Early 60's Mopar. A lot of the early Dodge and Plymouth station wagons will have 413's which is an excellent, inexpensive way to big HP. There were a few (accent on few) Chevy wagons with the BB but they are few and far between.

Good luck.

 

It's difficult to beat a Chevy BBC 427 - 454 CI. Parts for other
big blocks don't compare in price.

 

It's difficult to beat a Chevy BBC 427 - 454 CI. Parts for other
big blocks don't compare in price.

Thank you - that is exactly the type of inside info I was looking for. :thumbup:

Ivan

 

Now thats a tough one hard to beat a Hemi and im not a mopar guy but have to say the ........427 COPO zl1 engine! by far !
and then theres the 389 poncho
409 chevy
427 thunderbolt.....and the list goessss on and on......

 

The MYSTERY MOTOR and the 427 sohc 413s 440s 472-500 Cadillac and Centerlines favorite the 350 SBC
Shane

 

So the criteria is:

1. Largest Detroit engine made between 1960 and 1976 that was available in a station wagon.
2. Engine that will allow for performance upgrades without modifying structure
3. Engine with easily available performance parts.

To answer no. 1, that would be the 460 Ford, followed by the 455 Olds, 455 Buick, and 455 Pontiac.

 

Thank you - that is exactly the type of inside info I was looking for. :thumbup:

Ivan

Good luck finding a Chevy station wagon with a big block.

 

To answer no. 1, that would be the 460 Ford, followed by the 455 Olds, 455 Buick, and 455 Pontiac.

I agree with those GM motors great engines but that 460 was a boat anchor.

 

Good luck finding a Chevy station wagon with a big block.

Might just need to make a clone.

1973 Chevrolet Chevelle SS station wagon

 

Thanks - Keep it coming!

WOW - This is all very helpful.

Would it be easier to ask what V8s to avoid? :mwink:

Ivan

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadillac_V8_engine
Might look into those if you want killer torque
Shane

 

WOW - This is all very helpful.

Would it be easier to ask what V8s to avoid? :mwink:

Ivan

 

find a cutlass wagon and get a 455 to put in it, unless it already has one, you can get headers and stuff for them and a decent amount of performance parts also, even a delta 88 wagon would be sweet to rod out,

I have always wanted to buy another 2dr 1970 delta 88 and hot rod that out, but they aren't very common either

 

Infact depending on where you live i know where there is a later 60's chevelle wangon I think and i'm sure the guy would sell it, I live near Aberdeen,SD PM me if you want more infor on the wagon

 

Infact depending on where you live i know where there is a later 60's chevelle wangon I think and i'm sure the guy would sell it, I live near Aberdeen,SD PM me if you want more infor on the wagon

Too bad I live near the Gulf Coast in Texas!

 

too bad i could've really found ya something, i know of a field with a two door wagon, I think it is a nomad but i am not sure and a couple other wagons out there, I drove by the place and slamed on the brakes when i saw it, it was out there with a 60s impala and a fairlane or galaxy im not sure but, that isn't too far from me either

 

I agree with those GM motors great engines but that 460 was a boat anchor.

LOL!
I have a friend ... a Ford Technician by trade ... that just loves 429/460 engines.

He refers to my 454 as a "boat achor" too.

I'm thinking I might e-mail him with a link to this thread.

I've always said: "They're all junk when they don't run."

 

Get your self a nice 68 belvedere wagon look just like a road runner up front.

just recently 1 of the mopar mag did a story on a 68 station wagon it came with the 440 engine so the guy built him self a 440 six pack wagon and if you didn't no better it looked factory stock when he was done.

 

'71-'76 big GM wagons used to be a dime a dozen, and there were a lot of them with 450+ cube engines. I had a '72 Pontiac wagon with a 455/2-bbl, and the trailering package, meaning mid-3 rear gears. I slapped on a Q-jet and had some fun with it. The thing was a tank, but from 0-40 it surprised a few kids with new ('83-'84) Mustang GT's that they thought were so quick.

The cool thing about Pontiac motors is that the 350-455's are all the same size externally, which means if you could find a mid-sized wagon with a Pontiac 350, you could slip a 455 in it without modifying much of anything. Kinda like this one:

 

If you want to go with a wagon I would first suggest finding a wagon you liked well enough to spend the money, time and effort on. Also find one with a good to very good body. If it isn't going to be a great looking car when you are done it isn't going to be worth the effort.

Most of the full sized mid 60 wagons could be found with big blocks. I used to have to race against a 63 Chev wagon with a 409 in G stock in 1969 With my 69 Cutlass S.

I like the mid 60/early 70's GM intermediates like the Cutlass, Tempest/Lemans and Buicks of the same size. There are some nice looking cars there and most of the goodies being made for that series of GM performace cars will fit the chassis.
Also the trick hoods and noses for the same year model fit those to give them a custom look. A 72 Chevelle Wagon with a Cowl induction hood and stripes would look great and be easy to do. Easy to put a 454 and a modern overdrive trans in too.
The same Era Mopar with a big block would be killer too.
Here is a link to a web site that folks show the photos of their wagons on. It might give you a chance to check out the different ones to get an idea of what you would like to look for. http://www.stationwagon.com/gallery/gallery.html
You can even find the Photo that Jim posted ^ above in there. Man that is a good looking wagon.

 

60 Chevy 2 door wagon with a 396 and turbo 400.

OK, it didn't exist from the factory, but it was a fun ride. And the 454 is the same size on the outside.

 

It all amounts to how much you want to spend. I'd have a tendency to go with either the Pontiac or the Ford wagons. The Pontiacs had the 455 and the Ford had a 460. Both were pretty plentiful and cheap to buy.

Most all of the old wagons were sleds as they came from the factory. But some selective work, maybe a cam, headers and intake/carb....and the most important thing....a lower rear end, will surely wake them up. Most of the old wagons had rear end ratios in the 2's. Going to a 4:11, or somewhre in that range will make a big difference.

Both engines offer a good performance potential, with lots of performance parts available. The weak spot on Pontiacs was the timing chain, which is easily remedied. Ford had a problem on the 460's with the freeze plugs in the heads rotting out and leaking, but that is also easily fixed.

If you wanna get sneaky, take out the rear seats and all the interior goo-gaa you can. That'll take off several hundred pounds. Every pound you take off is like adding horsepower.

 

Personally if I were planning on doing a wagon, I'd look for something
from the 50's. The body styles are way cool.

 

Damn - That is Bad!!!

That is one bad looking wagon.
Is it yours?

Ivan

 

No it's not mine, I found the pictures on 460ford.com.
I'm a first generation Camaro freak.