The “sleeper” is the one car that always seems to catch you off guard! You’re cruising through town when a car pulls up next to you that looks like your old Aunt Sophie’s – then the light changes and all you see are tail lights. That is what Bart Foreman had in mind while building his ’64 Tempest. The car originally came with the 215 ci inline 6-cylinder and 2-speed automatic. It was out with the old and in with the new when Foreman replaced the original engine and transmission with a Pontiac 455 with a Tri-Power Induction System and Turbo 400 Tranny. He also put on 17” black steel wheels and hubcaps and had it painted white. We are talking serious stealth mode. However, that is not where this story ends.

We found this car at www.pro-touring.com.

Foreman also owns a 2002 WS6 Trans Am Convertible that is totally stock and runs a ½ second quicker in the ¼ mile than the big block Tempest. He knew the power of the stock LS engine, and made the decision to swap out the engine in the Tempest with an LS3. That’s when things snowballed (as all of these projects do).

The only limits that Foreman put on himself were to keep the engine and transmission in the stock locations to keep the column mounted shifter. He also wanted to add air conditioning and cruise control. With that in mind the build was on! “What started out as an engine / transmission swap and air conditioning install quickly turned into a total mechanical refurbishment of the car,” stated Foreman.

Bart turned a “Plain Jane” car into a very serious canyon carver. First he updated the drivetrain with an LS3 crate motor and a 4L70E transmission with a 3600 stall converter. Speartech supplied the ECM, TCM, and wiring harness to handle all the functions of the engine and tranny. The exhaust gases would be quieted by a Pypes 3” X-Pipe System. The rear end was upgraded to an 8.5” 10-bolt rear end out of a 71-72 Buick, rebuilt with the addition of anEaton positrac unit and Moser 30-spline axles.

With the addition of 130 horses from the LS3, Foreman was ready to put down some serious whoa to match the go!! It was time to get rid of the B-Body front spindles, single piston brake calipers, and the factory rear 9.5” drum brake system. A set of Corvette C6 Z06 front and rear brakes were quickly ordered up from KORE3, as well as Disc Brakes Australia rotors and Hawk ceramic pads.

Next came suspension upgrades. Foreman had already done some suspension tweaks, but now he wanted to really be able to thrash the car through the corners. He started calling around and searching the internet and came up with American Touring Specialties AFX spindles, along with SPC adjustable upper and lower control arms. Suspension vibration is controlled by a set of Bilstein Heavy Duty Gas Shocks.

All these upgrades and brake calipers that looked like works of art did not need to be hidden by plain black steel wheels. Out went the plain econobox-looking wheels and in came some black O.Z. Racing Ultraleggera 18 x 9 wheels (ultraleggera translates from Italian to English as “ultra-light”). While the 17” steel wheels weighed in at 37 lbs. each, the O.Z. wheels tipped the scales at just 20.8 lbs. each, saving a little unsprung weight at each corner. The wheels have the backspacing and bolt pattern from a 2008 BMW Z4, which Foreman discovered would work well on what was becoming a very modified 64 Tempest.

Foreman is still a few months away from getting the Pontiac back on the road. He’s redone the interior and patched up the rust, and has also installed the AC system and gotten the cruise control in. The cooling system has been upgraded, and he’s gotten all of the factory and aftermarket parts to work well together. After test fitting, assembling, taking back apart, and putting back together, he is close to tearing up the corners in the hills around his Southern California house.

“I really don’t care what anyone thinks about how I build my rides,” said Foreman. “I do what I want in this hobby to please myself. If someone else digs it, that’s just great too.” Well Bart, we dig it and can’t wait to see the finished project!!!