409 in a 1935 chevy

[Ronnie Russell]

Glad things are looking up, Jim. I believe we never get really finished with one of these project. There always seems to be one more little thing to address, however, looks like you have a running , driving vehicle that you are indeed happy with. Time to enjoy now. Well done.

 

[blkblk63ss]

It turned out that there was a pin hole in the diaphragm of the power brake booster that made the pedal go hard at part travel and not let the brakes work right. Booster changed, brakes re bled and all is well. Had the car in Sycamore last weekend for the show, runs and drives great, NO tendency to heat stays rock solid at 183degrees, and SCOOTS.

Got ANY PICTURE'S?????????????????

 

[jwhotrod]

Finally these were shot at Hampshire, IL at "suds and Fun" Yesterday, which is about 35 miles from my house, car runs great, drives and rides great, brakes are great now also. Now I can have the paint and interior finished this winter. Next long trip, Evansville, In for the Frog Follies in 2 weeks.

 

[LMBRJQ 60]

Finally these were shot at Hampshire, IL at "suds and Fun" Yesterday, which is about 35 miles from my house, car runs great, drives and rides great, brakes are great now also. Now I can have the paint and interior finished this winter. Next long trip, Evansville, In for the Frog Follies in 2 weeks.

Looks good Jim,

Just wonderingi have a 34 Chevy master sedan that i was going to put one of the 348s in, what is the clearance like to the engine bay side panels on your 35?

Steve

 

[DonSSDD]

Very nice Jim.

Don

 

[Ronnie Russell]

Looking good ,, Jim......... Really good !! Congrats on the successful trip.

 

[blkblk63ss]

I like the color combo ,looking good.

 

[jwhotrod]

Both sides between the headers and the heads stick out into the space the side curtains would occupy. you would not get away without blisters in the sides. At least the way this car is set up. I had originally set this car up for a 350/350 engine and trans, and the 409 set down in those motor mounts with the proper clearance to the firewall. no problem??????? well there wasn't until I put the radiator and grill shell in and the fan wanted to be where the radiator was. (from the motor mount forward this motor is 1-1/2" longer than the small block) so moved the radiator forward in the grill shell 1.5" problem solved, but wait what about the condenser? It is now in an airbox behind the backseat. So. if you are not 6'4" like me and can go back into the firewall a little the side curtains may not be a problem. I also had to notch the side rails of the front fenders for the front fenders which also may not be necessary if you go back into the firewall. It is not for the feint of heart, but if you have some patience and perseverance you can be successful!!!! I have a once piece hood top I am going to use from Superior glass and not worry about the side curtains. Why cover up the motor anyway? Good luck, if I can be of further help I'm not hard to find!!
Big Jim

 

[LMBRJQ 60]

Both sides between the headers and the heads stick out into the space the side curtains would occupy. you would not get away without blisters in the sides. At least the way this car is set up. I had originally set this car up for a 350/350 engine and trans, and the 409 set down in those motor mounts with the proper clearance to the firewall. no problem??????? well there wasn't until I put the radiator and grill shell in and the fan wanted to be where the radiator was. (from the motor mount forward this motor is 1-1/2" longer than the small block) so moved the radiator forward in the grill shell 1.5" problem solved, but wait what about the condenser? It is now in an airbox behind the backseat. So. if you are not 6'4" like me and can go back into the firewall a little the side curtains may not be a problem. I also had to notch the side rails of the front fenders for the front fenders which also may not be necessary if you go back into the firewall. It is not for the feint of heart, but if you have some patience and perseverance you can be successful!!!! I have a once piece hood top I am going to use from Superior glass and not worry about the side curtains. Why cover up the motor anyway? Good luck, if I can be of further help I'm not hard to find!!
Big Jim

Hi Jim,
Thanks for that
Im about 3 inches shorter than you so if i can avoid going into the fire wall i will.
I agree with covering up the motor not being the ideal, but some times i like a little mystery to be there
Looking at a stroker 348/409 crank and an Aubrey intake manifold, maybe 700r4 or 5 speed manual getting ahead of myself here, still got a 61 to build
I dont mind the blisters in the side curtains if they a re done well and for me they have to be symmetrical with each other from side to side
Thanks for the info
Very nice set up
Is it going to be american flag color scheme??? or a white flame style?
I had pictures of a car over here 40 years ago with white flames but they were done as the stars and stripes, looked real cool

Steve

 

[jwhotrod]

The paint is not at all finished, we painted the firewall and grill shell because it was easier when we assembled the car and also to check and see if I liked it after some cruisin'. Well, yes I do like it and we will proceed with paint and interior this winter. The other half of that was we were hauling the motor and trans in and out for a while so if we nicked the primer it wouldn't hurt so bad. The paint scheme is based on Sherwin Williams Barret Jackson custom colors, the blue is "blistering blue" white is "traditional white" this will translate down the side of the car with multi color flames in metallic gold, copper, and red. The intent then is to cover it all with the "white diamond" pearlescent similar to what GM uses on new cars. The shape on the firewall was done that way to translate the paint up onto the hood top and have it still make sense when the hood is off.

 

[jwhotrod]

Hello, everybody its Monday and I can finally say truthfully I AM ROADWORTHY, we went to Evansville, Indiana for the weekend 900+miles and the car ran Hot, straight and normal, no overheating runs good and drives good on the road. I am extremely excited!!!!!

 

[LMBRJQ 60]

Congratulations Jim,

Perseverance has paid off

Steve

 

[Ronnie Russell]

900 miles ???????? Holy mackerel !! You can mark that one down as " finished ". Oops, already time for a oil change. Congrats , Jim.

 

[blkblk63ss]

900 mile"s wow , I would worry with that distance with my 1997 grand prix with 206,000mile"s on it!!!l. I would say you have the bug"s out! Congrat" s

 

[jwhotrod]

Well, it has been a long time since I added to my saga, but here is an update. While all that was going on last summer once in a while I would get some white smoke out of the right pipe. Nothing major just 10-15 seconds at startup and it would go away. Thought I had a bad seal between the water port in the head to an intake (intake gasket) so Evans recommended Aluma seal as a leak sealer and did that and the problem went away. As I said over 2000 miles last summer and no real problems. Then came this spring, I had the car painted which took much longer than anticipated got the car back last week in June, beautiful paint (pictures to follow) Put windows back in thinking Im going to Des Moines for 4th of July. not so Batman, that pesky little leak from last year now rears its ugly head again only now it is fouling plugs. Head gasket maybe, no it turned out to be a porosity leak in the floor of an exhaust runner in one of my 690 heads. The piston was dry, the back of the exhaust valve was dry but I have coolant leaking out of the exhaust port at the header. So, as of today 7/23/2015 I now have a set of Bob Walla's aluminum heads with scorpion rockers on my 409 and it is running great with no leaks or white smoke, I am going to be in Sycamore for the big show this weekend and I L'ville for the Nationals in Aug. Thanks to bob for his help advice and cooperation, I am very pleased.

 

[tripower]

Car looks great...

 

[wally72974]

Both sides between the headers and the heads stick out into the space the side curtains would occupy. you would not get away without blisters in the sides. At least the way this car is set up. I had originally set this car up for a 350/350 engine and trans, and the 409 set down in those motor mounts with the proper clearance to the firewall. no problem??????? well there wasn't until I put the radiator and grill shell in and the fan wanted to be where the radiator was. (from the motor mount forward this motor is 1-1/2" longer than the small block) so moved the radiator forward in the grill shell 1.5" problem solved, but wait what about the condenser? It is now in an airbox behind the backseat. So. if you are not 6'4" like me and can go back into the firewall a little the side curtains may not be a problem. I also had to notch the side rails of the front fenders for the front fenders which also may not be necessary if you go back into the firewall. It is not for the feint of heart, but if you have some patience and perseverance you can be successful!!!! I have a once piece hood top I am going to use from Superior glass and not worry about the side curtains. Why cover up the motor anyway? Good luck, if I can be of further help I'm not hard to find!!
Big Jim

Like Big Jim says "Why cover up the motor anyway?" (my 1931 Chevy 3 window coupe w/348)
Love your car Jim!! Way too cool!!

 

[Stovebolt V8]

BRAVO!! Looks great and I'm sure YOU feel great having solved the problem

 

[63 dream'n]

Congrats........and it looks fantastic........

 

[droptop62ss]

Car looks great !