This is one hell of a cool wagon and it is a survivor with a 409ci twist. The body, paint, interior, gauges, etc, are all 100% as delivered 50 years ago from Chevrolet. The transmission, a three speed manual shifted on the column is also a 100% original piece, but the 409ci single four barrel, 380hp engine isn’t. The car was delivered from the factory with an inline six, but an owner of the car in 1998 made the right call in our book and installed W-motor greatness under the vast hood of the gold Chevy. It kind of begs a question though. Is a car with an engine swap still considered a survivor?
Don’t get us wrong, we’re loving the 409 far more than we would the six cylinder but it does make us look at the car a little differently knowing that it was swapped in later as opposed to being factory equipment. Looking at the rest of the car is a pretty amazing trip through exactly what Chevy delivered in 1962. The factory color of the car is Autumn Gold and it still carries a pretty nice shine after 50 years. The fact that the body is completely ding free and that all of the original chrome is free of pits, dents, and all of the other stuff that normally kills bright work after five decades is an automotive miracle.
The same goes for the interior that appears to have never been used, but is again, factory original. In the ad, the seller claims that the cargo bay of the car does not appear to have ever been used before! The wagon had 46,000 miles put on it by the original owner who was probably the most tyrannical, anal, car owner in America circa the early 1960s. This baby was treated like a clean room at a bomb factory!
So what do you think. Does the 409ci engine swap change the “survivor” status of the car? Would it change your buying decision to find that out the engine was not factory original?
Scroll down to check out the photos and then hit the link to see the ad. If you buy this wagon we’re going to spill a Coke in the back seat on the first day…because that’s how we roll!
RACING JUNK FIND: A 1962 CHEVY BEL AIR WAGON WITH 409 POWER!
it is way too cool, nothing better than a low mileage original especially with a hot rod swap that is period correct
Looks like a survivor to me. Original ? or Survivor ? . . . doesn’t really matter, when I buy it there will be a hole in the floor for the 5-speed, making it less original, but waaay more fun to drive. Front disc brakes will also make it less original, while increasing it’s chances to remain a survivor. I can’t wait to get started. Piston Pete Indy
That sounds about right to me.
Survivor? no. Way cool? Yes.
I appreciate a period correct engine swap. I bet there are more out there then anyone realizes. Plus, I’m a sucker for station wagons.
But I might have been a little more impressed if the owner had gone restomod, and added a turbo and efi to the 12-port. That would be uber cool.
It’s a recreation (was the 409 even available in a station wagon in 1962?) – nothing more.
Now, if the dealer did it on day one and there was paperwork to prove it, that would be a different story altogether.
You can get the 409 in 62. So it was an option. Definitely cool and it looks all original and thats all that matters.
Marion Wormer (Mrs. Dean Wormer of Faber) probably needed some new driveline parts in 1998 too.
In 1973 I drove this exact ORIGINAL Chevy from central Jersey to Washington DC on a school trip. I WISH it had a 409, it would have been more fun for me.