1968 Tempest

i am almost going to buy a 1968 Tempest. no body work necessary. the only problem is that it has the 6 with 3 on the tree. everyone keeps telling me that it's going to be "so hard" to put a V8 in, small or big block. i need the real answers, the truth.

I can understand wanting to lose the 3 on the tree, but what's wrong with the 6?

i bought the car today. i love it!

58 thousand miles, original engine, unrestored perfect interior, and clear of all rust. the car has never been tampered with and kept almost completely original (only changes are tint, paint and flows.)

http://web.csuchico.edu/~mg351/tempest/DSCF0016.jpg
http://web.csuchico.edu/~mg351/tempest/DSCF0004.jpg
http://web.csuchico.edu/~mg351/tempest/DSCF0011.jpg



the six runs strong and i'm planning on running the car at the current setup for about a year until i can afford new stuff, although it's so original i am not sure what i'm going to do yet.

can i put in a floor shifter and still keep the current transmission? i'm willing to cut into the floor.

Beautiful car, man! I would leave it the hell alone! It's too nice to be carvin' up to make it a hotrod. Get a less-pristine example to make a hotrod. Get that paint off the front and rear bumpers, too. That car would turn a lot of heads at a Pontiac show.

Excellent.

hmm that front grill isnt stock... That appears to be the Endura bumper off of a GTO no problems with that but i dont think thats original either that or its painted but who paints a chrome grill??

the original color was white, which the blue was painted over. there's a chip on front bumper that shows it was painted when it was stock. my understanding was that it was a no cost option to have it chrome rather than painted.

Nope, the bumper was chrome from the factory. No painted ones. The GTO used the "Endura" rubber bumper, with the chrome LeMans/Tempest bumper available as a "delete option". Few were delivered as such, and are quite sought after, just 'cuz.
And the grill was not black. Some minor changes are in order to return it to completely original, but highly recommended.

I've got a 68 tempest as well we may end up selling for parts I'll let you know in case you're interested as the dash is in great condition and has a non painted front grill.

can someone post pictures of correct 1968 TEmpest front? when i see cars online i can't be certain if they're correct or not.

Try here. Lots of pics. http://www.untimategto.com another one is http://www.pontiacheaven.org and http://www.performanceyears.com and go to forums is another.

To put a Pontiac V8 in it is to simply buy the correct motor mounts, replace radiator with a V8 radiator and bolt it in. 3 speed may not last too long but 4 speeds are plentyful. Don't know I would do that until the 6 went south. ANY Pontiac V8 (excluding 301 and 267) will go in with no problem.

Btw, there is no such thing as a small block or big block Pontiac engine. They are just Pontiac engines. Small journal (400 cid and less) and large journal (421 and larger) engines. Some mid/late '70's engines may not have enough engine mount holes in the block for some applications but yours should be no problem. Heads from1966 and up will interchange. This is an easy one.

I see that it's the OHC, but is it the standard OHC, or is it the sprint 6?

Standard OHC = 1 barrel carb

Sprint 6 = 4 barrel carb

You may want to leave the original engine in there because they are getting rare.

thanks for all the feedback. it's the OHC6 1bbl

even if the OHC6 is getting rare, or is currently rare, is there a desire for them? how much should this particular car be worth at this point?

thanks for all the feedback. it's the OHC6 1bbl

even if the OHC6 is getting rare, or is currently rare, is there a desire for them? how much should this particular car be worth at this point?

I don't see that many at car shows, that's for sure. The sprint is even more rare. I'm not sure how rare they are, though.

Keep an eye on the condition of the timing belt, though. That goes while the car is running and you're going to bend valves.

As to value of the vehicle, I'm sorry I can't help you with that.

You may want to track down a sprint manifold and carb to improve the performance of the engine, though.

Just curious what have you decided to do with this car?

Beautiful car inside and out!

I would keep the ohc six! V-8's are a dime a dozen, and considering the rising price of gas...

If it was mine, I'd probably want a Hurst 3-speed floor shift. See if you can find the same Hurst model used on the factory Sprint 3-speeds, and the correct floor bellows and trim for a non-console bench car. If you remove the column linkage and get a blank (no gearlever provision) steering hub bezel, show judges probably won't know the difference!

Then maybe some Koni classic red shocks (a factory option in '68), a rear swaybar and some repro red line radials. You could have a barrel of fun on winding roads and never get a ticket.