Man, talk about bragging rights!

Hmmmmm. Interesting to see that Aubrey indicates his safari wagon was 1 of 1 car built with a 4spd 409 in 1963. 
And now we see 2 of 1 built!

he has a 63 and a 64 ,, he may have sold the 63? not sure.

The black wagon is a 63.   Aubreys red 1 of 1 safari is also a 63.

I thought this ebay listing might be appropriate in this thread.

64 dual quad 4 speed Impala wagon

Carl Stevenson wrote:

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I'm confused.

I agree, they are both 63's pictured.

His writeup has big, bold letters saying 64.

???????

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Aubrey had 3  409 4 speed wagons that I am aware of - 1 red 63 Parisienne  that is his personal car; one sunfire red (rose) metallic 64 Parisienne w/o motor & trans that he sold; and one sunfire red 64 9 pass Laurentian missing powertrain, with the whole roof top cut out.

 

   

  

     
Listed this car recently on ebay but have changed my thinking on it's value.  I have more and better pictures of it but you can only do so much in a dark building.  I have also added more to the description.  When Mr. Billaw drove his '57 Chevy 4d station wagon to Miller Chevrolet in his home town of Atchison Kansas in late spring of '64 to order a new car he had no idea he would be ordering quite possibly the rarest 409 powered car ever built.  He had special ordered his '57 wagon with the optional 270 horsepower dual 4-barrel 283.  It is interesting he ordered a new '64 at the end of the production year.  The '65 model cars would be out in a few months in the fall.  Also, Chevrolet was hard at work on their new 396 cubic inch engine to be offered in the new '65 body style.  But it was untested and would only be available with a single 4-barrel carb.  And the final 2800 409s installed in the new '65 body style to phase out the 409 and give a little more needed time to develop the 396 would also only be available with a single 4-barrel carb.  Perhaps that is why he ordered one of the last dual 4-barrel 409s built.  When Mr. Billaw set down with the salesman he obviously was not interested in street racing.  He ordered his car with transistor ignition dual fours, power brakes, power windows, a 62 amp alternator, all horsepower robbing, plus tinted glass, AM/FM radio, front and rear bumper guards, windshield washers, dual outside mirrors seat belts anf full wheel covers. He ordered it black with red interior.  It was built the first week of June and delivered by Jack Cooper Transport to Miller Chevrolet on June 18th.  I can only imagine how excited Mr. Billaw was when he saw it the first time. It is my opinion he drove it like it was a 340 horse car.  NOTHING has been added.  It still has the original wide steel wheels, radio, exhaust manifolds etc.....stuff that got changed on a lot of 409s.  About 25-30 years ago with only 76,000 miles a valve broke and ended the use of the wagon.  It has not been repaired.  It was sold to a guy who sold it to 409 guru Phil Reed in the mid eighties.  I bought it from Phil in '87. It had the original black paint except for the drivers side rear door which had evidently been hit and repaired.  It was a very solid 23 year old car.  It had some rust in the drivers floor and the bottom of both quarters and the bottom of both front fenders.but otherwise was rust free.  The rocker panels, all other floor pans including the rear pan were rust free.  Even the door jams and tailgate jams were rust free.  The engine was partially disassembled to show the broke valve and what little damage it had done.  The block assembly was still in the car. Not much was known about casting numbers and dates at that time. I put it in my garage and it sat there for about 15 years.  About 7 years ago I took it to Fatman Fabrications here in North Carolina and had the drivers floor and the bottom of both quarters replaced and he did an excellent job. They will need some preparation work before paint since they were not primered.  I had planned on having a body off the frame restoration by a shop that has done several award winning restorations for me. I started taking it apart but did not get very far.   The original tailgate was damaged after removing it but I found another to go with the car.  It will need some metal replaced at the bottom of the tailgate. I have had numerous inquries about selling it over the last 22 years but have turned down some pretty good offers.  I had planned on this being my last restoration.  It is the rarest car I have ever had.  No one I know has ever seen another '64 425 horse wagon.  If there were more built it is probably safe to say they were not optioned out like this car.  And ALL the original parts are with it.  It has the original QP block assembled May 27th '64 one week before the car was built.  It has the original 3361 and 3804 carbs. the 583 heads and as stated before the original exhaust manifolds.  The only thing I have found that is not correct is the transistor distributor.  It has vacuum advance and shouldn't.  I expect when the original distributor went bad this was what was available as a replacement.  It also does not have the correct radiator.This car needs a complete restoration but is an exceptional car to do.  If you want to restore all the original parts instead of replacing them you have that option.  I truly believe this car will sell for $250,000.00-$350,000.00 restored, possibly more at Barrett-Jackson..  We have all seen what rare one-of-a-kind ultimate performance cars sell for there.  If you have any questions you can email me or call me on

-- Edited by 427carl on Monday 19th of October 2009 08:37:24 AM

73SC wrote:

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From September 12th.

I sent a message to the contact in the article but as is usually teh case , no reply.

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Car has been for sale for years, I think he is just fishing.

 

427carl wrote:

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From September 12th.

I sent a message to the contact in the article but as is usually teh case , no reply.

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Car has been for sale for years, I think he is just fishing.

 

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I think he is just fishing.   He a fisherman?   is this a fish story?  wow 

 

 

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 Looking to hook a big "_______________" you fill in.

What's a car worth? 

I agree.  Guys like this who are asking an astronomical price, don't really want to sell.  If in fact they've checked the numbers and it is an actual 1 of  a few ,... they think it's worth a fortune.   In this case ,.. he's about $55,000.00 over priced.  So really ,.. more than likely,... he does not want to sell,... and like someone mentioned ,.. he could be fishing for suckers.  What will probably happen,... one day it will be sold on an estate sale.  There seems to be a common trait among most (NOT all) owners of 409 cars and engines ,... they're pack-rats who don't part with anything.  The beach boys are largely to blame for what's happened to the 409 hoarding phenomenon.   You'd swear GM paid them royalties of some kind!

What a rare car might "really" be worth is more dependent on people than many would think.
1) If the original owner kept ALL the original paperwork and passed it on to the subsequent owners.  Not because of added "value",.. but because it lends a human element to an otherwise simple shiny piece of metal.
2) If there is some kind of story connected with it,.. like the Grand Prix listed on this forum that was officially used for visiting Russians in the Canadian embassy.  That's added "value".
3) Was the car kept in reasonable condition and is it intact with all it's original parts?  The car doesn't have to be a show car,.. but,... when you see aluminum pop riveted to the back end and bondo cracks along the side,.. I'm sorry ,... don't plan that addition to the house with $85K that you think the car is worth.  In my opinion,.. that Grand Prix that was used for Russian dignitaries in Canada would be a much more worth while purchase if it went up for sale.

So really,.. this guy with the 63 409 wagon does not want to sell.

Only thing would be nice,. to have some pics and have the cowl tag numbers for reference.   For $85K ,.. he can keep the car.,,, and his Beach boys 45s.  Just give us a few more pics.

-- Edited by 64 Hard Top on Monday 19th of October 2009 06:04:47 PM