1961 Pontiac Tempest annual kit sought

[Wickersham Humble]

Tempest owner would like to find a 1961 Pontiac Tempest AMT 1/254-door sedan annual kit, or glue-bomb assembled car; object to convert to coupe (like my 1/1 alloy V-8 rarity) I can afford. Well, Mom always insisted 'you never know until you try!'  I have one '61, an annual that I bought back that year, that I long ago converted to the Pontiac show-car 'Monte Carlo' roadster.  (I also have a '62 convertible built as a LeMans I owned, an unbuilt '63 coupe, a conversion of a ragtop '63 to coupe, and a '63 421 'SuperDuty' or 'Powershift' factory race car 'interpretation' that I did in '63.

I'm low on trading stuff to offer, but am willing to negotiate for compensation, if you have one to spare.  Y-body Tempests/LeMans are kind of an obsession with me; I wrote the first/original history of the 1961-63 Tempest for SPECIAL INTEREST AUTOS Magazine (Hemmings) back in 1976 -- when most of the guys who designed or raced it were still available for interviews!   Wick

[64SS350]

I would contact Ron at RMR, he may already make a two door.

[chryslerjunkandstuff]

I do not have one at all, nor do I know right off hand where one could be gotten..

Alls I have to add is that your '62 Monte Carlo concept car, with what I assume is a factory show display for car shows, is one of the coolest builds around!

[Wickersham Humble]

Earl,

Nope, I made it all; began in summer of '62 by promoting the AMT 1/25 scale Tempest four-banger from my cousins LeMans kit!  It's hard to build an exact replica of the original show car because PMD changed it to a '62 with light lemon-yellow paint and Halibrand mag wheels for another year's showing. The real one supposedly still exists, but has some features (like a folding top) that were never on the original.  

I made this one from a sectioned four-door sedan, with the prototypical twin-headrest tonneau cover from a '63 kit, Corvair, I think.  Pontiac had Mickey Thompson under contract to set records with their cars -- and/or engines -- which he did with a vengeance.  He built a kit to put the small GMC 3.71 blower on the fours, and sold the company several for Tempests; also set FIA acceleration record with one in a slingshot, plus another with the cast-iron banger cut into a two-cylinder mill!  All in HRM.  The transaxle and diff wouldn't stand up to the 421 power, so he (and later many others) converted the car to the Pont-Olds 9.2-in. rear end.  Won Stock Eliminator (A/FX) at the '62 NHRA nats.  '63 SS/FX also.  

Thanks for the approval!!

Wick

[Wickersham Humble]

Still hoping to find the '61 sedan body, even a GB that I can rebuild?  I don't know if any maker ever did a rendition of the Buick (or Olds, slightly different) 215 aluminum V-8; sure like to find one.  Oddly, the tiny wee-eight was the same width and height as a SBC, but two inches longer, as it used a front-mounted distributor, ala SB Ford, etc.  Sold to the Brits, it powered the Rover 3.5 sedans and Land Rovers for some years, first with two S.U. carbs, later with Lucas fuel injection.  Eventually they hot rodded it out to about 5.0-L.  I'll have to doll up a SBC to fake the 215, probably.  1/1 valvecovers simulate the Buick trad 'nailhead' style, but despite what a couple of 'experts' have stated, it was not that design at all.  Olds F-85/Cutlass had their own heads, valve covers that had an Olds flavor.  Olds had one more head stud per cylinder than Buick (used by Pontiac, too, in small quantities) prob due to their plans on turbocharging it.  Rare stuff!  Wick

Note: my engine has the Land Rover aluminum valve covers; don't polish very well.  Now has 4-bbl. also, unoriginal dual exhausts.

[fiatboy]

Back in the day (BITD?), our family was looking at a '64 Cutlass convertible with the V8.  I remember it well: gold with a parchment interior.  No we didn't get it.  Question: does the AMT '64 Cutlass kit have the little alum. V8 included?

[Trainwreck]

5 hours ago, fiatboy said:

  Question: does the AMT '64 Cutlass kit have the little alum. V8 included?

Oldsmobile stopped using the aluminum 215 in '63, The '64 used the 330 conventional block.

Hope you find what you're looking for James.

Edited yesterday at 12:38 AM by Trainwreck

[Wickersham Humble]

 

Yep, knew that, and thanks for good wishes!  Pontiac dropped the Buick version by '63, used underbored iron 389 at 336-cu.in. had to change to 326 in '64-66.  Still labeled '63 as '326' though!  

Call me 'Wick', thx!