burtonbl103

Nice

HAVNFUN64

I am going to pull the body off and put new body mounts on with all the original shims then bolt it back down and then put the front end on. Then I am going to build a steel frame and put the body on it to do the body work. While Todd is doing the body work I will sand blast, paint and assemble the chassis with motor and trans.

claysmoker

Yeah, I just wouldn't believe that you'd leave the body on after all the super quality work you're doing. It looks marvelous. I'm going for about 480 to 500 hp when you get that 9 on the dyno.

Scratch that 480 to 500. I went back and looked again and I'll revise up to 550-575.

67vetteal

Love these Build Threads! Thanks! Just Gorgeous! Al W.

Tom Kochtanek

I and several of my 409 friends are watching your project with some interest. We are very familiar with high performance Ws but most are in full size Chevy passenger cars. None of us currently has a C2 with a 409.

We do have a fellow around here (central Missouri) that for years has had a 1959 C1 with a dual quad 409. Now that's got to be quite a ride!

I am lucky enough to have both a C2 (a 1963 SWC) and a few 1962 Chevys with dual quad 409s. I can only imagine what that combination will be like when you are completed.

I think you'll find the most restrictive part of your setup will be those block hugger headers (they look like Sanderson's?). I have a stroked dual quad 409 with the stock GM center dump cast iron exhaust manifolds and I estimate about 50 lost horses. If you dyno with less restrictive exhaust you'll find maybe 550-600 horses depending on how you set up that awesome Hilborn injection!

Best of luck with your project, we'll be watching your progress!

Tom Kochtanek

SS409

I'd guess just under 500 HP with that setup. The valve spring maximum lift on those heads is 600 so you are cutting it close. Should be fine. They usually underrate them. Those cylinders are notched so you will loose about .75 compression. You can run 91 octane, (all we can get here in cal), with 10.25 to 1 compression. Please keep us posted on your progress.

HAVNFUN64

Thanks Tom, this car was the very car that helped me get addicted to cars when I was 14. My friend Terry Scogins owned it and he let me hang around and treated me like a regular hot rodder. I have always loved the look of hilborn injection and 409's. My favorite car is mid year corvettes and 58-60 vettes. I have never been able to afford to build a car with out having to drive it to work the next day. I am selling all my stored car parts laying around and my 1960 impala to build the car of my dreams. All the planets have aligned and I am building my friends car and it is getting a 409 and hilborn injection. I will not waste this opportunity and I hope y'all enjoy the build as much as I will doing the work! I have promised myself that I will work on it every day even if it is only a few minutes at lunch( it helps that it is at my shop.)

jdk971

check out http://www.348-409.com/. good people over there. there is a couple of experts
on building w motors. they will help you out if you have any questions. best of luck jim

HAVNFUN64

Got some work done today. I had already stripped the doors, primed the metal parts with epoxy primer and then coated the door jam with slick sand. I replaced the 8 large rivets with bolts machined down out of 1/4-20 carriage bolts. A good friend of mine Donald Conn that has worked on C2 corvettes for years showed me this. We machined the head flat to the same thickness as the rivets and installed the one at a time with stainless locking nuts and lock-tite. I will coat the nuts with seam sealer to keep them from rusting. This will really help to tighten the door. After I installed the bolts I seam sealed both doors and will put one more coat of slick sand over the sealer and block smooth.

HAVNFUN64

Door jam on car is next.

HAVNFUN64

I had to replace one small piece of the bird cage in the back of the door jam on one side. The price they wanted for a replacement part was to much so I made a buck and made one. It took maybe 1 hour to make one and weld in, it turned out real good, a few minutes of body filler and ready for primer. I took both rear portions of the door jam loose to check for rust and all I saw was green primer from the factory. I will epoxy it back on and install new rivets. Next thing to do is reinstall the seam sealer around the door on the bird cage(that will be a pain).

ChattanoogaJSB

This is a cool build! Subscribed.

SS409

I wish I had your skills AND your shop. Very clean installation.

hedgehead

HAVNFUN64

Thanks for the kind words. I have always worked good with my hands, now spelling and grammar that is another thing. I ask a lot of questions from my older brother who has helped me more than I can ever repay on every car I have ever built. I also have a lot of very knowledgeable friends and this forum is a huge help also. I try to pay attention to details the best I can. I have been infected by the car bug for over 30 years ( no cure yet the only thing that seems to help are more car parts!)

groovyjay

I think this topic is one of my all time favorites. I wouldn't chance a thing. Keep the updates coming.

HAVNFUN64

Here are more pics of some of the more boring things I have been working on the past week. My long time friend Ed and I removed all the seam sealer and epoxy primed the rain gutter then we then taped everything up and re-seam sealed the gutters.

HAVNFUN64

I have also been trying out different size tires and wheels. The corvette wheel is 17x9.5 ( with a 2" spacer just for mock up)with 275-40-17 and the blue taped wheel is a 18 x 8 245-45-18. I like the width of the 17x9.5 (3/4" on the inside and 3/4" on the outside with GTS quarters) but the 18" fills the opening a lot better. I am leaning towards a 285-40-18 rear and a 235-45-17 front. Any suggestions ?

HAVNFUN64

Installed door hinges this weekend. I finished smoothing the door jams and spot painted where the hinges bolt on with base coat. Then installed the hinges.

HAVNFUN64

Installed the door and all the weather stripping but still need to align the door to the roof. I am installing all the weather stripping before doing any body work, then before paint I will remove it, paint and reinstall or replace with the same brand so the door gap will remain the same. I put the door weather strip on with strips of 2 sided tape so it would be easy to remove for paint.