she always turns in the fastest times. Trans is the correct Borg Warner T-10 with the correct shifter. Like most Chevy blocks, the stamping pad is located on the front passenger-side of the engine. On the 409 version, the valve sizes were eventually opened up to 2.20 and 1.72 inches. On the 348, the oil dipstick is on the left (driver) side of the engine, while on the 409 the dipstick is on the right (passenger) side. Ever a perfectionist, Bill had Nostalgic Auto Body in Island Lake, Illinois, buff the paint to its present magnificence. For one thing, the Z11 was intended for drag racing, while the Mystery 427 was built mainly for NASCAR. What the 1958 348 engine offered was a broad torque band that made manual transmission cars accelerate very well from 2,000 to 5,000 rpm. During class racing on Saturday, Dave Strickler in the Bill Jenkinstuned "Old Reliable" 409 Chevy beat Nicholson, but would later fall to Hayden Proffitt's Pontiac in the SS/S finals. Shop Chevy 409 Engine Online. The lower spark advance needs and the need to “short shift” rather than “run it out” tended to “mess with” the sensibilities of normal Chevy racers (who liked the small block for its rev-a-bility traits. . Find Chevy 409 Engine in stock now. Internally, both the bore and stroke were increased, resulting in 360 hp (and later 380) with a single 4-barrel carburetor. As problems go, that's a good one to have. In fact, Warren Johnson used that Z11 design to develop the Pro Stock Big Chief Pontiac head.". . The truck blocks were taller. Running a Schiefer lightweight flywheel made us faster. Mission accomplished, as the W-Series arrived only 2.70 inches wider and 1.78 inches longer than the existing V8. The initial 348 cubic-inch displacement was obtained with a bore of 4.125 in. Chevrolet placed an “X” on the front of the block for the passenger 409 engines and the truck 348 engines, so if your engine has X in this location, it’s a 1962-or-newer model. Aug 16, 2019 - Explore Jake's board "CHEVY 409 BIG BLOCK" on Pinterest. Bore spacing was 4.84 inches from center to center, identical to the Chevy Mark IV V8, better known as the big-block V8, that Chevrolet would introduce some years later (1965). Well, it was that, plus something else - that indefinable quality an engine has when everything in it is designed to match everything else. Find Vintage Car Parts, Accessories, Upgrades, and more. The story I remember reading (in a few different places) was that Chevy had planned to soldier on with their small block V-8, but when Ford came out with the 332 and later 352, Chevy had to “do something”. While unusual, this design was not quite unique. My friends father had a 1963 impala convertible SS with a factory 409 and a powerglide transmission. I met a guy who ran W-motors in his dump trucks, back then. (For scale, Chevrolet produced more than 1.3 million vehicles that year.) Dyno Don Nicholson (underhood, looking over his 409) returned to Pomona in 1962 to defend his 1961 Stock Eliminator title. Here’s the lowdown on a nearly forgotten engine.Â. A local gravel hauler bought a ’58 Chevy Spartan 100 with the 348 then in the early 60’s the railroad did a major upgrade requiring a lot of gravel hauled. The flat, chamberless cylinder head deck also provided generous squish and quench area, as shown in the illustration above. The Z11 also used the previously released big-port heads and two-piece intake manifold, and was nominally rated at 430 hp at 6,000 rpm, though it was capable of close to 500 hp. Dubbed "Turbo-Fire," production began in January 1961. See more ideas about chevy, big block, chevy motors. However, both engines played significant roles in the development of the famed Mark IV big-block V8 introduced in 1965—but that’s another story. The packed spectator stands seen in films and photographs from early '60s drag racing events testify to the sport's huge popularity. For serious drag racers, Chevrolet also offered a package of very special 409 pieces in 1962, including an improved two-piece intake manifold, revised cylinder heads, a trick camshaft, and lightweight aluminum body panels. On the conveyor the motor set in 1996-m to year. Diesels were a ways off for those that still wanted a gas job, and the 348/409 was the hottest gas motor you could get ( I believe) at the time. That “something” was to raid other Chevy engine programs, in this case, the truck group, for a larger displacement engine. In place of a conventional bowl-type chamber in the cylinder head. In 1963, shortly before the GM racing ban was enacted, Chevrolet built a short run of vehicles (some sources say 50 units, others say 57) equipped with a 427 cubic-inch version of the W engine. However, a dual four-barrel aluminum intake manifold was soon made available over the parts counter at Chevrolet dealers for drag racing and other competition use. Evidently, those 453 … It was a big part of our growing up, great fun.". And when you blew the doors off a ford or chrysler in a street race, you were sure to remind the loser that he’d just been beaten by a grabage truck engine. Key thing was to keep the rpms BELOW 4000rpm for best longevity. The connection with drag racing was a lot of fun. Get the best deals on 6.7L/409 Engine Car and Truck Complete Engines when you shop the largest online selection at eBay.com. make and model: chevy in cars+trucks; see in map view. The 409 also saw some truck use, notably in cabover-engine applications. Show Cars Automotive 348 and 409 Performance Engine Kits are made from the highest quality parts from some of the most respected names in the auto parts industry. Several trucks were powered by 409’s. Get the best deals for 409 chevy engine for sale at eBay.com. Brand loyalty ran rampant. Chevrolet needed the 409 to keep up at the drag strips. The 409 V8 is a missing link, if you will, in the history of Chevrolet horsepower. There were no tow rigs back then. Probably earlier-on as the later 409s were better able to do higher rpm levels. Still, the 409 is an unusual and interesting engine. The Chevy 409 V8 was introduced in December of 1960 as the engine of choice for the all new 1961 Impala Super Sport. Of those engines, 8,909 were installed in new cars … The king of the 409 engine family technically isn’t a 409; it’s a 427. The 348 was easy picking. Car is currently on a rotisserie and will need to be picked up with a trailer. While the 348 and the 409 are nearly identical in external appearance to the casual eye, there is one time-honored (but not totally foolproof) way to tell them apart. The engine might be best remembered today as the subject of an old Beach Boys song, oddly enough. The truck origin story on the 348 was widespread back in the day and some folks back then were quick to dis the engine for that reason. Arguably the most popular of the three was the high performance 409, built with drag racing and high torque loads in mind. Truck blocks having higher deck heights on the W-motor, like the later Big Block Truck engines, probably was due to the pistons having FOUR piston rings rather than the THREE which car motors used. Strickler turned the quicker e.t. The remaining 6,110 409 engines were sold at dealerships as crate motors or service replacements. Proudly an … Chevrolet enjoyed a banner year in 1962. As a mid-year, high-performance offering, the 1961 version of the 409 is relatively rare. The small blocks liked 38-40 degrees total advance, but the W-motor only needed about 31 degrees to work best (a more efficient combustion chamber design). larger bore diameter, naturally. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! The dashboard gained a Corvette-type passenger grab bar and the steering column got a 7000-rpm tachometer. Still, the 409 is an unusual and interesting engine. Goals for the new V8 included low manufacturing cost and a compact footprint so it could fit in the same vehicle applications as the small-block. More rings = taller pistons = taller blocks. It included Super Sport trim inside and out, chassis reinforcements, stronger springs and shocks, power brakes with sintered metallic linings, spinner-type wheel covers, and one of Chevy's earliest uses of narrow-band whitewall tires. We had to make guide plates for the pushrods. A 409 cu in (6.7 L) version was Chevrolet's top regular production engine from 1961 to 1965, with a choice of single or 2X4-barrel Rochester carburetors. 348/409 engine specifications including, cubic inches, bore, stroke, horsepower, torque, … May 10, 2014 - 1965 chevy 409 big block came out of a grain truck its not stuck but will probably need a rebuild kit to be on safe side $1500 firm Iv ran the numbers and the dip stick is on the pass side its a 409. call or text 641 278 0261 creston ia Not shown in the picture above is the cowl-induction air-intake housing pioneered by Chevrolet in 1963, although the cowl opening is just visible at far left. Engine block # is 3788068 which is a 1962 409-409 HP. $200. But in Z11 configuration with the raised intake runners, the engine was ideal for race applications. Bill knew that one day he would buy a brand-new 409. Traditional V8 engines utilize a 90-degree deck-to-bore angle, but the deck-to-bore angle on a W engine is a 74-degree angle. Bore x stroke were both up from the 348 cu in (5.7 L) to 4.31 in × 3 1 ⁄ 2 in (109.5 mm × 88.9 mm). During their school years, Carol's brother, Tom, would drive his sister and Bill home from school. I walked up to the engine, took about one second to look at the data pad, and said SOLD!” Yes, it was the original engine and T-10 4-speed transmission, and just 5,159.4 miles were on the odometer. Today, on the basis of this internal combustion engine produced a few units with a volume of from 2.3 to 2.7 L. This set of models 406 and 405. 590014 presented by General Motors in 1958, the design team was attracted to this design because it supported a variety of displacements and compression ratios with a minimum of tooling changes. Three different variations of the W-Series engines existed with the 348, 409, and 427 big block. It would be another year before the 409 engine became readily available. I had to drive my 409 car to work with 4.56 gears and my Atlas Bucron tires. While the Z11 label is sometimes applied to these cars and components, Chevrolet did not release an official Z11 package until the following year. Exhaust cutouts were common until Hedman supplied us with headers. Those memories are a tremendous source of excitement, strength, and motivation. Running in NHRA’s A/Factory Experimental class in the ’63 season, Z11 Impalas ran elapsed times in the high 11-second range at nearly 120 mph. The 409 story actually starts here, with the 348 cubic-inch W-Series V8 (above) introduced for 1958. The standard 348 CID V8 with single four-barrel carburetor was known as the Turbo-Thrust V8 in Chevy marketing lingo, while the performance version with three two-barrel carburetors (more on that fuel system here) was called the Super Turbo-Thrust V8, and it was ultimately rated at 350 hp in its final stage of factory development. We have a great online selection at the lowest prices with Fast & Free shipping on many items! A bargain at just $53.80, the SS \"kit\" was offered on any Impala. Other auto makers like, Pontiac, Buick, Plymouth, were all coming out with bigger engines. Bill explained, "I was looking specifically for a '62 two-door sedan, not a bubbletop. Let’s jump right in for a closer look. I found one in Kansas City, Missouri, from a guy who needed money for his business. What was the magic in this new engine? Dyno Don returned to the finals to face another drag racing legend, Dave Strickler, for an all Chevy 409 Stock Eliminator final. We had a sense of accomplishment when we made improvements to the cars. Apart from the offset valves and flat, chamberless cylinder heads, the W-Series was a fairly conventional General Motors V8, with iron block and head castings and forged steel crankshaft and connecting rods. The RPO 580 380-horsepower 409 cost $320.65, while the RPO 587 409-horsepower 409 cost $376.65. The owner said a 409 engine and transmission was inside! At a Glance1962 Bel Air Two-Door SedanOwned by: Bill and Carol Collopy, Arlington Heights, ILEngine: 409ci/409hp V-8Transmission: BorgWarner T10 4-speed manualRearend: 10-bolt with 4.11 gears and Positraction Interior: Red vinyl bench seatWheels: 15x6 front, 15x8 rear Wheel Vintiques steel with hubcapsTires: 7.75-15 Coker Firestone Deluxe Champion front, 820-15 Coker Firestone Dragster cheater slick rear, Special features: Exhaust cutouts, Hurst shift linkage. An entire generation was captivated by high-performance machinery. Theirs is a virtual twin to Tom's old car. It was the 360hp. Find Chevrolet Impala at the best price. This engine was mainly installed in new and modern domestic cars UAZ and GAZ. In truth, these are two rather different powerplants. Bill and Carol Collopy were high school sweethearts who have now been happily married for 45 years. Chevrolet product planners recognized that domestic passenger cars were rapidly growing in size and weight, topping two tons, and feared that the small but mighty 283 CID V8 would soon be insufficient. You can be assured that the finest quality and workmanship goes into every kit. This is a Must See 1960 Chevy El Camino Super Clean 348CI Dual Quads. Four-Oh-Nine! However, the setup did require a big, heavy piston with a tall compression crown, as we can also see. The heads are 690 with correct data codes. Compliments abound when he cruises this car locally. Displaying 1 - 15 of 16 total results for classic 1962 Chevrolet Impala Vehicles for Sale. While the 348/409 series are often thought to be called W engines because of the shape of the valve covers, the designation actually came from GM engineers. There was a total of 453 Supersports made in 1961. Was it just cubic inches? The 409 enjoyed widespread availability for the first time—and truly got on the map—with the 409-horsepower version introduced for 1962. Unlike the small-block Chevy and other V8s of the period, the W engine’s valves were not aligned in a single row but offset in two planes, which permitted larger valve diameters within the allotted bore spacing. 409 Engine - Classifieds: 409 engine wanted in Canton, 1963 409 Bob Vrbancic motor in Oceanport, 2005 Pcm Zr 409 Inboard in Greenwood, 2013 Super Air Nautique G23 in … According to Bill, it drives down the highway beautifully. Just like later on 427 engines. Earlier Chevy W-engine drag racers acknowledged “short shifting” the W-motors for best performance and longevity, too. and a stroke of 3.25 in. Barnes Automotive in Arlington Heights, Illinois, installed the period-perfect exhaust system with cutouts and Cherry Bomb mufflers. By 1962 Chevrolet had the engine up to an impressive 409 horsepower and then pushed … My first encounters with this type of engine were definitely in the larger trucks. Since brother Tom has already passed on, Bill and Carol's only regret is that they can't have both cars line up for a side-by-side display of 409 hp. Experimental X and Y-Series engines, essentially scaled-up versions of the small-block V8, were tried before the Chevrolet engineering team, led by John Rausch, Howard H. Kehrl, and Donald H. McPherson, determined that an all-new engine was the preferred course. According to SAE paper 590014 (1958) the W engine was designed primarily for passenger cars with Powerglide and Turboglide automatic transmissions. Show Cars Automotive offers top quality name brands at wholesale prices. from its burbling throb at idle to it high-rpm scream, Chevy's 409 cubic-inch V-8 was a sensation. Finally, 50 years after seeing Tom's 409 Bel Air perform smoky burnouts in front of his house, he and his wife Carol found the right "brand-new" freshly restored '62 409 Bel Air. The LQ motors in trucks vs the LS motors in cars. This car is a rust free car with all the original panels, floors and trunk pan. The engine had a single Carter four-barrel carburetor that supplied enough fuel-air mixture to generate up to 360 horsepower. Did the shared experience of the unruly display of 409 hp fuel the young couple's love for one another? Performance parts were not as readily available as today. Dyno Don Nicholson introduced the Chevrolet 409 to the world by winning the first NHRA Winternationals in 1961. It was put into production by GM because of the performance ground that had been lost due to the new highly successful Ford 390 that had been gaining respect at the local race tracks the same year. Through its five-year production life (1961-1965) the 409 was offered not only in high-performance versions with high compression and multiple carburetion, but also in single-carb tune for regular highway use. But the car reminds them of good times with Tom. Since it shares the same bore, stroke, and displacement, the Z11 is often confused with another Chevy racing engine of 1963, the famed Mystery engine (read the Mac’s Motor City Garage feature here). ", Lamar Walden is considered Mr. 409 among the faithful who continue to restore, show, and race 409 cars today. The 409 was an extension of the 348, and there are few visual differences between the two, such as the location of the dipstick (the 348 has it on the left, the 409 on the right). Having one's favorite OE manufacturer supply a new, more powerful engine was akin to an NBA team signing a number-one draft pick. On the original 348 V8, the valve diameters were a modest 1.94 inches and 1.65 inches for the intake and exhaust, respectively. The lightweight, skirtless cylinder case and stamped, ball-mounted rocker arms (which enabled the staggered valve layout by eliminating the need for a rocker shaft) were familiar features borrowed from the small-block Chevy V8. In the late 50s and early 60s, we referred to 348s as ‘garbage truck engines,’ not to insinuate that the Wblock was trash, but because it could be found powering many GM produced garbage trucks. Your information will be collected and used in accordance with our  Privacy Policy. © 2021 Hot Rod | MOTOR TREND GROUP, LLC. That is, 409 cubic inches, 409 horsepower, one horsepower per cubic inch. One EARLY issue with the 348s was that they didn’t respond to the typical “more ignition timing” as did the small blocks. Just like it is now. I have an intake manifold 3 -two barrel Rochester carbs with progressive linkage…originally came on ’58 – 348 engine…called tripower on Pontiacs.. Don’t know what they were called in Chevrolets…this manifold would bolt onto the 409 but …409 had small water jackets to keep the original manifold cool..I installed this 3-2 manifold on 409 and blocked off water ports with lead fish sinkers….