Kelly's Cars Tech: '63 Tempest Transaxle

This is just a brief description of the transaxle found in the 61 to 63 Pontiac Tempest.

[@Filmbz]

Great to hear you teach bro, i learned the most from you in Guam!!!

[@spudsmarauder]

My Aunt & Uncle had a 63 tempest Lemans with a manual 3 speed on the floor red with black interior had what was called a 326 but actually 336 & that car would take most anything it came against. It was the only 1 I have ever seen

[@eldoradony]

Very interesting setup. It had a rigid torque tube that ran from the engine to the transmission. The rear of the engine had what resembled a bell housing that the tube bolted to. I owned a 63 LeMans with the 195 slant four in the 80's. The car got 30 mpg on a road trip. I never had any trans problems but the engine was a bit rough at idle. The rear suspension was like a Corvair.

[@johnhenryholiday4964]

The rear end was much like the corvair although parts did not interchange.... (at least the internals to the differential) (we tried that in an attempt to keep the car going)

[@obsoleteprofessor2034]

​@@johnhenryholiday4964I saw one on my dad's gas station lift in the early 60's. I was 7 years old. Did the torque converter spin out in the open?

[@Chris_at_Home]

I had one of these cars in the late 1960s. A friend kidded me about putting a Chevy driveline in it, somI did. I worked in a small fleet garage during the summer when I was 17 and the older mechanic helped me make motor, transmission and rear ended mounts. I put a 300HP 327 in it and it would pull wheelies. I only used it paying around as I had a 1963 Impala too.

[@jamesjohn834]

Not quite. Pontiac Tempest was never intended to have rear drive. The reason for the rear transaxle was so that the Tempest would seat 6 with a flat floor.

[@Dr_Reason]

Did you know the trailing arms on the 63 do not fit the 61 through 62? The 63 handles a lot better.

[@scrambler69-xk3kv]

This is why the testimony in My Cousin Vinney is so wrong. It is not a true independent suspension like they claim in the movie. The tires do not stay flat as they move up and down. They travel in an arc so as the tire goes up and down it leans in and out. If you put a first gen Corvair or one of these 1961-1963 Tempests up on a lift and the tires are fully drooped down, they will be leaning at an almost 45 -degree angle. There is a book called Assassination of the Corvair. In that book on page127 there is a picture of a first generation Corvair up on a lift and you will see just how a swing axle suspension works. Early rear engine VW Bettles have swing axle suspension as well. 1963 Pontiac Tempest wheelbase is 112 inches 1964 Buick Skylark wheelbase is 115 inches.

[@jiroyamamoto2878]

The major difference btwn the '61-'62 and the 1963 Tempest rear suspension and swing axles is the early suspension had A arms pivoting in line with the joints on either side of the differential/transaxle. The A arms might be likened to the front A arms on an American car of that era. The 1963 car had an A arm, but one pivot was in front of the rear tire and the other was near the joint in the axle. These three points were all in a line. This was like a trailing or semi trailing arm, but still a swing axle. Thus the camber changed consistently with bounce and rebound (wheel movement). As a not to the videographer. Try to show more of the axle from in front, below and the rear. That is where the magic is.

[@ethanheld5651]

I want to know how that torque converter is supposed to be doing anything. It's on the wrong end? Or is it there to just plug the hole?

[@jakeopperud3700]

But how do I get posi in my ‘63 f-85?!

[@IronChief]

The Tempest was never intended to be a rear engine car.

[@johnhenryholiday4964]

It would of been impossible to put the engine in the back as the transaxle sat to far back.... the torque converter was in the open and spun freely at full engine speed.... a person could be seriously hurt by being near it..... this transmission was JUNK....

[@deadpie1234]

@@johnhenryholiday4964 If someone is under your car while you are driving I suspect they are already hurt

[@johnhenryholiday4964]

@@deadpie1234 It turned anytime the motor was running... in park, in neutral in gear or not... I was under that car many times with the engine running ( in park with brake)

[@deadpie1234]

@@johnhenryholiday4964 I know, just making a joke. I would agree a cover would be prudent, but calling it junk because of a minor safety issue seems excessive, it's not exactly a saw blade- an unguarded engine fan is much more dangerous, and would be much more frequently worked around while running. We all know safety wasn't invented until '72 anyway

[@ethelbarton6668]

I guess you would have to change the firewall to fit a normal trans. I had a Rover P6, It had De Dion rear susp with inboard discs .later versions used the alum buick 215ci V8

[@ksavage681]

I bet the Tempest this came from was mint metallic green.

[@danieldale4834]

How much is the trans axle worth?

[@salty-9]

That other axle looks like a mopar 8 3/4

[@johnhenryholiday4964]

The pontiac tempest transmission was the worst engineered transmission ever..... they had many many failure points ... we owned one and it was always breaking down... the first breakdown occurred right after the warranty period ... we had to repair and "patch together" that transmission many times.... parts became obsolete right after general motors found out what a disaster they were.....

[@robertbeirne9813]

Lost me when he called DeLorean a “brain child”

[@craigjorgensen4637]

Those were a shitty,troublesome design!