1968 Pontiac Tempest

[SeventyOlds 442]

What are your thoughts on this car? i have a '68 tempest custom with a pontiac 350 and i believe a turbine 300... im in the process of rebuilding the car needs little body work but im getting there...

[MrPbody]

If it's a 2-door, it has tremendous performance potential. It has the same chassis (with some subtle differences) as the '68 GTO. Virtually ALL the good parts for GTO will fit it.
The 350 will have to go. A 400 bolts right in and is a far better performance engine. The ST-300 (Super Turbine) will also have to go. A TH400 is the hot setup. We had the discussion on the ST-300 on this site a couple of months ago. After a couple of heated exchanges and a bit of name-calling, it was firmly established, ST-300 is NOT a PowerGlide, and shares no similarities except it has only two speeds. In a light car, a PG makes a good racing trans. ST-300 does not.
You can learn a lot more about your Pontiac if you cruise through the various Pontiac-specific websites. And you won't be bombarded with "just put a Chevy in it" BS.

boyleworks.com (muscle cars)
classicalpontiac.com
performanceyears.com

All three of these sites have excellent Q/A sessions, and are quite "professional" in that there isn't a lot of back-biting and "I know more than you do...NaNaNaNa..."
There's also a new book on the market. "How to Build Max-performance Pontiac V8s" by Jim hand. A MUST if you're planning to pump up your Poncho. it's the first comprehensive study on the Injun engine since the HO book from the mid-'70s. We've learned a bit since then...

[SeventyOlds 442]

thanks a lot i'll consider finding a 400 i think i know a guy with a 400 and a TH 400 from a gto but ill get that if possible
the engine is out on a stand so nothing is keeping us from shoving one back in there...

we have a problem with the back window since its curved it trapped water and rusted out the area around the window... is this common? We ordered some parts for repairing it but ill let you know how they are when i get them..

[MrPbody]

The rust in the back window is common to all GM A-bodies of the era, especially those with vinyl tops (water gets trapped under the vinyl).
If you got the patch panel from a Pontiac restoration house (Ames, Performance Years), it's a good one. I believe Year One and Paddock offer the same part from the same vendor, but you'll do better dealing directly with a Pontiac-specific company, as they won't shove Chevelle parts on you, claiming they're all the same. Some are, some are not. The Pontiac guys are better suited to supply Pontiac parts.

[SeventyOlds 442]

alright yea it was year one i think we ordered already... but its been 2 weeks waiting for delivery idk whats going on
do you happen to have the website for ames or the pontiac direct guys?

[MrPbody]

Performanceyears.com
amesperformance.com

[Goatmann]

Originally Posted by SeventyOlds 442

thanks a lot i'll consider finding a 400 i think i know a guy with a 400 and a TH 400 from a gto but ill get that if possible
the engine is out on a stand so nothing is keeping us from shoving one back in there...

we have a problem with the back window since its curved it trapped water and rusted out the area around the window... is this common? We ordered some parts for repairing it but ill let you know how they are when i get them..

Just be aware of the length of the tail on the TH400. I had a 69 LeMans that had a Pontiac 350 and what I thought was a TH350 in it. After I threw the driveshaft and went to a junkyard for a replacement I found out the replacement d'shaft didn't fit because someone at one time or another put in a TH400 which has a longer tail and therefore required a shorter driveshaft.