Al Loy's 1962 Biscayne 409!

**Xplantdad** · #1 09-01-2009, 06:47 AM

<u>I Built It My Way</u>

I know all of us who own an old classic car have been at a car show or cruise night and had someone come by and question why you made a specific change. I just love it, because my answer is always the same . . . “As long as I’m paying the bill, I build these old Chevy’s the way I like ‘em.” I’ll be honest with you, I have never owned a numbers matching or correct classic yet. This explains why my recreated ’62 Biscayne has a yellow 409 motor and white rims. I guess I’m just non-conforming. My love for 409 cars goes way back to 1962 when my cousin brought home a brand new red on red Super Sport 4-speed 409. We called it a Beach Boy car. That night, the motor came out and was sent off to the machine shop resulting in more power and more speed. So, about eight years ago, I started looking for a straight Biscayne body, not a bubble top, so I could build my own.

My good friend, Tom McGehee who I grew up with, had met Jerry Chevery from Joppa, Maryland. Tom had gone up there to pick up some ’61 parts. When he got back, he called and told me about this super straight ’62 Biscayne set up as a rolling chassis he had seen. Jerry had owned this car for some time and was thinking about selling it. So I then made a trip up to take a look at it. This was an unbelievable find – a local Baltimore built car, arrow straight with immaculate black paint. A deal was struck and the car, along with a separate boxed frame, was sent to Virginia. I had on hand a ‘63 409 motor with only 53,000 miles on it, a M21 4-speed transmission, and a set of pristine 583 heads. The motor and heads were taken to Mancini Machine in Baltimore, Maryland where Guy Mancini did his magic. Guy knows 409s and knows how to make them perform and live longer and he turned out a high performance 409 roller motor for me. The separate frame was built at Bob Ayers’ garage in Stafford, Virginia with help from Bob Fain and Bob Ayers.

The Biscayne, on its original frame, was at Kent’s Cars in Stafford, Virginia. Richard Wilson, Kent’s owner, is known for his street rod fabrications so we took the rolling frame from Bob Ayers to Kent’s Cars to marry them up and complete the car. Richard and I set the body on the new frame. A four link system was welded in place by Richard just like the Bill Jenkins “Old Reliable IV” car to keep the rear end straight and tight.

The day after completion, I drove my Biscayne up to Hagerstown, Maryland for the 33rd Annual International Convention. In its debut, the car did quite well, taking First Place in the Junior Custom Driven Class and First Place in the Junior Judging Award. After Hagerstown, the car got broken in very well. Second time out, I trailered it to the 34th Annual International Convention at Rocky Hill, Connecticut where it placed Second in the Trailered Custom Senior Category, placing Second in the Junior Judging Category and, believe it or not, First in the Best Paint Category. I must say, after building this car, it is a blast to drive, and like ‘old Blue Eyes once sang, “I did it my way.”

Now, I’m really driving it my way . . . . fast! This July, I trailered it down to Charlotte, NC for the National Impala Association Convention. The car won a gold award, scoring 983 points. Also, it was chosen “best appearing drag car”, which brings me to the fun part. We had an outing to the Rockingham Drag Strip and I had the opportunity to run the car on the quarter mile. I made five passes and beat every car I ran against. My best time was 14:50 at 105 miles per hour. I had to drive off the line because of an open rear and street tires but I chased everybody down. The motor really came on good . . . the top end was unbelievable! This is the first time I’ve been on the drag strip in 40 years . . . what a blast!

Al Loy

Verne_Frantz · #2 09-01-2009, 06:54 AM

Al, I was JUST alerted that your car feature was posted. You really described it all right. I thought your car was the best looking one at the drags at Rockingham too! I also had the pleasure (misfortune) of running along side you once. After the traction issues, you blew by me like stink.
Was that a good time or what?................?
Verne