It happened on the strip where the road is wide
Two cool sharps standin" side by side
Yeah, my fuel injected stingray and a four-thirteen
We're revvin' up our engines and it sounds real mean

Declinin' numbers at an even rate
At the count of one we both accelerate
My stingray is light the slicks are startin' to spin
But the four-thirteen's really diggen' in

Superstock Dodge is winding out in low
But my fuel injected Stingray's really startin' to go
To get the traction I'mma ridin' the clutch
My pressure plate's burnin' that machine's too much

Pedal's to the floor hear the dual quads drink
And now the four-thirteen's lead is startin' to shrink
He's powered by ram induction but it's understood
I got a fuel injected engine sittin' under my hood

6/11/2008 9:38:11 AM

Is that the Beach Boys?

6/11/2008 11:22:41 AM

Quote :

"quit clogging the place up with this crap..."

-BigBlueRam

6/11/2008 11:26:10 AM

^^yes

6/11/2008 11:47:45 AM

max wedge ftw.

useless mopar trivia for the day, the super stock name was used for 413 powered plymouths, not dodges. dodge 413's were ramchargers. not that it's really a fair comparison since the wedge cars were factory race vehicles for all intents and purposes, but there's no way a fuelie vette would hang with one irl. the beach boys sang a lot of stupid shit about cars though.

the song "409" is about as silly. the engine sounds are actually a 348, and the author went on to buy a 426 wedge car, lol.

[Edited on June 11, 2008 at 9:10 PM. Reason : they were like the original ricers...]

6/11/2008 9:09:37 PM

and with all of those songs about surfing and oceans, brian wilson has a phobia of water.

6/11/2008 9:17:29 PM

Didn't one of em drown after he fell off a pier too? Or do I have my oldies bands confused?

I still think the song Little Honda has something to do with why I have a motorcycle now... I used to love that song when I was really young.

6/11/2008 9:42:31 PM

^^ Brian Wilson is definately a quack, but still a musical genius.

^ Dennis

and yes their car songs don't fully make sense.

6/11/2008 11:52:56 PM

didn't charles manson write a beach boys song too?

6/12/2008 11:47:11 AM

Quote :

"Pedal's to the floor hear the dual quads drink"

Quote :

"I got a fuel injected engine sittin' under my hood"

6/12/2008 12:46:43 PM

well maybe the Dodge had the quads?

6/12/2008 2:37:54 PM

Quote :

"useless mopar trivia for the day, the super stock name was used for 413 powered plymouths, not dodges. dodge 413's were ramchargers. "

So there's no such thing as a "Brand new shiny red Super Stock Dodge"... Jan and Dean had it wrong too, apparently.

6/12/2008 5:16:38 PM

^^yep. they should have mentioned all the oil it was probably drinking too. due to the dual valve spring design, the 413's didn't have valve stem seals. unlike subsequent wedge engines, they were pure race pieces though so it didn't matter. never really intended for actual street use.

^technically speaking, not for the 413/426 wedge powered cars. they were built for the super stock class of racing, but weren't branded like that from dodge. chrysler wanted to keep them as related yet still distinctive vehicles. obviously it was just another way to throw a cool marketing name on something also. why call both engines super stock when we could call one a ramcharger and appeal to more people.

now, when the 426 hemi was introduced to the lightweights in a street/drag form in 1965, that changed things a little. any hemi car (dodge or plymouth) became a "super stock hemi", and any wedge car (dodge or plymouth) became a "maximum performance wedge".

just in case you aren't confused enough yet, there was also a factory sponsored race team in that era consisting of chrysler engineers that called themselves "the ramchargers".

6/12/2008 11:54:23 PM

Giddy up Giddy up 409...

ok somebody tell me about the 409.

6/14/2008 7:17:55 PM

anything specific? i don't know other stuff nearly as extensively as mopars, but i'll spew whatever i can remember off hand.

the 409 was the replacement for the 348 (just bored and stroked basically) and was the last of the W series engines. i guess it should be noted that the 348 was originally designed as an heavy duty gas motor for gm trucks. they decided it would make a good engine for heavy sedans also.

after chrysler blew everyone away with their letter series cars and got the ball rolling, all of the "big 3" were just kind of at a stand off of who was going to start the real war. so, ford came with the 390 and it was on then. the craze of nhra super stock racing with full factory support was born. gm saw their little oversqaure 348 wasn't going to be quite enough so out came the 409. they shoved it in some light (comparatively), unassuming looking cars like the impala and bel air and went to work on the streets/tracks. the advantage that they had over the others is that there motor was still very streetable compared to ford and especially chrysler. the same was true on race day though, in reverse order.

as the stakes were pushed higher in the mid 60's, everyone was scrambing for a fresh package. gm decided they needed to jump into the "race motor mainly, but can be driven on the street if you want to deal with the pain in the ass" category. so, the legendary zll (not to be confused with the gen. II zl1) was born. it was a further stroked all aluminum version of the 409 block, and stood at 427.

ford had the 427 cammers, chrysler the hemis, and now gm had their race motor. they were every bit as powerful as the competition, but gm had them saddled to bigger/heavier cars and that was killing them. ford really might have had the best car of the group with the lightweight falcon based thunderbolts. they won the super stock title in 64, and set several time records. ford pulled out after then for financial reasons. nhra upped the required number of production cars. mopar was a pretty consistent winner also and hot on their heels most of the time, and with more basic technology at that.

back to the 348/409/427 though, if you've never seen a 427 super stock car launch, you need to. it's a WILD thing to see. wheelstands are cool, this is much cooler. they contort and lift and fall to the right all in some sort of gyrating motion then it's like they unwind about the 60ft. mark, settle down nice and have just ripped off an amazing short time for all that business on the line.

one final thing to note, then i'll shut up. all of the big 3 were doing some cool stuff with cylinder heads back then. i've always found the W series to be one of the more unique ones though. the block wasn't decked flat to the bores, i.e. not perpendicular a special shaped piston was also installed, so that when compression occured a W was formed in the chamber, which was actually the upper portion of the cylinder, not the head. the head just had small reliefs for the valves. i don't know how well it worked compared to other stuff, but at least well enough to get that magic 1hp per c.i. title (409/409).

6/15/2008 1:29:34 AM

Quote :

"My pappy said "Son your gonna drive me to drinkin' If you don't stop driving that hot rod Lincoln" Have you heard the story of the hot rod race Where the Fords and the Lincolns were setting the pace? Well that story is true cause I'm here to say I was driving that model A. It's got Lincoln motor and its really souped up And that model A body makes it look like a pup It's got eight cylinders, uses them all It's got overdrive, just won't stall It's got a four barrel carb, and dual exhaust With four, eleven gears you can really get lost. It's got safety tubes, but I ain't scared Breaks are good, tires fair Pulling out of San Pedro late one night With the moon and the stars just shining bright We was headed up grapevine Hill Passing cars like they was standing still All of a sudden, in the wink of an eye A Cadillac sedan passed us by I said "Boys this ones marked for me" But by then the tail lights was all you could see Now the fellas rid me for being behind So I thought I'd let that Lincoln unwind Took my foot of the gas and man alive I shoved it on down into over drive Wound it up to 110 My speedometer said I hit top end My foot was glued like lead to the floor And that's all there is, and there ain't no more Now the boys all thought that I'd lost my sense Those telephone poles were like a picket fence They said "Slow down, I see spots!" The lines on the road just looked like dots Took a corner, side swiped a truck Crossed my fingers just for luck My fenders was clicking the guard rail post The guy beside me was white as a ghost We had smoke coming from out of the back When I started to gain on that Cadillac I knew I could catch him, I thought I could pass But don't you know by then we'd be low on gas I had flames coming from out of the side Feel the tension, man what a ride I said "Look out boys, I've got a license to fly" And that Caddy pulled over and let us by All of the sudden she started knocking Down in the dips she started rocking I looked in the mirror. Red lights were blinking The cops was after my Hot Rod Lincoln - Damn The arrested me and they put me in jail Called my pappy to throw my bail And he said "Son, you're going to drive me to drinkin' If you don't stop driving that Hot Rod Lincoln""

6/15/2008 1:43:16 AM

^that's actually a real car that was owned by the author. the lyrics are loosely based on a true story also. the car was built after the song gained popularity. it was a model A with a late 40's lincoln drivetrain. the car he was driving in the real story chasing his friend's caddy was just all 40's lincoln.

it was also written in response to this song. there are several others in the "hot rod race" series also written by the same guy. 3-4 more after this one i think, i'm won't bother posting all of them.

Quote :

" Now me and my wife and my brother Joe, took off in my Ford from San Pedro. We hadn't much gas 'n' the tires was low, but the doggone Ford could really go. Now along about the middle of the night, we were rippin' along like white folks might, when a Mercury behind he blinked his lights, and he honked his horn and he flew outside. We had twin pipes and a Columbia butt, you people may think that I'm in a rut, but to you folks who don't dig the jive, that's two carburetors and an overdrive. We made grease spots outta many good town, and left the cops heads spinnin' round 'n' round. They wouldn't chase, they'd run and hide, but me and that Mercury stayed side by side. Now we were Ford men and we likely knew, that we would race until somethin' blew, and we thought it over, now, wouldn't you? I looked down at my lovely bride, her face was blue, I thought she'd died. We left streaks through towns about forty feet wide, but me and that Mercury stayed side by side. My brother was pale, he said he was sick, he said he was just a nervous wreck. But why should I worry, for what the heck, me and that Mercury was still neck-and-neck. Now on through the deserts we did glide, a-flyin' low and a-flyin' wide, me an' that Mercury was a-takin' a ride, and we stayed exactly side by side. Now I looked in my mirror and I saw somethin' comin', I thought it was a plane by the way it was a-runnin'. It was a-hummin' along at a terrible pace, and I knew right then it was the end of the race. When it flew by us, I turned the other way, the guy in the Mercury had nothin' to say, for it was a kid, in a hopped up Model-A. "

6/15/2008 2:08:36 AM

I guess what gets me about the 409 is that off the top of my head I couldn't really think of which car(s) actually had one. When I think 427 I think of late 60s muscle cars, when I think of 409 I think of that song and "what car did that motor actually come in?" It's weird to think that it was in an Impala and a Bel Air. When I think of Impala's, I think of some west coast gangstas ridin spinnas, when I think of Bel Air's, I think of old white people bringing their shit out to car shows--not drag racing at all.

6/15/2008 8:45:45 AM