that being said, im not real savy on this whole rip one out, put one in type deal, i can make a read end work, get a new driveshaft, all that jazz. other than having to dig into the fender wells, and moving motor mounts. cause damn, i aint measured a thing yet, and yes, i am lea a storning in the process, is there a way to just shove it in like a borken puzzle piece? hate to sound so brutal there, but hey, im kinda working with what i got. ive got alot of metal to redo inside, so, chopping that up to let everything fit isnt gonna be a deal. but. im kindof at stopping point till i figure out what motor is going in, and all that jazz. and yes, bigger and badder brakes are gonna be part of it. still in teardown/research phase, and things like this are good to know. thankls bro
I'm an old timer with a little experience and I also like Chevys. If i was going to build a very fast car and had tons of money I would probably build a Chevy. Mainly because of whats out there in the way of speed equipment, aftermarket blocks, heads, etc. But if I didn't have a lot of money, which I don't and wanted to go fast for less money I would build a 455 Buick. Take a Full size Chevy Impala with a 454 and put it up against a full size Buick and watch the Chevy get it's ass kicked. If you start with a basic 454 and a basic 455 and want to run, lets say 12s. It would be cheaper to get the 455 Buick into the 12s than the 454 Chevy. Now granted you can go out and find a lot of used speed equipment for a Chevy but then you don't know for sure what you have. Oh to hell with a big long story. Go Buick man go Buick:TU: Bob H.
i agree with the fact that gm guys should come together and get along, i live about 45 minutes from carlisle fairgrounds in pa. i go to the GM nats every year and have to say its not that great of a show. its too bad that most gm guys are only loyal to 1 brand of gm. i like all gms tho i do prefer my buick, i have owned a couple chevys. i am a pretty firm believer in keeping buicks and chevy,olds... powered by their own engines. just my opinion but i do understand using whats available also. to each there own i guess,lol.:beer
Regarding someones previous comment, any nailhead(322,264,364,401,425) from 53-63 will work. They have the dynaflow crank, not just 59-60. 64-66 have a different crank, BTW. And by the way a '56 Special is not a HUGE car to move. :laugh: I've actually driven one, they're fun to drive. Won't win any races off the line, but out on the road, they do quite well. My 61, 64, and 66 are huge cars, powered by nailheads and they make lots of import drivers say "WTF" but that's another story... Remember, these are all opinions, it is in the end, YOUR car, do what YOU want! :TU:
If the PO would not mind>Yeah, GM is the way to go but when they ere different entities with their own engineers and little was shared it made for the legends we have today. The '39 Century motor dropped into a Special body may be considered the first muscle car if you don't like the '64 GTO GM used Buick to develop the transmisions in the mid 60's and the switch pitch was born! So cool, dropped because of the cost of course. Kenne-Bell and still going even if mostly a Ford company now. Too bad JB would not write a book on the nailheads, a build book with some hostory thrown in, Jim, HOW ABOUT IT? Even a small SC built to fit the nail with some modern tech would be neat too Isn't somebody building a turbo nail here? Didn't care for the rear moumt turbo's due to then heat loss but still could be a start. ACCEL had a turbo kit back in the '70's but it was targeted to Chevies. All that is needed is a custom short header for the passenger side to hold the turbo and flanges are available so a good welder with some imagination could design(copy the kits onilne!) and fab a hot side for the nailhead. With the cost of the heads everyone wants a turbo could overcome some of that flow restriction. Some port work never hurts but a turbo is always the coolest way to go. However, JIM BELL, a screw design SC that sits on the heads is the most compact but even the Skylark has plenty of room for either power adder. Fuel injectors and their controller would not be that costly either. Go with one of the Chinese turbo's on ebay for $400. and a kit could be had for $2000. minus an intercooler. 2 x 4's on a nail are the coolest but a power adder would be the thing to do for power and, again, a competent welder is what it would take. The cold side is not difficult at all. Getting the exhaust from the drivers side to the drivers and to a flange/pipe on the passengers side to hold the turbo is what is the most difficult. '63 Skylark with the aluminum block 215 V8 and a turbo, imagine 400 engine HP in that light car! Sorry, got on the soapbox again. Mouth and brain are bigger than the wallet. Tony
I second the person who brought up what a project it is to change the 50`s drivetrain. Big questions here are what is your budget and expectations? $1000 for a full rebuild kit isn't horrible, it is by far easier and less expensive than the conversion process. If a moderate power increase is desired another NH might do, but if memory serves me right, they don't fit too well in that chasis. That chasis was still based on having a straight engine and the wider NH's have issues. The easiest way to upgrade these cars (there is not cheap way) is to get a 1978 -1987 fullsize GM B-body donor such as LeSabre, Caprice, Olds 88 or Bonneville. Using the frame, in one fell swoop you have upgraded to a V8 (chevy most likely), modern brakes, fuel system, suspension and steering. With the right donor you might also get F.I. They are already close in dimension and not all that hard to adjust, line up and mount. A running donor, will allow this to be an incremental project. Get it converted now and later upgrade the engine, because that frame will accomodate nearly anything. If you want to slam the car, this frame is great for that too, air ride systems already available. Take a good look at your Buick from the under side. X-d frame, torque tube, knee action shocks, primitive brakes. A big V8 transplant (if using the original frame) will require something like a Mustang II front, ommitting the torque tube, changing the rear end, upgrading brakes and suspension, etc.
I agree with what you are saying Dave with one exception. I would go with an A-body wagon frame like I did on my 53. They are somewhat lighter and have the 4 3/4 bolt pattern. My 53 weighs 3900lbs. Maybe less I haven't weighed it since the TA Stg 2 heads. Bob
This may be a bit selfish but I do have a 78 Riviera for sale that sounds like it would fit the bill. B Body. Kinda kidding, kinda not Take care
I'm under the impression that the 78+ B-body is very similar layout to the `68-72 A-body platform and have the 4-3/4 bolt pattern as well. Just less heartache canibalizing a B-body than an A-body and the A's are definately drying up pretty quickly. And Bob can probably give you a heads up on how hard it actually is to do.
Dave maybe I need to do a little research on the b-body. I agree less heartache making a parts car out of a b-body vs an a-body. Bob H.
so..... this aint gonna be a move over the engine mounts, and dive into it......... fun fun fun.... im ok withdrivetrain problems, i can figure that out as i go, but a chassis problem, i dont know how to weld THAT good...... structural welder = put some metal on, hope it holds..... tig welder = yeah, i can tig, its GONNA hold. being as im an inspector, this is alot of engineering for me to fathom.... ima need a bigger tape measure. and a garage..... and a welder... and a chop saw..... im taking donations? haha so, drivetrain, chassis are gonna be the two biggest problems here. are there any simple remedies, or is this going to be an all or none project........with a 455 i mean...
Rebuild or find a running nailhead and no nightmares... My friend(his wife) has a '53 Roadmaster with a 425 and 2X4's
Personally, i would go with a 425 nailhead or a 401 nailhead and a stick with the dynaflo that is in the car.... the old torqetube drive train will take a lot of abuse... if I did not tear up the dynaflo and the rear end on the 56 super that my folks had , it cant be tore up....:laugh: :laugh:
There are some minor differenes in the smaller 264/322 blocks and the mid-sized 364 blocks, and the larger 401/425 blocks, and for this thread they're not important. But, basically, ALL nailheads share the same bore centers, so they're the same length, and the only difference in width has to do with the deck height for the longer strokes (that's why there are three different width intake manifolds. You can interchange heads, but you'll have to use the OE intake, and water cross over. Starting in '54 ALL Buick chassis came with the nailhead. (53's except the special had nailheads too) Therefore, any nailhead will fit in a 54 or later chassis. The later ones might be a little taller but those hoods have plenty of clearance - just look at the air cleaners they used. The only thing that will be somewhat different will be the number of holes in the motor mounts. Stick with what Doc says - find a 401 from a 59 - 63, use the Dynalfow from a 57 - 60, and bolt it to your torque tube. It really couldn't be simpler. Put a mild cam in it, add some carburetion, and have a blast. You can even use the OE exhaust manifolds. If you use the OE vavle covers and valley cover, it will all look original. Can anyone say "sleeper?" :bglasses:
I was purusing ebay and found everything you need in one package. Cheap too. 401 Cubic inch nailhead 4 bbl carb 10.25 compression 325 hp 445 lb ft torque Twin Turbine dynaflow that connects to a torque tube http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/445-...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories
I too, while having no experience swapping motors, would think a 401 or a 425 would be the simplist way to go. One other thing about the 455 vs 454; IIRC the 454 weighs alot more than a 455, so I would think that there would be an advantage of the weight savings if a 455 was built up over a 454.
