Originally Posted by
TD1886
You sure? I watch both those car auction shows on satellite TV, the one is in Scottsdale, AZ, the other I can't remember where it's held. Very few cars go make the high six digits and when they do they are very very rare. I'd like to see what that 1965 Impala Convertible SS with the hypo 409 in it with the racing tall port heads, GM/Wieand manifold, 750 Dayton AFB carb, 11 inch clutch, M22 rockcrusher 4 speed with Corvette short throw shifter, 3:73 posi traction, and full instrumentation, plus power all the ways around would go for today. It was in mint shape too when I bought it. All white with red bucket interior, and the convertible top had the Herculian glass back window, not that crappy plastic thing. It had the high compression and was running an L88 experiemental solid lifter cam. Blew it up!!! Build a build to the hilt 327 for it, never ran like that 409 did. I still have one of the TRW/GM pistons from it for a momento. I saw those pistons go for quite a bit on Ebay. I remember I was selling parts from the engine after it blew and this teen bopper was building a hypo 348 for his 55 Chevy. He bougth the head. I asked if he wanted the special intake and he said no. Couple days later he was back and was really stressed out if I still had the intake. I said I did, but why did he want it now. He said when he and his dad put that 4 barrel cast 348 manifold on it that even the outer edges of the manifold didn't cover all the intake ports. Yeah, cause my 409 had the racing heads with the tall ports. BTW way what happen was the engine sucked number 6 intake valve and blew up quite impressive. Wasn't racing, was out on date and was just turning a sharp right hand turn and shifted second gear up to 3000 rpm and BOOM! Nothing impressive, didn't know except all the lights came on the dash as the engine went dead. Pulled over to the side of the road and popped the hood and saw part of the paper/metal head gasket sticking out a little between the head and block. Aw hell I though it just blew a head gasket. When I was tearing her down and I pulled the intake off her and there was a hole in lifter valley you could have stuck a large grapefriut in that I knew I was screwed. Too late, but an other fellow that raced them told my best friend that if you run it hard, after the third time pull your valve pan covers and check your valve stem keepers. Those valves were big and heavy in 409 and the valves would float and the keepers would come up a notch. On the last time they came off some of the valves. The one that came off was on an intake, the biggest heaviest valve in the engine. Don't know if that's all true or not.