1963 chevy small block

[Xplantdad]

Verne and John P., two cool guys! Oh yea, you too Gags!

[Mr. T]

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That car is a 24 hour woodie!

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Every mans dream!

[Enoch]

Vern, Zora fought the 409 going into the 63 vette. He said that it was too heavy and the car would not handle.

Don't worry about that black cloud you just got to hang around some of us wind bags and it will blow away soon enough.
Rich.

[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

[PeteLeathersac]

Vern, keep your chin up w/ life's trials....been there, done that....actually still there doing that??? .
Great digging on the Zora 'W' stuff....sure sounds like he had a lot more to do w/ the W-motors than most of us know? . A lot of this happening during the 'racing ban' time period could explain how it's not been common knowledge over the years? . Love the Marine Division thing....man, GM could sure use a few Ed Coles and Harley Earls these days! . A few like Vince Piggins and Pete Estes could go a long way to turn things around for the General too? . With the mix including the guys like Smokey Yunick and racer/dealers types like Yenko and Gibbs, it's no wonder how GM was at the top o' the heap back in the day! . Off topic, GM could use a few Bill Mitchells and Larry Shinodas now too....wonder what their new Camaro would've been like? . Anyway, I also remember reading something about the W-motor being tried in a 'Vette mule and Enoch's note on Zora fighting the 9'ers in the 'Vettes is what I recall too....the handling being his major concern, not the motor itself. . Considering this and your info on his involvement in the W-motors would sure make the alum. block rumour more of a possiblity? .
~ Pete

[Verne_Frantz]

Just for added interest, the '63 Chevrolet engineering specs say to add 45lbs to the curb weight for a 409 over a 283. That of course would have to include the dual exhaust and larger radiator....and another quart of oil!

In an interview with Dick Keinath, the guy who got to use a blank sheet of paper to design the mystery motor, he stated he was also given the "aluminum project" development, but he only spoke of aluminum heads and intakes for both the SB Corvette and the Z-11. He never mentioned a block. Although we know an aluminum 377cid was built. It's still a mystery.

I agree with you. I think the General would be doing a lot better today if they had a few of the old gearheads in key positions. The cars we love were designed by stylists and built by engineers. Today's Chevys are designed by lawyers and built by accountants.

Verne

[Verne_Frantz]

Just curious......is there any follow-up on this?

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

Hey

[Verne_Frantz]

Marlin, I'm just curious. It sounds like something interesting. Something odd. Why the frown? I hope that wasn't directed at me.

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

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Today's Chevys are designed by lawyers and built by accountants.

Verne

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The poor bean counters taking the rap again