The Chevrolet 409 V8 had a significant, but brief moment in the history of American big-block, high-performance engines.

the 409 "W" Big Block V8 propelled Chevrolet's lineup of muscle cars to new speeds and dominated the drag strips. Debuting in the late 1960s as a factory-built racing engine, the Chevrolet L88 427 ...

Chevy's W-Series engines laid the foundation for the iconic 396, 427, and 454 big blocks of the 60s and 70s. The W-Series 348 and 409 engines evolved into the Mystery Motor 427, eventually leading ...

It rapidly became Chevrolet's latest ... with the same engines, except for the Ramjet fuel-injected small block that was discontinued for the new model year. The 348 big-block unit could be ...