The picture above is the only color picture we have (so far) of the original Grocery Getter.  The lower picture is an interesting view of how Arnie traveled to races.  The Grocery Getter was accompanied by the "Little B's Runabout", one of the Super Duty Lemans coupes.  Arnie ran both cars and on occasion, after eliminating all the competition, the final round featured both cars, with a substitute driver in one of them.

The original Grocery Getter was one of six Pontiac factory-built drag-race-only Tempest station wagons.  Pontiac was serious about going after the other guys factory lightweights that had a weight advantage over the Super Duty Catalinas.  The wagons (and their companion coupes) came equipped with 421 Super Duty engines, aluminum front sheetmetal, aluminum bumpers and a unique  clutch-operated 4-speed transaxle.  This transaxle arrangement placed more weight over the rear tires and allowed clutchless shifting, much like the modern Lenco transmission.  The small housing limited the ring gear to a small diameter 3.90 ratio that had to be replaced frequently.

The Super Duty Tempests were built over the Christmas holiday of 1962 and delivered just prior to the GM corporate racing ban of Jan 23, 1963.  The Grocery Getter was delivered to Arnie "Farmer" Beswick and quickly became the most successful and recognizable of the wagons.  Arnie raced the car through 1965, competing and match racing at tracks across the country.  The Grocery Getter name was inspired during the week-long racing at Daytona, when Arnie, after winning on consecutive nights, was declared by the announcer to have ".....taken home the groceries again".  Perhaps the most interesting story we have been told about Arnie's exploits with the car involve indoor drag racing in Chicago.  The site of this racing was the International Amphitheater; where it is reported that the cars raced the length of the building, exiting through two garage doors and slowing in the parking lot.  The original car passed through several owners after Arnie and is believed to have been destroyed.  Only one of the six original cars (the "Union Park" wagon) has been located.

More detail about the Super Duty Tempest program can be found in Pete McCarthy's book, Pontiac Musclecar Performance.  An interesting article and photos of the restored Union Park wagon can be found in the November/December issue of Pontiac Enthusiast Magazine.

Our team consists of (3) co-owners and our families:

We began our project to re-create the Grocery Getter in 1994.  We had gotten to know Arnie Beswick at the track, and being die-hard Pontiac fans, we were fascinated by this legendary character.  We also had been wanting to build a nostalgia car and discussions soon focused on Arnie's desire to resurrect the Grocery Getter.  After lengthy negotiations and guarantees about how the car would be built, we purchased the rights, took delivery of Arnie's spare body and got started.

Our car hit the track for the first time in 1996 at Norwalk Raceway Park in Ohio.  After a few shakedown runs, we finished the weekend with a naturally-aspirated 9.90 ET at 135 mph.  The next outing was the '96 US Nationals, where we ran a series of exhibition runs culminating in a nitrous-assisted 8.90 ET.  That still remains as one our high points:  our first 8-second run in front of the standing-room-only Monday crowd at the US Nationals!

We raced Arnie Beswick's "Tameless Tiger" for the first time in 1997.  Compared to our high 8-second capability, the Tiger was only a blur of orange in the distance.  But for die-hard Pontiac fans like us, racing Arnie for the first time was a special honor.  We have raced Arnie many times since; and get closer to him each time.  Maybe soon, we'll be door handle-to-door handle at the finish line?

After years of trying, the 2000 season saw us break the 7-second barrier!!  The current record for the Grocery Getter is 7.82 seconds at 175.11 mph.

2001 started on a low note for the team, with the death of our valued partner and  friend, Wayne Martin.  Wayne was an indispensable component of the successful re-creation of the Grocery Getter.  Wayne's biggest love was traveling and meeting new people.  His good nature and fun-loving personality made him an instant friend of all who met him.  Attendance at the races in the latter half of 2000 became increasingly difficult, but Wayne insisted on supporting the team frequently.  He was able to participate at our last appearance in 2000, where he was a part of our record-breaking 7.82 sec. run.  Although we sorely miss Wayne's valuable contributions and colorful personality, we are thrilled to report that Wayne's wife, Judy, is continuing to participate and travel with the team.

2002 was a learning year.  We managed to find the right combination of tuneup, gear and suspension adjustment that would allow us to run in the sevens on virtually any track, anytime.

2003 is shaping up as a really significant year.  The first high point was the Arnie Beswick 50th Anniversary race at Union Grove.  This marked the largest collection of Beswick cars in one place, ever.  Things took a turn for the worse in early August, when Arnie was involved in a life-threatening car fire at Wentzville, MO.  Thanks to the quick work of Mike Vehige and the track crew, Arnie survived the fire, was airlifted to a top-rated burns hospital and is making an excellent recovery.  The next high point came at Cordova's 50th World Series of Drag Racing.  Arnie was supposed to race "Animal Jim" Fuerer, so the Grocery Getter and crew was asked to fill in against the typically much faster 700-inch Ford hemi powered Zephyr.  Against all odds, we won both rounds;  the first when AJ red-lighted and had traction problems, the second on a terrific holeshot.  "Animal" had said he planned for that to be his last race, but I suspect he'll want a re-match before hanging up his helmet.