Does anyone have any idea how many 1961 Impala Bubbletops were made with an FH 350 HP 348, 4 speed & posi???
Thanks
Dave
Thanks
Dave
'61 Bubbletop with 350 HP 348
- Thread starter petepedlar
- Start date
Dave:
Chevrolet never kept records like what you are requesting.
You can look up production numbers for Impala, 348, posi, etc. But they never kept track of the combinations like you are requesting. This goes back to the 64 SS in the for sale section that was one of 25. NOPE!!!
Chevrolet never kept records like what you are requesting.
You can look up production numbers for Impala, 348, posi, etc. But they never kept track of the combinations like you are requesting. This goes back to the 64 SS in the for sale section that was one of 25. NOPE!!!
Hey Phil, I know Chevy didn't keep track of the numbers, I just thought you or Cecil or one of the other historians might have an idea.........
Pretty rare car I would think huh ???
Dave
Pretty rare car I would think huh ???
Dave
Lots of Impalas
According to the charts linked to this site, there were some 177,969 2 door Sport Coupes made in 1961, and most were Impalas. It's possible many were 6 cylinder cars, or 283 builds. Not many were 348s and even fewer had the top rated 350 horse 348 with solid lifters and tripower, backed by a four speed.
There were some 10,xxx Belair Sport Coupes perhaps (I have that number somewhere) made that same year. A 350 horse "W" in one of those would be pretty special
.
I'm not even sure we can estimate how many 350 horse "FH" stamped engines were originally made, but I bet a lot of them went into the Impala. I suspect a few were in the born-to-race Biscaynes and Belairs as well...
I've got a 1961 "FA" (tripower with the 280 horse heads) and a 1961 "FH" engine, one freshly built, one mostly complete. I consider them to be very rare, but not all that collectible when compared to the 409. Since I like the 1961 body style, it seems right to have a 1961 vintage "W" engine.
Cheers!
TomK
According to the charts linked to this site, there were some 177,969 2 door Sport Coupes made in 1961, and most were Impalas. It's possible many were 6 cylinder cars, or 283 builds. Not many were 348s and even fewer had the top rated 350 horse 348 with solid lifters and tripower, backed by a four speed.
There were some 10,xxx Belair Sport Coupes perhaps (I have that number somewhere) made that same year. A 350 horse "W" in one of those would be pretty special
.I'm not even sure we can estimate how many 350 horse "FH" stamped engines were originally made, but I bet a lot of them went into the Impala. I suspect a few were in the born-to-race Biscaynes and Belairs as well...
I've got a 1961 "FA" (tripower with the 280 horse heads) and a 1961 "FH" engine, one freshly built, one mostly complete. I consider them to be very rare, but not all that collectible when compared to the 409. Since I like the 1961 body style, it seems right to have a 1961 vintage "W" engine
.Cheers!
TomK
The 4 speed part would be rare in 61.
I do know of one that was destroyed. A High school buddy picked up a 61 SS Impala with a 350 HP with a 3 sp. There was title problems and then he rolled the car. The body got crushed and I had the engine for a while. Traded for some 409 stuff. Should have kept the 348. The guys place got taken over by developers and I don't know where the engine ended up.
I do know of one that was destroyed. A High school buddy picked up a 61 SS Impala with a 350 HP with a 3 sp. There was title problems and then he rolled the car. The body got crushed and I had the engine for a while. Traded for some 409 stuff. Should have kept the 348. The guys place got taken over by developers and I don't know where the engine ended up.
Were the 4 speeds not very popular in '61 ??? I knew the FH was rare but I didn't know the four speeds were hard to find ..... Phil told me it would be a cast iron T-10 if I remember correctly.
Dave
"A High school buddy picked up a 61 SS Impala with a 350 HP with a 3 sp."
According to information sent to the dealers in Feb. of 1961 explaining the availability of the new Super Sport model, the factory built '61 SS's were not available with 3 speed transmissions. The '61 T-10 transmissions had cast iron main cases with the exception of the few 409 cars that were built and the Corvette's, they had the alumium main cases.
According to information sent to the dealers in Feb. of 1961 explaining the availability of the new Super Sport model, the factory built '61 SS's were not available with 3 speed transmissions. The '61 T-10 transmissions had cast iron main cases with the exception of the few 409 cars that were built and the Corvette's, they had the alumium main cases.
There was only one 350 hp 61 around here and it was a 4 sp. The guy who owned it has found his original motor and from what I saw it's mostly intact with a couple of cracks. He has found a 61 bubbletop and is going to recreate the original car that was rarely if ever beat. I loved the name on the fender "Mother-in-Law" Most of the car nuts around here still remember the car, I know I do!!
robert
robert
I don't know what the car had for a trans out of the factory. It was about 15 years old then.
Did not see many 4sps in anything older than 64s around here. Maybe the old hi perf stuff was trashed out by the mid 70s.
I had talked with some of the old car guys around here. They thought the three speeds were stronger trans and with the torque the engines had back at the time that the time lost shifting the extra gear on the four speed wasn't worth it.
Did not see many 4sps in anything older than 64s around here. Maybe the old hi perf stuff was trashed out by the mid 70s.
I had talked with some of the old car guys around here. They thought the three speeds were stronger trans and with the torque the engines had back at the time that the time lost shifting the extra gear on the four speed wasn't worth it.
I never had a four speed back in the day....... but I had a '58 chevy with a pretty hot 283 & hurst floor shifter and I used to break 3 speeds on a regular basis..... I got really good at whipping them out, replacing a gear or two and putting them back in...... I also used to shear off the second gear shifter fork on a regular basis.........
Maybe a guy needs to sneak a 5 speed behind a freshened up FH ....... probably a lot tougher than an old T-10 and would be great on the highway........... One out of a newer Camero should work OK..... I wonder if you can use the factory shift handle ????
Dave
Maybe a guy needs to sneak a 5 speed behind a freshened up FH ....... probably a lot tougher than an old T-10 and would be great on the highway........... One out of a newer Camero should work OK..... I wonder if you can use the factory shift handle ????
Dave
There were plenty of factory 4 speeds back in the day. I grew up in a small town in South Texas and I can remember at least 4 or 5 59, 60, and 61 348 cars with factory 4 speeds in my little town. Most were 315, 335, or 350 hp . A friend had a 60 Bel Air 2 door hardtop 335hp 348 with factory installed 4 speed. Another guy ordered a new 60 El Camino with 335 hp and 4 speed. In 61 he bought one of the first 409 cars. Everybody wanted a 4 speed in the late 50's and 60's. I did see a few of them flying in pieces out the bottom of some cars at the dragstrip though.
Probably the strongest 4 speed was the cast iron super T-10 from the 70's...rumored to be stronger than the Muncie. I have one and plan to put it in the 61 flat top if I ever get around to building it.
:
Probably the strongest 4 speed was the cast iron super T-10 from the 70's...rumored to be stronger than the Muncie. I have one and plan to put it in the 61 flat top if I ever get around to building it.
:
1961 B/W T-10 Four speeds
I agree that the Saginaw three speed that was standard in these late 50s/early 60s cars was not build for the higher horsepower cars. I suspect they were OK under 250-300 horses or so, but the Borg Warner T-10 was likely chosen by GM to provide a more sturdy option. And like Cecil mentions, the Super T-10s from ten years later were supposedly even more rugged.
I recall the four speed first came out in 1959 for Chevrolet.
I do know that the date coded 1961 BW T-10 four speed with the cast iron main case and the aluminum tail is a pretty rare creature. I was lucky enough to acquire an entire rusted out 1961 Impala that had the factory T-10 with the spaghetti shifter and the smooth steering column. It sat behind a 348, but that was long gone when I purchased the roller. I wanted the tranny and the shifter. Heck, I even cut out the section over the hump for posterity's sake .
Cheers,
TomK
I agree that the Saginaw three speed that was standard in these late 50s/early 60s cars was not build for the higher horsepower cars. I suspect they were OK under 250-300 horses or so, but the Borg Warner T-10 was likely chosen by GM to provide a more sturdy option. And like Cecil mentions, the Super T-10s from ten years later were supposedly even more rugged.
I recall the four speed first came out in 1959 for Chevrolet.
I do know that the date coded 1961 BW T-10 four speed with the cast iron main case and the aluminum tail is a pretty rare creature. I was lucky enough to acquire an entire rusted out 1961 Impala that had the factory T-10 with the spaghetti shifter and the smooth steering column. It sat behind a 348, but that was long gone when I purchased the roller. I wanted the tranny and the shifter
. Heck, I even cut out the section over the hump for posterity's sake .Cheers,
TomK
I agree that there were lots of 4 speed cars in the early sixties but I do know of a couple of cases where guys ordered them and gave up after several months of waiting. I have a freind that ordered a '62 SS with the 300 and a 4 speed, after several months the dealer told him that if he would accept the car with a 3 speed transmission he could have the car in 30 days, otherwise he wasn't sure the car would be built. My freind opted to take the 3 speed so he could get the car.
Since I have been in this hobby I have seen many 4 speed cars from the early sixties that upon close inspection were originally 3 speed cars.
Since I have been in this hobby I have seen many 4 speed cars from the early sixties that upon close inspection were originally 3 speed cars.
waiting on my 62
I ordered my 62 SS in Sept. The Transmission factory was on strike. My car took 16 weeks to come in and came in with a 4-speed, but came in as a Impala with bench seats. I would not take the car with the bench seats, Capitol Chevrolet in Austin, Texas took the SS interior out of a SS they had on the lot and installed it in the Impala. So I had a Impala with SS insides.
my friend and salesman at Capitol Chevy. Glenn Rolator has paid for a telegram to the president of GM stating I would go and buy a F##d if I did not receive my car in the next 10 days. I guess that is why it came in as a Impala, guess the only thing thay could ship with the 4-speed.
W Head
59 El Camino 348-3,2s
59 Impala 409-2,4s
I ordered my 62 SS in Sept. The Transmission factory was on strike. My car took 16 weeks to come in and came in with a 4-speed, but came in as a Impala with bench seats. I would not take the car with the bench seats, Capitol Chevrolet in Austin, Texas took the SS interior out of a SS they had on the lot and installed it in the Impala. So I had a Impala with SS insides.
my friend and salesman at Capitol Chevy. Glenn Rolator has paid for a telegram to the president of GM stating I would go and buy a F##d if I did not receive my car in the next 10 days. I guess that is why it came in as a Impala, guess the only thing thay could ship with the 4-speed.
W Head
59 El Camino 348-3,2s
59 Impala 409-2,4s