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Bare Bones: 1970 Pontiac Tempest T-37

The 1970 Pontiac Tempest T-37 is located in Colonial Heights, Virginia. There is less than 2 days left in the auction and this project car is bid up to $5,950 here on eBay. There is a reserve on the car and it has not yet been met. The car is painted blue and is said to be solid with very little rust. Pontiac introduced the Tempest in 1960 as an entry-level compact car. In 1964, the Tempest was redesigned using GM’s new A body which got a new body style in 1968 along with the LeMans and GTO. Thanks go to local_sheriff for the tip!

The Tempest based T-37 was Pontiac’s answer to a demand for inexpensive basic cars in 1970. The T-37 was introduced in midyear as a hardtop coupe. This Tempest T37 is equipped with a Pontiac 350 cubic inch V8 engine (5.7 liter) backed by an automatic transmission. The Pontiac 350 cubic inch V8 was rated at 255 horsepower in 1970 and came with a 2 barrel carburetor. Other engine options included a Pontiac built OHC six-cylinder engine and two versions of the Pontiac 400 cubic inch engine. The 400 cubic inch V8 engine with a  2 barrel carburetor delivered 265 horsepower and the 4 barrel version produced 330 horsepower. Did you know that the fastest Pontiac in 1970 was actually a T-37 Tempest with the Ram Air III engine?

The blue vinyl interior of this T-37 is fairly spartan but an aftermarket air conditioner has been added. The automatic transmission is operated via a column shifter and the front bench seat looks good. I don’t believe the steering wheel on this car is correct. It is not that standard Pontiac wheel and probably came off another GM brand car. The Tempest nameplate was dropped after 1970 and the T-37 continued for one more year into 1970.

The T-37 is equipped with Pontiac Rally II Wheels that are missing their center caps. There is not a whole lot of information on the description of the car with the exception that the car needs paint, a new dash and carpet. I hope this car is purchased and restored and not used to clone a GTO. I believe there were approximately 9,187 Tempest T-37’s built in 1970.

Comments

  1. HoA Howard A Member

    Poor mans GTO. Guy just out of HS had one, was a nice car. No GTO, but a nice car. Since these bring silly money as a GTO, best to go that route today.

    Like 9
  2. Avatar Troy s

    Yea, I read a story years ago about some souped Tempest,,, an ugly boring version, that Pontiac had, a test mule I believe, that was bonkers quick and could smoke any GTO in their posession. Ram Air IV I thought, but could have been a goosed 428 knowing Pontiac. What was that, a RamAir V?
    Looks pretty cool with those old wheels on it and it seems aimed at the Road Runner.
    Maybe I’m thinking of ’71 but wasn’t there a GT37 as well? I know I’ve seen those but never knew much about them.
    Nice ride.

    Like 5
    • Avatar Patrick

      I had a 70 GT-37 400 4barrel ram air 4 speed . It smoked everything I ever went up against.

      Like 0
  3. Avatar Steve R

    The GT-37 was the stripped down performance Pontiac, not the T-37. I am doubtful the Ram Air III was available in any other B-body besides the GTO and Judge. Unless the T-37 came optioned with a performance engine I don’t see why it’s considered more desirable than any other trim package offered with the Tempest/Le Mans. That, however, cannot be said of the GT-37, since that was actually designed as a performance package from the very beginning.

    Steve R

    Like 9
  4. Avatar Matt in L.A.

    To dovetail off Steve R’s comments, I think the issue for putting Ram Air in Tempests is the lack of a Ram Air hood which is only available on the Endura front end. So I think he’s right about no ram air on the Tempest. In 72, you could get the Endura front end on a LeMans so maybe then?

    Like 1
    • Avatar Steve R

      The Ram Air III had significant changes compared to the base GTO engine. They had 4 bolt mains, larger cam and long branch exhaust manifolds, beyond the cold air set up. I don’t think that engine was available in the T-37. Let alone GT-37.

      I had a friend that spent years looking for a 70 GT-37, he eventually found an original paint 400, 4bbl, 4spd bench seat car that came with factory in dash tach and rear sway bar. He was more than a little happy when he found it, he looked a lot of junk before he tracked it down.

      Steve R

      Like 4
  5. Avatar Clement Feldman

    These variations were typical moves by the auto industry marketing department to drop the MSRP a bit and grab a little more market share. They never lasted more than a year or two.

    The biggest interest anyone has in these models is the banter that goes back and forth on websites like this.
    Real market value and collector desirability are very low.

    Good GTO clone material. Nothing more…

    Like 3
  6. Avatar David Brassfield

    I had picked up a 69 pontiac lemans for nothing when I was young.Straight and clean interior. Had the 400 in it that did not run. I rebuilt it in my Dad’s garage.I had it all torn down when the H.O.A. came around and that was when they first started H.O.A. in new subdivisions. A neighbor ratted us out and they came around and said”Hey,you can’t do that”. My Dad in his dry sense of humor looked at me and said,”Put that thing back together and get it out of here”.They didn’t see the wink he gave me. Anyway,rebuilt and back together it was one hell of a sleeper.It looked like Mom’s car until you stood on it,which I did when I was done with it and leaving the neighborhood.Nothing but a cloud of smoke for a whole block,and a nice long black mark.Proof that Pontiac did produce some Lemans and Tempest sleepers with GTO power. The general Idea was with the lesser name plate,the cheaper it was to insure.Just like the Mustang LX cheaper to insure than the GT,with the same 5.0 in it.And they could produce more of them.

    Like 1
  7. Avatar bone

    I had a white 70 Lemans with the same color blue interior , same drivetrain . Great little car . I never saw any difference with my Lemans to the Tempest. I’ll probably get lot of arguments, but I;ve always thought the 1970 Lemans was the best looking version they built

    Like 2
  8. Avatar William c Harris

    I have never read that a T-37 was faster those Judges were fast as hell i was 20 in 70 never heard that back then lol

    Like 0
  9. Avatar 433jeff

    To me Pontiac was just more good looking than the rest, I think the68 GTO was pontiacs peak, motors and horsepower aside. But if you talk 70-72 I like them all, but one that sticks out bodywise is the 72 lemans sport…… wait for it…Post! The doors had a frame around the window with chrome around the window frame, These doors shut with authority like a Benz 123. I’m not sure how many lemans sport posts there were or if they are rare, it’s just a different look. Then you add the later model trans am shaker and it really brings out the nose. I love the GTO , but maybe that’s why I like this post car, and I don’t think all lemans should be GTO clones. Just most of them. I actually think the e code endurance delete looks really good, the chrome, then I got a black hideaway car , very special cars.

    Like 0
  10. Avatar Mark Dahl

    I have a 70 t-37 tempest. It’s been in my possession for a mere 36 years. I absolutely love this ride. It will be going to my son. Of course over the years I have changed it around. I put a 68 400 in it . Back it up with a 400 tranny. Buckets ,tilt and totally different interior. Painted it cranberry pearl. This girl gets a lot of attention. I don’t drive it much cause people almost run into me I guess trying to figure out what kind of car it is. She’s just a cruiser and very comfortable. I don’t see many of them around. Most of all. IT’S Not A CHEVELLE.

    Like 4
  11. Avatar PRA4SNW

    SOLD for $6,200.

    Like 0
  12. Avatar Richard

    Wow – that was cheap for a solid car. I’d have been tempted to build an SVRA racer out of it.

    Like 0

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