For Sale: 1961 Pontiac Tempest 2dr coupe, 4 cyl, manual shift - $6,800 - Carol Stream, IL - Not Mine

[58L-Y8]

For Sale: 1961 Pontiac Tempest 2dr coupe, 4 cyl, manual shift - $6,800 - Carol Stream, IL

1961 Pontiac Tempest - cars & trucks - by owner - vehicle automotive... (craigslist.org)
Seller's Description:

1961 Pontiac Tempest, Great classic car, Runs, Drives, Shifts perfectly! Very unique car, Independent rear suspension. Three speed manual on the floor. Factory 4 cylinder with 4 barrel carburetor. A few things may need attention but overall a great classic car that drives perfectly, Great for car shows. I will be at the car show in Addison This Sunday evening at Flavor Frenzy Ice-cream, (Portillo's on Lake street and Addison if I still have it, If you want to stop by and take a look. YES its still available if the ad is up <<<<< $6,800. odometer: 88888
Contact: Call John (630) four-7-one-8-6-6-two
Copy and paste in your email: e1199df514793858ba8ac684e316b374@sale.craigslist.org

I have no personal interest or stake in the eventual sale of this 1961 Pontiac Tempest 2dr coupe.

[Guest]

The frugal commuter.

[The 55er]

The frugal interior restorer. 

[Hudsy Wudsy]

Transaxle, if I recall correctly.

[Frank Wilkie]

Nice clean simple little car.. I had a 63 tempest 4 cyl. 3pd. in floor when I was in High School.. Drove the heck out of it on the drag strip. Always won my class against the 6 cyl. chevrolet and Ford ...  Back then it was N stock class at the drag strip..

[Leif in Calif]

A very neat GM engineering exercise that didn't take hold. Independent Rear Suspension and (I think) "Rope Drive" ...the drive shaft was a very beefy piece if braided steel cable.   

[deac]

These are neat cars. The simplicity speaks loudly. I like it!!

[58L-Y8]

12 hours ago, Leif in Calif said:

A very neat GM engineering exercise that didn't take hold. Independent Rear Suspension and (I think) "Rope Drive" ...the drive shaft was a very beefy piece if braided steel cable.   

Excerpted from: Pontiac: The Postwar Years by Jan P. Norbye and Jim Dunne, page 90:
"William T. Collins worked as a transmission development engineer on the Tempest, and recalls: When I came to Pontiac, in 1958, they had been working for a short time on that drive shaft.   The drive shaft was, at that time, not enclosed in a torque tube.  While the special relationship of the transaxle and the engine were important to keep the bending moments constant in the shaft, which can really be thought of as a torsion bar, they were mounted individually, and it was a real bear to get them lined up."  An idea of the angles involved is given by the fact that the shaft's lowest points were three inches below its ends.
Collins continues:  "Before the Tempest became the Tempest, we had three of four cars that were built up with that drive line.  Then we thought of adding the torque tube.  That gave us a tube that we would precisely machine and hold the angles in the special relationship between the engine and the transaxle.  Theoretically, the thing was beautiful. The bend in the shaft was not put in it by pushing in at the side, but by applying a moment at both ends.  It ended up with a constant bending stress throughout the full length of the shaft." Steve Malone, who came into the Tempest project when Knudsen decided to produce it, reminisces: "You know what the funny part of the story is.  It's that he most innovative part of the car never gave us any trouble.  It was the old standard parts that brought all the trouble.
Bill Collins's explanation sounds plausible:  Because we realized it was critical, that 'rope-shaft' probably received more attention in manufacturing and quality than any other part of the car."  Tests had shown that the 5/8-inch-diameter shaft was capable of running more than fifty million flexing cycles at three times the bending stress levels encountered in the Tempest, with up to twice the maximum engine torque."
 

Edited May 29, 2022 by 58L-Y8
underlined book title (see edit history)

[Leif in Calif]

12 minutes ago, 58L-Y8 said:

Excerpted from: Pontiac: The Postwar Years by Jan P. Norbye and Jim Dunne, page 90:
"William T. Collins worked as a transmission development engineer on the Tempest, and recalls: When I came to Pontiac, in 1958, they had been working for a short time on that drive shaft.   The drive shaft was, at that time, not enclosed in a torque tube.  While the special relationship of the transaxle and the engine were important to keep the bending moments constant in the shaft, which can really be thought of as a torsion bar, they were mounted individually, and it was a real bear to get them lined up."  An idea of the angles involved is given by the fact that the shaft's lowest points were three inches below its ends.
Collins continues:  "Before the Tempest became the Tempest, we had three of four cars that were built up with that drive line.  Then we thought of adding the torque tube.  That gave us a tube that we would precisely machine and hold the angles in the special relationship between the engine and the transaxle.  Theoretically, the thing was beautiful. The bend in the shaft was not put in it by pushing in at the side, but by applying a moment at both ends.  It ended up with a constant bending stress throughout the full length of the shaft." Steve Malone, who came into the Tempest project when Knudsen decided to produce it, reminisces: "You know what the funny part of the story is.  It's that he most innovative part of the car never gave us any trouble.  It was the old standard parts that brought all the trouble.
Bill Collins's explanation sounds plausible:  Because we realized it was critical, that 'rope-shaft' probably received more attention in manufacturing and quality than any other part of the car."  Tests had shown that the 5/8-inch-diameter shaft was capable of running more than fifty million flexing cycles at three times the bending stress levels encountered in the Tempest, with up to twice the maximum engine torque."
 

Thanks for posting that fascinating info! 

[JamesR]

I like the car, too, but yes...what's going on with those seats?

[TAKerry]

I believe it was also a slant 4?

[58L-Y8]

8 minutes ago, TAKerry said:

I believe it was also a slant 4?

Yes, but unlike the conventional statement that it was "half a V8" its more "2/3 of a V8".  Essentially a 389 ci V8 without one bank of cylinders which is excessively heavy for its displacement.  The tooling savings were the primary objective the but results did not produce a superior engine.

[JACK M]

There was one of these in the 3000 cars hoard.

[Ron of Chicago]

Back in 1966 I worked for a Pontiac dealer in Chicago. We had twin post lifts that had the movable front post and the stationery rear post. If my mind serves me correctly we had a special apparatus  we had to set on the rear post in order to lift the car up. Tough to find these now-a-days.

 

Ron of Chicago