61 SS Impala 409, Charlie Thomas collection

61BUBBLE348

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 11
Pat, a bit off topic, but I still have a bent con rod and pin from a 401 Nail head Buick sitting on a shelf in my garage.
I had a 64 Electra 225, just a beater for getting around, I was doing about 80MPH on a country road when the Buick just lost power and rolled to a stop, I thought I was out of gas, no smoke no water going everywhere, went and got a gallon of gas, took about an hour, tried to get it going and noticed No. 7 rod sticking out the side of the block with no piston on it. (I had 2 nail heads both lost No. 7 rod).

That rod reminds me if I ever do a Nail head Buick up I will install new rods and pistons in.
 

Blk61409

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 9
I understand.
Many years ago working at a Chevy dealership we had a 57 Chevy Phone Co 6 cyl sedan come in. The service writer wrote it up as he was told "a miss in the engine and an oil leak". We opened the hood and a rod was sticking through the block!!! It was somehow high enough that it broke off the piston and sheared at the crank as it launched into the block without dumping all of the oil. Neendless to say we all got a big laugh out of the miss and oil leak!!

Below is my wonderful Ford valve keepsake. Don't try to intermingle Ford and Chevy valve trains when the Ford is going to contaminate the Chevy!!

image.jpg
 

BSL409

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 6
I bought that 61 from behind a used car lot for either $50 or $100. The 6cyl was junk,

As for the unpainted heads, it was just at a race car and I did not care what it looked like.
And no, after 2 engines and lots of pieces of Ford valves all over the place, I sold everything without ever having made a pass!!
Thanks for sharing are you sorry you sold the 61 with the z11 parts
 

Barry Taylor

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 3
Pat, sometime in the early sixties my dad drove me by a General telephone or Southwestern Bell telephone co. motor pool lot to show me 15 to 20 Pea green 2dr. 57 150 chevys stored there after they were retired. He did end up buying several of them.
 

Blk61409

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 9
BSL, regarding selling the 61 Flattop, yes I have always regretted selling it. I had to part it out to pay for what I had destroyed!!
Really made me mad.
At the time I was making about $65 a week gross. I knew I had a winning combination. I had run 12.83 in my 61 409 Impala 2 years before, it weighed almost 4,000 lbs with a full tank of gas and me. Since I had to drive the 61/409 to the track and back home(it was my only car), I did not "wring it out" like I could have. I also had to keep my tools in the trunk because I could not leave them setting in the Pitts.
The 61 Flattop was a race car only. This is why I was so counting in the Flattop with a Z-11 set up working. What I did not share was that on a previous burn out with the original Chevy 4:88 rear end I completely destroyed it. When I hit 3rd gear on a test the run, all hell broke loose! When the car stopped I had to get a wrecker to move it.

Upon further examination the engine created so much torque that when the M & H's hooked up the Chevy axles twisted off both ends, ripped both bearings and bearing supports off of the Positract unit, broke all of the rear end supports loose and rotated the pinion up against the bottom of the car, twisted the axle housing turning it into scrap iron and all I salvaged were the brake drums!!!

Thinking through what had happened, I realized how much power this engine was making. That is when I decided to put the Pontiac 4:88 in it. I knew that was indestructible.

Little did I know the Ford valves were going to be my Achillies heel!! Yes I really wished I could have made it work.
 

LMBRJQ 60

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 4
I have a framed poster at home (will take a pic and post) of the different impalas with Floyd Garret owning 3 SS cars
Black 61 SS 409
62 SS 409
63 SS 409

Was the 61 a genuine 61 SS 409 or was it a 348 with a 409 put in it?
Anyone know???

By the feel of this thread there does not seem to be a survivor 409 SS 61 car that any one knows of?????
Seems a big shame

Steve
 

real61ss

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 8
Floyd has never made any comments to me about having owned a 61ss. That does not mean he hasn't had one.
 

63409

Well Known Member
A couple must've survived I hope. If anybody can find information on a real one and post some pictures that would be great.
 

LMBRJQ 60

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 4
Floyd has never made any comments to me about having owned a 61ss. That does not mean he hasn't had one.

Tommy i will take a picture of the poster and post it to see if anyone else has it and it may jog a memory
A couple must've survived I hope. If anybody can find information on a real one and post some pictures that would be great.

I agree, there must be one, surely

Steve
 
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