Slightly OT, but the ZL 1 all aluminum BBC was the pinnacle of Chevy 427s Someone else please post up the Mystery Motor!
One year ago today, we put my older cat down, she had mandibular cancer. So 427 is not a real happy day for us.
Hello, My friend and I went to the drags a couple of times and saw the progression of hot cars in the stock classes. When the rumor and magazine stories came out showing the power of the 409 motors, instantly, I wanted one. Then a class mate got a 409 Biscayne and now, it was the fastest car in Bixby Knolls. (Although, my 58 Impala showed the 409 Biscayne 6 red taillights at the 1/8th mile in a match race. No way was I going to go a ¼ with the 409 gaining every second…) But as the years rolled on, a new kid was now the star of the magazine articles and it sounded pretty outstanding. It was a special order 63 Chevy Impala with a new 427 c.i. motor. No longer was the 348-409 motor the kings of the past, this 427 was the absolute power in Chevy sedans. This version was the absolute top echelon of the stock car drag racing groups. A z-11 was the nomenclature for all to read and label. In 1963, my friend’s dad asked us what car he should get for the next family car. What? My friend had a choice? Well, we dug up some very nice choices, topping it off with the latest from Chevy to appease his dad favorite brand, Chevrolet. There were still some 409 Impalas left and the new 63 models were getting a good look when we all went to the local Chevy dealer. My friend was looking ahead in trying to get his dad to get a new 409 still on the showroom floor, or order a new one with all choices the dealer had to offer. In a side conference, my friend and I wanted to know if the new 427 was available in the 63 Impala. so, we had to ask the sales guy. He said it was a special order and it would take 6 months to almost a year to arrive in the dealer’s showroom. It was a nice thought as there would have been gobs of horsepower no one in our area had at the time. The 409 was the king, but this one could obviously tip the scales. Jnaki Despite the advantages of having the latest version of a high performance Chevy car with all of the goodies, bucket seats, 4 speed, Positraction, his dad wanted to think it over. So, we left it at that and wished the dad would step up his choice to the 427 Impala. So what if he drove his old Chevy sedan for another 6 months to a year? My friend and I were in “dreamsville” and waited the decision with some anxiety. Note: After a couple of weeks of looking at 63 Chevy models, a Turquoise Green two door Impala was sitting on my friend’s driveway. When I came rolling around the corner, it was smiles across my face…YES!!! So, without inspecting it, I went in to talk to my friend. He was happy it was a new 63 Turquoise Impala, but not happy it wasn’t a 409. It wasn’t 6 months or a year wait, so it could not have been a new 427 Impala. Well, it was not an SS model with bucket seats and a 4 speed, 409 motor, but at least it had A/C. That hot Summer was perfect for cruising around in an A/C car. We made do with what was available. For the hot Summer/Fall nights, the A/C was great. Everyone knew the new 63 Impala was not a 409 or a 427. And we heard plenty of comments of it being a dad’s family car… along with other comments. But, at least, we were the “coolest” guys on the cruising scene, with the A/C blasting during the cruise nights. YRMV
When Pete Robinson put a gear drive on the SOHC motor it really made it better....Did away with timing changes due to the long timing chain stretching....
In more rational parts of the world it would be 4490cc engines being celebrated: 274 cubic inches. A quick search reveals V8s by Toyota, Nissan, and Ferrari, all of them off-topic. Unfortunately there is no 42nd of July ...
My first car when I was 16 has a factory 427. It now has 160 thousand miles on the odometer, never have been out of the car or rebuilt. Drove it 5 thousand miles last year.
We had a local junkyard with a 427 Ford in the showroom, on display. Soup to nuts, a complete engine looked ready to rumble. We all talked about buying it, many tried over the years. I was back there maybe 15 years ago and it was gone. Nobody there knew where it went.
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