Local dealer has one of these for sale, I think he wants around $25k. He says they didn't make very many 409 cars in 65, most were 396's. Figure there are some guys on here who know a think or two about Chevy's. Car is pretty nice, local show car condition, 1965 Impala SS, Red on Red, numbers matching 409, Factory 4 speed, A/C, Manual brakes, Power Steering (?), buckets, tilt, tach. Drives real nice, good power. Somebody help me out here, what are these things worth and they rare and / or desirable? I wouldn't even know where to begin to look up production #'s for one of these... I have a friend who is interested in the car. Thanks in advance, Chris
65 SS 409 Chris, very rare car!!! This a very early SS and if its the real thing is worth what he is asking for it. I called my Chevy Buddy and he knows these cars well and said as I did, AL.
409s in 1965s Kevin, the 396 was the new power plant for the 1965 model year but GM did not use up all the 409 engines intended for use in the 1964 models so the early big block "B" body cars got the 409 power plant, then use the 396 power plant for the production run after that. AL.
Any big car with a 4-speed is rare, most were automatics. A 4-speed 409 with A/C in '65 is likely to have a production total of less than 100? Very collectible car that is worth having, I would definitely question it's pedigree though.
65 Impala SS 409 4 speed Any of these things from the factory makes the car desireable. the 65 Imp is a popular car, 4 speeds are very desirable, and the 409....was such a legendary engine that the Beach Boys wrote a song about it. So what if it was derived from a truck engine and couldn't be hot rodded easily? It had personality. Yes, it is rare and desirable. Documentation of it's factory equipment is a must, of course
Rare. My father bid on one on Ebay last winter before getting beat at the last second. It was a very nice 4 speed car with matching numbers. Hard top too. Sold for $16K. He then purchased a 66 Caprice big block car and paid $11 for it. That is a very good looking car. 409's were very rare in 65. Go for it.
409 "she's real fine, my 409" - was that Jan and Dean???? and with air! now, in 1965 there were 2828 409 engines built. In 64 there were over 8800 built. In 62 and 63 there were over 15,000 409s built each year. rare? maybe. I think they went from 340hp to 425 hp (2 4's). The value of that car is in the condition and pedigree, check both carefully!
I got out an old book and got some numbers for you. They did not respond well to performance tuning because of the combustion chamber being made up from the pistons. I never knew this. Started out in 61' as a 360 hp version, and ended up as high as 425 hp. Left overs were installed in 65's till stock ran out. The 340 hp was an L78 which cost $242. L31 was the 400 hp engine which cost $321. Only 2,828 cars were made before the 409 was dropped for good. A handful of 425 hp engines apparantely were put together for special order purchases. Id numbers stamped on a pad on the pass. side of the block where the cylinder head meets the block. Also, on this pad the last 6 digits of the vin can be found. A 65 block should have an X on it. 3857656 cast. Eng. suffix codes are: Jb- 340 hp- 4 sp m/t jc- 340 hp- 4 sp m/t TI Je- 340 hp- PG a/t Jf- 340 hp- PG a/t TI ja- 400 hp- 4 sp m/t jd- 400 hp- 4 sp m/t Ti Intake manifold: 340 hp- 3844465 400 hp- 3844463 Truck- 3844472 Exhaust manifolds: Right side: 3855162 Left side: 3855161 :3gears:
If you dont think a 409 could be hot rodded easily you have never been around one. I had a 400 horse version. These came from the factory with solid lifter cam and was the biggest bore to stroke made. This means lots of rpm. Raced several 383 cudas and roadrunners and they didnt even come close. I got stupid and thought i needed something newer so i sold to one of the Roadrunner guys i smoked. He loved the car and power Ed K
Personally, I don't have any experience with a 409. But did read this in an American V8 publication that I have here at home. It stated that they had gone to the max. with power and didn't respond well to performance upgrades. So they were getting beat by the Chrysler Hemis and the 427 Ford wedge motors. They were also falling behind on the tracks in Nascar, so Chevy built the more modern big block to be more competitive. They had to be powerful in their day.
A 65 SS with the 409 4 speed .... Yep rare and a low production car with that engine . I don't know the #'s but I am old enough to remember that the SS 327 was most common and the SS 396 was second . One real sweet car ! :bglasses: :bglasses: :3gears: :TU:
The most collectible of all 409 equipped cars was the '63 Z11, well I guess technically it is has a 427 displacement. What I wouldn't give for one of those, She's So Fine.
If this car/engine combo can be VIN verified as numbers matching then it's a steal at that price. And a damn good lookin car to boot.
That is one sweet ride! I've always loved the looks of the 409 too. Cool valve covers. :TU: I had a 63 about that color and wish I still had it. I've never been a real fan of the 65 body style, but that one looks awesome.
Guys, Thanks for all the feedback, I really appreciate it and will pass it along and tell him to check the #'s out very carefully! I do know he mentioned it was a single 4 barrel solid cam lifter car, if that makes a difference. The car is considerably more than he wants to spend so I am not sure he will buy it even if it checks out. Chris
