In 1962, I put a 327 in my '55 Chevy 150 2dr sedan.. Although I did some drag racing with it, the car wasn't a full blown race car.. But it was one wicked drag slick wearing, no mufflers and bumpers, street car.. One of my co-workers, in an attempt to "unseat" me as the top dog, bought a new 1962 348 engined Biscayne.. Try as he might, he never was able to out run my little '55..
The 348 was a good engine that responded well to performance mods, but it's bigger brother the 409 was a BEAST for it's day... During their production runs, there were no midsized cars and only a smattering of compacts.. These engines were only put in the full sized yard barges. The Biscaynes, Bel Airs, and Impalas were full sized 4,000 lb behemoths.. All the same platforms, the only difference was the trim level.. With a "w" under the hood, those cars were nothing short of sumbitch...And like Donkey **** said -- dressed out, they were bitchin' to look at...