For these 55 Chevy's to go as fast as they did with a 265 cu inch motor, running WCFB's on a stock cast iron manifolds was no easy task.
NHRA made a big mistake way back when, in the head specs. 55 chevies only had one head, the 523 casting, weather it was a 162, 180 or 195hp. GM superceded the casting and made the combustion chamber spec 55.7cc's instead of 67.4cc's. The superceded head had to be milled a lot to get it down to 55.7. So, the 55 had the same basic specs as a 205hp '56, but with no bump in advertised horsepower. That made winning with a 55 180hp car a little easier. NHRA factored the horsepower to 200. The open chamber(unshrouded intake) of the milled 55 head still flowed better than the closed chamber of the 56 "306" powerpack head.
Well, this doesn't specifically answer your question, but according to the "Standard Catalog of American Cars," production totals in 1962 were recorded by body style only with no breakout by series, model, or engine. For the station wagon body style, they list 187,566 units being built. Nonetheless, they further state that 1962 Impalas, excluding station wagons, totaled approximately 704,900 units. Also, 15,019 cars had the 409ci engine installed, and production for all 1962 full-sized Chevy V8s was 921,900. As an aside, there were two options for the 409ci engine: a Turbo-Fire 380hp with four barrel carb, dual exhausts, high-lift cam, and solid valve lifters was $428; a Turbo-Fire 409hp with dual four barrel carbs, light weight valve train, dual exhausts, and solid valve lifters was $484.
Looking at photo's of cars I have not seen in years!!! Another trip down Memory Lane for me. Thanks Jimbo
That 15,000 number is the total 409 production from Tonawanda. In '62 8909 of them were installed in cars. Chevrolet never kept records that show engines by body style. We'll never know how many were installed in wagons. But I'll bet Ma & Pa ordered the "big" engine in their wagon to tow their travel trailer.....
The Jalopy Journal
