40 Years Of 348 And 409 W-Engines - W-ow!

The very rare 1962 Z11 409... 

   

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The very rare 1962 Z11 409 engine components included a high rise, two-piece, aluminum intake manifold, heads with much taller intake ports (very similar to big-block rectangle ports) and stock 409 carbs. The camshaft had more valve lift, but the duration was still short for a strong mid-range. Note the crinkled, aluminum inner fenders. They were 1962-only, as the aluminum was so thin, it rolled over and wadded up in the actual die/mold.

How'd It Do?
Nationwide drag racing in 1958 was organized via the NHRA but was in its infancy. Few drag strips had elapsed-time measuring electronics - just top-speed clocks. The 1958 348 Chevys usually competed one and two classes lower than a 1957 283. How so? Well, the '57 cars in S/S class were the "ones with the Corvette engine" - meaning the 270 horsepower, dual four barrel 283 and the fuel-injected 283hp 283. The body and chassis were heavier and the top-of-the-line, 280 horsepower 348 produced less power and rev-ability than the 283 and weighed 125 pounds more. Something had to be done to coax more power out of the 348 and the Chevy engineers knew it!

I recently spent many days slowly studying vintage Drag News newspapers noting 348, 409 and Z11 cars, their drag class and speeds attained- in 1958 through much of1964. A performance sidebar lists names, dates, places, year Chevrolet and performance. To most, 1958 was a year of performance "transition". The 1955 - 1957s got quicker and faster in 1958. To say that the 1958 348 was not in the top performance picture until late in the year would be accurate. At this time the first solid lifter, Carter WCFB 4 barrel or tri-power , 300 hp or 315 hp, police-package engines were offered - per NHRA technical bulletins. The most successful '58 315 hp 348 racer written up in Drag News was Elgin, Illinois' Bud Richter. He won the B/S class at Oswego Drag Strip then Little Eliminator - every weekend for many years - running low 14s at 101 mph. For sure, every Chevy guy's favorite day was Sunday. Each drove to the drag strip, paid the $2-$3 entry fee and then "let the fur fly". Few initially had recap slicks or soft rubber butyl rubber tires. Headers were not yet commercially available for a 348. Exhaust cut-outs were a must-have to win.

The 1962-63 Z11 heads outwardly... 

   

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The 1962-63 Z11 heads outwardly look like 409 heads, but their intake ports are rectangular and bigger. They measure 1 3/8 x 2 1/4 inches. By comparison, the '63 427 Mystery Motor ports are even larger: 1 1/2 x 2 7/16 inches.

1959 & 1960
Chevys really started moving (no pun intended) in 1959 and it got even better in 1960. Guys had been racing and tuning the small-block since 1955 and many first got their first experience with the W-motor 348 in 1958. Borg-Warner transmissions knew they better have enough full synchromesh, four-speed transmissions available - and they did. A virtual flood of four-speed, 348 1959 and 1960 Chevys were sold. A ton of three-speed 348s were sold too! Besides the continuance of the 300 hp and 315 hp "Police" 348 engine package, a whole bunch of others were offered. The only serious competition I ever saw were the 389 Pontiacs and of course, Corvettes. The quickest and fastest assembly line car on the street was certainly the 'Vette but Impalas, Bel Airs, Del Reys and Biscayne 348s were formidable and fast becoming a force to be reckoned with.

How did drag strips back then promote themselves and how did racers know what was going on elsewhere? I first joined the NHRA in 1959 and I still have my big NHRA oval patch to prove it. Racers and performance enthusiasts read its National Dragster newspaper. They also read Drag News - a viable tabloid that listed news on drag strips not NHRA-sanctioned. Every Monday morning, all drag strips would mail in their list of winners with a story. To see what was going on and who was winning at tracks elsewhere was really exciting to read. Early on, this is how the big names of the sport were recognized, from dragsters to door slammers to motorcycles.

All of the 1961-1962 409 engines... 

   

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All of the 1961-1962 409 engines came without chrome dressup items. That commenced in 1963. The '62 409 still had the small 348 exhaust manifolds. Headers really woke one up. In race engines, builders like Santa Ana, California's Joe Sherman readily admit "almost 100 additional horsepower."

Terry Prince's 1960 320 HP 348 Bel Air
This is probably the all-time best 348 story - ever. Prince graduated from high school in southern California in the late fifties. Guys then had T-bucket hot rods built from junkyard parts and pieces. He was a football star lineman who once battled every week in the trenches. He liked one-on-one competition hence he liked drag racing and he liked Chevrolets. He was single and lived with his parents. Garage? No. His Dad was not a car-guy so Prince worked hard and saved up the money to buy a new 1960 320 horsepower, 348, four-speed Bel Air. From initially racing at the strip and losing, he found he had to "prep" his car to be competitive so he enlisted the aid of a super mechanic and driver named Earl Wade. Over time, he (Wade) would be on par with the likes of Hayden Proffitt, Bill Jenkins and Don Nicholson. Prince's blue '60 immediately began winning.

1960 and 1961 went by in a proverbial blink. The 1960-61 solid lifter 348s ruled the roost almost everywhere except at remote tracks dominated by local Mopar, Ford or Pontiac dealers. Prince and Wade (and Don Nicholson too) had this '60 B/Stocker in the mid-to-hi 13s at 103 mph at tracks with "near sea level" atmospheric conditions. That was flying, folks. Back east at York, Pennsylvania, the Strickler & Jenkins "Old Reliable" '61 409 was running 13.20s at 110. Prince was the guy to beat in B/Stock in Southern California.

Up came the 1962 NHRA Winternationals at Pomona. Prince entered. So did Ford Motor Company and their 405 horsepower 406 Galaxie four-door racer. This Ford had previously been doing okay during its build-up / drag-testing process. It was in the high 13s and low 14s. Just prior to the '62 Big Go West, Prince had been in the 13.70s. As class eliminations wore on, he methodically waded through the stout competition to finally meet the Ford Motor Company factory Galaxie in the class finals. Galaxie - left lane, Prince - right lane. After both cars staged, the green flag dropped and Prince pulled a hole-shot then hit 2nd, 3rd and 4th gears and expanded the distance to multiple car-lengths at the finish line! Prince had run his best run, EVER - a 13.37 ET at 105 mph. The Pomona crowd went nuts with excitement! The Ford crowd was mum. All of the Prince, Wade and Nicholson hard work paid off!