Re: Jake Dykstra's 1962 409/409 Impala!
 

Yes they are - and all true!

Jake

Re: Jake Dykstra's 1962 409/409 Impala!
 

As we drive this car, it brings back a boatload of memories! I gave some friends a ride in it over the weekend, and as we got back to the garage, they said, "Oh don't put it away, we want to go for a long ride!" So we went down to the next town on the back roads, and I zapped it a few times. They both remarked that you just don't hear those muscle car sounds anymore. I love to listen to the mechanical sounds this car makes. The whine of the T-10 going through the gears, the howl of the two AFB'S at 6500 rpm. Just listening to the engine idle is pure music to my ears. Even my wife smiles whenever we take it into town to run errands. She remembers the car being out of control most of the time, so a nice slow ride is a pleasant experience now.

Re: Jake Dykstra's 1962 409/409 Impala!
 

This is one of the coolest threads I have ever seen. I hope to see meet you guys at one of the local cruise nites here ! I can't believe I missed this on BOTH of the sites..SYC and 348-409. Jeez !!

Re: Jake Dykstra's 1962 409/409 Impala!
 

You will see them somewhere I'm sure as they will be out this summer at Downer's Grove, Plainfield, Lemont, etc. He and my mom try and take a drive somewhere at least once or twice a week in either the 62 or their 96 LT4 Corvette. He took out the 4:56 and put in a 3:36 so the miles will be racking up. I think he has already driven it several hundred miles this spring sorting it out.

Jake

Re: Jake Dykstra's 1962 409/409 Impala!
 

I love those cars. The first 4 speed I ever drove belonged to one of my Dad's coworkers. It was a brand new triple Black '62 SS convert with the '09/'09 combo. We were at the lake water skiing and decided to run into town and grab some burgers at the local 'Burger Chef'. Dave threw me the keys to the '09 and told us to 'have fun'. My cousin and I were scared to death so we babied it all the way in town and back.
Now what are the chances a 16 year old kid would have kept his foot out of a dual quad 409????? I figured with my luck I'd break something and my Dad would hang me by my thumbs 'til I was 21. (Plus, .... if I didn't tear it up the first time, maybe he'd let me drive it again!!!! [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/naughty.gif[/img]) Definitely one of the highlights of my early years.
I still see Dave every year at out Dragstrip Reunion. The '62 is long gone but he still has the '55 BelAir Convert he bought new.

Re: Jake Dykstra's 1962 409/409 Impala!
 

Hey Dennis, are you talking about the fellow that had the Dusk colored/white '55 BelAir convertible that was at last years' White Hall Reunion. That's a neat car and an even neater owner. I spent a long time talking to him as I just couldn't believe he was the original owner of that '55!

Re: Jake Dykstra's 1962 409/409 Impala!
 

That's him. David Graham. Cool guy.

Re: Jake Dykstra's 1962 409/409 Impala!
 

Well I finaly got the chance to drive the 409 yesterday. What a ride. Never drove one of these old Chevy's before - it was much nicer than I anticipated. Smooth &amp; quiet. That steering wheel is a monster though. I suspect it was so nice because Dad really has done a good job of sorting this car out over the winter. Everything works on the car, horns, radio, warning lights, clock, etc. and there isn't a vibration, squeek, or rattle in it. My 10 year old son enjoyed the experience at least as much as I did - but I think Dad enjoyed it more than both of us!

http://i793.photobucket.com/albums/y...Jake409003.jpg

http://i793.photobucket.com/albums/y...Jake409004.jpg

http://i793.photobucket.com/albums/y...Jake409005.jpg

http://i793.photobucket.com/albums/y...Jake409009.jpg

Re: Jake Dykstra's 1962 409/409 Impala!
 

How cool...3 generations of Jakes...enjoying the same car! [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/cool.gif[/img] [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/cool.gif[/img] [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/cool.gif[/img]

Re: Jake Dykstra's 1962 409/409 Impala!
 

And they are all cool people too !

Re: Jake Dykstra's 1962 409/409 Impala!
 

Priceless!

Re: Jake Dykstra's 1962 409/409 Impala!
 

Sweet - GREAT stuff!

Re: Jake Dykstra's 1962 409/409 Impala!
 

The smile says it all!!!

Re: Jake Dykstra's 1962 409/409 Impala!
 

Great shot!

Re: Jake Dykstra's 1962 409/409 Impala!
 

Here is the pic so you don't have to click on it - it is my 10 year old son as we are taking off for his 1st ride (and my 1st drive) in the 409. As he hopped in the back seat and fastened the seat belt he picked up and put on Grandpa Jake's &quot;Ozark hat&quot; for the ride.

https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/ubbt...0409%20007.JPG

He still talks about the trip to LA to pick up the car and what a great time it was.

Jake

Re: Jake Dykstra's 1962 409/409 Impala!
 

Man, I remember being that young age and riding in my father's 409's! Be careful......that addiction bug will bite.....and bite hard! I know that better and much faster cars emerged just a few years later in the Sixties but there's something really special about a dual quad, 4-speed, positraction 409. The Beach Boys had it right! I can remember when nobody wanted those &quot;boat anchors&quot; and my dad's buddies giving him trouble about still messing with those engines while they were drving SS 396 Chevelles and Z/28 Camaros. They would GIVE my father their left-over 409 parts for free! Maybe that's why he like them so much!

Re: Jake Dykstra's 1962 409/409 Impala!
 

Mom and Dad took a ride over to Mt. Carroll (about a 200 mile round trip) for a little car show this past Saturday and to his surprise the 409 won Best of Show.

http://i793.photobucket.com/albums/y...llCarShow1.jpg

You can see the full story here:

http://www.348-409.com/forum/showthr...507&amp;page=9

Re: Jake Dykstra's 1962 409/409 Impala!
 

This is so amazing you guys discovered this car's whereabouts. I would love to see it some time if you guys show it. I heard all the stories about my father racing this car down North Ave beach. I drive too fast myself, but no fast toys for me yet. I'm 29, maybe soon I will indulge myself.

Re: Jake Dykstra's 1962 409/409 Impala!
 

John--Please reply to this thread! This is incredible that you found this site! We are anxious to talk to you. We would love to get together and you can see/drive the car.

Re: Jake Dykstra's 1962 409/409 Impala!
 

That would be so great. I would love to reconnect with family who knows such great stories. I will private message you with some of my contact info and we can start a dialogue.

Thanks!

John

Re: Jake Dykstra's 1962 409/409 Impala!
 

----John,,,I can assume that you are Eddies son (hope Im right), and that is something very special. I have heard Cousin Eddie stories from the day I met the Dykstras, and he had to be quite a guy. Big Jake and Eddie had some real adventures together. Its very cool that you all are reconnecting......Just an old Dykstra bud......Bill S

Re: Jake Dykstra's 1962 409/409 Impala!
 

We have contacted John, and are making plans to meet somewhere in the near future! The story of this car becomes more interesting every day!! John is eager to hear all the stories of his fathers escapades &quot;back in the day.&quot; What a wonderful trip down memory lane this has been! Only in America could this have happened!

Update on this thread - hard to believe we've had the car for 10 years already.


It's no secret this car led a rough life and the original drivetrain was long gone. Over the years, Dad has sourced and installed correctly dated rear end and transmission assemblies and has been enjoying driving the car to many local car shows every summer - putting several thousand miles on the car in the last 10 years. Thanks to a member here we recently were able to acquire a date code correct long block assembly. Over the winter this will be our project. As part of this process Dad removed the transmission this week in preparation to be delivered to Eric (Crash) for some service work. The replacement engine assembly has just been put on an engine stand to begin the inspection process. We will post updates as we make progress. Looking forward to more memories.


Sorry for the crooked pictures - not having any luck correcting them

here you go

Thanks Bruce!

Wow, Great thread!!!

One of my favorite threads EVER on this site!!

Awesome!

Dad's been swapping parts off the existing engine still in the car to the new date code correct long block in anticipation of a dyno session on December 13th. We decided to run on a dyno to break in cam and make sure everything is in order before completing the swap in the car. Here he is making sure the engine will fit in the back of the Suburban for the trip down to Peoria. Hopefully all goes well and we can keep making progress after the 13th. Ran into Crash at MCACN and the trans should be ready this weekend too. More updates after the 13th.

Sweet!

Cool. Make sure you strap that down somehow?

Yep - thanks. Test fitting today to make sure I didn't need to grab a pickup from work to get it down and back. Will definitely have it tied down.

UPDATE:


Engine was delivered to machine shop last week without incident in anticipation of our dyno session this Friday 12/13. After machine shop took a look inside he wanted to spend some additional time cleaning up old dried up assembly lube from internals prior to firing up. The engine was assembled several years ago and assumingly never fired. So our dyno session is postponed a few weeks until he can do his double checking. Glad we are doping this to make sure everything is OK.


Dad is on his way up to pick up the rebuilt trans from Crash this morning as we speak. It should be like new after talking with Crash at MCACN about what it needed.


Will post more updates as we find out additional information.

Dyno an engine on Friday the 13th.....:eek2:

Making progress...……

Dad picked up the trans from Crash as planned on the 11th. Machine shop called on the 23rd and most everything looked good after the teardown and re-assemble. One small clearance issue resolved, glad we took the time to take a look. All buttoned up and ready to move forward. We have a new date for the dyno session- Friday 1/10. Will update as we know more.

Happy New Year!

62 409
 

Jake .....great story and thread . Many great cars came out of Brigance . I know in my old neighborhood thegre was a COPO 69 Camaro some Z28 375 chevelles and some big block Vettes from Brigance. My late uncle and another guy were the sole New Car prep guys there from 1960 till the doors closed. So most likely he did the new car prep on your 409. Tom

Engine is getting prepped on stand for this Friday's session......will post more after Friday.

A little teaser as we get ready for tomorrow. Engine is all prepped and ready to rip. No leaks, good oil pressure, water temp, idles down good etc. So far so good.


https://youtu.be/fMLQyaWPzXs


This is a bone stock rebuild from 10-15 years ago that was never fired - with no modern technology so we don't have pie in the sky expectations.

Dyno day was a success from the standpoint of sorting out the new engine and having it ready to install. A little disappointed in the HP numbers obviously but otherwise a great day...……...And I can't get the picture to post upright, sorry.

Engine made the most power with factory timing settings. As far as we can tell, it is a stock rebuild with the exception of lower compression (we think 10:1 pistons) Cam specs out as stock 409/409 solid lifter grind installed straight up. Block is a 1961 dated 068 casting with .030 over pistons = 415 cubic inches. Heads are stock 690's. Intake is a stock 881, with stock dual AFB's that Eric went through several years ago. With those torque numbers it should be a nice cruiser with a 2.54 first gear T-10 and a 3:36 rear end.

Now we are on to the next step of the project - getting the old engine out and the new one installed.

We had a blast!!