The ’60s are known in the performance world as the era of the muscle car. Small two door cars with big inch V-8 engines dominate the landscape at car shows and the race track. However, this Homegrown Horsepower spotlight features something a bit more unique.

Vincent Farquhar bleeds Pontiac blue. “I’ve always been a Pontiac guy,” says Farquhar.

Vincent Farquhar’s ’63 Tempest features a 4 cylinder engine and rear mounted transaxle.

Although the majority of his project cars have been Pontiac machines, it isn’t the hard pulling, tire burning GTO, or the quick, sleek Firebird that is the “apple of his eye.” This title belongs to a more modest and lesser known sibling in the Pontiac family.

“I have a soft spot for the ’63 Tempest,” he proclaims. “It’s kind of like a baby GTO. If you look at the ’64 GTO, the body lines are very similar.”

Farquhar had three Tempests sitting in his driveway at one time while searching for the best car for his project. After settling for one with some roof damage, his plan changed as this particular car popped up. “This one really just fell into my lap,” he states.

So what makes this version so unique? Well, it literally has half of an engine. The 195 cubic inch four cylinder engine is actually one bank of the 389 V-8.

“There were a few 326 V-8s, but most ’63 Tempests had the single barrel four-cylinder,” explains Farquhar.

Two versions of the four cylinder were offered: a one barrel carb and a four barrel carb. “This four barrel version is a bit rare,” he adds. The unique factor is what kept Farquhar from building a V-8 powerplant.

Two manifold options were available on the 63. This is the less common 4-barrel version.

In addition to the halved 389 engine, the ’63 Tempest also featured a rear-mounted transaxle with independent suspension at all four wheels. Pontiac advertised the setup with equal weight on all four wheels as providing “biting” traction and “getaway” grip. Farquhar admits connecting the engine to the rear mounted transaxle will be the most challenging part of the build.

After finding some leaking core plugs on the engine, Farquhar decided the engine was in need of a complete rebuild. Finding parts wasn’t an issue since most are interchangeable with the 389.

“The engine build was pretty straightforward. The crankshaft and camshaft are different, but everything else is the same as the 389.”

Farquhar had the camshaft sent off to be welded and re-ground to the factory specifications. A double roller timing chain was added as well. The extra strength of the timing chain is needed to withstand the inherent vibrations of a 180-degree crankshaft. The cast iron cylinder head is straight off the 389. Roller-tipped rocker arms top off the valve train. The four barrel intake is fed through a Rochester carb.

When asked about expected fuel mileage, Farquhar responds, “I’m not really concerned about fuel mileage. I heard they were making over twenty miles per gallon. That’s pretty impressive for the early ’60s.”

Although the engine was originally designed as an economical option for the family sedan, performance is not minimized. Farquhar pointed out Pontiac expert Nunzi Ramano’s ’63 Tempest has run an 11.70 quarter-mile pass at 112 mph using all Pontiac Super Duty parts.

Farquhar installed a DUI distributor to ignite the four cylinders.

Farquhar says, “This is just going to be a cruiser. I’m 55 years old and want something to have fun with in the summertime.”

The engine is complete and waiting on the car to come back from paint and body. He is hoping to have the car completed by next summer.

The love for the ’63 Tempest doesn’t stop there; it runs in the family. Farquhar’s daughter has also grown to love the Tempest. “I have the 4-door that I’m going to build for my daughter. It will also be the four-cylinder, but with the single barrel carb.” Good luck, Vincent, and thanks for sharing!