Another post made me think of this, and now I'm curious.
Has anyone here ever put a 409 in a Chevelle?

I've seen original Impala's and Bel Air's that came with them, and that's one sweet engine. I spent a while at a show talking to a fellow with a 64 Impala with the original 409.
He talked about dusting 5.0's in that land yacht of his. How much fun would that be...

Any pros, cons, remarks on 409s? I havn't seen a single post about them here, and was wondering if it would be a good engine for a chevelle?

That question came up in either car craft or hot rod a few months ago, they talked about the ins and outs of building the W motors 348 and 409/ and the rare 427. Those motors are now scarce and expensive but can make some power. If you can get a motor cheap it would be nice, otherwise A nice 396 or 454 will be cheaper and make more power/buck than a 409.

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Im probably the only one here that has done it but I have a 1963 400hp 409 in my 66 Chevelle SS.

There's a few obsticles to overcome.

Check out my website for more info.




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Bob

Bob's 409 Chevy Page

http://silverstone.fortunecity.com/tvr/246/bob_s_409_chevy_page_index.html

I would love to own a 409 car. But I would want it to be a car that originally came with a W motor. The old W motors take A LOT of work and money to match a MK IV BB (the heads WILL NOT breath). They were not ever designed to fit a chevelle chasis and a MK IV was. For nostalga, a 409, for power/buck, a MK IV BB.
If I ever come across the right 61 or 63, I'm going to build a 482 W motor for it (.060 over 409 with a 454 crank with the mains turned down, fairly expensive).

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Bob, checked out your site, the 409 is looking really good. That's quite a unique ride.

From what I'm hearing, though, If one was set on that 'genre' of big block, it might be better to go with a 427 for a Chevelle?

I'm just dreaming and salivating here...

Am I right in saying that the 427-409 type engine 'behaves' more like a small block, though you get BB power? From what I understand, they are tighter wound, higher-strung engines than a grunt-n-pull 454 or 396. Perhaps that would make them more attractive for say mountain road carving vs. flat out dragging? Not that a Chevelle will do much carving without extensive suspension mods, but assuming you had a fortune to spend on it... (which I don't http://www.chevelles.com/forum/smile.gif

like I said, just dreaming and salivating...

Are 409's and 427's big or small blocks?
One more Question: What is a W motor?

Thanks

The W motors were made from 58 - 64 and they are the missing link of Chevy Motors. Bob's website has tons of info on these motors. If you look at the heads you know why they are W motors. They are loosely based on a small block, originally designed for trucks??
They rev more like a small block since they have a short stroke large bore setup. Good luck finding a 427 W since they were a rare HP option for Z-11 Impalas only. Another weird fact is that these motors have something like 9cc heads and most of the Combustion chamber is in the block from deck hight etc.
Frank

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