I just picked up my first 409 today!
It was a friend of a friend deal. My high school buddy's Dad is in the VCCA, and he invited me to go see the collection of another VCCA member friend of his. He has A LOT of Chevy stuff and pretty much all of it is for sale. He's 79, Marine Corps Vet of the Korean War, and looking to downsize his empire. So I go over there with my buddy's Dad 2 weeks ago today, and the first thing I see is this '60 C70 tractor. Immediately I'm thinking W engine, but if it still has one, it's only a 348. So I ask the guy, 'do you wanna sell that C70?' 'Everythings for sale' he says, 'and that truck has a 409 in it.' What!??
So I bee-line it over to the truck and open the hood. Valve covers are covered in crud but they're chrome! Sweeeeeet!! I can just barely get to the pad by the water pump (it's covered by a big ol' 2 stage air compressor) to scrape it clean....I shine a flashlight down there.......QC!! 'How much do you want for the whole truck?' I asked. '$2000. Engine ran great when I parked it there, I drove it to where it's sitting.' So I told him I'd buy it if I could come up with the cash, and if I could find a way to haul it home. Fast forward 2 weeks, my Dad just came home from TX with an empty lowboy trailer yesterday. Am I lucky or what...Call the guy up, he still has the truck, I have the money, 'Come get it' he says. Someone is smiling on me today.
We get to his place, throw a battery and a gas can on this thing and it fires right up!! Hadn't been started since he parked it there in 1997. Air tank pressurizes, and the thing drives itself outta there, and right up onto the trailer! It has some lifter noise, but thats it. No smoke, idles smooth, and doesn't seem to have any blowby. I'll change the oil and drive it a little bit tomorrow, and do a compression test. I'll keep you guys posted!
It was a friend of a friend deal. My high school buddy's Dad is in the VCCA, and he invited me to go see the collection of another VCCA member friend of his. He has A LOT of Chevy stuff and pretty much all of it is for sale. He's 79, Marine Corps Vet of the Korean War, and looking to downsize his empire. So I go over there with my buddy's Dad 2 weeks ago today, and the first thing I see is this '60 C70 tractor. Immediately I'm thinking W engine, but if it still has one, it's only a 348. So I ask the guy, 'do you wanna sell that C70?' 'Everythings for sale' he says, 'and that truck has a 409 in it.' What!??
So I bee-line it over to the truck and open the hood. Valve covers are covered in crud but they're chrome! Sweeeeeet!! I can just barely get to the pad by the water pump (it's covered by a big ol' 2 stage air compressor) to scrape it clean....I shine a flashlight down there.......QC!! 'How much do you want for the whole truck?' I asked. '$2000. Engine ran great when I parked it there, I drove it to where it's sitting.' So I told him I'd buy it if I could come up with the cash, and if I could find a way to haul it home. Fast forward 2 weeks, my Dad just came home from TX with an empty lowboy trailer yesterday. Am I lucky or what...Call the guy up, he still has the truck, I have the money, 'Come get it' he says. Someone is smiling on me today.
We get to his place, throw a battery and a gas can on this thing and it fires right up!! Hadn't been started since he parked it there in 1997. Air tank pressurizes, and the thing drives itself outta there, and right up onto the trailer! It has some lifter noise, but thats it. No smoke, idles smooth, and doesn't seem to have any blowby. I'll change the oil and drive it a little bit tomorrow, and do a compression test. I'll keep you guys posted!
Last edited: