1961 pontiac tempest history book

The tempest featured pontiac s twin grille styling theme, sculptured side panels, and. The 421ci v8 debuted in pontiac s parts books toward the end of the 1961 model year and was a direct response to chevys 409, fords 406, and mopars 4. The following versions and submodels of pontiac tempest 1stgen. Founded in 1926, pontiac cars have long been sought after for their performance and todays cars are no exception. Search preowned 1961 pontiac tempest listings to find the best local deals. Get the best deals on headlights for 1961 pontiac tempest when you shop the largest online selection at.

The 1961 tempest was in its first year of production and already gained popular acceptance into the smallcar marketplace. Road testers were quick to praise pontiac for its innovation and sensible packaging. Further code numbers indicated the cars transmission manual or automatic. Browse interior and exterior photos for 1961 pontiac tempest.

Pontiac was dominating drag strips around the country and it captured 30 of 52 nascar race wins during the 1961 season. Some show the car incredibly dirty while others show it to be clean. The powers that be at general motors had planned for pontiac to be assigned a version of the rear engine corvair for sale, and had even gone as far as assigning production capacity for the corvair transaxles to pontiac. The division had a dizzying lineup of 15 standard models, plus the new tempest compact. Driving impressions while the tempest was considered a smallish intermediate upon introduction in 1961, its. Gus retold the story of how he purchased a 1963 pontiac tempest from. Most enjoyed the tempest s ride quality, nimble size, and the slantfours power output. Like all big cars, the catalina was downsized for 1961, and its base engine was the 215hp, 389cid v8, but options ranged all the way to the 405hp super duty 421cid v8. Join millions of people using oodle to find unique used cars for sale, certified preowned car listings, and new car classifieds. Find 1961 to 1963 pontiac tempests for sale on oodle classifieds. But in true gm fashion, pennypinching resulted in the 1961 tempest arriving flawed, like the corvair.

Tempest is pontiac s first compact, and earns car of the year status. Leonard matlins great book from 1980 about the history of cartoons photo. I have included images of maries pontiac tempest in this post. Catalina series the auto history preservation society. As for history, the very first ever lemans options appeared on the 1961 to 1963 compact tempest, and these early models rode on a threeinch.

A splitgrille nose that harked back to pontiac s 1959 style graced 1961 models, which were initially available as a sedan and station wagon. All specifications, performance and fuel economy data of pontiac tempest coupe 215 v8 tempestorque 115. Mickey thompsons injected pontiac tempest fourcylinder x. The tempest was introduced as an entrylevel compact in october 1960 at the paris auto show for the 1961 model year. Find used car trade in, resell, certified preowned and retail values of used vehicles based on the condition, mileage and other. Introducing the 1962 pontiac tempest lemans macs motor. Innovative mechanical designs, intriguingly detailed styling and pure pontiac. This 1961 pontiac tempest coupe has spent the last 44 years tucked away in a barn. The tempest featured pontiac s twin grille styling theme. Vehicle history vehicle history reports for classic cars.

The muncie m22 rock crusher 4 speed manual transmission features a hurst competition plus shifter, a mechanical clutch linkage, a racing. Catalina series the auto history preservation society main page. Media in category pontiac tempest y body the following 29 files are in this category, out of 29 total. Opgi carries thousands of classic gm restoration parts and accessories offered in 14 free catalogs. Used 1961 pontiac tempest for sale right now cargurus.

Many of the powerful midsize cars, up to this point in history, had primarily been a. There are 52 1961 to 1963 pontiacs for sale today on. Tempest, lemans, can am, grand am standard catalog of gto gunnell, john on. The manual transmission version was rated at 120 bhp at 3,800 rpm and 202.

Our 1961 pontiac tempest, presumably with oil in the crankcase. Bishko automobile liturature available for 1961, pontiac, all. Gto, lemans, tempest, grand prix, bonneville, catalina. Jun 06, 20 1961 pontiac tempest braggin wagon creating a oneofnone 61 tempest sd421. The 1961 1963 pontiac tempest pontiac s little indian with rope shaft drive by bill mcintosh ever since the end of world war ii, u. Convertible convertible, pontiac tempest, ground transportation, manual. All change is not created equal, nor are the end results predictable. Read more about this featured 1961 pontiac tempest with the trophy 4 engine here at. Spec sheet pontiac tempest 1961 1963 car photo stat info print specs brochure parts ad old retro vintage dealer dealership gm auto v8 cargallery 5 out of 5 stars 229. The pontiac tempest is an automobile that was produced by pontiac from 1960 to 1970, and again from 1987 to 1991. A year after the corvair, the bop buickoldsmobilepontiac triplets arrived in the form of the pontiac tempest. There was even an aluminum fourcylinder a buick design offered in 1961 and 62. Buick specials aluminum v8 goes into production, and rover later buys the design, which powers numerous british models.

None of our partner shops or mates has this currently for sale. The story behind the development of the tempest is one of divisional. Catalina, ventura, star chief, bonneville, convertibles and station wagons measuring approximately 5. It is sadly a little banged up, but thankfully it looks like the seller might have cleaned it up, judging by some of the photos. Free shipping on many items browse your favorite brands affordable prices. Museums listing of automobile museums, as well as museums with some automotive related items. The fourdoor and station wagon models were first to hit the scene with and then later joined by a 2door hardtop and tempest lemans.

The line offered the optional lemans trim upgrade, beginning with a few 1961 lemans coupes and adding a. Power tailgate 4 speed super hydramatic 4 speed manual safet track. Home books service manuals manual, air conditioning, 1961 pontiac and tempest manual, air conditioning, 1961 pontiac and tempest vehicle specific fits 3 models. The pontiac tempest is an automobile that was produced by pontiac from 1960 to 1970, and. This offwhite 1961 pontiac tempest 350 ci v8 4speed manual is no longer in our inventory. Check out 61tempestguy 1961 pontiac tempest in knoxville,tn for ride specification, modification info and photos and follow 61tempestguys 1961 pontiac tempest for updates at cardomain. The quirkiness of the original tempest also included the trophy 4 inlinefour, which was essentially half of a pontiac 389 v8 the right cylinder bank. A threespeed manual was standard, a fourspeed manual with floor shift was. The tempest lemans was a trim package featuring sportier and more luxurious trim than the tempest, including different badging and bucket seats.

Pontiac models classic car database, specifications. The 1961 pontiac tempest did not fail to impress when it was introduced along with the fullsize 1961 pontiacs on october 6, 1960. History of the 1961 1963 pontiac lemans this car had a very interesting incubation. Classic car overview 1961 pontiac tempest safari station wagon the tempest was introduced back in 1960s and production continued until 1970 before it stopped and then was reintroduced in 1987. In 1960, pontiac introduced the tempest, the newest in compact cars and it took everyone. The tempest shared its upper body and doors with its buick and oldsmobile siblings, but it differed in its front and rear treatments. In many ways the 1961 pontiac tempest was a quite a car. May 01, 2012 read more about this featured 1961 pontiac tempest with the trophy 4 engine here at. The lemans was introduced as the topoftheline version of the compactsized pontiac tempest toward the end of the 1961 model year on gms new y body platform. It was built on the, new for the time, unibody y platform. General motors corporation 100th year anniversary feature. Vintage and classic parts for 1961 for pontiac tempest for.