Found a Pontiac Trophy 4 in a Tempest today. I can imagine this isn't a everyday find. It's 395 out the gate complete. Is this a fair price? I don't wanna leave it.
Do you have plans for it? or looking to make some money on it? or just want to save a piece of history? I would have no problem leaving it where it is....
Never had one, knew about them, read about them here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac_Trophy_4_engine No doubt someone has hopped one up, especially since they use many 389 parts. For a street car? Heavy, vibrating.. Found this bit interesting: Due to the geometry of the wrist pins, connecting rods and crankshaft journals a piston descending from top dead center will always move quicker through the first 30 degrees of crankshaft travel than a piston moving upward from bottom dead center, meaning that more m*** is moving downward than is moving upward, causing a shaking in the vertical plane. Would this be caused by the cylinders being offset from the crank centerline, or the wrist pins offset in pistons, or both? If neither were offset, would the above be true? If so, why?
I bought one new in 63. Great little car. Kid around the corner had a 62 with the 4 bbl and 4 speed. Pretty quick for what it was at the time. Mine was tough on timing chains.
read the link above provided by blowby - unique motor but, has it's problems - have had rides in one like RichFox mentions : with 4 barrel carb & 4 speed trans - yep, pretty damn quick - but, shifter and transaxle were weak
It's just the nature of how a reciprocating mechanism works. When the piston is near the top, the wristpin is moving more in line with the connecting rod, then when the piston is near the bottom. Make some sketches, see if you can see it.
Are you talking the whole car or just an engine? What year? Is it the 4 barrel carb version, stick or automatic? Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I have a 4 door tempest in the hoard 4 cyl rope driveshaft and three speed transaxle. looks kinda like a corvair.
So that rope drive was a solid flexible shaft that was curved when installed? And spun at engine RPM? Wild!
Old Wolf, the '61-'63 Pontiac Tempest, Olds F85, and Buick Special shared their platform with the Corvair. The floor pan was designed to be used with the engine either in front or at the rear. The Tempest transaxle WAS a Corvair unit- that's why the clutch (or torque converter) hung off the back of the trans.
Being a died in the wool Pontiac fan, I'd love to build a 1 p***enger modified around the Pontiac 4. I'd use a 61-63 bellhousing to accept a modern manual trans [I'd prolly use a T-5] and keep the car a feather weight.
Nice little engine, my parents had a 63 Tempest with one in it and I drove it as a kid. Half of a 389, heads, pistons, rods and other parts are shared. My older brother ran one in an X/FD in the mid 60's.
A friend of mine used one in a Chevy ll with a Super T10 behind it to run IHRA formula 4 hot rod cl***. It had a ram air 4 head ' home made tunnel ram with 2, 500 cfm Holley 2 bbls, roller cam, Carrillo rods.... Lots of goodies. He held the record at 13.09 up until IHRA went away. Not bad for a car that the cl*** record was 15.50 when he went to his first race with it. That record didn't stand long.
Bought the intake today and will pull the engine. Bringing a random 4 banger in for a core and hope to get it for 225. Means leaving the generator, but,meh. Looks to have a new starter. I'll get pictures tomorrow. Figured if worse came to worse, I saved a rare part.
Standard carburetion was a single Rochester B. Optional carburetion was a single Rochester 4G (about 375 CFM). SD version carburetion was a single Carter AFB 625 CFM (which was way too much for the street, I had one!). Jon.
My folks got a 63 4-door with auto. It was slow (half a goat is just a BBQ) but it was all I had to drive, if they let me. I always wanted a 2 door 63, but with a 389, 4spd and live axle, a steerable SD sort of car. That would have been my post high school hot rod. But then the Army came calling...
The Tempest transaxle was similar to the Corvair but it was not the same. It had a larger ring gear and '63 V8s had four spider gears, a weak point in the two spider gear Corvair transaxle.
My roommate in trade school had a 62 that he never had any engine trouble with but he had hung the front crossmember up on a railroad crossing one night and did a bunch of damage that the repair shop had a hard time getting fixed right and they went though several of those flexible driveshafts before he finally got one that worked smooth.
I worked a Pontiac dealer when I was in high school and the dealer ship hated have to take them in on trade. They were hard to sell new much less when they were 5 years old. The people that drove them were the ones who bought the rubber belt 6 cylinder tempests. I liked because they were different and really well balanced and good in the snow. Not enough power to spin the tires.
I wanted the engine,but, didn't have a place to put. I'm kicking myself now for it. I'm just glad I saved the intake. If anyone around Jacksonville FL wants it, just PM me and I'll fill you in.
The Jalopy Journal
