1970 · Pontiac · United States
1970 Pontiac Tempest GT-37 and LeMans Sport: Pontiac Builds a Cheaper Road to the Same 400
The T-37 and GT-37 bring budget performance to the Tempest.
United States · researched through 2026-09-23
In February 1970, halfway through the model year, Pontiac added a hardtop to the bottom of its intermediate range and called it the T-37. Wikipedia records that it was marketed as General Motors' lowest-priced hardtop, a claim a Chevrolet Chevelle soon undercut. The price was the point. Over-Drive's compiled table lists the T-37 hardtop at $2,683. Within months Pontiac had hung a performance package on the same cheap body and called it the GT-37, and the division that had invented the GTO found itself selling muscle from the bottom of the price list as well as the top.1,2,3
The pressure came from Plymouth. The Road Runner had arrived for 1968 as a stripped Belvedere coupe and hardtop with a special 383, and Over-Drive's Plymouth table counts 44,599 in its first year, the coupe listed at $2,870. By 1970 the Road Runner family, Superbird included, counted 43,404 cars. Diego Rosenberg's history in Street Muscle calls the GT-37 Pontiac's Road Runner competitor and describes it as insurance-friendly: a package aimed at younger buyers who wanted the look and some of the performance without the insurance premiums that came with a full-strength muscle car.4,5,6
Pontiac's intermediate line had been reshuffled for 1970 into the Tempest, the LeMans, the LeMans Sport, the GTO and the GTO Judge, and the base six was now Chevrolet's 250-cubic-inch straight six rather than Pontiac's own overhead-cam engine. The GT-37 lived in the Tempest series, at the bottom. Over-Drive's table lists it in two bodies, a hardtop at $2,920 and a pillared coupe at $2,907, both on the 112-inch two-door wheelbase, and gives the hardtop a shipping weight of 3,360 pounds. The cheapest GT-37 cost $224 more than a T-37 hardtop and was $360 cheaper than a GTO hardtop.1,3
The package was mostly about looks, with enough hardware to back them up. Rosenberg lists hood-locking pins, body striping borrowed from the 1969 GTO Judge, G70-14 white-letter tires on Rally II wheels, dual exhausts exiting through the rear valence, a heavy-duty three-speed manual with a Hurst floor shifter, and GT-37 decals on the fenders and trunk. Wikipedia's list is close: Rally II wheels, white-letter tires, dual exhaust, vinyl stripes, a floor-shifted transmission, sport mirrors, hood pins and badging. Wikipedia calls it the stripper muscle car package, which is exactly what the price and the parts list describe.6,1
Under the hood the choices climbed in familiar Pontiac steps. Rosenberg gives the standard V8 as a 350 two-barrel at 255 gross horsepower, with a 400 two-barrel and the 330-horsepower 400 four-barrel above it; Over-Drive's fact sheet rates the big engine at 330 horsepower at 4,800 rpm and 445 lb-ft at 2,900, lists it as a $210 option, and says it came only with the automatic. Rosenberg's account, by contrast, pairs the GT-37 with a three-speed manual and does not limit the 400 four-barrel to the automatic. Over-Drive also lists a wide-ratio four-speed at $185. The two descriptions do not agree, and neither cites an order guide.6,2
Against its targets, the GT-37's price looked sharp. Plymouth's 1970 table lists the Road Runner coupe at $2,896 and hardtop at $3,034, so a GT-37 hardtop undercut the Road Runner hardtop by $114, and the GT-37 coupe cost $11 more than the Road Runner coupe. Plymouth's cheapest Road Runner and Pontiac's cheapest GT-37 were, in other words, priced within a few dollars of each other. The GTO hardtop listed at $3,267 and the Judge hardtop at $3,604. For less than a base GTO, a GT-37 buyer could have the Judge-style stripes and a Hurst shifter, and with the right option boxes ticked, a 330-horsepower 400 from the same engine family.5,3,6
How many GT-37s Pontiac built in 1970 is not known. Over-Drive's compiled table does not separate them: it groups the plain Tempest hardtop, the T-37 hardtop and both GT-37 bodies into a single production figure of 20,883, with 17,181 Tempest sport coupes listed separately. Enthusiast articles repeat a 1970 GT-37 count, but without naming a factory report or Pontiac Historic Services tabulation behind it, so the 1970 GT-37 count remains unknown. The GT-37 was certainly a small fraction of that 20,883, which is itself about half the 40,149 GTOs, 3,797 of them Judges, that Pontiac built the same year.3,7,6
At the other end of the same range sat the LeMans Sport, the best-dressed of the non-GTO intermediates. Over-Drive's table counts 72,228 LeMans Sports for 1970, 58,356 of them hardtops and 4,670 convertibles listed at $3,182, alongside 84,252 LeMans models including 52,304 hardtops. The fact sheet offers the same 265-horsepower 400 two-barrel and 330-horsepower 400 four-barrel for the Tempest, LeMans and LeMans Sport alike. A buyer who wanted a big engine in a plush Pontiac intermediate without GTO badges could order one, and far more LeMans Sports were built than GTOs: the LeMans Sport line alone outnumbered the GTO by about 32,000 cars.3,2
What a GT-37 could do on a drag strip in 1970 was never measured in print. Rosenberg's history states that no road test exists of any 1970 GT-37, which leaves the car without the magazine numbers that fixed the reputations of the Road Runner and the GTO. Any claim about its quarter-mile times therefore belongs to later owners and restorers, not to the period record. The documented facts are the price, the parts list and the engine ratings, and on those the GT-37 was a credible budget alternative: a Tempest that could be ordered with the same 330-horsepower 400 offered across Pontiac's intermediates.6,2
The GT-37 returned for 1971 with new stripes and, according to Rosenberg, the 455 HO on its option list, a more aggressive combination than the half-year 1970 car had offered. The idea it represented, a stripped Pontiac intermediate carrying a big engine for less than a GTO, was the same idea the GTO itself had begun with in 1964, when the option went onto a Tempest LeMans. Six years later, with the GTO priced above $3,200, Pontiac invented the cheap version again, and in 1970 it did so without leaving a documented count of how many it sold.6,3
Fact sheet · 1970 · United States
The numbers
1970 Pontiac Tempest and LeMans — The T-37 and GT-37 bring budget performance to the Tempest.
Coverage: Partial — researched sections are shown; missing ones are not yet sourced. Researched through 2026-09-23.
Every figure is labeled with how sure we are. Reported means a manufacturer, registry, or reference figure we cite but have not reconciled against factory records ourselves. Disputed means credible sources disagree and both are shown. Rows are separately scoped; don't add them together unless the note says they make up a total.
Key facts
- Reported 1970 Tempest two-door hardtop, T-37 and GT-37 production combined was 20,883.3
Production
| What was counted | Count | Basis | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tempest hardtop, T-37 hardtop, GT-37 hardtop and GT-37 coupe, combined3 Tempest, T-37, GT-37 · 2-door hardtop and coupe · not stated by source | 20,883 | built, model-year | Reported |
| GT-37 alone3 GT-37 · not stated by source The source groups GT-37 with other Tempest two-doors. | Unknown | built, model-year | Not published |
| What was counted | Count | Basis | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tempest sport coupe3 Tempest · sport coupe · not stated by source | 17,181 | built, model-year | Reported |
| LeMans hardtop3 LeMans · hardtop · not stated by source | 52,304 | built, model-year | Reported |
| LeMans Sport hardtop3 LeMans Sport · hardtop · not stated by source | 58,356 | built, model-year | Reported |
| LeMans Sport convertible3 LeMans Sport · convertible · not stated by source | 4,670 | built, model-year | Reported |
| Tempest 4-door sedan3 Tempest · 4-door sedan (23369) · not stated by source Identical to the 1969 Tempest sedan figure and price in the same compiler's 1969 table; possibly carried over in error. | 9,741 | built, model-year | Reported |
| LeMans 4-door sedan3 LeMans (series 235) · 4-door sedan (23569) · not stated by source | 15,255 | built, model-year | Reported |
| LeMans 4-door hardtop3 LeMans (series 235) · 4-door hardtop (23539) · not stated by source | 3,872 | built, model-year | Reported |
| LeMans 2-door sport coupe3 LeMans (series 235) · 2-door sport coupe (23527) · not stated by source | 5,656 | built, model-year | Reported |
| LeMans 4-door station wagon3 LeMans (series 235) · 4-door station wagon (23535) · not stated by source | 7,165 | built, model-year | Reported |
| LeMans Sport 4-door hardtop3 LeMans Sport (series 237) · 4-door hardtop (23739) · not stated by source | 3,657 | built, model-year | Reported |
| LeMans Sport 2-door sport coupe3 LeMans Sport (series 237) · 2-door sport coupe (23727) · not stated by source | 1,673 | built, model-year | Reported |
| LeMans Sport 4-door station wagon3 LeMans Sport (series 239) · 4-door station wagon (23935) · not stated by source Same figure as the LeMans 4-door hardtop row; one of the two may be a transcription slip. | 3,872 | built, model-year | Reported |
| What was counted | Count | Basis | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| LeMans total3 LeMans · not stated by source | 84,252 | built, model-year | Reported |
| LeMans Sport total3 LeMans Sport · not stated by source | 72,228 | built, model-year | Reported |
| What was counted | Count | Basis | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tempest (base series 233) total3 Tempest (incl. T-37 and GT-37) · not stated by source See the production note on the base Tempest sedan and sport coupe figures. | 47,805 | built, model-year | Reported |
The Tempest, LeMans and LeMans Sport totals are separately scoped lines. The GT-37 has no separate count in the inspected source.
In the Over-Drive 1970 table the base Tempest 4-door sedan (9,741 at $2,557) and 2-door sport coupe (17,181 at $2,510) repeat the 1969 table's Tempest Base figures exactly, and the LeMans 4-door hardtop and LeMans Sport Safari both show 3,872. These values are shown as printed with notes; no factory source was available to check them.
Prices when new
| Model | Price | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Tempest T-37 hardtop3 | $2,683 | factory price as compiled, 1970 model year |
| Tempest GT-37 hardtop3 | $2,920 | factory price as compiled, 1970 model year |
| Tempest GT-37 coupe3 | $2,907 | factory price as compiled, 1970 model year |
| LeMans Sport convertible3 | $3,182 | factory price as compiled, 1970 model year |
| Tempest 4-door sedan3 | $2,557 | factory price as compiled, 1970 model year |
| Tempest 2-door sport coupe3 | $2,510 | factory price as compiled, 1970 model year |
| Tempest 2-door hardtop3 | $2,750 | factory price as compiled, 1970 model year |
| LeMans 4-door sedan3 | $2,782 | factory price as compiled, 1970 model year |
| LeMans 4-door hardtop3 | $2,921 | factory price as compiled, 1970 model year |
| LeMans 2-door sport coupe3 | $2,735 | factory price as compiled, 1970 model year |
| LeMans 2-door hardtop3 | $2,795 | factory price as compiled, 1970 model year |
| LeMans station wagon3 | $3,092 | factory price as compiled, 1970 model year |
| LeMans Sport 4-door hardtop3 | $3,083 | factory price as compiled, 1970 model year |
| LeMans Sport 2-door sport coupe3 | $2,891 | factory price as compiled, 1970 model year |
| LeMans Sport 2-door hardtop3 | $2,953 | factory price as compiled, 1970 model year |
| LeMans Sport station wagon3 | $3,328 | factory price as compiled, 1970 model year |
Prices are the nominal dollars of the day, not adjusted for inflation.
Engines
| Engine | Factory rating | Availability | Built |
|---|---|---|---|
| 400 4-bbl2 400 cu in · Rochester four-barrel | 330 hp @ 4,800, 445 lb-ft @ 2,900 (SAE gross) | Tempest, LeMans, LeMans Sport; automatic only | Not yet sourced |
| 400 2-bbl2 400 cu in · Rochester two-barrel | 265 hp @ 4,600, 397 lb-ft @ 2,400 (SAE gross) | Tempest, LeMans, LeMans Sport | Not yet sourced |
| 250 I-6 (standard)2 250 cu in · 1-barrel, 8.5:1 | 155 hp @ 4,200, 235 lb-ft @ 1,600 (SAE gross (period advertised rating)) | standard in Tempest and LeMans | Not yet sourced |
| 350 V8 2-bbl, regular fuel2 350 cu in · 2-barrel, 8.8:1 | 255 hp @ 4,600, 355 lb-ft @ 2,800 (SAE gross (period advertised rating)) | optional, $111 | Not yet sourced |
Ratings are the manufacturer's advertised figures under the standard shown (SAE gross before 1972, SAE net after). They are not dyno results, and gross and net ratings can't be compared directly.
Transmissions
| Transmission | Availability | Built |
|---|---|---|
| Three-speed manual (I-6 2.85/1.68/1.00; 350 2.54/1.50/1.00; 400 2.42/1.61/1.00)2 | standard; heavy-duty floor shift $84 | Not yet sourced |
| Two-speed automatic (1.76/1.00)2 | optional with six, $164-174 | Not yet sourced |
| Turbo Hydra-Matic 350 (2.52/1.52/1.00)2 | optional on V-8s, $227 | Not yet sourced |
| Turbo Hydra-Matic 400 (2.48/1.48/1.00)2 | optional with 400 V-8, $227 | Not yet sourced |
Options and packages
| Code | Option | Price | Installed |
|---|---|---|---|
|
330 hp 400 4-bbl2 | $210 | Not yet sourced |
|
Four-speed manual, wide ratio2 | $185 | Not yet sourced |
|
Rally II wheels2 | $63 | Not yet sourced |
|
Two-speed automatic (six-cylinder cars)2 | $164 | Not yet sourced |
|
Turbo Hydra-Matic 350 (V-8s)2 | $227 | Not yet sourced |
|
Turbo Hydra-Matic 400 (Tempests with 400 V-8)2 | $227 | Not yet sourced |
|
Three-speed manual, heavy-duty, floor shift2 | $84 | Not yet sourced |
|
255 hp 350 V-8, regular fuel2 | $111 | Not yet sourced |
|
265 hp 400 two-barrel V-8, regular fuel2 | $53 | Not yet sourced |
|
Dual exhausts, where optional2 | $31 | Not yet sourced |
|
Safe-T-Track differential2 | $42 | Not yet sourced |
|
Adjustable front and rear shocks2 | $42 | Not yet sourced |
|
Air conditioning2 | $376 | Not yet sourced |
|
Arctic wiper blades2 | $6 | Not yet sourced |
|
Automatic level control2 | $79 | Not yet sourced |
|
Auxiliary panel gauges2 | $21 | Not yet sourced |
|
Recessed wipers, base Tempest2 | $19 | Not yet sourced |
|
Carpets2 | $19 | Not yet sourced |
|
Console2 | $56 | Not yet sourced |
|
Cordova top2 | $100 | Not yet sourced |
|
Cruise control2 | $63 | Not yet sourced |
|
Custom Sport steering wheel2 | $34 | Not yet sourced |
|
Dual horns2 | $4 | Not yet sourced |
|
Front disc brakes2 | $63 | Not yet sourced |
|
Full floor carpeting2 | $53 | Not yet sourced |
|
Rally gage cluster with tachometer2 | $84 | Not yet sourced |
|
Rally gage cluster2 | $51 | Not yet sourced |
|
Heavy-duty aluminum front brake drums2 | $72 | Not yet sourced |
|
Instant air heater2 | $16 | Not yet sourced |
|
Left-hand remote control outside mirror2 | $11 | Not yet sourced |
|
Passenger-side reclining bucket seat2 | $84 | Not yet sourced |
|
Power brakes2 | $42 | Not yet sourced |
|
Power disc front brakes2 | $64 | Not yet sourced |
|
Power door locks2 | $45 | Not yet sourced |
|
Power rear antenna2 | $32 | Not yet sourced |
|
Power seat, four-way, driver side2 | $70 | Not yet sourced |
|
Power steering2 | $69 | Not yet sourced |
|
Radio, AM/FM2 | $134 | Not yet sourced |
|
Radio, AM/FM stereo2 | $239 | Not yet sourced |
|
Rally I wheels2 | $40 | Not yet sourced |
|
Rear window defroster2 | $53 | Not yet sourced |
|
Remote control deck lid2 | $15 | Not yet sourced |
|
Safeguard speedometer2 | $16 | Not yet sourced |
|
Super-Lift shocks2 | $42 | Not yet sourced |
|
Tilt wheel with power steering2 | $45 | Not yet sourced |
|
Tinted windows2 | $35 | Not yet sourced |
|
Tinted windshield2 | $26 | Not yet sourced |
|
Wheel-house moldings2 | $16 | Not yet sourced |
|
Wire wheel discs2 | $53 | Not yet sourced |
Paint
| Code | Color | Built |
|---|---|---|
14 |
Palladium Silver2 | Not yet sourced |
19 |
Starlight Black2 | Not yet sourced |
25 |
Bermuda Blue2 | Not yet sourced |
28 |
Atoll Blue2 | Not yet sourced |
34 |
Mint Turquoise2 | Not yet sourced |
45 |
Palisade Green2 | Not yet sourced |
47 |
Verdoro Green2 | Not yet sourced |
48 |
Pepper Green2 | Not yet sourced |
50 |
Sierra Yellow2 | Not yet sourced |
55 |
Baja Gold2 | Not yet sourced |
58 |
Granada Gold2 | Not yet sourced |
60 |
Orbit Orange2 | Not yet sourced |
63 |
Palomino Copper2 | Not yet sourced |
75 |
Cardinal Red2 | Not yet sourced |
78 |
Burgundy2 | Not yet sourced |
Color names are the factory's. We don't show color swatches, because a screen color is no guide for a restoration.
Specifications
| Measure | Value | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Wheelbase, two-door3 | 112 in | Tempest, T-37, GT-37, LeMans two-doors |
| Shipping weight, GT-37 hardtop3 | 3,360 lb | GT-37 hardtop |
| Overall length, 2-door2 | 202.5 in | Tempest/LeMans 2-door (4-door 206.5) |
| Overall width2 | 76.7 in | 1970 mid-size line |
| Track, front / rear2 | 61 / 60 in | 1970 mid-size line |
| Tires2 | LeMans: F78 x 14 (six), G78 x 14 (V-8), on 14 x 6JJ | LeMans |
Identification
Read a 1970 Pontiac VIN
The VIN decoder runs in your browser and never sends the VIN anywhere. How the factory numbered this year's cars:
Same model year
Also in 1970
- AMC AMX The last two-seat AMX: a restyled nose, a 360 base V8 and a 325-hp 390. At 4,116 cars it was the rarest of the three two-seat years.
- AMC Javelin Penske and Donohue brought the Javelin to Trans-Am, and the showroom answered with 2,501 Mark Donohue Javelins and 100 red-white-blue Trans Am Javelins, while total production fell to 28,210.
- AMC Rebel and Rebel Machine AMC's intermediate supercar: a 340-hp 390, four-speed and Hurst shifter in the Rebel hardtop, first in white with red-white-blue stripes. Totals reported for the one-year run range from about 1,200 to 2,326.
- Buick Riviera The 455 (370 hp gross) arrived with a restyle; production fell to about 37,300 with some 3,505 GS cars.
- Buick Skylark Gran Sport, GS and GSX Buick's GS went to a 455 rated at 510 lb-ft, the Stage 1 option added 10 advertised hp, and a mid-year GSX package was built 678 times in two colors.
- Buick Wildcat The final Wildcat, Custom trim only, with the 370-hp 455; 23,645 built.
- Chevrolet Chevelle and Malibu SS The year the Chevelle Super Sport split into RPO Z25 SS 396 and RPO Z15 SS 454, with the LS6 454 rated at 450 gross horsepower.
- Chevrolet Chevy II and Nova Last year the source engine table lists the big-block (as 402) in the Nova. Enthusiast-compiled production: 307,280 cars; Super Sport 19,558.
- Chevrolet El Camino SS The Malibu/Custom El Camino could carry either RPO Z25 SS 396 or RPO Z15 SS 454, including the 450 hp LS6; the El Camino share is not separately published.
- Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS The first Monte Carlo, with the SS 454 as RPO Z20: 3,823 of 145,976 Monte Carlos per Chevrolet-report-derived tables.
- Dodge Challenger Dodge's first pony car arrived as a 1970 model with nine advertised engines, base, SE, R/T, and R/T SE hardtops, two convertibles, and a one-year Trans-Am homologation special, the T/A.
- Dodge Charger The last year of the second-generation body: a new full-width grille, three series (Charger, 500, R/T), the 440 Six Pack added to the R/T, and production roughly half of 1969's.
- Dodge Coronet R/T and Super Bee The final Coronet-based R/T and Super Bee: the R/T fell to 2,615 cars, while the Super Bee added a 3-speed manual and kept its Six Pack and Hemi options.
- Dodge Dart GTS, Swinger and Demon With the GTS gone, the Swinger 340 was the only performance Dart; it kept front discs, Rallye suspension and a twin-scoop hood and sold about 13,800 beside the new Challenger.
- Ford Fairlane The last Fairlane year: the name survived only on the Fairlane 500 beneath the new Torino, with a mid-year Falcon sharing the body at the bottom of the range.
- Ford Maverick Grabber The Grabber appearance and tire package arrived in mid-1970 on the new two-door Maverick; no Grabber count for 1970 was found.
- Ford Ranchero GT The Torino-based Ranchero GT could take the 429 Cobra Jet and Super Cobra Jet; reference counts give 3,905 GTs, while Barn Finds rounds the GT figure to about 3,600 of 21,640 Rancheros.
- Ford Thunderbird The 429 at 360 hp was the standard and only engine listed in the 1970 catalog.
- Ford Torino A new, longer body on a 117-inch wheelbase; the Torino Cobra became its own model with the 429, offered in 360, 370 (Cobra Jet) and 375 (Super Cobra Jet) horsepower forms.
- Mercury Comet and Cyclone A new, longer Montego-based Cyclone in three versions: the 429 Cyclone, the small-block Cyclone GT that outsold both others, and the Ram Air 429 Cobra Jet Cyclone Spoiler.
- Mercury Cougar The last first-generation Cougar moved to the 351 Cleveland, kept the Boss 302 as an Eliminator-only engine, and built 2,268 Eliminators.
- Mercury Marauder and S-55 The second and last year of the 1969-70 Marauder: production fell to about a third of 1969's, with the X-100 near half of it.
- Oldsmobile Cutlass, 4-4-2 and Hurst/Olds The 4-4-2 got a standard 455 rated at 365 hp, the W-30 went to 370 hp, and the small-block W-31 moved to the Cutlass and F-85 coupes.
- Plymouth Barracuda and 'Cuda The E-body redesign split the line into Barracuda, Gran Coupe, and 'Cuda hardtops and convertibles, put every Chrysler performance engine through the 426 Hemi on the order form, and added the one-year AAR 'Cuda for Trans-Am homologation.
- Plymouth Duster 340 and 360 Plymouth's new Valiant-based fastback coupe arrived with a 275 hp 340 performance model priced at $2,547; the Standard Catalog lineage counts 24,817 Duster 340s among 217,192 Dusters.
- Plymouth GTX, Belvedere and Satellite Now hardtop-only, the GTX fell to 7,748 cars while its 440 Six Barrel option cost just $119.
- Plymouth Road Runner Production halved from 1969, the 440 Six Barrel became a regular option, and the winged Superbird was built as a Road Runner hardtop to put Plymouth back on NASCAR superspeedways.
- Pontiac Firebird and Trans Am A late-arriving, coupe-only second generation: 48,739 Firebirds, 3,196 of them Trans Ams, and 88 Ram Air IVs.
- Pontiac GTO A new Endura nose, a 455 added beside the three 400s, and GTO production falling to 40,149.
- Pontiac Grand Prix The SJ took a 370 hp 455, Hurst built the SSJ, and production fell to 65,750.