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