| At the dawn of the 1960's, Kennedy, the new | | | | compete against the Ford 390 Interceptor from |
| President-elect, spoke of a "new frontier." He was | | | | 1960. The crankshaft was forged, as were the |
| talking of new age of post-war prosperity and | | | | aluminum pistons. A performance solid-lifter cam, |
| specifically, America's quest for reaching the Moon. | | | | raised compression to 11.25:1 and used a Carter AFB |
| For the big three, the new frontier was one of | | | | carburetor on an aluminum manifold. It made 360 |
| technical and marketing innovations. Combining the | | | | horsepower @ 5800 rpm and torque was a |
| two became an essential element in the rapidly | | | | legendary 409 lbs.-ft @ 3600 rpm. A real brute of a |
| maturing market. | | | | motor. |
| Marketing scored with the invention of | | | | The cylinder heads were different from the 348's |
| youth-oriented cars such as the Mustang and | | | | and used stiffer springs and heavy-duty pushrods. |
| Barracuda. The engineers scored with thin wall casting | | | | Nineteen sixty-one SS Impalas were scarce with only |
| and improved reciprocating assemblies from the | | | | 453 made. As for an SS 409, you'd have better luck |
| rotating valve lifter to the use of Teflon buttons in | | | | meeting Elvis because only 142 made it. The |
| pistons to prevent scuffing. When good engineering | | | | transmissions were either Powerglide, Warner T-10 or |
| and marketing combine, the effect is shattering. The | | | | the three-speed standard |
| Impala SS of the 1960's was an excellent example. | | | | Nineteen sixty-two brought the SS Impala package |
| The Impala had become the top model in '59, | | | | onboard and the 409 was more obtainable. Those |
| replacing Bel-Air's position. In '58, Impala was a top of | | | | eager beavers that placed orders for early 62's must |
| the line Bel-Air. Over the years, it had grown in | | | | have been annoyed when Chevy announced a |
| wheelbase from 115 inches to 119 inches. The far out | | | | dual-quad 409. At least the four-barrel engine had |
| styling was immediately toned down for 1960. A new | | | | been improved with power up to 380 horses. The |
| package had been developed in 1961 to help secure | | | | dual-quad engine put out 409 horses @ 6000 rpm. A |
| Chevy's sales' dominance in the full-size arena. It was | | | | hair more than 15,000 units sold that year. As the |
| called the Super Sport, or SS, for short. | | | | drag-strip wars heated up, Chevy brought out special |
| It was a complete deal, comprising of exterior | | | | aluminum front end Impalas. But there was no official |
| badges against the Impala crest on the quarter | | | | racing going on, just some "off-road" and "fleet |
| panels, bucket seats, floor shift trim plate, a steering | | | | service" parts being sold over the counter. |
| mounted tachometer, a passenger dash grab handle, | | | | Nineteen sixty-three brought a facelift to the grille |
| special trim and a modified LPO 111 suspension | | | | and side panels with two chrome blocks on the |
| package, power steering, power brakes, and wheel | | | | fenders and a lower spear resting above the rear |
| covers. The origins of this package came from a | | | | wheel well. The badges moved from above the |
| show car. | | | | bumper to behind the front wheel. The beautiful |
| The 1961 SS Impalas weren't standardized in | | | | spinner hubcaps changed to a variation of the 1961 |
| appearance. You could order the package on a | | | | Impala model with the SS logo prominently displayed. |
| four-door car, a six-cylinder powered coupe or you | | | | New that year was the detuned 409 mill @ 340 |
| could go "top drawer" and get a slant back | | | | horsepower. A 400 horse 409 existed midway |
| sports-roof with the hot 348 engine. It was basically | | | | through the range with solid lifters and the dual-quad |
| a sales code without formal restrictions, although that | | | | 425-horsepower 409 had a lower 11:1 compression |
| would change soon enough. | | | | ratio. |
| Chevy had great options available in short runs, but | | | | Still, Chevy hadn't gone soft on us. The Z-11 was the |
| no easy 1-step option that gave you the basics to | | | | latest doomsday machine and was a 430-horse |
| go racing. The 1961 SS Impala changed all that. | | | | version with the displacement at 427 CID. Strictly for |
| Previously, there were the Fuel Injected Ramjet and | | | | drag racing, these cars were sold to connected guys |
| Ramjet Special 283's, but they vanished by the end | | | | such as Dave Strickler and Hayden Profitt. |
| of '59. Likewise, you could get LPO 1108, which was | | | | Nineteen sixty-four was the final year of this body |
| a heavy-duty suspension for Police Cars. This gave | | | | style Impala. For the last go-round, Chevy gave us |
| you metallic brakes, H.D. ball joints, bigger shocks, | | | | better rear end choices with our four-gear cars and a |
| stiffer springs and better wheel bearings front and | | | | sharp-edged car that attempted to emulate the new |
| back. Available on every model, but certainly not | | | | thin gauged sheet metal cars with uni-bodies like the |
| advertised! | | | | Chryslers and smaller GM offerings that year. |
| The sales of four speed cars had sky rocketed | | | | Engine-wise, there wasn't anything new to report. |
| sharply in 1961, guaranteeing the future of the SS. | | | | Let's clear up the misconceptions about 409 engines. |
| New for '62 was a full-length console. The fancy | | | | First, it is related to the 348 W motor of the late |
| wheel covers were a necessity, the slots helped cool | | | | '50s in that the block casting started out the same. |
| down the brakes. What did change were the engines. | | | | Pretty soon afterwards, the 409 developed a life of |
| The 409 was about to have its fifteen minutes of | | | | its own. From the start, it was intended to replace |
| infamy. The 409 has been a controversial engine. | | | | the 348 and provide more power for bigger bodied |
| Denigrators call it a truck engine. Fans call it the early | | | | cars. 348's were used frequently in trucks and their |
| sixty's track god. It was a little of both as we'll see. | | | | outward similarity probably made people conclude the |
| Starting with the 348 block, Chevrolet changed much | | | | 409 was the same. In fact, the early 1961 four-barrel |
| of the hardware to create a racing engine to | | | | mills seemed pretty tame. |