It has an aluminum Offenhauser intake manifold with two Carter 400 CFM carbs. It was bored 030 over, has stock D port heads, and a Lunati Voodoo high lift hydraulic cam. Originally a 326 V8, it now has a REAL 421 date coded engine from 1965 with 4 bolt mains. This car has many characteristics of the original cars. They were 300-400 pounds lighter than the larger Catalinas making for very potent and fast quarter mile times. They were all painted white with blue interior, had aluminum fenders and bumpers, Plexiglas windshields, and fitted with the powerful 421 engine with dual carbs. Back in December 1962, twelve 1963 Pontiac Lemans cars were built to compete in the NHRA Factory Experimental Class. John R.FOR SALE or trade nostalgic 1963 Pontiac 421 Tempest Lemans Super Duty Tribute. If you have any comments or questions, then please leave a comment below, or you could send me a private email message at the following address: shanna12 at comcast dot net The Pontiac Tempests were important cars as they were instrumental in starting the muscle car era. The Lever Below The Right-Most Circular Gauge Is The Transmission Shifter This particular car had the two-speed automatic transmission. The standard transmission was a 3-speed manual transmission with an optional 2-speed automatic transmission or a floor-mounted 4-speed manual transmission. There were three available transmissions possible with the Pontiac Tempest. This Tempest Is Fitted With The An Automatic Transmission It appears that the extra length was built into the rear quarter of the car. The 1963 Pontiac Tempest was about 5 inches longer than previous Pontiac Tempests. With all of this, it is easy to see how the Pontiac GTO, which started the whole muscle car era, was created in 1964, when Pontiac put a high horsepower 389 cubic inch V8 engine in the 1964 Tempest LeMans with the GTO option. Also the 326 cubic inch V8 engine was an underbore of the same block used for the 389 cubic inch V8. Note that the 195 cubic inch 4 cylinder Tempest engines were literally half of the 389 cubic inch V8 engine that was in the full size Pontiacs. This engine went on to a long life overseas where it became known as the Rover V8 which showed up in many cars. One engine that Pontiac dropped in 1963 was the 215 cubic inch aluminum V8 engine that had produced 185 horsepower with a four barrel carburetor.
Perhaps this is why Pontiac sold 5,012 Tempest convertibles, while selling many more, 15,957, Pontiac Tempest LeMans convertibles. The base factory price for the Tempest Convertible was $2,995 while the Tempest LeMans convertible was only $40 more at $3,035. This Tempest does not have the optional “LeMans” option. This Convertible Looks Like A Great Summer Car The Tempest was Pontiac’s mid-size entry to challenge the mid-size marketplace with Chevelle, Ford Fairlane, and others. Generally Pontiac Tempests seem to be unappreciated classic cars. At this year’s Lime Rock Historic Festival I saw a nice 1963 Pontiac Tempest convertible.