The Super Duty was a limited-production Pontiac built for action on the racetrack. It used a souped-up 421 cubic inch V8 that was deposited in no more than 88 Catalinas and a dozen or so Tempests. Aluminum panels were used for weight reduction. The seller’s car is a 1963 Tempest Super Duty tribute that uses a Tri-Power carburetion setup. Located in Johnsonburg, Pennsylvania, this could be one of the hottest small Pontiacs around and is available here on Facebook Marketplace for $64,900. Kudos to T.J. for the cool tip!
Pontiac dabbled in factory-supported drag racing for a time in 1963. The Tempest was one of its targets, and no more than 14 coupes and station wagons were given the Super Duty treatment. The 421 V8 was rated at 405 horsepower, though most think it was about 10% higher than that. The cars retained the Tempest’s unique rear-mounted transaxle. Besides giving the Ponchos the most potent drivetrains, the goal was to also make them as light as possible. The Super Duty’s were the brainchild of John DeLorean, who would soon champion the Pontiac GTO muscle car.
Few of the original Super Duty Tempests survive, so this one is a tribute. Clone might not be the correct term, as no mention is made of replacing metal body panels with aluminum ones. The car has triple 2-barrel carburetors rather than the dual quad setup of the original Super Duty’s. The seller says the mileage is 1,400, which we guess means that’s what’s been added since the transformation took place.
An M20 4-speed manual transmission with posi-traction is there to back the power up. We’re told the car drives exceptionally well and the body, paint, and interior all look up to snuff. The seller doesn’t brag a lot about this car, saying very few words like so many ordinary Marketplace ads. A special car like this needs a better forum for its next owner to find it.
Must absolutely fly. 🏁
Interesting factoid about these Tempests with the rear mounted transaxles. Of course they are known for the “rope drive” to the rear. In the case of cars with automatics, which was basically adapted from a Powerglide using the same basic adaptations which made that trans work in a Corvair, the torque converter was at the very back of that driveline. So at any time the engine was running the driveshaft was turning, regardless of whether the trans was in gear or not, or the vehicle was moving. The manual transmission versions used a clutch and pressure plate in the normal position, the back of the engine and so the driveshaft only turned when the clutch was engaged and the vehicle was moving. And because the manuals did not of course use a torque converter they were more subject to driveline shock and were spec’d with a larger diameter driveshaft than the automatics.
thanks for the explanation regarding the auto trans and the clutch placement of the manuals. I’ve often wondered about both on the transaxle Tempests. A fellow radioman in the Navy had a sharp 64 LeMans with a 326 that was much faster than my 170 Special 63 Falcon (surprise, no match off the line). This one looks sharp but would love to “test drive” one of the originals, would probably blow the wig off my 82yo noggin.