Even after more than 50 years
of ownership, Henry Pagliocca still
relishes every moment behind the
wheel of his 409.LONG-TERM LOVE AFFAIR
The Impala’s original L33 409 was rated at 340 hp, but Pagliocca upgraded its internals to L31
400hp specs during the rebuild. Chrome air cleaner housing, valve covers, and breather cap dressed up the 409 engine. The
restoration shows lots of attention to detail, including dated spark plug wires.52 SEPTEMBER 2019
AT A GLANCE
196 3 IMPALA SS40 9
Owned by: Henry Pagliocca
Restored by: ABA Auto Collision, Copiague, NY;
Promar Precision Engines, Patterson, NJ; Unique
Performance, Medford, NY
Engine: 409ci/340hp (rated) V-8
Transmission: Muncie 4-speed manual
Rearend: 10-bolt with 3.70 gears and Positraction
Interior: Black vinyl bucket seat
Wheels: 15x8 Rally
Tires: 255/60R15 BFGoodrich Radial T/A
Special parts: Heavy-duty rear springs, Gabriel
HiJackers rear air shocks, larger front sway bar
with urethane bushings“It has never,
ever left me
stranded in
50 years”
Well, as you know, the Impala SS is a buck-
et seat car, and nobody wanted to sit in the
back, so Sue would sit on the console while
Karen sat in the passenger bucket, and off
we would go. Try that these days!
“When it came time for the 1969 Sewan-
haka High School prom, the Impala was
pressed into service, and my prom queen
Sue and I were off for that special night.
With life being what it is, Sue took one path
and I another, but to this day we are still
best friends, and she often asks how ‘her’
Impala is doing.”
Pagliocca occasionally blasted his 409
down the track at New York National
Speedway and other area dragstrips. He
was also well known on Long Island roads
favored by stoplight drag racers back in
the 1960s and 1970s, and like others at the