Hy Spartan, as tclederman eluded to the engine was made famous by the Beach Boys song, that and the fact that they performed so well in stock car races. I can remember that the machine shops were panicking when the engines got old enough to require rebuilding, In those days most shops used a boring bar which registered on the top of the block. The 348/409 engines combustion chambers were actually in the top of the block and the cylinder heads were flat like most diesel engines, this design resulted in the top of the block not being perpendicular to the bore, so the machine shops had to make an adapter to bring the top of the block perpendicular to the bore, I remember 17 degrees but that memory could be faulty. The 348/409 engines are unique in the Chevrolet engine world and because of their rather limited production they are sought after and famous.
