Stan Antlocer's '63 SD Lemans Up For Sale

[Frosty]

A mutual friend of Professor’s, notallthere’s and mine sent me an email over Christmas about this ultra rare 1963 Pontiac Lemans going up for auction later this month at Mecum’s auction in Kissimmee Florida. This car is rather famous for selling for over $226k on eBay in November 2008 looking like a rather dilapidated parts car with no engine or transmission. Basically, it was a glorified roller by all accounts. Why so much you ask? Because it just so happens to be one of only 14 purpose-built-for- drag-racing 1963 Pontiac Super Duty-powered Tempest and Lemans assembled between Christmas and New Year’s in 1962 - just before GM announced its ban on factory sponsored racing. Of these 14 Super Duty powered light weight cars that built, six of them were Lemans, eight of them were Tempests. Two of the Tempests were station wagons. The VIN numbers of these cars, along with all of Pontiac’s sixties era Super Duty Catalinas and Grand Prixes cars are well documented in Pete McCarthy’s book “Pontiac Musclecar Performance, 1955-1979: GTO/Firebird/Super Duty/Ram Air” in 1989. This particular car was delivered to Stan Long Pontiac in Detroit and driven by Stan Antlocer. Stan Antlocer’s name can still be seen on the roof.

The car was sent to Scott Tiemann’s Supercar Specialties shop in Portland Michigan. Scott is a premier auto restorer. I won’t bother you with the details of the car, you can read about it in the attached links below. Rather, I’d like to share my personal photos and story about the car. I had the opportunity to tour Scott’s shop with the Michigan Widetrackers and Woodward Tigers in April 2009. Scott had not yet begun the restoration. He had a couple of other cars he had to finish before he could begin the restoration. He was also freshing up some parts on Mickey Thompson’s original Swiss cheese Super Duty Catalina.

Scott told us that the car was found in a storage facility in Harrison Michigan. The car was part of a whole host of junk that was stored in the storage locker. The facility took over the contents when the owner failed to make payments on the locker and forefeited the contents (it was rumored that the owner had died). There was so much junk in the locker that it literally filled a scrap truck. The car was destined for the scrap yard too except there was no room for the car on the scrap truck, so someone got the idea to put it on eBay as a parts car for $500. Thankfully they did – and they took of pictures of the car including the VIN tag, proving that it is one of the well documented and uber-rare’63 Pontiac SD Lemans.

Scott said this was the most expensive piece of shit he ever had sent to his shop. Now if you look close, the car appears to look like a Tempest, not a Lemans on the outside. It even says Tempest on the side. That is because the light weight aluminum front clip and hood the car was originally built with was removed and sold separately before the car was sold to the purchaser of the car in Harrison. A steel Tempest front clip was put on the car in its place. The whereabouts of the original front clip for this car has been well known for decades, more on that later.

Scott told us that he had already located a date code correct 421 SD motor for the car. He also had a line on the correct shiftable rear end that the car was originally built with too. However, the car had a ’57 Pontiac rear end in it. This was added by the Stan Long Pontiac race team after the car was built because the stock rear end and transmission did not perform as well as they had hoped. Once the team contacted Pontiac and told them what they were doing, Pontiac okayed the combination and issued the necessary part numbers legimatizing this combination for NHRA racing. The question that still needed to be answered at the time was how was this car going to be restored, “as built” by Pontiac or “as Stan Antlocer raced it”? As you can tell from the subsequent articles, the decision was made to restore it the way it was raced.

Scott had already contact the owner of the original front clip for the car. The parts were in Florida and the owner was aware that the car had been found. He wanted $60k for the pieces. Scott said that was even more stupid money. So he was in the process of finding a coach builder to make exact aluminum replicas of the front sheet metal for a lot less money. He was also trying to track down a well restored 1963 Lemans since a lot on the hard to find interior and exterior trim also seemed to be missing. So a regular Lemans would ultimately give up some of its parts to restore this rare piece of Pontiac history.

This car was raced all over the country, but it was built, tested, and raced heavily here in Michigan. Most notably it was raced at Detroit Dragway, and (as you can see from the dash plaque) at Ubly Dragway. Sadly, Detroit Dragway is gone. It closed its doors in 1998. Fortunately, Ubly Dragway is still around. It is located in the thumb region of Michigan. It has 3165 miles on it, a quarter-mile at a time !

The car was unveiled in 2010. I know it won's its class at the Meadowbrook Concurs D'Elegance that year. The car sold on eBay for $226k. The motor, transmission, other Lemans parts cars, and the restoration have added at least $100-150k to the bill. So this car has cost its new owner somewhere between $326k to $375k just to buy and restore it. Mecum estimates the car will go for $475k to $550k. I’d like to see it go for a lot more since most of the 14 SD Tempest and Lemans are unaccounted for and are presumed lost. According to Mecum, this car is scheduled to be sold on January 19, 2013 at 3:00 pm EST. Let's hope this part of Pontiac history sells very well indeed.

http://www.mecum.com/auctions/lot_detail.cfm?LOT_ID=FL0113-143465

http://www.popularhotrodding.com/features/0905phr_1963_pontiac_tempest_super_duty/viewall.html

http://www.automotivetraveler.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=414&Itemid=131

[JUSTA6]

Very informative. Thankz for sharing. As I lightly got into researching the 421 I bought for my GTO (making sure what I was buying) You said they found a correct date coded 421 to complete the resto. Thats finding a needle in the haystack! Esp ASSUMING the plant was down for the holiday in 62 when the cars were built? Justa guess. Details like that would easily bring 500,000. 63- back had the starter on the tranney making the powerglide or 4spd the only choices. The 4 speed would be another tough find, but they are out there. My 421 was built 1-9-64 and installed in a 63 Catalina. What I learned, was it was built in the 1st week of the NEW 421's with the starter on the block. Built on the 9th and assuming a weekend was included. My motor came from an old friend who bought the Catalina from the original owner. He blew the tranny in a DISPLAY of power and the car was put into storage. He found an aluminum front clip for the Catalina 18yrs later and was planning on installing a crate 572?? GM crate motor. Then heard I was looking for a 389 for the GTO and kindly offered me an UPGRADE. His current Catalina status is unchanged.

[Frosty]

Scott Tiemann is very well connected in Pontiac circles. I know he has connections for uber-rare parts. I certain this sort of stuff does not come cheap however, but he has clients with deep pockets - deeper than what you and I can afford I am sure.Don't forget, Pontiac would have already built the motor prior to the Christmas break in order to build these cars, so a 421 engine build date code of (say) November to prior Christmas 1962 would be about right and still be correct.

It must be nice to have a 421. Is it an H.O code 421 or just a regular 421?

An aluminium front clip for a Catalina? Was it from a Super Duty Catalina?

[Ringo64]

Read half of this an am very interested in reading the other half, plan to at lunch tomorrow

Think that is very funny how big a lot of these finds are in storage lockers, garages, etc...

[indymanjoe]

Great post!

[Ghost]

whoa.

[SPRINT 6]

IMO they should have left it as it sat and donated to the new Pontiac Museum.

Was a neat piece of Pontiac Racing History.

Silly money for none original, body, drive train, interior and so on.

But hey to each there own.

[Ringo64]

Great post Frosty! Geez that's a lot of money!

[Frosty]

I double checked my copy of Pete McCarthy's book. My numbers were slightly off a bit. Please forgive me. There were 14 Tempest and Lemans built. Two were prototype Tempests coupes, six were Lemans, and six were 4-door wagons. My bad on the last part.

[Frosty]

I logged into Mecum's results website tonight. I was wrong....the car is scheduled to be auctioned next Saturday, the 26th. Perhaps we will get to see it go across the block live since Velocity will be broadcasting the Kissimmee auction from Thursday through Sunday next weekend.

[SPRINT 6]

Yea we're ready. Have it set to record incase we are not around.

For me following that car is like a wreck, just can't help but look.

That poor liitle Gold '63

[Frosty]

I watched the Mecum auction today. The car came on about 4:00 pm EST. Bidding opened at $100k. The car looked good but bidding stalled quickly out at $325,000 so it's a no sale right now. This price does not even pay for the cost of the car and the restoration. The car is estimated to be worth between $475,000-550,000. There is a chance there might be some after auction deal for this car, but nothing from the block today. I must admit I am highly disappointed.

[Frosty]

Here is an hour and 30 minute interview from Stan Antlocer himself from V8TV radio. Its long but well worth a listen.

http://v8tvshow.com/V8TV_2/index.php/v8-radio/548-v8-radio-stan-antlocer-long-interview

Here is the video of the restored car

http://v8tvshow.com/V8TV_2/index.php/v8-radio/548-v8-radio-stan-antlocer-long-interview

[Frosty]

I wanted to update this topic slightly. Recently I had a chance to speak personally to Jim Mattison, owner of PHS, about this car since he now doing consulting work for Barrett-Jackson. Jim is very familiar with this car. Jim verified for me that the selling price of this car did not pay for the cost of buying the car and its restoration. So the original buyer/restore who commissioned Scott Tiemann to do the restoration sold the car at a significant loss.