Immortalized in song and admired by performance enthusiasts for decades, the iconic Chevrolet 409 engine has secured itself in the history books of Chevrolet performance. But, did you know there’s more to the history of Chevy’s 409 cubic-inch “W-engine” beyond the dual-carbureted intakes that made them so famous? We recently came across some photos of a super-rare, fuel-injected 409 engine and the amazing story of how this experimental, mechanical fuel injection system survived.

In the late 1950s, the engineering team at General Motors was searching for a way to improve fuel economy and power from Chevrolet’s new-at-the-time 348/409 engines. Corvettes had already been using fuel injection in production cars and “Fuelie” Corvettes were already a force on racetracks around the globe. With the horsepower-crazed ‘60s just around the corner, Chevrolet engineers were reportedly working with several companies to design a mechanical fuel injection system specific to the W-series engines for both automotive and truck applications.

The fuel distribution pump is driven by a chain on the front of the camshaft. The housing also mounts the water pump further away from the block to make room for the additional chain.

“As best as I can determine,” says Pat Lobb, the current owner of this super-rare system. “Borg Warner had a skunkworks deal with Chevrolet to build a fuel-injected 409. They used Marvel-Schebler, a division of theirs, to do the research and work together with Chevrolet to begin a design. It is reported that Rochester, the supplier of Corvette’s mechanical fuel injection system, was also designing a system for Chevy’s canted-combustion-chamber big-block.

From The Highway To The Trash Can and Back

This particular fuel injection system saw duty on the highways of America, mainly at the hands of Chevrolet engineers working to evaluate the system. Ultimately, the group concluded that the effort was too expensive and didn’t meet all the goals of the exercise. Today, it is believed that the oncoming 396 cubic-inch big-block helped seal the fate of the fuel-injected 409.

In the end, a vehicle wearing this particular system was driven into a Chevrolet dealership in Michigan with instructions for the tech to take the system off and replace it with a four-barrel intake and carburetor. Directions for the experimental fuelie system were simply, “trash it.”

Thankfully, the Bowtie technician knew this was something special, and instead of tossing it, he stashed it in a box under his workbench for safekeeping. After a while, he cleaned out his workbench and took the box of one-off fuelie parts home. It is reported that he buried the system in his backyard to cover any evidence of the system’s existence.

Pat has installed the engine in a 1962 Impala and it looks very much like a factory-installed fuel injection system, because it almost was!

A few years ago, he dug up the system, and Chevrolet collector, Pat Lobb snatched it up. Pat has spent many hours researching the history of this particular system and worked to rebuild it to an operating fuel injection once again. He located the original manufacturer of the dried-out diaphragm, who amazingly was still in business, and who made a new one for him! The team also had to measure and match up a variety of bearings and make many gaskets before they could even think of trying to run it.

Because there isn’t any service data available for these experimental fuel-injection systems, Lobb and his mechanic spent considerable time figuring out how to time the mechanical fuel injection to supply the proper amount of fuel at the right time. “The fuel pump apparatus you see at the top really had us stumped,” Lobb says. “We treated it as a pump until we had a “V-8” moment and realized it was just the fuel distribution system that looked and acted like a pump but was not.”

Pat has two intakes for the fuel injection system. Each has been modified with bungs welded into each port for poppet-style injectors. He reports that the throttle body does have a Rochester part number on it.

The fuel distributor has a rotating orifice which allows the fuel to be pushed to specific intake runners in the same order as the firing order. Interestingly, several of the metal injector lines are larger in diameter, to compensate for being further from the fuel distributor. “We have the fuel distributor timed slightly ahead of the direct firing order,” he says. “We have not calculated how many degrees, since that is done by moving the fuel distributor gear one tooth at a time.” The team got the timing correct after only a couple of attempts.

The engine has run, as evidenced in this video, and it has been installed in a gorgeous 1962 Impala. But we can find no evidence if Mr. Lobb or his mechanic have been able to overcome the issues that troubled Chevy’s engineers over 50 years ago. In the end, it’s doubtful that any car wearing such a super-rare fuel injection system would ever see daily service, but you’ve got to admit, having a fuel-injected 409 does kick up the wow factor when you pop the hood, even compared to the iconic dual-four-barrel 409 that enjoys the bulk of the W-engine’s fame and history.