1961 Biscayne 409 cowl tag decoding help

Blk61409

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 9
Here is a disturbing photo of the tach!

Also, to Cecil’s point it is certainly possible for an 068 block to be used as a replacement.
However, I know for a FACT Chevrolet would NOT upgrade to the 690 heads, pushrods, intake, etc when at that time they had all the needed parts in stock for a warranty replacement as claimed.

I use to be the warranty administer for a Chevy dealer and if it was a performance engine you had pure “HELL” getting them to pay for anything! Most every time the Chevy Service Rep would do a hands on inspection!
I saw a 64’ 425/425 complete engine replaced one time. It took forever to get the engine assembly.
Once again, never say never, it could have happened, but entirely too many things not adding up with this car and story.
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GCAMINO

 
Supporting Member 1
I'll throw my 2 cents in. If the car had the engine replaced by a dealer with a factory block, I don't believe it would have any numbers on the pad at all, let alone serial numbers. 409's were so new at the time, finding a used one seems highly unlikely, but not impossible A build sheet would settle the question. Maybe it started out as a 348?:wacko
 

DonSSDD

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 2
All this extra money for a made up car is good for the economy, if I got double what my car was worth, I’d be spending it. I guess potential buyers have more money than they need and spending it on an old Chevy- they could do worse? Maybe buy something made by Fiat?

And they are also getting an education so this is all good for the buyer and the seller?:crazy
 

real61ss

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 8
:rubOn the link provided is a 61 St Louis SS car just below the one in question. I am waiting for comments on that car as it has a couple interesting photos.
Robert
Robert.
That silver 61 has been around for ever, came out of Texas probably close to 20 years ago, but probably the most incorrectly restored 61ss in existence today, totally bogus
 

oldskydog

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 10
The first digit of the VIN is the year 1
The next 4 digits are the model no. 1211
The second digit of the model no. indicates either 6 cyl or 8 cyl, odd number is 6 cyl, even number is V-8
This is a 61 Biscayne originally equipped with a V-8 engine. That's all it tells you
Verne must have something on the trim tag that only he can decode indicating it was a 283.
 
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