Today I saw what I think had a very low manufacture/special dealer order car. I could not find specific amount number for it on the internet only the grouping by a 6 cyl or any V8 in any Biscayne or Bel-Air and the total 409” engines for all models or horsepower. The car is a 1963 Chevrolet Biscayne 2 dr. The engine is a RPO L-33 340 hp 409”. The lowest listed hp for that engine. It has a cast iron intake manifold and a Rochester 4GC carburetor. As options I only saw the PowerGlide transmission, outside mirrors on both sides, and power brakes. It did not have a radio; I won’t say delete here as it was an option. The car is perfectly restored to the naked eye. I’m not sure what year they had alternators or the larger pulley on one. Also not sure on the vacuum ***ist brake “can” but the jar type single master cylinder looks correct for the year. Not sure on the windshield washer bottle either. To me it’s possible that vehicle like this could have been ordered for a “law enforcement” supervisor upon his request. What do you think? I’m sure others here on the HAMB know of low production vehicles of any make but photos are a must.
You've got my undivided attention..... Had a couple of '62s. Any X-frame of '61 to '64 vintage makes my shorts tight, especially the 2dr posts.
Our 34 Dodge delivery numbers are probably pretty low? In the almost 50 years that I've had it. I have only seen a couple real ones. And a few that were built from a 4 door sedans.
As far as the first year for alternators goes, it was 63. I’ve had 5 62s and they all had generators. My buddies at the time that had 63s had alternators. Only one of my 62s had power brakes, all had a small single reservoir mc.
Thanks…makes seeing this one all the better… I’m also think that this car would never be considered a “muscle car”. After writing this I remember seeing a 64 409 340 Powerglide station wagon back in Redondo Beach. It was a loaded hi option wagon with AC also.
A cl***mate’s parents bought a 64 Bel Air or Biscayne, I can’t remember, 4 door sedan new with a 409 4spd, tach on the dash car. Not sure of any other options. A guy that lived across the street from my Dad’s gas station bought a 64 Bel Air station wagon with a 300 horse 327 4spd. tach on the dash car new. Just goes to show that you could get just about anything you wanted to pay for “back in the day.”
Canadian Pontiacs also came with the 409. Some friends and me found a '64 Parisienne with a 340 horse 409 at the dump hooked to a TH400 so of course we pulled it out. Can't remember much more than that since it was 50 years ago.
The 63 Biscayne is just the perfect car to put together a"sleeper" for street prowling. Many don't consider this platform to be in the musclecar category, wrong ***umption. Personally, I'm not necessarily attracted to them with a 409 as much as I just purely love the "Plain Jane" look of these cars, but, with the 409 that for sure is a saught after combination, too bad it's not a four speed.
There were only about 5000 55 Chevy Cameo pickups built. About a total of 10,000 Cameos built from 1955 to 1958. In 1958, there were only about 300 Cameos built before the new Fleetsides were released. Photos are oldest to newest. 1: As bought in 1987 by my Dad. 2: First restoration, 1992. 3: Totaled May 1996. 4 Second restoration Summer 2023. 4: Current engine, basically stock Power Pack 283 with T-5 transmission. The longest tow so far is from just south of Rockford ILL to Bowling Green Kentucky. A 10-hour tow, including gas stops.
Hello, My friend in H.S. never had a hot rod sedan until his senior year. So, he asked us what he should get. Wow! 1961 Chevy 409 Biscayne Our thoughts went right to a 61 Impala bubble top 409 4 speed/positraction model. He liked my 58 Impala and rode with me plenty of times during our cruising nights. But, the hardtop model was primary. So, we had all sorts of proposals. When it was all said and done, the car he wanted was on the lot at one of the three Chevy dealers in Long Beach. It was a 61 Biscayne 409 with a 4 speed. He was offered the best deal as it was a 6-8 month long wait for the Impala bubble top sedan with the same motor and transmission. Since he was new to fast hot rod sedans, my other friend with the modified 57 Chevy Bel Air Hardtop was also in the teaching mode to help him shift the 4 speed and coordinate the daily motions. He had never driven a stick shift in his life, so, that was number one. But, he did not want to learn to drive a stick until he actually had the 4 speed Biscayne at his house. So, my 57 Chevy friend drove the Biscayne back to his house. I enjoyed being in the back seat although I wanted to drive the 409. Later on, I also taught him how to get off the line first and that was helpful, although, he never raced his 61 Biscayne and never went to Lion’s Dragstrip to race legally. Jnaki We all had thoughts of what to do with the Biscayne 409. But, the teenager liked the red with simple wheels and a business style look. Most of the cars in the Bixby Knolls drive-in lot had custom chrome wheels, but our friend thought chrome wheels would look silly on his Biscayne. So, it remained red wheels with blackwalls. At least it looked fast and everyone knew it was fast. Note: He never raced anyone at the local drive-in restaurant parking lots we usually frequented. He liked the power behind the 409, but, despite the power, no one wanted to race. So, he was the king of the drive -in restaurant parking hot rods and sedans without ever racing anyone. We were all wise to the power of the 409. One night, after I got my C&O stick hydro and now my motor was 300+ HP, late at night we lined up on the Cherry Avenue Drags location. When the starter raised his arm and began to drop, the 348 + C&O gave me such a jump that I was at least 1.5 cars out in front. I was pulling away as my friend was fiddling around with the 4 speed. I saw him in the rear view mirror and by the 1/8th mile he was pulling up fast. So, I gave him the 6 red taillights to signify, he lost as he saw the bright red flashing. Ha! No way I was going to win that full quarter mile race. We all laughed and had another round of gravy fries and cherry cokes to continue our friendship… YRMV He did nothing else, but the most important thing was learning to shift and be able to drive the Biscayne himself. The motor was stock and had the set up that looked like the photo below. A recent photo from the files The generator was the same as the ones we had on our own Chevy motors, a 348 motor for me and a 283 SBC motor for the 57 Chevy Bel Air Hardtop. Alternators did not come around until a few years later by the time we were in college. Note 2: Sorry, your story is not correct. In 1964-65, one could not get a 4 speed anything unless it was a Malibu two door hardtop sedan. A 300 hp 327, yes but not with a 4 speed. Three Chevy dealers in Long Beach told me in the fall of 1964 that there was no such animal on any of the lots in So Cal. But, then I wanted a 65 El Camino with a new 396 c.i. with a 4 speed in the order. They all laughed at that notion and said the best they could do was a 300 hp 327 with an automatic or 3 speed stick shift for me. I would have settled for a 4 speed with a 327/300hp motor set up. But that too was not available on any dealer’s shopping list. If I wanted a Malibu SS model with bucket seats, I could get a 4 speed AND a 396 motor plus positraction. I did not want some sedan as I wanted to carry desert racing motorcycles and plop in my surfboard at will. The Malibu SS, with the set up would have been cool, but I was beyond the cruising aspect of a 4 speed and 396 in an ordinary sedan. Nothing other than a Malibu sedan could be ordered with w 4 speed and a 327 or 396 motor in the fall of 1964. Tachometers were not mounted on the dash on any factory car at the time… If the customer wanted a tach he had to buy it separately and mount it him/herself. YRMV
As has been said, 63 was the first year for the alternator. It was also the first year for the aluminum powerglide, 62 was cast iron. That brake booster is the optional one for those cars as well, as was the washer fluid reservoir. I've been trying to find a rebuild kit for my two-speed wiper motor with washer pump for a long time, good luck with that. Apparently it was a rare option. As that's a chalk mark.restoration, it looks very correct to me as far as I can see.
"World’s Only 1961 Chevy Biscayne Fleetmaster Factory 409" Full article Here: https://www.torqtalk.com/home/event...y-1961-chevy-biscayne-fleetmaster-factory-409
Those dealers either were telling you a story or they were uninformed, full size Chevys were certainly available with a four speed transmission in those years.
Hello, Yes, full size had all of the options, but no one wanted those full size cars any more. They all wanted the mid range Malibu Chevelle cars with big motors and 4 speeds. I wanted a 1965 Chevelle El Camino for my purposes, but instead of a 327, a new 396 c.i. motor and 4 speed. I got laughed out of the showroom. No way... if I ordered a Malibu SS, then all was forgiven and I could have my 396 + 4 speed transmission. In the El Camino, I could not even get a 4 speed with the 327 motor. But, I did get Positraction. (YOU CAN'T GET A COUPLE OF DESERT RACING MOTORCYCLES IN A MALIBU ss CAR.) My desert motorcycle racing friend liked my El Camino and after a few trips out to the 100 mile courses, he got a 66 El Camino with a 396 and 4 speed. In one year, the Chevy Corp decided to open up the ordering process to move the big blocks into the sales pitch. Jnaki I can't complain. Well, yes I can complain. It was there in the Chevy Factory books and Parts departments, but no one could have a 65 El Camino with a 396 plus 4 speed transmission. But, the 327 motor + Powerglide in my El Camino ran perfectly for 120 k miles of harsh driving all over so cal, into the mountains, desert racing locations, into Baja Mexico, plus long Northern California photo shoots plus vacations. It was the best motor transmission combo for our designated driving. YRMV
Was the Stude Avanti low production enough…? Only about 4500 cars built in ‘63-‘64. Almost all were 289” 4bbl V8, with about 1200 equipped with Paxton superchargers. But then there was the 9 of em got the 305” high output R3… said to be dyno tested at Paxton at no less than 450hp!
Agreed. I have a '64 Impala SS with a 4 speed and console, those consoles are pretty common and not an aftermarket item, you absolutely could get a 4 speed in a full size car. (not that you had to have a console in a 4 speed, but their mere existence proves they were available.)
The post you were responding to and said was incorrect specifically was about full-size GM's with a 4-speed. It's a pretty easy research project using GM resources to confirm that the 4-speed was available in all full-size models, Corvette, even the El Camino and Malibu. GM Heritage Archive: Vehicle Info Kits | General Motors What you're talking about is a 396 that wasn't available until 1966 in the El Camino. The M20 4-Speed was available on El Camino on all V8's in 1965. The dealer not bringing it in might be another issue, but GM would gladly make it for you.
How about 57 Pontiac Safari? 1292 made, I owned one, but couldn’t afford to build it. GM made more 55 Nomads than all the tri 5 Safaris. At our last Boise Roadster Show, there were 2 of them. To me they are beautiful cars, better looking than the 57 Nomads. The 55 and 56s? Not so much. But that’s just one man’s opinion.
What is actually being considered "production"? There were several car models built specifically for racing that had to meet a 100 car "production run". My brother's 65 Plymouth Belvedere I with Hemi (A990) was but one of several examples of that era. They made 101 for the 65' model year but that number included both the Dodge Coronet and the Plymouth Belvedere.
62-65 Max wedge Plymouth and Dodge come to mind, as well as The 61 Ford Solid lifter 390 375 hp or tri carb 401 hp. Supposedly the tri carb setup was shipped in the trunk, as was the T10 four speed which was available late in the model year. Other rarities include the 289 / k code solid lifter Fairlanes from 63-65. The only 63 K code Fairlane I ever saw was in a Doctor’s designated parking spot in Marquette Mi in about 1969, a well weathered six year old used car at the time.
Thanks.. From what I have read the 62 6’s and 283’s got iron powerglides and all 327’s and the low hp 409 got the new aluminum ones.
In college I had a 65 Impala SS, factory big block car with AC. The one I regret selling. I gave $1300 for it. Sold it for $1350. At least I made money.
I dont know exactly the production numbers, but I know it's low. Grey car is a 1941 Nash amb***ador "6" Tudor "slipstream" sedan with the aerotype 6 cylinder. Green car is a 1941 Nash Amb***ador "600" brogham coupe. I also have a 38' Lafayett.
got a 32 DeSoto 3 window rumble seat coupe slightly less than 3000 made,..sorry can't find pics rite now, it's a complete project.
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