Four-Speed, Dual-Quad, Positraction 409! 1964 Chevrolet Impala SS
The Beach Boys extolled the virtues of Chevrolet’s 409 cubic inch V8 in their 1962 song 409, and this 1964 Chevrolet Impala Super Sport near Eagle, Idaho echos the song lyrics as a genuine “Four-Speed, Dual-Quad, Positraction 409.” A teaser listing here on Craigslist leaves many questions unanswered such as “Does it run?” but it’s offered as an original interior, one re-paint classic that can be yours for $65,000. Thanks to reader Pat L. for spotting this original-looking SS.
The 409 cubic inch mill is unlikely to be stock, and we don’t know if this car came so-equipped, but an original 409 with twin Carter four-barrel carburetors laid down a stout 425 HP. Thanks to Hemmings for some details. The single-circuit brake master cylinder would be high on the list of parts to replace and this Chevy may deviate from stock only where cost savings were the goal.
My Dad had an Impala of this body style (and the next body style ’65!) when my folks met at American University, and he always spoke highly of it. The extra-long tail pipes announce the presence of dual exhausts in a way normally reserved for a high school parking lot, and the twin back-swept antennas make a sweet vintage touch as well. More than likely this car wore fuzzy dice hanging from the rear-view mirror, and boy, if those dice could talk.. The black respray makes a nice backdrop for the Impala’s plentiful chrome, which shows well as nearly as we can tell. The seller graciously shows a rust spot near one of the nifty antennae bases.
Plenty of shiny bits contrast sharply with the black interior, and that monster shifter is pure art. The gauges look almost too good to be original. If this Impala runs as well as it looks, it should lay rubber at the drop of a hat, or the drop of your heavy right foot. While the mid-sized 1964 Pontiac GTO get press as “the first muscle car,” GM full-sized units like this Impala SS had plenty of muscle. Where would you cruise in this real fine 409?
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Comments
For $65,000 large I would expect some documentation other than original interior. But hey for $5.00 you can list it on CL and maybe get something on you hook ! Not a bad car for less…..
She’s real fine my 409
She’s real fine my 409
My 4-0-9
Well I saved my pennies and I saved my dimes
(Giddy up giddy up 409)
For I knew there would be a time
(Giddy up giddy up 409)
When I would buy a brand new 409
(409, 409)
Giddy up giddy up giddy up 409
(Giddy up giddy up 409)
Giddy up 409
(Giddy up giddy up 409)
Giddy up 409
(Giddy up giddy up 409)
Giddy up 40…
Nothing can catch her
Nothing can touch my 409
409 ooooo
(Giddy up giddy up oooo)
(Giddy up giddy up oooo)
(Giddy up giddy up oooo)
(Giddy up giddy up)
When I take her to the track she really shines
(Giddy up giddy up 409)
She always turns in the fastest times
(Giddy up giddy up 409)
My four speed dual quad posi-traction 409
(409, 409, 409, 409)
But wasn’t there a line in the song, where he says,””but man that 413 is really digging in!
That was the Beach Boys song called Shut Down.
“Yeah, my fuel injected Stingray and a four-thirteen
Revving up our engines and it sounds real mean”
My Stingray is light the slicks are starting to spin
But the four-thirteen’s really digging in
Got to be cool now, power shift – here we go
Ad says “runs great”.
Thanks Todd and Bluetec for the Beach Boys, when music was fun.What passes for music today,,they sure missed out. 1st ( real) gf right out of HS, had a ’64 Impala, 283, 2 door. It was a tank, by most standards. Nice car, but big. When the Beach Boys wrote that song in ’62, the 409 was as good as it got for Chevy, even though, by ’64, it, and the song were dated. With Ford’s 427 and Chrysler hemi, a good running 327 could probably beat it. I believe ’65 was the last 409, as the 396 came out and changed everything. Again, black cars, but this has enough chrome to offset it some, still a very nice car. The best you could get for a Chevy in ’64.
Last year of high school my buddy had a 62 Impala it was originally a 409 car but was stolen and the motor was missing when the original owner got it back so they put a 300 HP 327 in it and that’s when my friend bought it he could trounce 340 HP 09’s the dual quad 09’s were a little tougher that was back in the mid 60’s to this day i still don’t think that 327 was stock but guess I’ll never know both the car and my friend are relagated to history
Todd said: “leaves many questions unanswered such as “Does it run?” ”
Yet the ad said:
“Runs and stops great, Drives wonderful.”
Colour me confused.
Hi Mike… Don’t be confused! That line was added to CL after I wrote up the car. Happy Motoring! Todd
Hi Todd. I wonder if the seller saw your comments on BF and edited the ad accordingly. If so, that shows how popular BF is becoming.
Can anyone over 50 look at the song lyrics without hearing the tune? I think it’s impossible!
You are absolutely right! That is why I posted them, lol. I have had “409” stuck in my head for 3 days now after reading the first paragraph of Todd’s write-up, with no end in sight!
To answer your question, everywhere. I’d cruise everywhere in this beauty.
But alas, I’m just a poor working stiff. Nice to dream, tho…
Wow. A period grail car for sure. Gonna take a lot of arm and leg strength to turn and stop it!
It’s nice, but 65k nice? I definately admire any 409/4spd ’64 SS but it’d be interesting to learn whether it was born with this combo or if it was just a SB stripper SS upgraded to be a killer 409? Yes,the posi might indicate muscle car duties however isn’t unusual in snow-rich regions either.
There are some nit-picks; driver seat bottom upholstery is already replaced, the OE recesses aren’t stiched. Ash tray is from a ’63 SS, ’64 should have a knob. Fuel hose routing is EXTREMELY QUESTIONABLE going between water pump and block, should be hard line. There should not be a breather in the valve cover. Red heater hoses… 😖 I will also point out it has manual steering and brakes – could be intentional by 1st owner to eliminate power robbing acc’s, but can also indicate a low-optioned SS. Could also be one couldn’t order PB with the 2×4 spec? I’d have a closer look at the trunk to rear inner fender well area too, looks uneven which can indicate it’s already patched but can also mean surprises.
As I’ve mentioned before, in this price range I think one has the right to nit-pick
Sheriff I’m pretty sure it’s an original 409 car look at the redline on the tach 5800 – 6000 that wouldn’t be a 327 or 340 HP 409 car
Yup, such a 409 tach should go to 7K. But don’t forget that the tach, console, even complete clutch pedal setup + just about everything necessary for such a conversion are available as repops now. That will of course ease availability of the desirable bits but also reduce value of the OE equivalents.
So if one has access to a 409 block + a certain wallet thickness it’s possible to convert even a lowly-spec’d ‘1447’ ’64 SS into a killer 409. Since we cannot decide whether a ’64 SS was built as a 409 car by VIN nor cowl tag I’m pending until further docs are presented. I will point out I have nothing against clones – I just don’t think it’s fair to pay a legit 2×4 409 premium unless it can be verified
I love everything about this car except the tail pipes. The tailpipes look very low rent.
Get rid of the low budget tailpipes. Wondering what else needs to be fixed?
“Runs and stops great”
Ah,I see,my bad,still cool, catchy songs that today’s music just doesn’t compare to.
If i remember correctly pretty sure the ’62 model impala SS was the only year GM offered the 409 engine as an option instead of the 283 the ’63 & ’64 SS it was the 283 or 327