Introduced to racing at a young age and exposed to mainstream superstars like Evil Knievel in his formative years, Rick Watters was destined for a life of dirty hands, spinning tires, and an empty bank account. He graduated from ramping red wagons on his bicycle to dirt bikes, go-karts, snowmobiles, and eventually cars—the first car he street-raced was a 1972 Pontiac Grand Prix, and he’s been all-Poncho ever since.

Rick recollects one standout memory—he bought a ‘67 Firebird in 1980, put a 455 in it with nitrous and street-raced it for several years. This car, he says, “embarrassed a lot of Chevys, Fords, and Mopars, with only one loss.” Rick details that he “had stacked two 300-HP plates of nitrous and melted the pistons out of the motor … I was winning a race by half a car when the motor went away.”

It’s that all-out approach to competition and mechanical craftiness that eventually led Rick to the latest entry to his garage: this 1962 Pontiac Tempest Lemans. Purchased in 2012 as a near-empty shell, this Arctic White beauty has since been transformed into a 1,200-horsepower dragstrip machine that’s equally at home on the road.

The journey began with a long 55-hour round trip from Chicago to Phoenix, where Rick and his son Brian acquired the car for a meager $1,000. Aged and weathered, but mostly complete with many of the original trimmings, the Tempest’s California origins left it relatively rust-free, aside from a few minor blemishes. While some might have restored the car to its original condition, Rick imagined something entirely different: a badass machine capable of turning heads at car shows and likewise turning single-digit laps on the quarter-mile—truly the best of both worlds.

“I wanted it to be as bulletproof as I could afford,” Rick says. “I didn’t want to tear it down between rounds or break parts every other pass. The goal was to unload it, run it all day, and put it back in the trailer.”

The Tempest was inspired by another Tempest that Rick saw at The Pontiac Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio in the late 1990s. “I fell in love with the lines of the car, and I was determined to build my own and began my search for a solid shell,” he explains. “My son, Brian, found the car, and from what I could find out, the car spent most of its life in California. It was in fairly good shape for a car that was 50 years old. It only had a fist-sized dent on the roof and a small amount of surface rust, but it had all the parts I needed. I could have restored the car to its original condition, but that’s not my thing.”

The car had no drivetrain to speak of, and aside from the minor rust and a dent from a tree branch on the roof, it was in solid shape. The good news was all the chrome was there, but needed to be restored. All the parts that Rick did not use were donated to the Little Indians Club for 1961-63 Tempests, to be used on other people’s builds.

“I wanted to keep the car’s original body lines and trim. The car looks badass all on its own … that’s why there is no hood scoop or other major body mods. The rear wing, though, became necessary as the mile-per-hour went up,” he shares.

Over six years, with help from family and a few trusted professionals, Rick brought his vision to life. The Tempest sports a 25.2-spec chrome-moly tube chassis by Al VerSchave of AVS Fabrication, with a 113-inch wheelbase that retains the car’s classic proportions. Despite its all-business underpinnings, Rick kept the car’s exterior as original as possible, with trim polished by Vintage Vehicles in Wisconsin, and subtle modifications like cropping the bumpers and eliminating the gas filler door.

Under the hood lies a 500 cubic-inch Kauffman aluminum-block Pontiac V8, outfitted with a billet Crower crank, Oliver rods, and Ross pistons, carefully selected to handle the twin 80mm turbos pushing 12 psi of boost. CNC-ported Kauffman high-port heads flow air through a custom Northwind intake, while a FAST XFI 2.0 system ensures precise fuel management on E85. The setup belts out 1,200 horsepower and an equal measure of torque, all with the reliability that Rick prioritized.

Backing the potent V8 is a Coan Powerglide transmission housed in a Reid case, paired with a Neal Chance torque converter. A custom Jerry Bickel 9-inch rearend, featuring a Strange Ultra case and 40-spline axles that channel the power back to Goodyear drag radials mounted on Billet Specialties wheels. The combination has propelled the 2,600-pound Tempest to a best quarter-mile time of 7.99 seconds at 169 mph.

On the suspension front, the car sports Strange double-adjustable coilovers and Hyperco springs at all four corners, with a four-link rear setup and wheelie bars to ensure the car plants the tire and launches straight and true when Rick puts it on the track. Strange four-piston brakes ensure it stops as well as it goes.

Rick’s attention to detail extends to the exterior aesthetics. Painted in its original Arctic White, the car still exudes timeless class despite its racey looks—it gathers attention everywhere Rick goes, and even earned high praise from legendary Pontiac racer Arnie “The Farmer” Beswick: “You didn’t miss a trick with this build,” Arnie told Rick when he laid eyes on the car.

“The lines of the car and the chrome are my favorite bits of this car. I started making a list of how random people described the car: ‘gangster, sinister, badass, best-looking car on the property, rocketship, prom queen…’ I really appreciate the praise and admiration the car receives from the fans,” he says.

Rick with door-car legend and Pontiac icon Arnie “The Farmer” Beswick.

The car has earned a number of accolades—notably, in 2023 it won the Best Engineered Pontiac award at the Pontiac Nationals, the very place the whole idea was first formed. But for Rick, the real reward is sharing the experience with his family and friends, particularly his wife Carol, who has been supportive of every step of this adventure.

Rick named the Tempest “Rita” in honor of his late mother-in-law, a racing enthusiast herself whose elegance and spirit he says the car truly embodies. “It’s like if the Queen of England loved stock car racing,” Rick quips, a nod to the combination of grace and raw power he created with the Tempest.

Building the Tempest wasn’t without its challenges. True to the “rule of twice,” the project took twice as long and cost twice as much as expected, totaling $150,000 over six years. Yet the result is a car that’s not only a personal triumph but also a symbol of the Pontiac legacy Rick has championed since his youth. Rick’s passion for speed has always been fueled by a love of the underdog, and the Pontiac brand has arguably been just that.

Today, the Tempest is equal parts time capsule and modern technical showcase, blending the classic iron and 1960s design with the performance of a modern drivetrain and components. It’s a car that commands respect wherever it goes, whether it’s turning heads at the show or leaving competitors behind on the ‘strip.

To borrow on others’ words, “It’s gangster, sinister, and badass,” Rick proudly proclaims of his potent pride and joy.