1963 409 2-4 Biscayne??????

[letbe]

I recently found a 1963 Biscayne 2-dr, sitting beside a barn. It has a 2-4 409 engine
and 3 speed on the tree. The owner states it was an old police car. Could this be a real car. Is it worth anything?

[walkerheaders]

I recently found a 1963 Biscayne 2-dr, sitting beside a barn. It has a 2-4 409 engine
and 3 speed on the tree. The owner states it was an old police car. Could this be a real car. Is it worth anything?

it's certainly possible the factory set up a car that way. bet the kids couldnt ditch the cops that drove that one!
Is it worth anything?.......yes, but how much depends on a whole lotta things. plenty of knowlege available here. can you post some pics of it?

[impalaragpat]

Not worth a thing.
Tell me where it is and Ill get it out of the poor guys barn.
Pat

[letbe]

I will try to get some photo's...
It is in terrible shape & requires total restoration. The good thing is...
It is all there.... I was hoping someone could tell me what to look for
to see if it is a real car, or one someone stuffed a 409 in?????
Car has bben sitting for 30 + years....

[jim_ss409]

If it's an original 409 car it would be great but the engine alone is worth a fair bit. If it's really a high performance 409. Check out this thread for info on the car. http://www.348-409.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4454 The first thing to look for is a big hole in the dash above the speedometer. I think all 63 409 cars came with a factory tach. If you can post some pictures of the engine, dash and engine compartment we might be able to spot things that will tell if the car originaly had a 409. Good luck. :cheers

[51T409]

we just had a very big discussion on tacs. a few weeks ago. this is a three speed car. but this could be our first clue. (was the 425hp engine available with a three speed in 1963?)

[jim_ss409]

I've got a book that says 409s were available with 3 speed standards in 63 but it doesn't list the horsepowers. Maybe it was only available with the 340hp version.

[Tom Kochtanek]

I would think that 425 factory horses would rip the bejezus out of that 3 speed (Saginaw?), and that GM might not want to allow those boxes to be checked? On the other hand, anything the customer wanted back then, within reason, could probably be had, right?

I once read that in 1966 Chevrolet alone had some 46 models, 32 engines, 20 transmissions, 21 colors (plus 9 two tone combinations), and more than 400 accessories and options.

The number of possible permutations of those combinations that a Chevrolet customer could conceivably order was greater than the number of atoms in the known Universe. Perhaps that is why GM felt it was one notch higher than God in the chain of command?

:) :) :)

Cheers!
TomK

[JimKwiatkowski]

Here's some links to casting and suffix codes that will help identify the engine.

http://www.348-409.com/cast.html

http://www.348-409.com/suffix.html

[MK IISS]

I believe 1963 was the last year you could get a 409 (340-425) with a 3-spd. I'm going on memory.... I think the 4-spd was a required option in 1964. In any case an original '63 3-spd 409 did not come standard with the tach, only the 4-spd did.

[gearhead409]

this could be fun. sure would like to see letbe's pictures!

[JimKwiatkowski]

this could be fun. sure would like to see letbe's pictures!

It would be alot more fun being there to check out this car :D

[bobs409]

Maybe we could find/talk to some people that got a ride in the back? :D

It sure sounds like a really cool vehicle. Sure hope it's fixable and gets brought back to life.

We want pics!!!!! :deal

[MK IISS]

photos would be great! Didn't Chevrolet start stamping part of the VIN on the engine pad in 1963 on 327/300s and up ?