While we were at Walden's...
While we were at Walden's shop, he was doing the final test fit for a March serpentine belt drive system he's prototyping for them. This should be available by the time you read this.
World Products has teamed up with Lamar Walden to develop a brand new aluminum 409 block-big news for anyone wanting to put one of these legendary engines on the street or race track, and great news for the restorers, as they won't have to compete with racers and rodders for blocks.
Lamar started with a new World BBC aluminum engine block, and began converting it over to 409 specifications, beginning with milling the 90-degree deck and fabricating a wedge to correct the deck angle so the heads would bolt up. At the front of the engine, Lamar closed off the standard BBC water pump ports and located a set of mounting bosses for the 409 water pump. Rather than reinvent the wheel, the standard BBC timing chain cover and oil pan rail were retained, which is a nice bonus for customers.
With the deck angle, combustion chamber and water pump bosses adapted to the block, Lamar sent it back to World, where patterns and molds will be pulled off of it to start casting with brand new aluminum 409 blocks.
Walden has developed his own...
Walden has developed his own line of aluminum 409 heads, based off the -690 high-horse factory castings, and the Z11 race pieces, depending on your needs. He also has intakes, including this EFI unit. As delivered, the Merlin block will displace 509 ci, with a 4.500-inch bore and 4-inch stroke crank, the crank of choice when building a 482-inch iron block stroker. With a big 43/4-inch arm, and the bore maxed out to 4.600, displacement is bumped past 609 ci. The -690 heads will work very well with the "small" Merlin block, while the big one will require Z11 heads.
Enhanced blocks are one of the benefits found on World's BBC aluminum castings. Lamar once built a twin-turbo 409, and found that with enough boost, the block will split through the lifter valley like a piece of firewood, only holding together with the bellhousing and timing cover. World blocks feature thick reinforcements between both banks through the lifter valley, not only keeping the block together, but limiting bore deflection under load as well. The World BBCs also benefit from a relocated, raised main oil galley, allowing billet four-bolt splayed bolt main caps, which ship with the blocks, along with premium fasteners-the mains will be the larger BBC diameter, so material doesn't have to be removed from the webbing as when a factory 409 block is align bored to BBC crank specs.
The cam journals are also the standard BBC specs, while stock 409s share cam journal diameter with the small block Chevy, and the journals are raised to in the block to clear big stroke cranks. The World 409 blocks will also have a thicker deck, eliminating the tendency for the block to crack there. Walden tells us the blocks will come standard with a 4.500-inch bore, and can be take out to 4.600-inch. "With a 4-inch stroke crank, and long 6.135-inch rods, it'll be 509 ci," Lamar told us.
His LWA aluminum -690 heads flow enough to support over 500 cubic inches, so running one on the street isn't a problem. Max out the bore and adding a long stroke 4.75-inch crank pushes the displacement to a tick over 630 cubic inches, and you will need a set of Walden's Z11 aluminum race heads. Is there a Nostalgia Outlaw class?
Final pricing won't be determined until the first run of blocks come back from World's foundry, but they should be in the same neighborhood as World's Merlin big-block Chevy castings, and not much more than you'd pay for a good passenger car block fully prepped and ready for a 4-inch crank. That's a pretty good neighborhood, and one we can't wait to buy into.