old hot rodder says hello

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steves-425-409

Member
Hello to all the OLD IRON people on here...I am 62 years old but have a 14 year old son who is really getting into this old car stuff..We bought an old wheat truck with a 348 in it and even though it had set for 13 years , got it running within in two days...strong old engine, bored 40 over..I have a tri power manifold for it, gathering up some rochesters and will put in a lumpy cam then it is going in an 81 step side that has been here since new.
I found an engine yesterday that i can't quite figure out and will post over on the 348/409 questions and answers threads..
ttyl, sure glad to find a site like this...I have been a 409 fan since 1961...Steve
 
64ss409

64ss409

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 9
Welcome Steve
Nice father-son project.:beerbang I am looking forward to seeing photos of the truck.
 
P

Phil Reed

Well Seasoned Member
Supporting Member 10
Welcome Steve!!!
I see you're from Kansas. Where???? You said you were getting a 409 that was used as an irrigation pump. So I'm guessing sothwest Kansas???? I'm in Kansas City.........stop by if you are "in the area".
 
raymar58409

raymar58409

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 2
Phil Reed said:
Welcome Steve!!!
I see you're from Kansas. Where???? You said you were getting a 409 that was used as an irrigation pump. So I'm guessing sothwest Kansas???? I'm in Kansas City.........stop by if you are "in the area".
Click to expand...

Steve, Don't tell him where you live. Not if you want to retain your "W" engine stuff. He has a reputation around here. :roll:roll:roll:roll

:crazyRay
 
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steves-425-409

Member
Thanks

Thanks for the welcome guys...I can't believe that i never found this site before..i have loved the 348s and then later the 409s since i was just a kid...the sound coming out of that first 1958 white Impala with the 348, tri power, and big cam tha i saw on our main street was enough to get me wanting some horsepower...i was ten at the time...then the first 62 impala with the dual four 409 showed up in town, then another, then the next year a 63 bel air with the 409 and man we wer surrounded by a bunch of noisey tire burning bi bodied cars...there were lots of 409s and 348 in this comunity but sadly they dissappeared over the years and i was not samrt enough to collect some...I just found a surviver 348 in a 58 wheat truck that my son and I now own and the guy who built it is still here and told me how to get it running again and is helping me with its "restoration".It is bored .40 over and sounds so stron even though it is basically stock..
I am takeig lots of pictures of our project ans will share when i learn how to post pics...I am not computr savy but tring...
Mr Reed, I may tke you up on your offer as i have a brother in Lawrence, kansas and spend a little time up there...Would love to talk some 409 sometime...Steve
 
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steves-425-409

Member
Hey I got to meet Jerry Reed in person in Wichita, ks. many years ago just after the Smokey and the Bandit movies had come out...
But now I want to meet the Mr. Reed of 409 fame :crazy.....
I would love to see a good collection of W block stuff sometime...We had so much of it here in my small community and I even got to drive a 57 chevy two ton wheat truck that had a "borrowed" 409hp 409 in it just to get through wheat harvest...If Mr Webster knew that I ran that old truck through the quarter every time I headed back to the field he would have skinned me and tacked my hide to the barn...I also got to drive a 40 Chevy couple with a 348, very high compression jahns pistons, big lopeing cam and tri power when i was just 14...nealry wrapped it around a tree when that progressive linkage kicked in!!! Another guy had a 348 in a 47 chevy sedan with a pu four speed transmission....This guy also raced some guys in a ton dually chevy pick up with a 348...all my heros back then had W block engines...and they knew how to work on them and make them scream...
Well I am old and find myself rambling so will stop for now...I feel at home on this site...Steve
 
Tom Kochtanek

Tom Kochtanek

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 13
Welcome!

Steve:

Welcome to the site, you've stumbled across a great wealth of information and a great group of "characters", as you might have guessed. I am just East of KC in Columbia, Missouri. We get together in KC once in a while to race and chew the fat. I generally drive my 409 to these events. We'll keep you posted and see if you can attend.

Cheers!
TomK
 
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steves-425-409

Member
Thanks..

Tom if you will in vite me and let me know where I would love to meet you guys and talk some hot rods....I have got the old timers around here all excited becasue I got this old 348 running and since it has no exhaust pipes on it is sure sounds good...These old W motors sure bring back the good old time memories..
Let me know when and where and i will try to get there...
Steve
 
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steves-425-409

Member
I Agree!!

I have only been a member for a little over a week and feel really at home with all of the the people on here...It seems to be a very friendly and very informative site...
I will share a few stories, maybe even a joke or two and ask a few questions...I have a 14 year old son who is really into this old chevy iron already and it makes it double the pleasure to kind of tell him about "the good old days"..
Have you noticed how much respect that the 409 motors still have in this computer filled world today..just mention a 409 chevy in a crowd with some 50 t0 70 year old men in it and the stories begin to flow...no motor that I know of holds more STAR quality that the 409..I got to watch and hear The Beach Boys sing 409 in Wichita many, many years ago and I have always been such a fan of the W blocks...I have yet to even own a 409 but they are still available and I won't give up looking...I am starting with the little brother 348 and they are still a great source of power and torque for any project...I have fond these 348's in my town...mine in a 58 chevy wheat truck...a completely reworked and blueprinted one in a 60 chevy impala (might be for sale), another one in a 65 chevy wheat truck, two bare blocks, another in a 1960 Impala nomad station wagon!!! and I am tracking some more leads...Word has gotten around that I am looking so no telling what I may find...
I will check in and give some details when I find them...
later,steve
 
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