409 Aluminum BLOCKS!

[impalamike.com]

With all of this talk about aluminum heads no one has mentioned the dwindling supply of 348-409 blocks. Are aluminum blocks easier/cheaper to produce than cast iron? I was speaking to Lamar Walden a number of years ago (1996), when I was building a '63 Impala SS with a M/T crossram equipped 409, and we discussed aluminum blocks. He told me (if I remember correctly) that he could take an aluminum 454 raw casting and machine it into a 409 block. Maybe I'm mistaken - I'm going back 10 years. No, we didn't discuss price. Thanks, Mike

P.S. I ran out of money and sold the car to a guy building a lowrider :eek: and the '65 409/400 went to a guy in FLA.

 

[Dick MacKenzie]

Jim Sellers of Hillside Oil in Newark DE had two of the Walden Aluminum 409 blocks. He raced them until his untimely death from a heart attack. Jim MacKenzie continued to race Jim Sellers car with one of the blocks until a couple years ago. One was sold and the other is still owned by Hillside.

 

[Skip FIx]

I just heard from one of my Pontiac Super Stock racers that the folks they are working with to re cast Ram Air V stuff have 409 blocks and heads they are casting???

 

[region rat]

There should be a 409 block maybe by the end of the year. Iron is cheaper to produce than aluminum, mainly due to the cost of the sleeves. The material is a little harder to cast( aluminum) but the material is only a few hundred $$ higher. Nothing is written in stone but it is being worked on. Bob

 

[fourspeed409]

Aluminum Parts

Skip
Would these people you are talking about doing the casting of blocks and heads be Bulldog Performance?

Shane

 

[impalamike.com]

Wow! That's great news. I hope all of these rumors pan out. I emailed Edelbrock Saturday about 409 water parts and heads, but the guy flatly said they don't offer any parts. I emailed him back today about producing parts in the future. I'll let you know. What companies are going to be producing these parts?

 

[models916]

Water pump is comming

Edelbrock water pump already has a part number. EDL-WP8858. That number comes from Smitty Smith, Technical Sales Coordinator at Edelbrock. Email at smitty@edelbrock.com. Should be comming out soon.

 

[dynoray]

409 block

hey guys,that aluminum engine in Sellers old car is not a 409 at all,it's a big block chevy Donavan aluminum block.if you look at it real quick it may resemble a w -engine but it's far from one.we also saw a 62 in Kentucky this year with a big block in it and the guy had valve covers made that look like a w-engine.i sure hope somebody is going to come out with heads and maybe blocks,we need em.the price raping on ebay and such has gotten way out of hand,i just saw a set of used 690 heads for sale for a whopping 3,000.00 !!!!!! what the heck!!!?????

 

[Thirdyfivepickup]

The price raping on ebay and such has gotten way out of hand,i just saw a set of used 690 heads for sale for a whopping 3,000.00 !!!!!! what the heck!!!?????

Yeah, for cores only... just checked for cracks. Need all of the work done to them yet...

 

[Skip FIx]

I think he's keeping the source quiet for the Pontiac stuff but has physically seen the 09 stuff there. I'll see if I can find out who. I don't think it's Bulldog as they have aftermarket design Pontiac head they are working on.

The RAV pontiac stuff is almost as rare as Z-11 stuff.. The heads also flow HUGE amounts of air so with our new aftermarket blocks some big HP numbers could be made.

 

[region rat]

If you had a wish list, what features would you want in a block? There are inherant design problems on an '09 that if you fixed all of them you'd have an Olds DRCE. But keeping the chamber in the block and the basic design will make you work harder to make your power. I've heard it said any jack##s can make a big block run. It takes a special one to make an '09 run! If we were making a block, what would we want to see??? Bob

 

[Dick MacKenzie]

hey guys,that aluminum engine in Sellers old car is not a 409 at all,it's a big block chevy Donavan aluminum block.if you look at it real quick it may resemble a w -engine but it's far from one.we also saw a 62 in Kentucky this year with a big block in it and the guy had valve covers made that look like a w-engine.i sure hope somebody is going to come out with heads and maybe blocks,we need em.the price raping on ebay and such has gotten way out of hand,i just saw a set of used 690 heads for sale for a whopping 3,000.00 !!!!!! what the heck!!!?????

There has never been any doubt in anyone's mind that we changed from the aluminum "W" block to a BBC three years ago. Even to an untrained eye it doesn't look like a 409 and was never intended to, and no one has been told that it is. The aluminum "W" block was sold and is again being raced by the new ower (still runs pretty good also). Russ Campbell also switched to a BBC in his Belair at the same time we did, it has the valve covers designed to look similar to the "W" motor, but Russ is first to tell you it's not a 409 style block.

 

[region rat]

Dick , it's still great seeing you and Russ go at it in the 62's. Some day the parts might be out there to make the '09 run like a big block. Even better when a Chevy wins! By the way, Thanks so much for the web cam at Columbus. Bob

 

[Dick MacKenzie]

Bob, I'm glad we were able to both race and broadcast some of the racing. We still have one of the Aluminum engines tucked away in the back of the shop. That doesn't mean we're not looking forward to see those 'new' aluminum heads we're all hearing about!

 

[impalamike.com]

Dick: Where did you buy that block? Do they have any spares for sale?

 

[Dick MacKenzie]

Dick: Where did you buy that block? Do they have any spares for sale?

Jim Sellers had two 62s. A Belair built for him by Lamar Walden and Biscayne also built by Lamar, but for someone else, which Jim subsequently bought. It was about 10 years ago that Jim got them. I don't know if Lamar and Rob are still into building aluminum blocks or not. They used a tall deck BBC and cut the decks the 12 degrees to make them like the "W" block. If they are still doing it you can rent a small cube van from Hertz or Budget or Penske. Contact your bank and let them know you want to fill a small van with Jacksons and head to Doraville GA.














Disclaimer: The posts on this board are purely the opinion of the poster, and in no way represent the opinions of the Owners or management.

 

[impalamike.com]

Not to be nosey, but about how much are 409 aluminum blocks - I like to dream!

 

[Dick MacKenzie]

Mike, That was ten years ago. The engines were part of the car deal. Jim didn't talk much about what he was paying for the stuff. For pricing check Lamar's web site:
http://www.lamarwaldenautomotive.com/id6.html

The heads are currently over $?.??...... I was going to put the price here but his web site won't load the page.

 

[impalamike.com]

My page loaded, but I didn't see any heads. You guys are right - 409 stuff is expensive!!! Hopefully in the future, as parts become available (Rich, Edelbrock, Lamar, etc.), prices will come down a bit (though never as cheap as small block).

 

[Dick MacKenzie]

Mike, Pulled this price for heads from Lamar's web site.

:eek: