Hello . I've been an old fan of SW Forms. Learned a lot from you guys & finally decided to purchase a wagon. Its a 1972 LeMans Wagon that I bought through a local auction. At first my family and friends didnt accept the idea to drive a wagon ( especially with my 73 Camaro & 66 Impala SS I have ) ... Couple months later, few modifications and it became a icon in my neighborhood My biggest fan is a 6 years old autistic boy ...He love her and always ask to have his chips while pretending to drive it Again .. I am glad to finally join you, and hope you accept me . Cheers
Dang! That is a sweet looking Poncho hauler you have there. It's great you are sharing it with folks, especially the little guy. That's really neat. Where are you and the wagon located?
The most awesome part is sharing it with an autistic child. All the possessions in the world don't mean anything if you can't share them to make someone's day brighter. Good on you.
"and hope you accept me" welcome and thanks for asking - stick around here for a while and you'll see who & how we accept. be warned great story - thanks for sharing
Welcome to the forum, Ghazi! I was pretty sure i had seen pics of your wagon before - found this listing for an old Southby's Florida auction in 2012.... https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/...72-pontiac-tempest-sport-station-wagon/596279 I'm also wondering if you were told the historical details behind the hood scoop that's been added to your Safari wagon? In the early 60's Pontiac supported stock-car drag racing with a program somewhat labeled 'Super-Duty' - basically their biggest 421 cubic-inch engine installed in the little Pontiac Tempest. Some wagons were run, which get them a bit better weight distribution, and more traction off the line. Anyway, these cars used that exact hood scoop that you have on your LeMans. Here's what one wagon looked like: One thing, though - those hood scoops didn't come from Pontiac. They came from a FORD! Coincidently, they were used on Ford's big 'Super-Duty' trucks from the late 50's - early 60's.... Here's one on a big Ford truck: And now you know the REST of the story! Welcome to the forum.. Marshall
I've read of other trans-corporate friendly actions. Namely, when Saginaw gears went on strike, causing GM to get help from Ford to fill GM production orders for manual transmissions. Did the 421 Tempests have their own strengthened transaxles or were the stock 326 ones strong enough? I can't imagine GM overdesigning something which wasn't planned for everyday production
I don't know the answer on that. My guess is they dumped the whole torque tube / transaxle assembly for a drag-race proven 'regular' layout.
And using the Ford truck hood scoop had nothing at all to do with Ford. The race team guy needed a scoop. Pontiac didn't have one, so they got one for him - just bought them from Ford.