Carl "Bootie" Booth’s…409

[frank-j-majauskasParticipant]

Way back when the legendary “Growler” “64 Chevy Impala B/FX driven by New
England Hall of Fame inductee, Al Oakes of Loehmann Chevrolet, Waterbury, CT
was retired, my long time great friend “Bootie” bought the car. It was now a street
car and did we have a ball with it ❗ For a bunch of 18 year old kids who drove a”55
Chevy, 283 ci, 3 speed or a “57 Ford 292 ci, 3 speed, THIS 409 ci, dual quad, 425 hp, 4 speed with 4:88 rear end gears was quite an ANIMAL ❗ 😮 Bootie raced the old
“Growler” a number of times at Dover, then put the motor (rebuilt) into a “63 Impala,
which he also raced. NOW, many, many years later 😆 , a number of the surviving
409 parts are in the hands of John Shimer (ROXREC). John purchased a “62 Bel Air a
couple years ago and has been working on it in between his other projects. He put
fiberglass fenders and hood on it along with a fiberglass front bumper. He changed the color of the car back to silver. NOW he has the missing piece to his puzzle ❗ The
motor is now at Big Al’s Toy Box in the process of being prepared for assembly and then
dyno tested. “She will be one Real Fine 409” ❗ 😆 I will continue to keep you up-
dated on John’s 409 build……

Frank… 😎

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[action-rat]

Love It..Another great addition to John’s super car collection..”She’s Real Fine John’s 409″ !!!

[babycakesParticipant]

Frank…”LOOKIN GOOD”!!! I remember back in ’62’, a friend of mine Joe Gramolia bought a red 409. What a ‘beast’ at the time when he took me for a ride in it,out on the highway.I said to him WOW! What a ‘hi-po …factory made!!! 😮 😯 😀 . Pete.

[patinaParticipant]

Pretty sure I told this story before but I got nuttin to do, I would hang around Speed Garage in Elmhurst Queens, they were the shop for Elm Motors who sold all high performance cars and exotic. One guy that would also come down and hang out was Al Emanuel who was a machinists at Kollmans Intrument in Syosset. Well he bought a brand new 62 ImpalaSS, 409 w, dual quads, 4 speed and posi rear it was black with a red bucket interior. Well they asked if I wanted to go to the track that Sunday I said yes but they said to get permission from my parents. So Al drives me to the house and my father said OK. Being a good 🙄 catholic boy I had to go to mass Sunday morning it was the 6:00AM mass. I got home after mass mom made my lunch and I ran down to Speed Garage as fast as I could to meet Al. He came a few minutes later and off to Westhampton we went. That 409 just hummed along and Al never missed a chance to go through the gears. We got to the track got teched in and proceeded
to park. We took the tools and spare out of the trunk. uncapped the dumpers, put the Atlas Bucrons on and he made a run. The MG was racing that day also as were a few guys I knew from Speed Garage. That was the summer of 1962 and I’ve been addicted ever since. Funny the would call Al “the old man” he was probably in his early 40’s I’ll be 66 in a few weeks and I act like I’m 20 something although my body tells me different 😆

Pat

[frank-j-majauskasParticipant]

Hey Pat, I think that there is a mess of us ODF guys that feel the same way ❗
Act like kids, but feeling like kids, not so much ❗ 😆 Hey it is what it is ❗
I love hearing all these stories from our early years. I remember riding with my
friend Mike. He owned the “Groeler” before Bootie. He found a decent straight
away and decided to go through the gears. 😆 So off we go. The 409 is pulling
like an animal. Straight away is ending quickly. Mike lets off the gas ….and the throttle linkage is stuck. A corner coming up and Mike has two hands on the wheel.
I had to reach over and turn the ignition off. 😮 I had a lot of respect for that car
after that…. 😆 😆

Frank… 😎

[dinoKeymaster]

Pat …16 more like it.

[vbobParticipant]

HEY
Booties 64 409!
At DDS!
‘V’

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[frank-j-majauskasParticipant]

Hey Guys, As John’s 409 ci is getting close to assembly, the awesome parts
are still coming in ❗ Here’s pictures of his latest delivery. SWEET ❗ ❗ 😮
Also on their way are the special Harland Sharp roller rockers made to fit under
the stock valve covers. 😛 Keep those goodies coming John ❗ 😆

Frank… 😎

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[babycakesParticipant]

THANKS for sharing Frank! It’s hard to believe, ‘after all these years’, the ‘beat goes on’, from our teenage days,and the ‘love’ we still have for our ‘hot rods’, past and present! Pat D. and you are right! I only wish our bodies,were as ‘active’ as our minds nowadays!!! 🙄 😉 😀 Pete.

[john-sachs-srParticipant]

Absolutely 1 of my favorites. 😉
John

[frank-j-majauskasParticipant]

Hey Guys, Check out these beauties ❗ 😮 They’re almost too nice to hide
under the valve covers ❗ 😆 The list of parts needed is very small now, so the assembly should be starting soon……………WOW ❗

Frank… 😎

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[frank-j-majauskasParticipant]

OK Guys, The build continues on John’s 409 project. The short block
has been assembled and the alum heads have been slightly milled to
achieve the desired compression ratio. The heads will be reassembled,
then installed and the build is getting closer to the finish line ❗ 😮 😆

Frank… 😎

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[mikey]

Looking real good, Frank. I’ll be posting more pics of my 413 build pretty soon. The pistons are on the rods now, and I’ve file fit the rings. The next thing on the list is to install the rings on the pistons, and then install the pistons in the block. Hopefully it will be done tomorrow. After the short block is done, I need to pull the motor out of the Willys so I can get the heads and intake off that engine to put on the new short block. I’m trying to decide if I should run the car once more, or just pull the motor. 😕 🙄

[lee-valentine]

Installed heads today on 409,got my pushrod lengths ordered them. Will install tomorrow adjust valves prime then it’s off to the dyno.Then John can pick it up.

[patinaParticipant]

Lee, Jr (Wayne) Hopkins said hello. I missed you at the Dover Fest

Pat

[Author]

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