I do have to say that the 421 Pontiac must have been a dog, or had the world's worst driver though. The 409 should have beaten you as well. Some of those 389 Bonnevilles were huge! My '55 Ford with the 322 would move pretty well, the only major issue was busting the Ford three-speed manual transmissions. :grin: By the time I got through with my 264s, I will guarantee that they were putting out a hell of a lot more then 143 HP. Just changing the headgaskets to the thinner Dynaflow units raised the horsepower to 188. Adding the 322 4 bbl setup and tweaking the timing a bit would easily put the engine over 200 HP. Then add the Century dual exhausts (with the beautiful '56 exhaust manifolds that were really cast-iron headers) and you were probably around 215 hp with better fuel economy then the bone-stock 264. Now you know why I love the unique Nailhead! I never found an "export kit" but with the "export" cam and lifters, it would have been a whole new ballgame.
Some significant details....about power, strength, and the unknown. The 56 engine had 255 hp, and the 55 had 235 hp. At the circle tracks, they were both popular because they easily fit in the old 1930's coupes and they ran like a bat outa hell. MY 54 Buick had a factory 3.90 rear end, and stick on the column, which i put in the floor. After installation, the 322 engine destroyed the 54 transmission and I had to find a stronger 56 stick tranny. Then the center of my new clutch disk was ripped completely loose, then the pressure plate broke into 4 sections (without exploding outward !!). I bought Schaffer racing replacement parts from Honest Charley for each incident, and they were delivered by Greyhound bus. The 56 engine would pull my 4000+ pound Buick to 6200 rpm in high gear, which explains why I beat this car on drag and TOP END: .... 1962 1/2 Ford Galaxy fastback, 390 Police interceptor, posi, 4 speed, owned by Jimmy McMillan who worked for the local Ford dealer in Malden, Missouri. Jimmy leaned over my front fender and stared under the hood at the old nailhead engine. As he shook his head, he said " How in the hell does this thing run like it does?" I said " I have no idea".
You be the JUDGE. Popular Mechanics Magazine: 1964 Pontiac Grand Prix 421 350 hp 3 2bl carb, 4speed Quarter Mile time 16.93 at 90.45 mph. Motor Trend: Pontiac 421 got 15.7 et at 93 mph. My Buick beat my friends car that turned 16.00 at Paragould Arkansas dragway. I guess I ran high 15's ?... and the Grand Prix beat me by a fender, like I said. Oh...390 Fords ran high 16's to 17 seconds in the 1/4 mi... and a 1964 Motor Trend 409 runs 17.2 These drag times were all over the place, some fast and some slow... I just raced what ever came my way. I never said "no" to anyone. My car was always tuned up and ready, no excuses.
I have no problem with the juicy-lifter 390 Fords. I beat lots of them with my 264s. In 1962 a Pontiac 421 Grand Prix won the NHRA Nationals (even though a 413 Chrysler turned a faster time). I just have a hard time believing that a tiny-valved 322 could beat a huge-valved 421 Pontiac or 409 Chevy in a quarter mile unless there was something seriously wrong with the Pontiac or Chevy, or the 322 Buick had a hidden supercharger. No disrespect intended. In a stump-pulling contest, I would bet on the Nailhead.
1962 Pontiac Catalina ran A stock class for a 12.29 at 117.83. But that was no showroom car. We were not racing at a drag strip ( during 1963 and 1964), we were racing on the blacktop roads a few miles out in the country with plain tires. HOWEVER: If those same cars were tuned for the drag strip, they would have run 13-14 seconds and some super tuners could blueprint and lighten them, to get a 12 second 1/4. NOTE: Kenne-Bell 1955 Buick Century 322 got 14.73 at 93 mph !!!! ...but it was tweaked a little for sure. The Kenne-bell 1956 Century pure stock 322 ran 15.60 at 87 mph but "it had the air filter removed"! My car beat a 16.00 car using a slightly lighter 1954 Special body. You can see "I LOVE 322's.
Because I'm tired and lazy, I didn't edit this down a bit. I had the same experience with the small '55 transmission as did Gary. You didn't have to go to '56 to find a "big" tranny. All factory 322 engined Buicks had them. All of the Buick (and Oldsmobile) "selector" stick shift transmissions were descendants of the '37 LaSalle topshifter gearbox. It would be possible (if you could find the parts) to build a big Buick manual Transmission with a factory floorshift up to at least '56. I don't know much about the later three-speed manuals, but I am 95% sure that this (big) gearbox survived through the 1960 model year. I busted seven of the small manual transmissions in my first '55. I only broke one in my second '55 with a manual gearbox. After that, I converted it to a '56 tranny. You can redrill the bellhousing from an engine with the small transmission to accept the "big" box. Two holes align, two don't. If you are doing anything except driving your 264 '54-55 Buick equipped with a "small" three-speed manual gearbox very conservatively, you need to start looking for a "big" gearbox. They will be pricey if you can find one, but they are hard to break. Just don't try to "speed shift" one.
If I go down the manual path then I'll be looking at a modern 5 speed OD tranny. Probably a T5 which are fairly common here or a box from a late model 4X2 pick up. Then there's the bellhousing ( and flywheel ) problem for me, sourcing and / or fabricating adaptors. If I'm lucky enough I might be able to get a 401 with SP400. Unfortunately I'm out of action for a while with a broken foot.
Tom T would probably know the answer to this. I have never attempted to replace an early Nailhead with a later one due to the different bellhousing bolt pattern.
The mounts are in the same location. Only diff. is the '56 & earlier cars had 3 bolts holding the mount to the engine. "57-'66 cars had 4 bolts. When I did the swap from '55/264 to '59/401 I used the metal plate that attached to the block, removed the rubber. I then bolted the 3 bolt mount to the 4 bolt plate. Measure twice, drill once. Get it??? I have a '56 "Big" box I'd be willing to sell, but not cheap. I drove the car it came out of for over two yrs. No noises or anything unusual. Back when I used to break even the big boxes especially when trying to shift "Too" fast. What it would do is lock up in two gears at the same time. Most times it would snap the output shaft into three pieces. One time after finishing a race with a 'vette, which I wiped up by the way, I went to put it in 1st. & had nothing. There was nothing except for 3rd. gear. No 1st. no second, no reverse. Drove it the 10 or so miles home, got it up on jacks & that is when I noticed the WHOLE bottom of the trans was gone. Just the main shaft in the top part is only what was left. Never heard a noise other than a small thump when I shifted from 1st.-2nd. Needless to say I was on the lookout for MORE parts. Tom T.
Thankyou Tom. I think I'll go ahead and get a scrap 264 block I know of and start to fabricate mount points. If a later complete engine comes along I can then make it all permanent. :3gears:
I think,,, I think,,,, that some of them have 4 holes to bolt to the engine, and some have 3 holes..... but will still work.....:Brow:
Ken are these any good to you? not sure how much to ship to Perth from NZ http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/car...rts-other-makes/engines/auction-722469371.htm http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/car-parts-accessories/chevrolet/engines/auction-723857315.htm Looking at the start prices though probably cheaper to import a good engine from USA via Kiwi Shipping Australia http://www.kiwishipping.com.au/
Just a bit of opinion/theory - someone may jump in to correct me or state another opinion. The later nailheads ('57 up) have a similar but smaller bolt-circle bellhousing bolt pattern then the '53-56 models. At that point in time, lead times for new models was much longer then it is now. I suspect that by late '55 or early '56 the Buick engineers knew that the '59 models were going to be lower with still lower rooflines - professional men no longer wore hats. In order to accommodate the lower floors, the bellhousings and automatic transmissions had to be smaller in diameter. Thus, a different, smaller-diameter bellhousing bolt pattern. JMO.
Thanks for the leads Ross. I do keep a check on engines for sale in the USA. Shipping from LA > Western Australia I've been quoted A$500 which is very good I reckon. NZ would be more expensive because it's not a direct shipping route --- been there done that some years ago when I bought a car in from NZ. A lot of hassles, but good of you to think of me. I do have 2 engine options left locally to chase up ( 401 ) but I'm laid up for a short period. The scrap block that I mentioned in the last thread is now no longer available, it went to scrap some time ago. John, bellhousing sizes do differ apparently and you may well be correct in your thesis.
