739-HP Pontiac Is an Unfulfilled NHRA Dream in Need of Rescue

Because buying project cars is similar in a way to buying Hotwheels. Of course, I mean the addiction part of it. Ask any real petrolhead what his favorite car is, and you'll end up with a list instead. And I see that in myself as well. I love rotaries, and I own one. But I would love to get my hands on a supercharged Mustang. And I'd add a V10 powered BMW on the list as well. An Impreza WRX STI doesn't sound bad either. And while I'm at it, I'd love to have a go at a Lancia Delta S4.

So it isn't at all difficult to get carried away with project cars. It all starts with "Oh, that's not expensive, I can imagine it won't take that much to finish it". But it doesn't always end well. And at one point or another, you need to take some form of action. You either find the resources to finish the build, or you sell the car. And that brings us to this 1963 Pontiac Tempest, that's being sold by 08gt-1 on eBay.

The car is being offered by a retired Fire Captain from Texas, who couldn't find the time to finish the build. But the story runs deeper. He bought the car from a good friend of his, that planned on registering it in the NHRA Super Gas competition. As he was still working on the car, his mother passed away, and he found himself in some financial trouble. And that led to him selling the car.

He had a very well-put-together plan with this vehicle, just by looking at the parts list. Reportedly $50,000 has been spent on the car alone, plus some $20,000 on the engine. Believe it or not, this car is still sporting its original red paint. The chassis was custom designed by Alston Chassisworks for this 113.5" (2.88 meters) wheelbase, and you will be able to certify it up to 7.50 specs. A Chromoly 14-point roll cage is already welded in place.

I like the fact that the person who started working on this car had some experience in building vehicles like this. Because along with the car you'll get a lot of brand new parts, ready to go on it before you hit the drag strip. The rear wheels are 15" x 15" Centerlines with Goodyear Eagle drag slicks. The front wheels are 15" x 4.5" Vintage Wheel Works wrapped in Goodyear Eagle Frontrunners.

The car was designed to accommodate a 6' (1.82 meters) tall, 200 lbs (90 kg) driver, but you can adapt it for any size. But let's look at the most interesting part of this project: the engine! Built in 1972, it's a 455 ci (7.5-liters) Pontiac V8, that was dyno'ed at 739 horsepower and 602 lb-ft (816 Nm) of torque! This engine is almost brand new, as it only did 4 passes in a Firebird. That car weighed in at 2,500 lbs (1,133 kg), and it managed to run the quarter-mile (402 meters) in 8.67 seconds, with a trap speed of 158 mph (254 kph).

The first thing that comes to mind looking at this car is: what else do I need to finish the build? According to the seller, you're looking at buying windows, a driveshaft, wiring, plumbing plus a few other finishing touches. That should cost less than $10,000, all in all. There are 2 days left until the auction is over, and the highest bid stands at $10,600. I don't know about you, but getting a 9-second car for less than $25,000 sounds like a bargain to me!