396 Trivia

[Chris H.]

Rumaging through my new NCRS Restorer CD, I came across a Chevrolet recall article, one of which states that 47 396 Corvettes left the factory with steering dampers.

A serialized list was provided to dealers and all but one was fixed. Guess who has the only one?!?1?

[Bill Lucia]

Re: 396 Trivia

Chris, NEAT STORY, Here's another one. A friend of mine tells a story about being contacted by a guy back east about a 67 Corvette. In the course of talking Corvettes it turns out this guy also owns a 64 409 Impala (original owner) nice car huh? EXCEPT, it just hppens the guy ordered it in late 64 and as the story goes the car showed up with a 396 in it. The excuse is that the factory ran out of 409's and used the then new 396 as the alternative. The guy claims to have the paper work from GM explaining it!!! Just one more urban legend!!!!

regards

Bill #8620

[Joe L.]

Re: 396 Trivia

Bill-----

Interesting story. I'd like to see this "paperwork". The Mark IV 396 engines didn't arrive in the engine bays of passenger cars until at least mid-1965 model year. So, for one of these engines to show up in a late 64, even one built in, say, July, 1964, the installation would have most likely pre-dated the manufacture of any PRODUCTION Mark IV engine. In fact, until mid-1965, the Mark II 409 engine was installed in MANY 1965 models. So, I really don't understand how a pre-production Mark IV could have ended up in a 1964 passenger car.

[Michael R.]

Re: 396 Trivia

Shouldn't pick on your relatives Joe..Gee, I wonder if it had an M22.... STW, Mike


Mike '69 Corvette Page

[Bill Lucia]

Re: 396 Trivia

Joe, I'll see if I can get more information on this car. I would agree with you on the time avaiable of 396's. It seems way too early to have a 396 even in summer 64. But again, this is in an "urban legend". I heard it from my brother who got it from a NW chapter member. I follow up and let you know if I can find more. (Wonder what they used for emblems!! ))

regards

Bill #8620

[Joe L.]

Re: 396 Trivia

Bill-----

I could understand a situation like you described earlier occurring for a 1965 passenger car. If someone had ordered one with a 409, but, for one reason or another, the car didn't get built until the 409 was out of production, I could POSSIBLY understand the car getting built with the engine that replaced the 409. This was, of course, the Mark IV 396. If I recall correctly, the only 409 available for 1965 was rated at 340 hp (or thereabouts). The 396 was available in passenger cars with ratings of 325 hp and, if I recall correctly, 425 hp. Anyway, I could see Chevrolet substituting a 325 hp 396 for a 340 hp 409 for 1965. I just can't see it happening for model year 1964.

[Bill Clupper]

Re: 396 Trivia

In addition to all that's been said, the fact that there are '65 409 cars and that the 409 was the hi-perf option in '65 for the first half of the year should not go innoticed.

[Jeff]

The M-22 came out his early '65 409 Corvette...

...which was built before the 396 was available. He has all the right parts, just in the wrong cars.

JP

[Michael R.]

Re: 396 Trivia

I've heard that the reason the 409 wasn't in the '65 (and earlier) Vette's was because of clearance issues with the W-block motor..Anyone know how true that is? Can you imagine a 409 Vette? kewl! STW, Mike


Mike's '69 Corvette Page

[Wayne M.]

Re: 396 Trivia

Recall Rick Miller's "Godzilla" series in the RESTORER a few years back; one of his friends had a 409 stuffed in a C2. Wasn't it also a weight issue, as well as a tight fit ?

[Michael R.]

Re: 396 Trivia

Not sure if the 409 weighed that much more than the 396... STW, Mike


Mike's '69 Corvette Page

[Jeff]

Re: 396 Trivia

I had a 60 with an 09-09 in the 70s. I bought it that way but it had been done (amazingly) with a kit that was offered by some company that included motor mounts and headers. As you might well imagine, it was a bit nose heavy, a little light in the rear, low enough in front to plow snow and, in addition to being an absolute stone, didn't handle very well either. But it was a Corvette and those scalloped valve covers looked way cool when I opened the hood to reveal why it was such a slug.

My recollection is that the 09 was considerably heavier than a Mark motor. One thing you may not be aware of is that the two crankshafts were interchangeable (with minor tweaking). I did an el-cheapo stroke job on it by installing a 427 crank which made all the difference in the World. It was immediately transformed from the World's slowest 409 Corvette into the World's doggiest 427 Corvette. My friends and I called it the "Pig Block".

JP