razecarz

Razecarz

Razecarz

Active Member
New to the forum but been building my 62 Impala 2 dr HT for 4 years now. Doing a complete frame off, ground up, you name it I've changed it kind of restoration. Car was originally inline 6 with powerglide but when I got it it had a 350 SB and turbo 350 transmission. Since replaced with a Borg Warner Super T-10 and a rebuilt 350. But just picked up a freshened up 348 that has been painted and decaled as a 409. As I am building an SS tribute car I am going for the 'looks' not the peformance, so who cares if it's not a real 409. Although it is out of a 65 truck which apparently is the only year that they reduced the webbing to allow a 409 crank to drop in. A couple more upgrades and shizzam I will have a 409 after all, if it ever comes to that. I have a website where I am documenting my progress on the Impala as well as some work I did on my 66 Chevelle SS 396. Only been into the hobby for 5 years now but enjoying the building and the cruised nites and everything else about the hobby, especially the people I have met. If you get a chance, stop by my website at www.razecarz.com and sign my guest book. Thanks.
 
D

Don Jacks

Well Seasoned Member
Supporting Member 3
Welcome to the site.Just for your informaton,a 409 crank will literally drop in about any 348 case,I'm doing a 1959,5011 case,with a 409 crank and it's a "drop-in fit!There's a lot of misinformation about these "w" engines out there,but youve found THE place for the straight scoop as to what works,and what dosent.:hug
 
Razecarz

Razecarz

Active Member
Hmm, maybe I misunderstood what the guy was telling me, but for some reason he was making a big deal out of the fact that it was a 1965 block. So, just out of curiosity, what else would it take to make this engine a 409? I am not after performance, just the looks mainly, but I might get tired of saying, 'well it LOOKS like a 409 but it's reallya 348". These truck blocks were a lower compression engine apparently, so different pistons, different heads? bored out a little? I have no knowledge of mechanics. Used to only buy new cars so I wouldn't have to worry about stuff like that, but that's another story.
 
tripower

tripower

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 2
Razecarz said:
Hmm, maybe I misunderstood what the guy was telling me, but for some reason he was making a big deal out of the fact that it was a 1965 block. So, just out of curiosity, what else would it take to make this engine a 409? I am not after performance, just the looks mainly, but I might get tired of saying, 'well it LOOKS like a 409 but it's reallya 348". These truck blocks were a lower compression engine apparently, so different pistons, different heads? bored out a little? I have no knowledge of mechanics. Used to only buy new cars so I wouldn't have to worry about stuff like that, but that's another story.
Click to expand...
As Don said the 409 crank is a direct drop in. If indeed it is a 65' block then it would be a 3857655 casting. This is probably the best casting for the 348. The 348 has a standard bore of 4.125 while the 409 has a standard bore of 4.3125 that is a difference of 0.1875 that you would have to bore a 348 block to achieve 409ci. That is more than likely not possible. The stroke on a 348 crank is 3.25 and the stroke on a 409 crank is 3.50. If you where to use a 409 crank in a 348 block with the standard bore of 4.125 you would end up with 374ci using this formula
Bore X Bore X Stroke X 6.2832 = CI.
Another option to achieve 409 ci out of a 348 block is to use a BBC crank. Either a 396/427 crank that has a stroke of 3.76 or a 454 crank that has a stroke of 4.00. Using the formula I posted you can play with the different bores to see just how many CI are possible.
An example would be 348 standard bore of 4.125 with a over bore of .040=4.165 and a 396/427 crank with a stroke of 3.76.
4.165 X 4.165 X 3.76 X 6.2832 = 409

If you do a search on how to build a 409 you will find all kinds of information. Good Luck and welcome aboard.
 
Razecarz

Razecarz

Active Member
Razecarz said:
Hmm, maybe I misunderstood what the guy was telling me, but for some reason he was making a big deal out of the fact that it was a 1965 block. So, just out of curiosity, what else would it take to make this engine a 409? I am not after performance, just the looks mainly, but I might get tired of saying, 'well it LOOKS like a 409 but it's reallya 348". These truck blocks were a lower compression engine apparently, so different pistons, different heads? bored out a little? I have no knowledge of mechanics. Used to only buy new cars so I wouldn't have to worry about stuff like that, but that's another story.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I will do some reading and maybe do some more posts in the right forums to find out what might be my best price vs performance option. That's what I really like about this hobby. Almost everyone is willing to share their knowledge and experience to help bring someone else along.
 
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