Nick's '62
Owner: Nick Anderson,
Hometown: Riverside, California. The 909. Or maybe the 951 these days.
Car: '62 Pontiac Tempest
Crew: The same group that helps with Jon's car.
Engine: Nick's Tempest is a touch hotter than his brother's car, though it runs fewer cubes. A '69 428 has been taken out to produce 440 inches using a stock crank, Scat H-beam rods, and Ross custom pistons that make 11.5:1 with the '69 Pontiac No. 62 D-port heads, which have been completely ported. A Comp Cams solid roller with 0.660/0.660-inch lift and 272/276 deg. duration @ 0.050 throws the valves. Initially, an Edelbrock low-rise dual-quad intake mounting a pair of Edelbrock carbs fed the beast, but a recent change to a Super Victor intake with a 1,050-cfm Dominator carb shaved the e.t. by several tenths. Jess Tyree made a set of headers for the nostalgic ride, just like he used to for his own.
Driveline: The '62 also had a transaxle to begin with, and it also runs a fullsize Pontiac housing ('62) now, though this one swings from a pair of '69 Firebird leaf springs. The housing is located with a four-link and inside is a set of Pontiac 3.42:1 gears turning Moser axles. Another Lowell's Turbo 400 was used, this one running an SMI 4,500-stall converter and a Hurst Quarter Stick shifter.
Suspension: Other than the conversion to a solid axle with leafs, the suspension is stock and even retains the original drum brakes and manual steering.
Wheels/tires: All wheels measure 15x7; the black steelies out back mount Mickey Thompson slicks while the American Racing Torq-Thrust Ds in front roll modern radials.
Body: The Body on the '62 is largely stock, though the original hood now sports a Super-Duty-style steel hoodscoop, given to Nick by Jess Tyree. Again, Alex "Axle" Idzardi was enlisted to straighten and spray, and Harpoon handled the vintage lettering.
Performance: The 440-inch Poncho makes about 600 hp at 6,200 rpm, enough to turn 11.36 at 118 mph.