[cleveweld]

I found this 1962 Tempest wagon here in 2018 listed under "Found this for sale not mine." It was on Craigslist in S. Carolina. I decided to rescue the car because it has very rare and complete factory Cool-Pack A/C. It is also very highly optioned for an early Tempest.
The car was mostly complete but missing factory dash clock and sunvisor mirror. And the radio antenna was snapped off.
This Tempest is probably the last 62 wagon with A/C.
It is the 4th 1962 Tempest I've owned since 1987.

[dataway]

Love it, something special a Tempests to me .... maybe because my first car was a 66 Tempest. I also love under dash AC units, not stupid duct work, easy to service, usually work great.

[cleveweld]

The cowl tag shows car was built 11A which is first week of November 1961.
STYLE: 62-model year and 2135=wagon
BODY: PO-Built in Pontiac and 3228 is assembly sequence #
TRIM: 208= Green
PAINT: J C- Silverleaf Green with Cameo Ivory roof
ACC: Accessories listed on cowl tag are factory only installed options.
414- Foam cushion, front seat only
531- Soft-ray glass all windows
547- ??
552- Power tailgate window
67Y- Automatic transmission
767- Rear cargo flooring vinyl

[cleveweld]

More "As found" pictures

[cleveweld]

I decided to do a nut & bolt restoration on it but leave the original exterior paint and patina alone for now. I started with the engine compartment, front end, etc.
Silverleaf Green paint is single stage acrylic enamel with hardener.

[Doug]

I have read that these wagons were popular with traveling salesmen for their cargo space AND for those sold in mountainous areas, they would often get them with the rarely found 3.90 rear axle setup.

[tom s]

Power tail gate windows are so cool,had one on my 63 wagon.Tom

[cleveweld]

More pictures

[cleveweld]

The differential came from factory painted red oxide and was marked with a yellow stripe indicating it has 3:55 gears.

[blueghoast]

Originally Posted by cleveweld

The differential came from factory painted red oxide and was marked with a yellow stripe indicating it has 3:55 gears.

Are them the original door panels?.

GT

[misterp266]

Looks awesome! I like the fact that you are leaving the outside as is. I’m doing a ‘63 FS Safari the same way.

[433lemans]

VERY COOL!!!!!!

[cleveweld]

Green is the hardest Tempest interior color to restore. There is nothing available. When I ordered carpet from AMES, I had to choose a color from the full size catalog.
Headliners are available in 10 colors but not green. I had to buy a white headliner and sunvisors and spray them light green with Sems vinyl dye.
Door opening wind lace had to be dyed as well.

[Darren 639]

Amazing job!! I love the restoration and the body left as is. I wish I hadn’t painted my car now.

[tallrandyb]

That looks absolutely amazing and I can't imagine people's faces when you pop the hood.

[Shiny]

That's a striking body style and your work is impressive. You'll be selling viewing tickets everywhere you go. Very cool to see this brought back so nicely.

Thanks for sharing!

[cleveweld]

Originally Posted by Shiny

That's a striking body style and your work is impressive. You'll be selling viewing tickets everywhere you go. Very cool to see this brought back so nicely.

Thanks for sharing!

Thank you Darren 639, tallrandyb and Shiny for the kind words.
I recently recovered hundreds of restoration pictures from a computer that crashed and thought others might enjoy seeing some of them.

[cleveweld]

To properly paint interior it was necessary to paint door jambs and all interior parts of doors including window frames. I removed vent windows and replaced rubber. Also new door rubber, windshield gasket and tailgate gasket from Steele Rubber.

[326HO-Lemans]

Is silver leaf green a metallic paint?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[cleveweld]

Originally Posted by 326HO-Lemans

Is silver leaf green a metallic paint?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes. I think the Silver Leaf part of color description refers to metallic