This is a charcoal barbecue that was designed to look like the Chevrolet 409 V8, specifically the one raced by Hayden Proffitt in 1960s NHRA drag racing competition.
The main barbecue section rides on a frame designed to look like an engine stand, with wheels for easy transportation, and it has an opening lid that shows the main grille and charcoal section.
Above Video: The Beach Boys forever immortalized the Chevrolet 409 V8 with a song dedicated to it, released in 1962.
History Speedrun: The Chevrolet 409 V8 Engine
The Chevrolet 409 V8 was born out of Chevrolet’s “W-series” engine family, first introduced with the Chevrolet 348 V8 in 1958.
Designed originally for heavier passenger cars and light trucks that needed more power, the W-series stood apart from the small-block thanks to its combustion chamber arrangement. Instead of a chamber in the head, the chamber was formed by the piston crown and the block’s 74º deck angle, giving the engines their distinctive scalloped valve covers and contributing to their solid torque output.
By 1961, Chevrolet needed more displacement to remain competitive both on the street and running down the 1/4 mile at the drag strip. The answer was the 409, achieved by enlarging the 348’s bore to 4.3125 inches and stroke to 3.50 inches. The result was 409 cubic inches, producing 360 bhp and 409 lb ft of torque in its debut single four-barrel configuration.
Only 142 Impala SS cars received the option that first year, but word spread quickly.
In 1962, Chevrolet would further broaden the lineup – a single four-barrel version produced 380 bhp, while a dual-quad version was rated at 409 bhp a figure that aligned neatly with the engine’s displacement and subsequently with its name.
This is a charcoal barbecue that was designed to look like the Chevrolet 409 V8, specifically the one raced by Hayden Proffitt in 1960s NHRA drag racing competition.
Multiple versions followed – a 340 bhp hydraulic-lifter model, a 400 bhp single four-barrel, and the solid-lifter dual-quad at 425 bhp. Compression ratios reached as high as 11.25:1 (requiring high octane fuel), and torque figures regularly topped 420 lb ft. Though it was heavy, the 409 became the performance halo of Chevrolet’s full-size cars, most notably the Impala SS.
On the strip, the 409 was a force to be reckoned with. Its broad torque curve made it well-suited to quarter-mile competition, and Chevrolet supported factory drag racers with ever-stronger versions.
The ultimate factory derivative was the Z11, a special 427 cubic inch stroker based on the 409 architecture. Built strictly for competition in 1963, it had aluminum front-end body panels and an engine officially rated at 430 bhp but known to produce considerably more in reality.
Culturally, the 409 gained near-mythical status when the Beach Boys immortalized it in their 1962 hit song “409,” tying Chevrolet’s big block V8 to youth culture and the muscle car era.
By 1965, however, the 409 was phased out in favor of Chevrolet’s new Mark IV big-blocks, beginning with the 396. The newer design offered more room for development, stronger internals, better reliability, and greater long-term potential.
The Chevrolet 409 V8-Style Charcoal BBQ Shown Here
The barbecue you see here was modeled on the Chevrolet 409 V8 and interestingly it’s been autographed by Hayden Proffitt, one of the drag racers who competed with the engine in NHRA competition back in the 1960s.
The BBQ has an opening top that resembles the valve covers and air filter housing of the 409, inside you’ll find a grille and tub for the charcoal when you’re cooking.
The BBQ has an opening top that resembles the valve covers and air filter housing of the 409, inside you’ll find a grille and tub for the charcoal when you’re cooking. It’s never been used, and so the new owner will be able to decide if they want to keep it as a display piece or start BBQing with it.
This BBQ is now due to roll across the auction block with Mecum in mid-November, you can visit the listing here if you’d like to read more about it or register to bid.
Image courtesy of General Motors.
Images courtesy of Mecum
Articles that Ben Branch has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
