348 or 409 "W" engines

[Huck]

Andy, I agree on the newer stuff relative to long life---hell even the 2.2 and 2.4 little 4 bangers run 200,000 miles!! Yea, I was referring to big blocks prior to the vortec technology. A guy set up next to me at the Hoosier spring swap meet bought a 64---409 out of a trailer for $1,000. he later sold it for $2,000. He never unbuttoned it to see if it was good. hehehehe

[67_C-30]

I don't know how I missed this thread. Here's some pics of a 348 in a '69 C/10.
Very cool!

[67_C-30]

Originally Posted by 68Stepbed

Did anyone know that in the Beach Boys song 4-0-9, the engine revving at the first of the song was actually a 348. They couldn't find a real 409 in time for the recording, so they used a car with the smaller version instead.

I had actually thought about this when I tore my truck down for the resto, but money was an issue. I also had a good engine and just couldn't justify spending any more cash on another engine. The episode of Horsepower TV this past weekend got the old wheel turning again. I probably won't be able to do this anytime soon, but I just wanted to see if I could find any info.

The aftermarket has finally opened up for the W engine family. Edelbrock makes new aluminum heads. JE, Ross, and a few other piston companies offer new pistons. Eagle, and Callies offer stroker cranks and rods. The list goes on. The hard to find commodity is the blocks and real vintage parts. If I decided to go this route on a truck, I would probably lean torward a 348 since the 409 blocks are so rare.

I'm glad to see there are others sharing interest in this. Hopefully soon we will be able to see something come of it.

BTW, I fully support your outside of the box idea on this. There's no doubt that newer LSX engines and even newer EFI 350's are more efficient and more powerful, but they're everywhere. That kind of powerplant would add even more to your already great truck IMO. This same kind of thinking is what attracts me to the old GMC V6's.

[Fred T]

They do add to the cool factor. But, as stated, they don't last when abused. Also, avoid the 409 blocks made in 61, the general did a poor job of design the first year of production.

If I were going for the cool factor and a big V8 I would take a serious look at the Caddy engine. It's a tight fit and takes some work, but wow!

[Longhorn Man]

the cad isn't THAT tight of a fit!

[67_C-30]

What kind of fuel mileage does the Caddy get in your Longhorn? I've always heard they are decent on fuel.

[Longhorn Man]

I've ponly been able to check a few times via mapquest mileage and full tank then fill up. (my odometer crapped out shortly after getting it on the road and never got around tofixing it) I have actually mapquested from gas station to gas station on 3 occasions.
My combo is NOT ideal with the 4.10 gears and very rich A/F mixture, but even so, I have recorded 13, 15 and 12 MPG.

[original_balzer]

I would imagine the big caddys and "W" engines would be apples to apples in the performance.
Now for feul milage both engines have the advantage of higher torque. Understanding how to use the torque to your advantage is the key. Gobs of tourque and HIGH gear ratios seam to work well. The reason it works is the torque is low in the RPMs so insead of lugging the engine the engine just keeps chugging along not breaking a sweat.

I came to this by helping a friend swap around a few differnt engines. This was a 74 2wd short bed gmc with a 700-R4. He went from stock 350 to a mild built 350 to an overly built 454 then to the 500 caddy. 3.73 gears. Then went to 3.08 gears after the caddy was in there for a while.
The caddy got the best MPG with 3.73's at around 12-13. Now he claims he can get 16 if he stays out of the 4 BBL's.

Long winded and off track sorry

[original_balzer]

The problem I have with doing a 500 caddy is the B.O.P bell housing. Hard to make a 700R4 match up.

[Longhorn Man]

Caddys like to pull real low RPMs, There's a guy here in town who has a 67 GMC short/fleet, had 3.07 gears, and went with a 2.73-ish... His performance didn't drop one bit, MPG went up to 16 MPG mixed highway/city. This was a consistant 16 MPG too.
Unless you are running a 3/4 ton or one ton... there is absolutly no reason for an overdrive, but a 200 4R will bolt right up to a BOP engine.

[68Stepbed]

Thanks for the pics 67_C30. That's what I was looking for.

[Longhorn Man]

I was thinking of the "apples to apples" comment on the caddy verses 409... I've never heard of the 409s being torque monsters.... am I mistaken? I know I've always seen the 500, 472, then the 3 455s listed as the real torque monsters.

[wldavis]

The 409 guy that was featured on Hot Rod is Lamar Walden. He's been building these engines and making parts for them since the 60's. www.lamarwaldenautomotive.com. Call him, he's a super nice guy and answer all your question's.

These motors are known for there torque. Back in the day they weren't known for being dependable (mostly with the rods and rocker arms). However, with today's technology, they can be bullet proof and make loads of power. But, like it's been mentioned here before, depending on how strong you want to build it, if you don't already have a block and heads building one from the ground up could easily get above 10K.

[sweet70beast]

Originally Posted by Huck

They are neat but when you consider that today, a core can cost you $2,000. ---and a good running one might be $3,000.++---that's a lot to throw at a truck. You can get more power out of a 396-454 for a whole lot less money. Street rodders love the 348-409 W blocks for the looks--not necessarly for the performance. huck

Wow I didn't realize they were that much. I bought my running 60k original miles 348 for $150 minus the carb and flywheel. It came from a 60 Impala that the farmer had pulled the motor from to change the gaskets and put the engine in a corner of his shop and forgot about it. He sold the car a few years later then I came along a few years after that and got the motor. I'm going to put it in my 50 Chevy 3100 for the looks aswell backed by a 700r4. It has every thing distributor. exhaust manifolds, water pump, even the power steering generator but with out the pump tho.

[68Stepbed]

Dude, that's gonna look sweet in that 50.

[hamjet]

Boy, heres an old thread back from the dead that I qualify for...

[68Stepbed]

That's worth reviving a thread!

[7tee]

Now I like it, nice looking...ed...

[52napco]

This as close as a W motor will get to one of my trucks. The 59 Impala is a 348 tripower solid lift 335 hp factory 4 speed original paint car. Motor went south in the mid 80's and even then looked for 6 months for some needed valves due to the unusual valve size.

[hamjet]

http://www.show-cars.com/03_Engine-Int_01.html Everything you need to rebuild one of these engines..