Lyric discussion by rarebit 

Cover art for 409 lyrics by Beach Boys, The

This song was written in 1962 by Brian Wilson, with lyrics by his friend Gary Usher. The song was a paean (that's "tribute" for most of you that post to this site - duh, recent American public high school "grads" or those in the process of being dumbed down) to the great Chevy 409 engine, at that time the most powerful on the streets.

@rarebit Is a 409 engine a V8 engine?