Just wanted to introduce myself and my project as you'll probably be hearing a lot of questions once I start trying to bring my late Fathers 55 150 back to life. My Dad bought the car in about 59 or 60 and dropped a 409 in it about 62-63. He was one of the "Buckhead Boys" and this 55 is still known today in the albeit ever shrinking circle of 60's era Hot Rodders in Atlanta. I came home from the Hospital in that Car in 1965, it was our Daily Driver (along with a 64 Impala) up untill I was about 8 years old. I can still remember the Loping Idle that it had and going to the Winn-Dixie with my mom and all of the Bag Boys would fight to be the one to carry the bags out... Legend has it (denied by my Dad but confirmed by his friends) that in the early and mid 60's whenever the APD or County Police would buy a new Pursuit Car they would come find my Dad and take him out to (then unfinished) I-285 and do some runs with him. Their goal was not to catch him, but to not lose him. If they didn't lose him, the car was a keeper.
I've been in Europe for the last 20 years and moved back home last year so I got to spend the 7 months before he passed with him, but I just didn't think to get anymore indepth info on the Engine. The last serious conversations we had about it were 25 years ago and the details are a little fuzzy to me as well. I know it's a 409 Truck Engine, I think it's Bored .30 over, I think he had the 3 center Crank Mains converted to 4 Bolt, it is a 4x2 set up with Carter AFB's, Ducoil Distributor, I think the Crank and associated gear were spun balanced, I know the Heads have larger Valves and were Ported/Polished, I think it has an Offy 4x2 Low Rise that has some work done on it. It has a Fuel Pump and Oil Cooler from a C-130 (he was an Aircraft Engineer at Lookeed in the 60's). I'm not sure what Cam it has in it. The last one he had Custom ground in the early 70's and switched over to Solid Lifters and then it Spun a Bearing, after rebuilding it and doing some other Cam/Lifter/Rocker work something happened again (maybe a spun bearing?). This was about 73 and he decided to just strip the entire Car down and do a restore on it. The Body/Interior were stripped and Primed and that's where it stayed.
in 74 he began his Partnership with Jim Downing and the Downing Atlanta Race Team and the 55 has been in the back of the shop ever since. I'm in the process of kitting out my new Shop in Tenn. and am going to bring it from ATL. in the next couple of months to start a frame off restoration. As the motor is still in the Car and I don't have good access to the #'s, I'll give some more details later. I'll probably need help Identifying and documenting what I have before I start the rebuild. My goal is to keep it as it was when I last rode in it in 1973...
I'm looking forward to interacting you in the future.
Many Thanks,
Rick
I've been in Europe for the last 20 years and moved back home last year so I got to spend the 7 months before he passed with him, but I just didn't think to get anymore indepth info on the Engine. The last serious conversations we had about it were 25 years ago and the details are a little fuzzy to me as well. I know it's a 409 Truck Engine, I think it's Bored .30 over, I think he had the 3 center Crank Mains converted to 4 Bolt, it is a 4x2 set up with Carter AFB's, Ducoil Distributor, I think the Crank and associated gear were spun balanced, I know the Heads have larger Valves and were Ported/Polished, I think it has an Offy 4x2 Low Rise that has some work done on it. It has a Fuel Pump and Oil Cooler from a C-130 (he was an Aircraft Engineer at Lookeed in the 60's). I'm not sure what Cam it has in it. The last one he had Custom ground in the early 70's and switched over to Solid Lifters and then it Spun a Bearing, after rebuilding it and doing some other Cam/Lifter/Rocker work something happened again (maybe a spun bearing?). This was about 73 and he decided to just strip the entire Car down and do a restore on it. The Body/Interior were stripped and Primed and that's where it stayed.
in 74 he began his Partnership with Jim Downing and the Downing Atlanta Race Team and the 55 has been in the back of the shop ever since. I'm in the process of kitting out my new Shop in Tenn. and am going to bring it from ATL. in the next couple of months to start a frame off restoration. As the motor is still in the Car and I don't have good access to the #'s, I'll give some more details later. I'll probably need help Identifying and documenting what I have before I start the rebuild. My goal is to keep it as it was when I last rode in it in 1973...
I'm looking forward to interacting you in the future.
Many Thanks,
Rick
It sounds like a Kool project.
