1968 Pontiac Tempest Close Call
 

First a bit of background on the car. Back in the late seventies I bought a 68 Tempest Custom 2 door from our neighbor, the original owner. Was always a garaged car, so was in pretty decent shape. Over time, I had the car repainted, put a GTO hood on it, GTO tail lights, hideaway headlight front bumper, rally II wheels, Goodyear Polyglas GT tires, changed it to a 4 speed, put in a 3.55 posi out of a 71 Buick GS350, pulled the tired 350, put in a strong 400 out of a 72 Grand Prix, then built a 67 Firebird 400 HO engine with solid lifters. Was pretty good with the 72 engine, but really came to life with the 67 engine, and was a pretty respectable looking and running car.

This takes place in the Indianapolis area in the early eighties. I was with one of my friends, and his girlfriend was sitting in the back in the middle between the bucket seats. At this point in time, 82nd street going west from Allisonville road, was a two lane road west of the Castleton area. It was kind of a rural highway section at that time, and there were what was left of old farms, and maybe a golf course. Pretty much nothing until you got to the iron bridge just a bit before Keystone Avenue. I had turned right off Allisonville, to 82nd going west. I proceeded to floor it, and run it through the gears. At the bottom of the first hill was a blind sweeping curve with double yellow stripes for no passing. I was doing 90 + when I got to the curve, and there was some clown passing someone, and he was still halfway in my lane. I had a split second to react, and there was really not much of a shoulder to speak of. Maybe two feet, and then some gravel. I pulled the wheel over a bit, just putting the RH tires in the gravel, and we passed door handle to door handle without touching. Needless to say, I saw my life pass before me, and then my heart was pounding. I never knew who that person was, but is sure something they or I will never forget. Now that area is full of businesses and restaurants, and is a 4 lane divided road.

How did you get the pucker marks out of the two bucket and rear seats?

There have been a few near misses like that in my life as well - thanks for reminding me of them. ;)

Sounds like a cool car, any old pictures around?

68 Pontiac Tempest
 

Two weeks later I was driving my same friend's jeep and had just crossed this bridge on 116th street in Carmel, and the road took a sharp left after that. This was at night, and someone was flying toward me in my lane. I just got past the guard rail, and was able to pull totally off the road, just before the car would have hit me head on.

1968 Pontiac Tempest
 

I will have to look. I know a few pictures exist of the car, but will have to locate them. Now that many years have passed, I always wonder why I did not take more pictures of some of the cars I had. It was a fun car, and I only paid $175.00 originally, and it was a decent car with 82,000 original miles. Driver's side of bench seat had some ripped seams, and car had a little rust, but was never wrecked, and was that common gold tinted green. It was a school teacher's car, and of course I starting putting my foot in it, unlike her, and in a short time frame, quickly spun the plastic teeth off of the timing gear. This in turn clogged up the oil pump sump, and then it started backfiring through the carburetor, which was caused by a lifter that had actually worn through on the bottom. Those things happened one right after the other, and I mean when I started it after changing the timing chain and gears, it was backfiring through the carburetor. It was good I was in auto mechanics in school to be able to put it up on the lift to pull the oil pan and change the oil pump. Luckily the timing chain failed right after stabbing the accelerator, before taking the turn onto my street and into my driveway. It stalled after hitting the gas, and when I pulled into the driveway, I tried to start it. All I got was that familiar high pitch starter sound, that is just spinning the crank without the cam. Had to fix the timing chain, and replace the lifters in the driveway. I never saw so much sludge in a motor till I took that apart. I did put a 4 bbl carburetor on that 350, and, yet again, right after installing the intake and carburetor, was backing the car out of the garage, put it in drive, and the car would not move anymore in either direction. I lost two automatic transmissions before I put the 4 speed in it. The last automatic two speed in the car, I had rebuilt, and when I put the four speed in, I could not give that automatic transmission away, and sold it for scrap. When the car still had the tired 350 4 bbl, 4 speed, and highway single track rear end, I used to race my one friend in his 78 Trans Am with the TA 6.6 with automatic. This was about 1979, and the TA was about as good as it got with the Pontiac 400 in that time frame. I could stay even with him, until I hit 4th gear, but with the tired engine and highway gear, he would run off and leave me. By the time I put the good 3.55 posi, and 72 Grand Prix 400 in, he had gotten rid of the TA. I would have smoked him then. Bought that rear end out of a wrecked 71 Buick GS for $25.00, and all I had to do was put my old rear end under the Buick so they could tow it away. In later years, another mistake I made, was to let my brother take the car out one night. This was with the 72 Grand Prix 400, 4 speed, and 3.55 posi. He said he raced a 69 Z/28 that night. They raced from a stoplight. My brother said he dumped the clutch, put the car sideways, and had to let off to regain control, narrowly missing the Camaro, got in it again, and ran off and left that Z/28. My brother said that other guy was so mad. When I went to drive my car the next day, the clutch had been abused so bad, I had to do a major readjustment on it, and the car was down a quart and a half of oil. Needless to say, that was the last time my brother ever drove my car. That 72 400 Grand Prix engine took a lot of abuse, and I sold it to someone else who put it in a 68 GTO, but it never blew up, and in fact I got it back disassembled, when that guy was done with it. After I sold the car, with the 67 Firebird 400 HO to a guy that worked at the corner gas station, he ran the piss out of it. I ran the car, but did not abuse it. People would tell me, I never saw you run it as hard as this guy. Needless to say, in a very short time, I saw it up at the gas station with an oil slick underneath it. Rods were sticking out of the oil pan, and the front of the crank with the vibration damper was kicked over to the side. I sold that car because I finally decided I wanted a real GTO, but of all of the years I have owned, I never had a 68 GTO. Presently have a 64 GTO coupe, and a 67 GTO HO convertible. Have had a 65 GTO coupe, (2) 66 GTO's, one convertible and one hardtop, 69 GTO convertible with factory AC, and a 70 GTO 455 hardtop. All of my GTO's have been 4 speed cars, but the 65 was originally an automatic someone changed before I got it. Lots of good memories.