What was available in 61?

bjburnout · Uber Guru

What was available in 61?

CdnGMfan · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Triple 2-barrel 348s were available on Canadian Pontiacs from 1958 through 1961. They topped out at 335 horsepower, so no ultra-high compression versions were offered. For 1962 the 348s were dropped and the top engine was reduced to the 327 with only 250-horsepower. 1963 was when the hot 409s came to Canadian Chevrolets & Pontiacs. 1963 was also the first year they offered the 4-speed on Canadian Pontiacs.

73SC · A Poncho Legend!

As usual, bang on from Cam.

The other 1961 power teams were:

261 6 8.5:1 - 150 HP Strato Six

283 2bbl 8.5:1 - 170 HP Strato Flash (single exhaust, dual optional)

283 4bbl 9.5:1 - 230 HP Super Strato Flash (single exhaust, dual optional)

348 4 bbl 9.5:1 - 250 HP Astro Flame (dual exhaust)

348 3x2bbl 9.5:1 - 280 HP Super Astro Flame ( dual exhaust)

MoboMac · Poncho Master!

bjburnout wrote:
In the 1958 to 1961 Pontiac were the solid lifter high horsepower 348's available......were the triple two barrel Rochester's available?
How about a 4 speed?

I don't believe the solid lifter 348's were available in Canada....OR 4 speeds,in those years.....

Canadian Poncho · A Poncho Legend!

I've always wondered why just a 327 for '62.

CdnGMfan · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

It makes me wonder if Canadian-built Chevrolets were limited to the 250-horse 327 at the top. Anything with more power could have been imported from the U.S. It would be interesting to see a Canadian 1962 Chevy brochure to verify if the 409 was offered, and if so was it imported. Hmmm...

MoboMac · Poncho Master!

I'm thinking that in 1962.....maybe the ONLY engines offered in CP's were the ones that were built in Canada....

The base level 348 was only 250 hp....so it really made sense to replace it with a 327 making the same power that weighed 100 lbs less.
Does anybody know if the 348's were build in Canada or just imported from Tonawanda?

73SC · A Poncho Legend!

Although someone was one here claiming to have a St. Catharines big block in a Beaumont it is pretty well certain that all big blocks came from Tonawanda in those days. McKinnon built small blocks.

BIGCARGUY · Addicted!

Wasn't there a 350 HP tri power 348 offered in '61 for Pontiacs in Canada?

73SC · A Poncho Legend!

1961 348 tri-power was rated at 280 HP

BIGCARGUY · Addicted!

Wow! So I guess at the time, Canadian powered Pontiacs did not get the solid lifter cam option on the 348's. For Chevrolet here were the 348 HP options in the states (correct me if I'm mistaken):

1958:
250 HP 4 barrel Hyd Cam
280 HP Tri power Hyd Cam
305 HP 4 barrel mechanical cam
315 HP Tri power mechanical cam

1959:
250 HP 4 barrel Hyd Cam
280 HP Tri power Hyd Cam
305 HP 4 barrel mechanical cam
315 HP Tri power mechanical cam
320 HP 4 barrel mechanical cam
335 HP Tri power mechanical cam

1960:
250 HP 4 barrel Hyd Cam
280 HP Tri power Hyd Cam
305 HP 4 barrel mechanical cam
315 HP Tri power mechanical cam
320 HP 4 barrel mechanical cam
335 HP Tri power mechanical cam
350 HP Tri power mechanical cam (came in spring of '60 and phased out 335 HP version with hotter cam)

1961:
250 HP 4 barrel Hyd Cam
280 HP Tri power Hyd Cam
305 HP 4 barrel mechanical cam
340 HP 4 barrel mechanical cam
350 HP Tri power mechanical cam
360 HP (409)4 barrel mechanical cam

-- Edited by BIGCARGUY on Friday 28th of November 2014 02:05:17 PM

-- Edited by BIGCARGUY on Friday 28th of November 2014 02:06:03 PM

MoboMac · Poncho Master!

I don't believe that ANY X frame car built in Canada came with solid lifter 348's and or 4 speed with ANY 348.....Chevy OR Can Pon...

I stand to be corrected.....

mr409 · Addicted!

In Canada the highest horsepower 348 you could get was a 280 hp tri power. The other option was a 250 hp 4bbl 348. They were hydraulic cam 9.5:1 compression. No factory 4 speeds in Canada in fullsize Pontiacs or Chevrolets until 1963.

bjburnout · Uber Guru

Pretty sure you could get a 4 speed in a '62 Chev in Canada but not a Pontiac and no 409 in
Pontiacs until '63..
In 1962 we had 4 409 4 speed cars within about 6 blocks - a white 62 409 409hp Biscayne
belonged to a neighbor's friend and he had painted 409 ci 409 hp on his hood.
There were also 2 white 409 4 speed Impalas that belonged to two local doctors in
the St. Clair and O'Connor area and a red 62 Impala 327 4 speed used to hang out around Plains
and Coxwell.
A black 409 409 hp 4 speed used to cruise around the east end but don't know where he lived.

CdnGMfan · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Did I say the 335-horse 348 was offered in Canadian Pontiacs? I was wrong. That was a brain fart! I should have said that the 280-horse version was the top engine. 9.5:1 compression, hydraulic cam and triple 2-barrels. I wasn't thinking that the maximum horsepower was that low and it didn't jump out at me when I typed it. Sorry for the mistake

With 280 horsepower out of a tri-power 348 in 61 being replaced by a lighter 250-horse 327 for 62 it doesn't seem like so big a sacrifice. When you look at the production figures for the big gun 409s and 427s a few years later you realize that it was almost not worth the bother to engineer, promote, and stock parts for such low production options. Canadians were generally pretty frugal back then. We also didn't have NASCAR in the True North, and a Chevy engine in a Pontiac would probably been disallowed anyway (not like today's NASCAR racers that don't even remotely resemble a stock car anymore). O.K., they tried to pass off a Firebird as a Canadian Z28 in the Trans Am series, but it was a fabrication and was later disqualified.

deleted · Guru

.....these W block 348's run just fine, I love the sound of the " howl " when you tramp it.

348 , nice58 ,2010.JPG

348 nice58 2010.JPG

jim_ss409 · Guru

My 62 impala s/s convertible came with a 409/409 and a 4 speed, but although it was ordered by Saskatoon Motors it was built in the US and delivered to Canada

photo Dec152004200388X10covertible_zps1306989e.jpg

deleted · Guru

.....jim, that is one fine Super Shevy 409, wow . just curious if it has on the trunk lid this SMP script, not sure what year they started using this one .

BIGCARGUY · Addicted!

Ditto that, stunning '62 '09 you have there. Never let it go.....still have my '63 '09 from when I was a stupid kid. Traded a good running low mileage 454 '72 Caprice sedan for it even to a guy who had no interest in a 409 called them junk and drooled for the 454 and T400 for his Chevelle when 454's were worth their weight in gold in 1989 . Pics of me on the left and my best friend in 1991 getting ready to pull one on many overrevved 327's I manage to grenade (the factory tach never worked right,that's my excuse) and a current pic of it now. The 409 drank oil when I first got it so I had a minimal bit of intelligence to pull it along with the original 4 speed and shifter and store it aside safely. Plan to go through it this summer and drop it back between the fenders of the '63 again. For a standard 340 HP job with 4:56's it sure ate up a lot of 396 Chevelles and 5.0 mustangs on the street back in the day! Sure miss those days

65 016.JPG 65 097.JPG

-- Edited by BIGCARGUY on Sunday 30th of November 2014 06:20:10 AM

jim_ss409 · Guru

No, the script is not there. Funny you ask though I just remembered when I was young I use to tell dealers that unless they wanted to pay me for their advertising they could not put their name on my car LOL. Many times I made them take it off before I would accept the car LOL. And they say old people are ornery. biggrin

-- Edited by jim_ss409 on Sunday 30th of November 2014 07:28:27 PM