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Old 02-10-2009, 04:57 PM   #1
ss wannabee
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Default 1961 Chevy 409 info wanted:

Trying to figure out for my buddy and can't seem to find info....... 1. Was the 409 engine introduced initially or sometime during the model year? Any idea of what month?


2. Wasn't the 409hp (2x4bbl) engine available in the 1961 year, perhaps late? I'm talking about ordering a car with the engine not buying it at the parts counter. Most Internet sites I've searched list 360hp (1x4bbl) only. I recall a NHRA legal 1961 Impala hardtop racing in D/S during the '71 season with the 409hp engine and as many here will recall, rules were a bit tighter and cars HAD to exist then....NOT like today! Maybe 409hp was over the parts counter (at the time), and ALLOWED by NHRA in Stock? I know that 409hp was production in 1962.


3. If 409hp came in production late (1961), any idea how many 409hp cars built? Also, anybody know how many 1961 Super Sport 409 cars built? Total 1961 SS production was 453....many were 348 but?? Also, appears to be only 142 cars built with the 409 engine that year......in various body styles....pretty rare indeed!
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Old 02-10-2009, 07:15 PM   #2
Dick Kirkpatrick
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Default Re: 1961 Chevy 409 info wanted:

I tried to order a 409 chev in February of 61
The engine was available only in the SS model, 360 HP only
They were all gone when I was ordering.
I got a 350 HP 348 instead

You could not order a 409/409 from the factory in 1961
By early summer, GM had released the dual quad set up over the counter only.
Guys like Nicholson got them but could not run in SS or AS
A new class was introduced for special equipment cars from the big three
It was called "X" Stock, if I remember correctly.
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Old 02-10-2009, 08:35 PM   #3
Chuck Norton
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Default Re: 1961 Chevy 409 info wanted:

I recall that Nicholson had a class designation something like OSS (Optional Super Stock) on his car out here in the fall of 1961.

c
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Old 02-10-2009, 08:47 PM   #4
Dick Kirkpatrick
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Default Re: 1961 Chevy 409 info wanted:

I stand corrected, OSS is what it was.
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Old 02-10-2009, 09:00 PM   #5
Greg Reimer 7376
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Cool Re: 1961 Chevy 409 info wanted:

Hi.Best of my knowledge and from my collection of facts re:W motors, for some reason,NHRA accepted the '62 409 heads and intakes on the '61 cars. Only around 540 '61 Chevys came with 360 horse 409's,this being all models included in the tally.The 360 horse engine was somewhat different in that all 8 pistons were identical,having a machined relief across the whole top where the intake valves wouldn't hit.This engine had small port heads with 3/8" dia. pushrods. I don't offhand have the casting numbers of the heads, and the intake was the same as the hi-po 348 aluminum high rise with a rather large AFB on it.It had a mechanical lifter camshaft with quite a bit of duration,but about .440" lift.The '62 409 had large port heads,casting number 3830690,the dual four barrel intake ended in part number 881,the front carb was #3361 with no idle mixture screws.The rear carb was #3362 and all idle speed and mixture adjustments were carried out on it. Quite a few of these engines had the Delco 1110919 dual point distributor with the dual window distributor cap.The '62-'65 hi-po pistons were all forged and had both right hand and left hand valve reliefs for the intake valve. The '61 heads had 2.08" intakes,1.72" exhausts.The later heads had 2.19"dia.intakes and 1.72" exhausts as well. The 409 horse top end was available as a "service package" mid year in '61,probably that secured it's legality. Interestingly enough,the two piece intake and the hi-po Z-11 heads were available mid year '62 as "service package" updates for the 409 in the 62 Chevies.I understood there was a huge performance increase with these-I never had any to try out for sure. Edelbrock has reproduced the 409 cylinder head and the dual four barrel intake,but it's not exactly like the original. In fact,it looks better. Someone needs to give it a try and report back. Let us know how this progresses.
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Old 02-10-2009, 09:38 PM   #6
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Cool Re: 1961 Chevy 409 info wanted:

Correction to last post- only 142 '61 360 horse 409's were produced in Impala SS's. Also the '62 409 came from the factory with a better cam with OEM part number ending with 930. The later engines and the '63 engines had camshaft part# 3830690. It had around .511" lift and quite a bit of duration. The only difference between a '62 409 horse and a '63 425 horse engine were the exhaust manifolds, the chrome valve covers, and the chrome air cleaner and dip stick handle. Also, the single four barrel 380 horse engine was identical to the 409 horse except for the intake and carb.Heads,cam,etc.were the exact same. Wouldn't it be great to see a few of these come back?
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Old 02-11-2009, 10:02 AM   #7
ss wannabee
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Default Re: 1961 Chevy 409 info wanted:

Wow, thanks guys! Dick, did you order a Super Sport and could you tell me a little about the car? Did you ever take it to the track? Greg, thanks for your info as well. Weren't you the president of the National 409 club a few years ago? I was a member of the Midwest 409 club back in the early '80's. Didn't have the car, but always wanted one! Now, it's too late.............
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Old 02-12-2009, 10:49 PM   #8
Greg Reimer 7376
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Cool Re: 1961 Chevy 409 info wanted:

Many,many moons ago,I met somebody(about 1974 or 1975) that had bought a robin's egg blue '65 impala SS,409 400 horse engine,white interior,4 speed and all. He had it about a year, went cruising New Year's Eve on Colorado Blvd,burning up three full tanks of gas in the process, and e traded it in in early 1968 for a new 327 powered '68 impala. In the early summer of 1975,i worked in a gas station,and a blue 65 impala SS came in with a guy and his family on his way to Disneyland.He asked me to put in a quart of Pennzoil for him,which I did, and here was a 400 horse 409,high rise,AFB,chrome air cleaner and all. This car was very original,(stock as a rock),and had the original 4 speed with the curved chrome handle and knob with the T handle for reverse,and it was pretty much just a driver to him. Years later,long after I lost touch with all these persons,i found out that total '65 chevy 409 production was 2826-only 742 400 horse 409's were built. What were the odds that this was the same car?Probably pretty good.How many robin's egg blue with white interior 4 speed impala SS cars were built?Probably almost none.I'll never know. I wish when I worked at gas stations then that I could have rescued a LOT of cars back then We even had an occasional gas customer with a white with blue accents '69 Trans Am Firebird. Those were some happy hunting grounds back then,the first gas crisis of '73-74 put a lot of that stuff for sale CHEAP. More 409 stuff later.
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Old 02-12-2009, 09:38 PM   #9
Greg Reimer 7376
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Cool Re: 1961 Chevy 409 info wanted:

Hi. I found some part numbers. The '61 360 horse 409 aluminum intake is part number 3797776.The cylinder head is part number 3795586. Good luck finding this stuff. Somebody about six months or a year ago released reproduction Z-11 heads in aluminum. They were around $6000 a pair,however.I'll work on this source and see what I can find.
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