Strangest Automotive Inventions: The 1961 Pontiac Tempest's "Rope" Curved Driveshaft & Transaxle
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- Опубліковано 6 сер 2023
- Learn more about the 1961 Tempest and its unusual drivetrain, including the 195ci Trophy 4-cylinder engine, "rope" driveshaft, and rear transaxle.
When I was a kid I bought one used from a neighbour, I only paid $75.00 for the car. He was told he needed a new transmittion! The drive shaft cover had just came loose at the engine. Cost to repair was one bolt! I loved that car.
My dad had a 62 Lemans with the 4 cylinder 1 barrel and 4 speed..when i was a young teenager..i would help my dad do maintenance on the Tempest...in exchange he would take me out to a empty parking lot to teach me how to drive the Tempest...that was one of the most fun times driving that awesome car !!!
This cars layout is discussed in the movie, my cousin Vinny. Turns out to be rather important to the plot
I've been a car guy my whole life,70 years,and I never new about the unique drive train of the Pontiac Tempest.Thanks for sharing the knowledge.
My 85 year old uncle said it was his favorite car, and he said it was the four cylinder. It's neat to have just been talking to him about his favorite car the other day and I am now getting a chance to look at it! Thank you for your reviewing it!!!
I've always been kind of fascinated by these early Tempests due to their unique engineering. I'm glad you covered it, Adam.
My younger brother had one. He referred to it as rubber band drive because of the strange noises coming from the floor when he did hard acceleration. He said the thumping was the rubber band unwinding. (jokingly or course) - I had a 1965 Corvair Corsa so we were both driving 'unconventional' cars.
When I was 7, my grandmother bought a Tempist with the 4 cyl and automatic transaxle. The shifter was a small handle sticking out of the dash. As far as how much power it had, I would have no idea. Her TOP speed was 45 mph. No matter back then the limits were 70 and 65. My older brother and I went on a 500 mile each way trip with her! We watched the small animals run past as she drove! Not really, but it felt like it.
My family bought a ‘61 Tempest automatic with the Trophy 4 as a second car. In addition to the strange drivetrain, the gear selector was mounted to the dashboard with a very short perpendicular handle. I was only 7 at the time but I remember it well enough to attest to the pronounced vibrations from that motor. Thank you, Adam. 👍👍👍
I have been a car guy my entire life and have learned more from your channel in a couple of years than in all the years prior. Thank you, Adam.
I learned to drive on a 61 Tempest. It was my Mom’s computer car. I was in the car when it was totaled on hill in upstate NY. My Mom used the transmission to slow her decent on ice by manually shifting down, the rear end basically locked, and proceeded to swap with the front, then slid into a culvert. I was a junior Motörhead and was aware of the unique drive train. Thanks for triggering some very precious memories. Excellent video.
Thanks, Adam. My very first car. Dad bought this for me used in 67 so I could get to college in the Upper Peninsula. It was a good, roomy car. Automatic gear shift was on the dash. Two speed automatic made passing cars on state roads an interesting proposition. If you tried flooring it to pass, the trans down shifted to low making you go slower. So, you had to leave 6 or 7 car lengths distance from the vehicle you were passing, wait for clear road ahead, gently increase pedal pressure to get up to passing speed, and if the road was still clear you could pass. Excellent car in the snow.
a crossflow inline 4, in a car with 4-wheel independent suspension, and a nearly 50/50 weight distribution thanks to the transaxle. Period tests reported about 24 MPG as well. Honestly if they would have gone with a more conventional displacement for the 4-cylinder, something more optimal in the 2-2.5 liter range, this would have been a perfect car, and a serious contender for an import killer. Beautiful styling to boot! Hands down probably my favorite GM car of the era, and one I'd absolutely love to have. I never realized the driveshaft was so unconventional. Wish the innovative and adventurous era of a GM that really thought they could never be beat would have never ended...
I a ‘62 convertible that bought I ragged condition. I restored it whit white paint and a red vinyl interior. Wish I had not sold it. It was fast and fun! Thanks for the video!
I can't say it enough. Thank you for your channel as it does something magical: entertaining and educational.
When I think of the 1961 Tempest, I instantly remember Marisa Tomei in the movie My Cousin Vinny.
When GM innovates....it returns to old tech in a few years. Corvair supplanted and replaced by the X-Body Nova and the F-Body Camaro to a lesser extent....and the Tempest....advanced architecture but returned to a more traditional layout with the introduction of the 1964 A bodies...The Tempest was a plot point in My Cousin Vinnie with it's independent rear suspension. .
As a teen in the early '70s, while staying at high-school friends home for the weekend, I saw their neighbor had one of these Pontiacs in navy-blue. She gave me permission to look under the hood. Wow! I'd never seen a 'tilted' 4-cylinder like that one. I didn't know about the unique drivetrain or transaxle until the late '80s, when I saw a '63 Tempest up on a lift in a shop, with the engine running. Watching that naked torque-converter spinning behind the rear-end was something else!
This is yet another example of a car that I used to think was ugly. That picture of the red Tempest with fender skirts is very beautiful and classy right down to the wheel covers. It’s a part of the past that is too distant even for me. I really think the late fifties and early sixties were some of the most interesting years for automobiles and American culture.
Trans was from the corvair, they used a hollow shaft with the "rope" running through the center of the transmission to transmit the power to the torque converter literally feeding the power in from the rear. In the corvair the torque converter was driven from the other end. So really Pontiac did not develop a new trans, they used the trans and some of the rear suspension parts from the corvair