New Owner - '63 Tempest Convertible
 

Hi - New to the '61-'63 club. Just bought a '63 Tempest convertible. Lot's of little things I think plan to refurbish over time, but paint and body is very nice. It's a 4-cylinder (1bbl) w/ 3-speed manual. Lots to discover and learn. A few questions:

- Mine has manual choke - is that standard? I can't tell if this is aftermarket. Looks like intake manifold has a plate over where a choke thermostat could go.
- I've read there are small and large distributors. Mine has same size cap as V8, only with 4 usable posts. Is this the "large" cap?
- The shifter action is extremely sloppy. Even when in gear, the shifter has significant side-to-side clearance. Are there bushings to replace that can improve this?
- Someone installed an electric fuel pump at the back. There is a blockoff plate on the timing cover. Does this accept standard non-return line pump as V8? I'd like to covert back to mechanical.
- Has aftermarket steering wheel. Whoever installed left off heavy spring that goes behind wheel to preload the upper bearing. Lots of slop and turn signal switch has cancel tabs broken off too. Are these switches available, or possibly interchange with any '64+ vehicles?
- Clutch is very bad. Begins to engage just off the floor, but won't really grab until fully released. Any clutch recommendations?

Pretty sure this has a V8 with conventional transmission and differential in it's future, but not until I finish my '65.

Thanks in advance. Sorry for all the questions.

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Mine had the manual choke.I had my clutch disc redone and used the same pressure plate.Cancel cams are almost impossible to find.You wont enjoy pulling the clutch.The most EZ pontiac starter to remove and replace!Tom

All manual trans cars got the manual choke.

Large Dist. does have 4 flat spots between the plug wires.

Parts for the shift linkages are very hard to find. Lots of times they have to be made.

The stock fuel pump has a smaller body than the V8 pump. A V8 pump wont fit between the engine & steering box. To balance the car, the engine was shifted to the left leaving less room for the fuel pump. Look around. They are out there.

As Tom said, cancel cams & turn signal switches are impossible to find. Very hard to locate.

Clutch kits are available but hard to find also. Rock auto lists a kit for a 62 4 cylinder but not a 63?? Clutch kit should be the same.

eBay Tempest 4 fuel pumps found here: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...&_odkw=AC+4843

Thanks everyone for the replies. I'll post progress as it's made.

That car is WAY too nice to cut up.

Yes, quite the dilemma. I think it can be done in a way that looks factory.

LOLif you dont look inside and dont look anywhere below the fender wells or from the back it can look factory!And hard to keep a heater if you go to a front trans.Tom

I’m saying it could look factory-like. I guess maybe not.

Couple of questions. What is a good reference to lookup the engine code with? I'm trying to determine if this is the low or high compression version and whether it's the original engine. The Service Manual says that the VIN is stamped on the block. There are numbers where they say they should be, but not matching the VIN. I know they didn't start stamping a partial VIN until '67 on the V8's, so am I interpreting something wrong here?

Attachment 549598 Attachment 549599

I read that in '63 they modified the rear suspension so that there was an outer u-joint on the axles and mods to allow a more consistent camber - but I see that my car has solid outer axle flanges. Any information on this would be appreciated as well.

The numbers 161P is 1= Tempest,,,61 Year of manufacture, P,, Made in Pontiac Michigan,,, DS is a 8.6-1 low compression 4 cyl with a 1 bbl carb. So, you have a 1961 engine in your 63 Tempest. The straight rear axles with only 1 U joint at the diff is stock setup.

Very interesting - thank you. Can't find where I read about rear suspension changes for '63, but guess it was wrong.

Is there a reference book with the engine casting part numbers? I verified the head is also a '61 (538177) since the V8 part numbers are readily searchable online. The intake appears to be 539096, but I can't find any reference.

I might have found a fix for the turn signal switch cancel tabs. Noticed this item on eBay looks similar. It is listed for a different application, but for $15 I was willing to gamble and ordered it. Will post back once I receive it. These appear to be readily available, although most are a different style, but I assume would still work if this one does.

My part: Attachment 549623


eBay part: Attachment 549624

1963 Tempest or Lemans Turn signal switch
 

Photos for future reference; the turn signal switch for '63 in the small series cars was a one year only switch.

Made from mainly pressed steel, copper tabs, wire and Ivory colored nylon those switches turn brittle after years in the sun. Mainly the two tiny flexable tabs on the ends which touch the cam after turning a corner.

There is also a cancel cam for '63 small car; which was made from Ivory colored plastic. The cancel cam attaches to the back side of the steering wheel with 2 phillips head machine screws.

539096 is a 61 Tempest 4 cylinder intake manifold. The 177 head was used on multiple engines, both V8 & 4 cylinder.

Thank you. That's the one! I'm determined to find a solution that involves something readily available. Maybe the part I ordered will work, but it still doesn't address any electrical contact issues that might exist. I'm also investigating retrofitting a different switch.

Thanks, Keith. All '61 parts, so looks like someone did a complete engine swap at some point.

Sorry to keep asking - but what references are out there where I can look up this information myself? I would also like to decode my firewall tag to determine the original color and options. All of this is readily available for the '64+ cars, but I can't find for '61-'63.

Any reason you couldn't get one 3D printed?

Keep an eye out for a factory shop service manual & parts book. Look at the dash trim tag on the firewall for the paint code,, Then go here https://www.autocolorlibrary.com/pag...HorizontalTab1 & search for the paint code color. You can also order a full build sheet set with all the info from Pontiac historic services. This will give you all options on the car, where it was built & the dealer it was shipped to, etc, etc.