Projects 409 Chevy II Station Wagon

Nice work, I can see this isn't your first rodeo.

 

Crazy about this build! Fact is, the engine/car combo was possible back then, but some 'pitfalls' (such as the shock tower surgery, and engine mount height) back then made it unfeasible?

Really cool when a guy steps up and says, "Look at this...Unusual, huh?"
Redlined the cool meter.

 

Cool car, probably a bit rare being an original V8 wagon. I do have a thing for white '65 Novas.

 

Love the headers!

 

I remember well when the 396 425 horse engine became available in early '65. To the Chevy fans it was our hope it would be much more powerful than the Z-11 engine. But in the beginning it wasn't and that is why most of the A/FX Chevys were still W powered throughout the '65 season. '66 was the year when aftermarket parts became available for the new 427 to make them more powerful than the Z-11.

 

Pulled the 348 and the headers to finish weld them and start patching the shock towers. Also a few pics of my finished crank.

 

Well those are some pretty serious collectors.

Nothing in the world wrong with having someone else finish weld your headers by the way. Knowing your limitations and rising to the occasion is very respectable.

This little wagon is going to be sweet.

 

I like giving work out to keep other people busy. It lets me get other things done too.

 

FWIW, I was there in '65. The mid-year introduction of the 396" was written up in magazines and a few pro drag racers got them, but not Joe Sexpistol. If one went to a Chevy dealer, made a cash deposit, he could get on a several months long waiting list. I knew guys who ordered a '65 Corvette or Chevelle with the 396" (and/or the '66 Chevy II with the 350hp 327") and it was never built. Most ended up settling for a '66 325hp Chevelle. GM dealers really didn't like to sell the highest horsepower models because they knew the cars would be raced and knew they'd blow up.

Tom Gloor Chevrolet in Bessemer, AL sold the first two 396" 425hp Corvettes, roadsters with outside pipes, one red and one British racing green, and had to replace the engines about every two months. The valve springs just weren't ready for prime time. The smaller dealers heard about the problems and just refused to place orders for the 396"/425hp.

The 396" and the later 427" was again not available to average Joe until the late '60s. Bottom line, a '65 deuce wagon with a 409" would be very much period correct and would have been some hot shit in the day.

jack vines

 

Cool project, I'm (slowly) dropping a 348 in my 40. Headers look great, are they equal length? How did you decide where to route them, or was the lack of room the decision maker? I ask as fenderwell headers is on the list for my 40.

 

Agreed. Good for the economy good for us too.

I was going to beat my louvers out by hand but someone offered to do them for me so that will free up a couple of weeks worth of man hours and shoulders for me.

 

I've only sent a few things out on the Ford so far. Rear axle bearings being pressed on ($100 labor... got a soaking there..) by Napa, windshield installation (at my house) and setting the side glass in the channels. Oh and of course having the short block machined & assembled. That would be 6-8 weeks of my time.

 

They are as equal length as I could get them. I was definitely constrained by the stock front clip and fenderwell was the only way to go. I didn't want to run a gasser style front end so that made life a little harder. I plan to connect them to a stock exhaust and then run caps on the collectors that will be removed as needed

 

Man that's way cool!

 

Packard
Chevy skipped 66 for high hp small blocks in Chevelles, but the 67 Chevelle did get the 325 hp l79 engine, ol buddy from high school has one, a restored Tahoe Turquoise Malihu 2 dr. ht.

 

It looks like you are using the stock front suspension. If so what are you doing about the oil pan? I looked over the whole thread and if its already mentioned I missed it.

 

Forgot to post pics! Sorry... It's a stock pan that was extended for racing and I am making it work with the stock drag link.

 

Bought my avatar 425hp 396 in '65. The crate is leaning against the fence. It had a defective compression ring (too thin). Speed parts were almost impossible to get. Waited months for the injection and the cam. Never did get the pistons and rods. A local kids sugar daddy bought him a '65 SS 396 Chevell for $$$ over sticker.
Norm

 

Very cool build. Lookin' forward to more.

Ryan.

 

Fuelaltered, what is the car in your avatar?....looks like a fastback early to mid sixties Chevy 2.....and I never saw one before...

 

It's one of the fastback chevy 2s built by Bill Thomas race cars. They were originally intended for trans am but the sanctioning body didn't let them run so the the drag racers picked them up and put big blocks and straight axles under them. They were initially powered by z11 427 w style engines and later by the mk IV 396/427. The fastback was all done in fiberglass and grafted to the nova body.

 

Off topic but I saw a 454 in a vega wagon once where they made it look like a stock original car.
Pretty cool I thought.

 

What a cool idea!I was wondering what you were going to do for exhaust.I put one of those engines in a 64 Chevelle 300 long ago and that was the worst headache I had.I reckon you are going to run subframe connectors or some other form of reinforcement?

 

Speaking of "not by the book" about 1970 my cousin bought a '66 SS396 Chevelle and dropped a 425 hp 409 in it. I spent days building the headers. Looked like a pot of spaghetti. The car would definitely run!

 

awesome work, looking forward to more progess pics

 

I was about to say the picture wasn't a run of the mill 425 hp motor.

 

How's it going? Waiting.

Ryan.

 

Back in early 1963 a friend had a 63 hardtop with FI SB in it. Last 2 months and wanted one with an 09 and did what you are doing. We both lived in Wateria ( a section of Torrance to some). I bought his Rochester FI and the oil pan for my 62 post. The bottom section of the pan was cut off and reversed. He had made a new line up to the now front sump the same thing GM did for the 64's. I believe he did the same thing for his 09 but can't remember. He built headers just like yours but hated when they were capped. I love keep us informed..thanx

 

I hope you rework that pan to expand it left and right (for oil volume) in front of the steering arm, and make sure it's not the lowest thing on the car - that's what it looks like now.

 

The pan has been extended deeper than stock so that should compensate for any oil capacity that i have removed by notching. It should still hold 7qts no problem. Unfortunately the pan depth is what it is... I will just have to be extra careful going over speed bumps! Also the car will be nose high as i am installing higher rate big block springs and ball joint spacers. If you look at many front sump Ford drag race pans you can see the sump extending well below the chassis.