember that part fairly well!!!!
@acehandler15309 ай бұрын
Pontiac, RIP 😞 Owned 2 and loved them both ('67 Stratochief Safari and '72 LeMans). Great video thanks 🙂
@allareasindex79849 ай бұрын
Thank you for explaining this in detail. I’ve read one-sentence descriptions for years and finally know what a “rope driveshaft” is.
@hawk000559 ай бұрын
Hi Adam, Thank you for this wonderful video. If you could please make a video about the 1961 and 1962 Buick Special/Skylark and its wonderful all aluminum V-8 engine it would be great.
@jack002tuber9 ай бұрын
We had one of these. You should show the dash and the tiny flipper handle to shift the transmission. I guess it was a long cable to the rear.
@emjayay9 ай бұрын
Probably from the Corvair too.
@cameronearnshaw22599 ай бұрын
My parents bought my sister a used '61 Tempest for her first car. It was slow-- 2-speed automatic transmission as I recall-- but actually drove quite smoothly once it got up to speed. It rode well due to independent suspension, but the rear swing axle meant that it had the same handling problems as the Corvair and the VW Beetle, though perhaps not quite as pronounced as the engine was in the front. But like the Corvair and the Beelte, the rear track got narrower-- and the center of gravity higher-- as the vehicle cornered. Not a problem when driven properly, but an inexperienced teenage driver going a little too fast was asking for trouble, and my sister found this out on a twisty road one afternoon. I was with her, along with another friend of mine. The car didn't go completely over-- the back end came around and she hit a dirt bank on the inside of the turn. That pushed the car over onto its side and it just stayed there. We were able to climb out the top window and push the car back over onto its wheels. Just scuffed up the sheet metal on the driver's side and bent an axle, and we drove the car home with a wobbly rear wheel.
@ffelton9 ай бұрын
Fascinating vid Adam. I’m constantly amazed at not just the high quality of your videos as far as the production goes, but moreover the creativity and amazing insight you provide viewers with each topic you explore. You taught me - a serious 60’s/70’s era Pontiac devotee - something I didn’t know and I can’t thank you enough. Keep up the good work!
@RareClassicCars9 ай бұрын
Thanks again!
@radioguy16208 ай бұрын
Another interesting Pontiac fact you might not know is the 67 Firebird 3 speed trans was a Ford Mustang unit, Had both cars with the same tranny, seems Jim Delorean specified it knowing the Chevy unit was not as strong.
@jedsparks73249 ай бұрын
I had one, liked it. Had dashboard flip lever for changing gears
@williamwixon9 ай бұрын
I had no idea! I had never heard this before! Absolutely fascinating. I’m not an expert, but I would never imagined an American automobile, build manufacture, creating such a freakish drive train. Pretty cool, pretty amazing! fun trivia! Thank you! 5/8 inch diameter driveshaft! Jesus!
@martinneumann77839 ай бұрын
I did read an article about this car and its drivetrain in my German classic car magazine. Wtih your video I do know a little bit more. Thank you! Greetings from overseas - Martin
@73_f1009 ай бұрын
This is a great video. Start to finish. Thanks for the effort.
@DavidSmith-vm3cu9 ай бұрын
Another innovation of this car was it was assembled on the same production line as the full-size Pontiacs at the plant in Pontiac, Michigan. Lots of innovative tooling to accommodate two different wheelbase and tracks, etc. I got to tour the line in 1961 while in high school. My uncle who worked at Pontiac suffered a puncture of transmission pan in Canadian wild, plugged with bubble gum and made it to dealer. A friend had 63 with 326 V8, which was a de-bored 389. Fun on Woodward Avenue.
@emjayay9 ай бұрын
Are you sure? The full-size cars were body on frame and the compacts were unit bodies and didn't share much other than some small bits like interior door handles etc. They did later assemble all the intermediates on the same line at least in Fremont but they were versions of the same car.
@carlosdj48849 ай бұрын
Our 64 Pontiac convertible GTO Was a head turner a great fun to drive around the southbay Redondo - Hermosa Beach
@eddietucker33349 ай бұрын
Fond memories of my dad's 62 Tempest LeMans. Went on my first dates in it. I loved that car!
@N0NegativesАй бұрын
My dad had a '62 automatic. I got to drive it during high school in the mid 80's. My friends loved that car, so big for a 'compact'! When my brother drove it, he would put his surfboard in the trunk, with it closed.
@fob1xxl9 ай бұрын
My folks bought a new Pontiac Bonneville 4 door hardtop Vista Dome flat top. It was gorgeous! When the tempest came out, it was cute, but way too small for us. By the time my sister and I were out of the house and my folks decided to downsize, they bought a Pontiac LeMans 2dr hardtop in 1972.
@stephenholland59309 ай бұрын
Love the Bonneville Vista flat top, especially the '61.
@joemoore40279 ай бұрын
The father of a friend on mine who lived in LA back in the 70's was a GM engineer. One day he took us to the local dealer who was having trouble with an elderly woman's car making noise and no idea what they were looking at. It was up on the lift and it had the " rope driveshaft". It was the strangest thing I ever saw. His dad said take a look you'll probable never see an other one again ! he was right !
@tonymaglio93769 ай бұрын
As A GM mechanic from the 80s. You never cease to amaze me with facts.
@analogdesigner9 ай бұрын
That four cylinder engine was good at destroying timing chains. My family owned two of these, a '61 and '62. The main culprit was the crankshaft which was compromised when the 389 crank was modified to be compatible with four cylinders. The crankshaft had poor torsional stiffness, it was a "banjo string"!. Every time a cylinder would fire, the flimsy crankshaft would whiplash the timing chain. I even tried a Cloyes Trueroller chain and even that didn't extend the life very much. The tiny drum brakes were a problem too, so I switched to metallic linings. Thanks for a great video.
@TaylorZ29 ай бұрын
Do you know if the modified powerglide trans (for rear mounting) had a park position?
@analogdesigner9 ай бұрын
@@TaylorZ2, no it didn't. The dashboard selector for the transmission had four positions, R N D L. The car did have a good parking brake.
@sp-yj5wr9 ай бұрын
US mfrs always look for a home run in the first year. If no homer, they dump the whole idea. Meanwhile foreign mfrs just look to get on base and then improve upon the design.....Its been a long game, but foreigners won.
@alsavage19 ай бұрын
@@TaylorZ2 No, it shared the no-Park design of the pre-existing Corvair transaxle with the same PG. Well, except the '63 Tempest with the 326, I hear.
@maxr44489 ай бұрын
Wow completely forgot out those cars. Thank You Adam... again for this. Great video and letting us remember these cars.
@johnpotter80399 ай бұрын
We had a 1961 Tempest with the aluminum V-8 and the automatic transaxle. It ran very smoothly and we drove it for many years. One really big problem- no PARK position. Our town of Sierra Madre, CA, was laid out on a slope. I had driven the car to my part-time job as a janitor in a church. I parked the car on the slope with the front wheel turned in, up against the curb, and the parking brake fully latched. I was inside, vacuuming, when I heard a very troubling sound. I knew it was the car, and I ran out, imaging that it was rolling backwards down to the main street of the town. What had happened was different. The car had rolled in a 3/4 circle, with the wheels still turned, until it was pointing to the 4:00 position, then it rolled up over the curb and sidewalk, stopping in a bed of ivy. Wow! I dodged the bullet with that one.
@lostpony48859 ай бұрын
Wow that half of 8 4 cyl is surprisingly cool configuration
@timothydigiuseppe17539 ай бұрын
Again, an excellent presentation covering a technical development I knew nothing about. Fascinating and thank you.
@Dr_Reason9 ай бұрын
Note: Pontiac redid the rear suspension arms to be closer to a tailing arm and reduce the camber change of the swing axles in 1963. It seemed to have helped but then in 1964 they went to the new live axle car. Just one more example of fixing it just to stop making it.
@kevinbarry719 ай бұрын
Engineers can do whatever they like to that engine, but as it is an in-line four, and given its size, those secondary vibrations are going to be a big problem. They would need a couple of balance shafts to handle that. Something that had not yet been invented. Revving the engine too high could probably disassemble it in a rapid fashion
@shiftfocus19 ай бұрын
Lanchester invented the counter-rotating balance shaft system in 1907.
@christopherkraft13279 ай бұрын
Hello Adam, thanks for sharing this interesting & informative history lesson on the Pontiac Tempest!! 👍👍🙂
@alonzogarbanzo9 ай бұрын
Just discovered the channel and am hooked. Have you ever done one on the Studebaker Avanti? I was fascinated as a teenager with the car, which if I recall correctly, was also a boldly experimental bunch of unusual technology for the time.
@RareClassicCars9 ай бұрын
Have not yet. Welcome!
@carlosdj48849 ай бұрын
That Tempest was a great little car
@sparkplug00009 ай бұрын
I knew about the rope driveshaft but you are the first person I’ve heard explain why it could be so thin. Very interesting, and that torque converter on the back of the transaxle! As your pictures show, this car also had independent rear suspension which was rare at the time. But in all my 63 years I’d never heard of that slant 4 engine!
@88SC9 ай бұрын
International Harvester derived the four cylinder for the Scout the same way. V8 with the left bank omitted.
@beer1for2break3fast49 ай бұрын
Yeah that torque converter was odd. If you looked under the rear of the car when it was running you could see it turning. When you put the car on a hoist the rear wheels folded in like a VW.
@dvdosterloh9 ай бұрын
Another thing I learned is that by having a curve in the "rope" it didn't whip, if straight it would tend to whip like a jump rope or would have needed several more bearings or been much thicker. Engineering at it's best!. Also by connecting the engine solid to the tube and the tube being solid to the transmission, eliminated all but two front engine mounts and dampened the 4 cylinder shake. Talked to a former owner, he told me it was not uncommon to see the trophy 4 jump up and down as much as two inches at certain idle speeds especially since it couldn't twist much being connected to the trans so tight. Finally by cutting an eight in half the engine went down the same machining lines as the V8, line bore and all the cylinder machining and drill line for bolts, also the same with the head. Other than the crank and several peripheral parts it was quite cheap to build
@rogerclyde27209 ай бұрын
The Tempest was a great little car when kept in good condition. It’s one of the first aluminum engine blocks was given to overheat damage quickly so it was very important to keep scheduled maintenance very up to snuff.
@emjayay9 ай бұрын
Back then a lot of people probably poured in the wrong kind of coolant and corroded the aluminum engine.
@MrPoppyDuck9 ай бұрын
Thanks for the education! Very interesting stuff!
@Pauley_in_GP3 ай бұрын
Good video - as always, thanks for the memories. I was 10 years old when a friend of my mother bought one of these (light green), trading in his '54 Chevy. I remember that the Tempest felt kind of futuristic, inside and out to me - I think it was the first compact car I had ever seen or ridden in.
@johnleinen71679 ай бұрын
When I was a kid in the 60s, my neighbors had one of these it was blue and it sat in the driveway and didn't move from there for 35 years! It looked funny cause of the rear suspension caused the wheels to camber in and it had flat tires , it disappeared one day in the late 80s, this was in Downey ca..
@markhardin61869 ай бұрын
My first car in 1981 was a '62 two-door hardtop Pontiac Tempest Lemans - $500. Red on White, with that incredible, thick naugahyde upholstery mentioned below. Those deep, channeled seats were lipstick-red, just like the rest of the interior, it was a knockout to look at. The 1962 model had a pursed lip, chrome-edged fins, beveled fenders, that little 2-speed lever on the dash and socially incorrect red Indian dash light for the brights. It must have had the four-barrel on it, because those four cylinders drank like a proper Irishman. The engine vibration was just part of the experience. The weight of that iron engine was unkind to the front suspension, so the poor thing wallowed around like Aunt Myrtle in the kitchen. No problem with the drive train, boxed into its curving channel. By 1981 you couldn't buy replacement shocks - mine must have been original - so, i was cautious about the independent rear end. I sold it to a friend who wrecked it within a couple of months. But, I still have fond memories of that old girl.
@kayak63red349 ай бұрын
Wow, that was so intriguing! My Dad had one of these, I think a 1962. I wonder if the innovative stuff was known to him. It was just his work commute car, replaced by a 1966 Tempest with the beautiful GTO styling.
@jasonrackawack93699 ай бұрын
I cant see any Pontiac Tempest with that body style without thinking of the car in the movie "My Cousin Vinny"😅😂🤣
@justintyme72139 ай бұрын
Same here lol
@secondcreekworkshop39089 ай бұрын
My mom still has her Pontiac Tempest, well its in cubes along the fence line as a relative crashed it and totaled it and she had the scrap yard crush it into cubes, she also has the four cylinder (not crushed) the four barrel intake version.
@herrunsinn7749 ай бұрын
Oh don't worry. All of that will buff right out. 😅🤣😂
@stevenlimbach38279 ай бұрын
Had one of these with the 4 banger ! Cute Red convertible. Was not fast, but rode pretty nice and was great for going to the lake in high school ! Sounded rather like a sewing machine going down the road as I recall. Had the thickest, most durable vinyl seats I have ever seen. In Wisconsin winters had to occasionally put a Sterno heater under the rear trans-axles so one side wouldn't freeze up and lock up one rear wheel. If it did, the car would make a nice 90 pivot, like a bobcat and end up sideways in the driveway ! Great memories,...neat little car !!
@michaelsouza35829 ай бұрын
My grandma bought a new one in 61 when I was 10 . Used to sneak it out and go joy riding when I was 12, 13 years old.
@nickbonvino22929 ай бұрын
Never knew about that drivetrain configuration.. as always, great video Adam!
@nedcrouch32029 ай бұрын
I have owned three 1963 pontiac tempest lemans, including a new one in 1963. Great car! John DeLorean's idea. Rope drive shaft. First "wide-track" Pontiac. Even 50/50 weight distribution, front and back. Transaxle. Gear shift lever slung under dashboard. No transmission hump. Fast as greased hell. One of my cars was a "slant 4," quiet and smoothe. The rope drive shaft made a distinctive noise--a muted nyah, sound. My first car, I took it back to the dealer, and they said, that's what these cars do. I got used to it, and even learned to love it. The 1963 was a realy good looking car. In 1964, they went with a full-sized car again: I never looked back.
@larryfromwisconsin99709 ай бұрын
I owned that identical car in 1974. Same color, but faded by then. It was a good commuter. The two speed automatic transmission wasn't great for high speed but it was the time of the beginning of the 55 mph speed limit.
@emjayay9 ай бұрын
Once in high gear a two speed transmission isn't any different from a 3 (or more) speed trans, a 1:1 ratio.
@user-yr2vn4ml9l5 ай бұрын
I owned a 1961 tempest in the early 70s. Drove it to college , up amicalola falls and everywhere. Had a great balance almost a 50/50 . Had corvair loved them and my tempest too!
@richardstaples5659 ай бұрын
Prior to the Tempest's intro, it was reported (by Popular Science, IIRC) that competitive corporate spies thought Pontiac was going to use torsion bar suspension, as they were stocking up with that alloy steel bar stock, LOL. In the early '60s as a young teenager, I worked at a local garage. One of these 4 cyl Tempests was towed in unable to start. I got to check it out, and discovered the timing chain had failed! I have since observed that the fewer cam lobes a chain or timing belt drives, the faster it seems to wear, probably due to the jerking forces the chain/belt endures, especially at low rpm. GM built some fascinating cars (Corvair Greenbriar, Rampside, Corsa, and Spyder, F85 Turbo, Toronado in the 60s.