The last 1962 Tempest wagon with A/C
 

I found this 1962 Tempest wagon here in 2018 listed under "Found this for sale not mine." It was on Craigslist in S. Carolina. I decided to rescue the car because it has very rare and complete factory Cool-Pack A/C. It is also very highly optioned for an early Tempest.
The car was mostly complete but missing factory dash clock and sunvisor mirror. And the radio antenna was snapped off.
This Tempest is probably the last 62 wagon with A/C.
It is the 4th 1962 Tempest I've owned since 1987.

Love it, something special a Tempests to me .... maybe because my first car was a 66 Tempest. I also love under dash AC units, not stupid duct work, easy to service, usually work great.

Cowl Tag
 

The cowl tag shows car was built 11A which is first week of November 1961.
STYLE: 62-model year and 2135=wagon
BODY: PO-Built in Pontiac and 3228 is assembly sequence #
TRIM: 208= Green
PAINT: J C- Silverleaf Green with Cameo Ivory roof
ACC: Accessories listed on cowl tag are factory only installed options.
414- Foam cushion, front seat only
531- Soft-ray glass all windows
547- ??
552- Power tailgate window
67Y- Automatic transmission
767- Rear cargo flooring vinyl

More "As found" pictures

I have read that these wagons were popular with traveling salesmen for their cargo space AND for those sold in mountainous areas, they would often get them with the rarely found 3.90 rear axle setup.

Restoration
 

I decided to do a nut & bolt restoration on it but leave the original exterior paint and patina alone for now. I started with the engine compartment, front end, etc.
Silverleaf Green paint is single stage acrylic enamel with hardener.

Power tail gate windows are so cool,had one on my 63 wagon.Tom

More pictures

The differential came from factory painted red oxide and was marked with a yellow stripe indicating it has 3:55 gears.

Are them the original door panels?.

GT

Looks awesome! I like the fact that you are leaving the outside as is. I’m doing a ‘63 FS Safari the same way.

Yes GT, the door panels are original. I had the guy at my paint store mix Sems vinyl die to match door panels and re-spayed them.
The vinyl on my original seats was stiff and had issues so I had a new set of covers made by SMS Auto Fabrics. They also supplied the ribbed vinyl flooring for rear.

Thanks MrP266! I might eventually paint the exterior. I have the paint but lack motivation to do any bodywork right now. I call my car a rusteration.

VERY COOL!!!!!!

Green is the hardest Tempest interior color to restore. There is nothing available. When I ordered carpet from AMES, I had to choose a color from the full size catalog.
Headliners are available in 10 colors but not green. I had to buy a white headliner and sunvisors and spray them light green with Sems vinyl dye.
Door opening wind lace had to be dyed as well.

Very cool car and a great job on it!
If you don’t mind me asking. I see you got seat covers from SMS. What kind of time frame did this involve?
I ask because I’ve had some 65 seat covers on order for 18 months and was wondering if they still in business.

Again very nice work on yours!


Thanks
Murf!

Thanks Murf!! It took 14 months to get my new covers. I felt like if I didn't pursue them, I would never hear from them again. They take on more work than they can handle. I read somewhere that they are not taking orders for door panels till they catch up on backlog. So I think they're still in business.

Thanks for the reply! Yeah, I’ve been emailing every month. Every time the reply was “ your order will ship in 2 weeks.” Very frustrating! I wish they’d at least be truthful. Oh well.

Again, great job on the wagon!

Murf

Amazing job!! I love the restoration and the body left as is. I wish I hadn’t painted my car now.

That looks absolutely amazing and I can't imagine people's faces when you pop the hood. :jaw: