Need help - Modifying 1962 Tempest LeMans
 

Hey everyone,

I recently acquired a 1962 Pontiac Tempest LeMans Coupe. The engine and transmission are in terrible shape but I will be putting in a 454 chevy and a 6 speed manual transmission by cutting in and welding a transmission cage. I need help on a few things and was hoping to get pointers.

I need a new rear axle because I will be removing the transaxle, and I can’t seem to find any information on which axles fit my car. I also will need a driveshaft to run to the new transmission which will now be in the front, and finally I need to rebuild the front suspension. would it be recommended I go OEM or are there any suspension kits that would allow the car to handle a bit more power from the 454 motor?

TLDR - Need to find a new axle and suspension parts that will bolt onto my pontiac

You are in for some work. You will have to fabricate everything from scratch. Suspension, frame, steering etc. There is no kit. There are some chassis that have been built for that body in a front engine/trans and rear axle configuration. If you could could find one done well you could copy it.

do you know where I could look for the chassis that I should try and copy? and in terms of the axle do I have any options that’ll bolt on or is it the same deal?

Start with a ford 9in,I would do coilovers and ladder bars with a panhard bar to locate.You will need to cut the firewall a lot and the tunnel back to the front of the rear seat.Never did a BBC so your on your own there,have done TKO 600s.Unibody car so is going to need some help in some areas.Im told first gen bird floor pan helps with a build.Tom

We put a full tube chassis under a 63 Tempest wagon body in 1994. It was a AM Morrison supercar kit at that time. It was originally designed for a Chevy Nova Wagon and modified to fit the Tempest body. You could call AM Morrison and see if they still have the blue prints for the "Grocery Getter" Tempest wagon. I don't know how extensive their record keeping is but worth a shot. It was a very competent chassis and our car was safe straight to 7.50 sec quarter mile times @ 182 MPH with Pontiac power. A big block Chevy may not yield those numbers! Good luck with your project. It used a 9" Ford rear and a strut front suspension with a steering rack.

I've did a 63 with an automatic and a 61 wagon stick. Like Tom S. says. Use a Ford 9" and narrow it or have Moser make one. You can just move the tunnel over 2" for the driveshaft. My 63 rear is a bolt in but 62 will need more fab work.

As mentioned above, go with a 9" and be done with it. A Ladder bar coil over rear suspension would be my choice as well. Up front, I'd recommend a cross member swap that will utilize mustang II suspension and coil overs. This fella builds them and you can weld one in place of the original.

https://welderseries.company.site/

It's also possible to substitute a bolt in front subframe from someone like Smith Racecraft, Detroit Speed, Chris Alston, etc, for an early 63-67 Chevy II.

Lastly, if you're on facebook, there's a fella by the name of "Dean Rock" do a search on him as he's got a sweet 62 Tempest. Cool and very talented guy and will advise you on how he did his car so you can emulate his build.

I'm curious to how much power you plan on putting in the car with the BBC?

I have a nice tube chassis for sale. It now has a 63 Lemans body sitting on it. But by no means finished. It has a Ford 9" with ladder bars. Set up for coil overs & rack & pinion steering. Private message me if interested. The price is very reasonable..