The Supercar Registry - 1961 bubble top Dick Harrell

More Than a Barn Find: The 1961 Impala SS 409 That Once Owned the Strip
Long before the age of viral barn finds and social-media restomods, some of America’s greatest performance legends were quietly aging in private garages. One such legend was Don “The Dutchman” Uhr’s 1961 Chevrolet Impala SS 409, a car so rare that only 42 examples are believed to have been built. Far from a showpiece, this Impala was a battle-tested drag racer that left its mark on Texas strips throughout the early 1960s.

Uhr purchased the car new in late 1961 from Mike Persia Chevrolet in San Antonio, just as Chevrolet began installing the 360-horsepower 409 Turbo-Fire V8 into the Impala Super Sport. From the start, the car was destined for competition. Uhr campaigned it across NHRA, AHRA, and NASCAR Stock and Super Stock classes, quickly earning a reputation as a formidable competitor.

With guidance from CKC Racing’s J.E. Kristek and legendary racer Dick Harrell, the Impala soon evolved beyond its original Stock configuration. Harrell helped Uhr acquire a Z-11 dual-quad intake setup, later-design 409 cylinder heads, and a solid-lifter camshaft components technically intended for 1962 models. Those upgrades pushed the car into B/Modified Production, but the move proved worthwhile.

At the 1963 AHRA World Championships in Green Valley, Texas, Uhr scored a defining victory, winning the B/MP class with a 12.99-second pass at 106 mph. The field included heavy hitters, among them Dick Harrell himself, driving a lightweight ’62 Impala. Though Harrell’s car was quicker on paper, Uhr’s reaction time and mechanical savvy earned him the win.

Much of that edge came from clever drivetrain modifications. Uhr mastered the notoriously vague Muncie shifter by loosening clutch tolerances, allowing rapid, aggressive gear changes. He also reworked the transmission’s gearing, adapting Ford components to achieve a 2.64:1 low gear, dramatically improving launches on marginal cement tracks like Victoria, Texas. The result was better traction, closer gear spacing, and consistent wins.

From late 1961 through 1966, Uhr raced the SS relentlessly. Weekend schedules often included Alamo Dragway on Fridays and Saturdays, followed by Houston or Corpus Christi on Sundays. “We were drag race crazy,” Uhr recalled. “We just did it because we loved it.”

Over those years, Uhr collected more than 250 trophies. His quickest run with the dual-quad setup was a blistering 12.85 seconds at 113 mph on 7-inch Casler cheater slicks. Eventually, he moved on to other machines, including a 1966 Chevelle powered by a 427 L88 and later a Hemi-powered Challenger. The Impala SS 409 was retired, placed into storage, and eventually dismantled.

In 2011, San Antonio enthusiast Gordon Chisenhall known for uncovering forgotten racing relics purchased the car directly from Uhr. His plan is a full “as-raced” restoration, returning the Impala to its original competition form.

For Uhr, the story feels like coming full circle. “If I’m still around when Gordon finishes it,” he said, “I think we’re going to have a whole lot of fun doing the same thing we did 50 years ago one more time.”