1963 chevy small block

[Belair62]

Verne..John P did not disappear by any means...he is not a bullshitter either so I would love to hear the rest of this story too...

[Verne_Frantz]

FINE, I'm just TIRED of this BS

[Belair62]

now chill out buddy...actually I bet its not the casting number but maybe a rebuilder punched that on the pad

[ssl78]

I was in Florida for a couple of weeks just came back yesterday. I have to arrange to go see the engine since its about 800 miles away. When I find something out I will post it.

[Verne_Frantz]

I apologize. I haven't been feeling very well lately and my patience factor is at zero.

[Xplantdad]

Hey Verne,

John is the nicest person that you can meet...I also think you are the same type of guy. I enjoy reading all the information that you post about early 348-409 Chevy stuff.

I hope that you start to fell better soon!

Take it easy, my man!

[PeteLeathersac]

John, looking forward to whatever you come up with. . I take it the info you have is second hand at best so where did the 1963 and 327 parts come from? . Something rings about this Super thing....is it possibile it's an aluminum block? . Remember the G-S w/ an alum. 327 also the Xp rear engine car had one plus the ones offered to racers etc.
~ Pete

And Vern, the martians took the Chevy stuff as they know a Chevy engine conversion on the saucer is the only way to fly....especially with a fuel crystal! .
I always like to bug my Ford pals that Zora jumped ship from the darkside....after all the fun w/ the ArDun flatty motors, once he went Chevy he was hooked too! . Actually, didn't he dislike the W motors? ~ Pete

[Verne_Frantz]

Pete,
I've been, let's say, under a dark cloud for awhile myself recently, and it's unfortunately had a negative effect on me.
I've heard, or read somewhere that Zora tried to put a 409 in a '63 Vette, but for whatever reasons, it didn't fly. I've also heard, from a VERY unreliable source who claims to have worked with him, that he tried an aluminum block version.
What I DO know is that a 409 will fit perfectly in a '63 Vette, stock exhaust manifolds and all, including hood clearance. What a ride that never was!
Obviously, I was being tongue n' check when I mentioned that block I have.
I've been going through some trials lately. Still not out of the woods. I'm sorry if I came off like a jerk. And I apologize to John.

And don't forget the flux capacitor

[Verne_Frantz]

Pete,
I don't know if Zora actually disliked the W engine or not. I hope there are more people out there who might offer more incite than I, but I do know that he was in charge of their development and was the man behind the scenes working to make the 348 a Nascar winner from '58-'60, working closely with Jim Rathman and Rex White through SEDCO to be close to Daytona.
Here are a few quotes from Zora himself:
"In '58 I start to work with Buck Baker. In '59 two things happan: opening of speedway in Daytona, and two preliminary races, two heat, 125miles each. Both races, three Chevrolet 1-2-3 and second race also 1-2-3........Then I decided engine was good enough to go, 348 cubic inches, not supposed to be racing, right?...........Jim Rathman ran 348 cubic displacement engines, part of my development. It became my development, and Dick Keinath came to my group and was instrumental in 348 and 409 and 427, but not MK II. That was just Dick. The 427 exist only for drag racing, the Z-11. Identical block like 409, but 427 cubic inches."
"Cole and Barr (Harry Barr, chief engineer) came up with idea - to establish Marine Division. Marine Division was, at that time, subterfuge. Marine Division was organized under me and provide means and engineering budget to funnel money, material and work for the racers........348 Marine engine. I was director of high performance including Marine engine. But I will tell you, in 1960 eighty percent of the starters at Daytona were Chevrolets. And one failure was one car that pick up debris and burst crankcase. Mechanically, all cars were scot-free. That proved the 348, started out as a truck engine, was a very good racing engine also."

Those are all the comments I could find regarding Zora and the W engine. I'll have to disagree with Zora's last statement about the W starting out as a truck angine. I have the original 5 design objectives for the new engine (and I wrote an article about it back in '88). The objectives clearly stated both passenger car and truck applications from the git-go, with the ability to adapt to high performance equipment.
Did Zora dislike the W? I still don't know the answer to that.

Verne