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bill dedman · 01-20-2009, 07:19 PM

Arguably, some of the most unique cars ever to come from Detroit were the A/FX 1963 Pontiac Tempest 421's that ran in A/FX.

They shoe-horned some of the dual-quad Super Stock 421s that were also run in the "'63 Swiss Cheese Catalinas" into the engine bay of several Tempest coupes and wagons before the G.M. front office pulled the plug on factory involvement in racing, early in 1963. Hayden Proffitt had built an "unofficial prototype" 421 Tempest for the 1962 Indy race, but I don't think it was factory-connected. It probably did set the stage for these later, factory efforts, by showing that it was an effective package, though.

Their drive-train was strange, indeed. Tempests, until the '64 models, used a transaxle and a "rope" driveshaft that sow-bellied under the car with a sag in the middle, so they didn't have to put much of a "driveshaft" tunnel in the floor. The 421 A/FX cars used that same setup, but their transaxles were worthy of note, too. The transaxles were based on the Corvair Powerglide transaxle, but I seem to remember that they had two cases, with two planetary units, giving four speeds forward. The ratios were fairly close, and this transmission could be had with a clutch OR a torque converter!!!

Unfortunately, being basically, modified Powerglides originally designed for the 6-cylinder Corvair, they just didn't have enough "beef" to withstand the rigors of match racing on resin-enhanced starting lines, and nearly all got replaced in pretty short order, with 4-speed Hydros and '57 Pontiac rear ends. I believe at least one survives, intact, today.

The "swiss cheese," lightweight '63 Catalinas (so-called because of the frame having been vociferously attacked by a BIG hole saw) were interesting race cars, too, but lived in the shadow of the Mighty (mighty fast!) 421 Tempests.

If the G.M. "front office" racing ban hadn't come through when it did, I'm sure that Pontiac would have built more of these rare cars, but alas, not enough of these or the awesome Z-11 '63 Chevys ever made it into the Class Guide (back then) because of restrictive rules regarding eligibility.

01-20-2009, 07:19 PM	#10
bill dedman VIP Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Conway, AR Posts: 1,739 Likes: 0 Liked 6 Times in 4 Posts	Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo..... Arguably, some of the most unique cars ever to come from Detroit were the A/FX 1963 Pontiac Tempest 421's that ran in A/FX. They shoe-horned some of the dual-quad Super Stock 421s that were also run in the "'63 Swiss Cheese Catalinas" into the engine bay of several Tempest coupes and wagons before the G.M. front office pulled the plug on factory involvement in racing, early in 1963. Hayden Proffitt had built an "unofficial prototype" 421 Tempest for the 1962 Indy race, but I don't think it was factory-connected. It probably did set the stage for these later, factory efforts, by showing that it was an effective package, though. Their drive-train was strange, indeed. Tempests, until the '64 models, used a transaxle and a "rope" driveshaft that sow-bellied under the car with a sag in the middle, so they didn't have to put much of a "driveshaft" tunnel in the floor. The 421 A/FX cars used that same setup, but their transaxles were worthy of note, too. The transaxles were based on the Corvair Powerglide transaxle, but I seem to remember that they had two cases, with two planetary units, giving four speeds forward. The ratios were fairly close, and this transmission could be had with a clutch OR a torque converter!!! Unfortunately, being basically, modified Powerglides originally designed for the 6-cylinder Corvair, they just didn't have enough "beef" to withstand the rigors of match racing on resin-enhanced starting lines, and nearly all got replaced in pretty short order, with 4-speed Hydros and '57 Pontiac rear ends. I believe at least one survives, intact, today. The "swiss cheese," lightweight '63 Catalinas (so-called because of the frame having been vociferously attacked by a BIG hole saw) were interesting race cars, too, but lived in the shadow of the Mighty (mighty fast!) 421 Tempests. If the G.M. "front office" racing ban hadn't come through when it did, I'm sure that Pontiac would have built more of these rare cars, but alas, not enough of these or the awesome Z-11 '63 Chevys ever made it into the Class Guide (back then) because of restrictive rules regarding eligibility. __________________ Bill Last edited by bill dedman; 01-20-2009 at 07:25 PM.