396 was officially released in production cars 1965 and has been involved in many forms of racing since then. g***ers were pretty much out of style in the late 60's, and A/FX was replaced by funny cars.
There is a picture of one in a 63 Chev NASCAR in the October(I think it was) '63 R&C. They ran them for almost 2 years before letting them out into public.
427 MYSTERY MOTOR...? i'd figure 65 as soon as they were floating around ...alot of 64 fx chev's were still sportin 409 based stuff... brandon
weren't those the "mystery motors" though?... very similar to the mark IV but with some subtle differences...seems like the innards were closer to the old 409s and the valve covers weren't quite the production big block pattern yet. i remember reading an article about them recently.
First one I ever saw in a drag car was a 396 Chevy powered Chevy AWB car driven by Steve Bovan out of Blairs Speed Shop running at Irwindale in early '66. I believe they called the 396 the Porcupine motor....
Actually 348's came out in 1958 and were considered big blocks. They hit the strip immediately, when the rich kids found out they could buy one and not have to build one.
There were plenty of g***ers still being built in the late 60's early 70's. Most weren't quite so nose high and maybe not as many blown cars but they were definitely still being raced. My Anglia was built in 69 at Blair's with an injected 396
Turbonique used one of their rocket-powered Drag Axles on a brand-new 1965 Z-16 (396) Chevelle. Big block Chevys were an immediate hit at the drag strip, with or without thermolene.
I would Imagine a ****load of them made it to the strip the first saturday night after thier purchase. I heart Big Block...anything.
The 396 was introduced mid year 65. They were supposed to take the place of 409 in Impala's at the start of the production year. But they had some problems and put 409 in Impalas at the start of the year and switched over to the 396's mid year. You can bet the first 396 showed up at the strip about a week after the first car with one in it was sold. Larry T
As far as cars running in stock cl***es, Most likely the first weekend after they hit the showrooms. Those were the days when you bought a new car on Wednesday and raced it in a stock cl*** at the local strip on Sunday.
The 396 came out in 65 and was put in few RPO Z-16 Malibu's, i believe it was less then 20, and it replaced the 409 in the Impala mid year as well. Don't know when the Vette had it or if it was an early option or not.. Anyway, the BB was available in 65 over the counter so if you had the cash it could power your car. Here's a story of exactly what i mentioned. A close friend of mine has a '62 Impala that was originally a 409 4 speed car. It was bought new by a local guy, and he sold it to his friend in '64.. That friend toward the end of '65 bought a new 396 "over the counter" from a local dealer and installed it in the 62 replacing the 409.. It was raced a lot back then from what we were told, and the cl*** champ sticker's still being on the window's.. Anyway, my point is, I would think that as soon as people realized the potential of the BB, they started to show up in compe***ion.. At least for those who had the cash to do it.. For the back yard racer, probably a couple years later.....gotta find that wrecked Impala to afford the mill
I saw my first in a 63 Impala in about mid 64 The car had a 409 at the first of the year and then a 427. This was at the Carlsbad NM strip and the car belonged to ****ie Harrel.
Wasn't the engine in that car a Z-11? Even though the valve covers look like a production big block, it's a whole different animal. As a side note, a lot of the 348/409 guys kinda get their feathers ruffled if you call their engines bigblocks. Also, I think you could get a 396 in a Corvette in late 65.
Percisely. Upon casual observation they appear to be a modern big block. But they have virtually no interchangable parts. They first showed up for the '63 Daytona 500.
Yep, your right. I was thinking about the Z-33 Mark II Mystery Motor. Sorry 'Bout that. http://www.superchevy.com/features/pre1977full/sucp_0703_1963_chevy_biscayne_427/photo_03.html
I have an opportunity to get a stripped '53 chevy wagon. I'd like to make a strictly track only car with it. Thoughts of powerplants are a 283 I have which I'd take up to a 301 with injection or a 396 I can get on the cheap. If I do this, I'd like to keep the car pretty much "true to period". thanks for the info so far
I would build it to look like 1968. It opens up some doors that have been closed for quite some time now. Some of Your more expensive parts purchases would be considerably cheaper, as well. Half the reason I am building My tudor late 60's/Early 70's style is so that I can pull off an authentic looking car without breaking the bank.
"Midnight auto supply" had 396s available from stolen Corvettes with in months of their introduction in 1965. They were probably on the street before the strip but it wasn't long after that. Probably modified production cl***. By 68 you were looking at 427s.
The Chevy Big Block other than the "Mystery" engine made it's debut in January of 1965 as a 396. So shortly thereafter, it was showing up on the dragstrips around the country. It was available in the full sized Chevy in either 325HP or 425 HP versions. The only Corvette 396 option was the 425HP engine. The most famous 1965 396 was the Chevelle Z-16. There were only 201 Z-16s produced. Two prototype cars were built prior to being released for production. The remaining 199 cars were built from February through April in the Kansas City plant. The 396 was rated at 375HP but what was unusual was this engine had a hydraulic cam. Besides the engine, the Z-16 package included several items including 4 speed Muncie transmission, HD large brakes, boxed convertible frame, HD front sway bar, 160 MPH speedometer, AM FM Multiplex radio, mag style wheel covers, special exterior trim pieces and the weirdest part was that all Z-16s had 12 bolts with 3.31 gears but none were factory equipped with positraction. The cars were offered in only 3 colors: red, black or yellow. The Z-16 Chevelle was introduced to compete with the GTO which came out in 1964. This ushered in the true muscle car era that we boomers remember so well.
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