I am not familiar with the nailhead but now I have two.. 425 and maybe 401 (could also be 425 still need to check). I should ask how to tell??? My uneducated question is.. Do people ever or often force air into 'Da nailhead?? If not why? If so how?.. and what's best? I want to pack some budget power into my nailhead.. oxy moron? Thanks LP
LP, Back in the day, the ''blown Buick'' had a certain mystique,,,, but you seldom saw one.... the 6.71 gmc huffer was the only way it could be done... and the principle is simple, so much hp at atmospheric pressure,,,, supercharge to 2 atmospheres,,, the hp doubles,,,, and so on.... But as with any thing ,,, the engine has to be built to handle it.... compression has to be lower,,,, rods and pistons have to be forged,,, cams need to be different... ign. curves different... and the engine has to be kept cool.... and so on.... but now days it can be done with turbos,,,, nitrus,,, ect... I say that the nailhead has a lot more that can be gotten out of it, but it takes effort and money.... It is still a torque engine ,,,, not a rpm engine.... There have been some nails built with modern technology, like efi, turbos, nitrus, super chargers, ect... and I am not talking about a cobbled up bunch of junk.... some of these guys have come up with some boss engines.....I think it is a wide open field...never sell a nailhead short.....
The most budget friendly way of "forcing" air into an engine is with some sort of cold air induction. It isn't going to boost power as much as a blower, super charger or turbo, but I've found it to at least make my 'Nail run better. Doc says it's good for a nice chuck of hp too (I think he said roughly 20hp).
On the cover of an older HOT ROD magazine, there are pictures of some experimental Buick engines. The engine in the foreground is the factory experiment with turbocharging a nailhead. At the time it was developed, Buick did not have a drive line that could handle it. It was shelved. When transmissions were available that could have handled the torque, the nailhead was already history. As to your second question, "How do identify them?" Below is a link to Buicks.net that shows where to find the ID numbers. You'll be looking for a T or a W: T = 401, W = 425. The other letter will tell you the year. Starting with F and going through M: F = 1959, the first 401, M = 1966, the last nailhead 401/425. This will be important for things such as oil pumps/pickups, water pumps, starter motors. http://www.teambuick.com/forums/view.php?pg=indent_engine_where Ed
Does this look like the monster you'd seen? This was part of the Buick Heritage display at the GS Nationals about five years ago.
That's the one. I found my magazine, HOT ROD May, 1970. I reread the article and there were some other facts noted: Two side draft carburetors, 360 hp at 3600 rpm and 708 lbs.-ft. of torque at, would you believe, 2600 rpm. The last line of the section on this engine states when the project was cancelled "The drive train engineers probably heaved a sigh of relief." They must have done some "lookin' good" work on this engine after they cancelled production. There are finned aluminum valve covers sitting on an engine with a generator. Ed
Very cool pictures! Seems like a turbo would make good numbers. All I read about is people trying to get the most power out of these nailheads through carbs cams lifters etc and in many cases using forged internals.. I'm surprised that motivation hasn't sparked a nice turbo set up or a little more frequency anyway. Thanks for that quick link on finding the block ID.. I felt like i searched all day with no solid findings until now. The numbers I pulled by the bell housing said it was 401/425... I yelled thanks back to the computer.. So.. with a pretty drivetrain and a forged lifestlye.. could a guy weld a turbo set up manifold into some nailhead headers (both) and have a twin turbo with the forced air getting shoved through a pipe directly on top of the carb?? Would it be that simple? :3gears: Maybe I'm a dreamer LP
:idea2: Easy horsepower. I am a dreamer. I'm still curious about that first pic and what is going on with the intake... looks like the intake manifold is sitting in front of the engine. Obviously im not a drag racer.. yet.
That is a novelty engine that was built, just to see if it could be done.... It did not work out well at all... but it proved a point,,, required a reverse ground cam and the exhaust manifolds became the intakes and the intake side became the exhaust....front drive blowers had too many heat problems to really work.... detonation usually destroyed them....I am still trying to figure out what point it proved....Actually the idea was to change the valve restrictions to a more favorable situation.... did not work out well....
Get intouch with Justa350 (Mark Burton) He is itching to do a twin turbo Nail. He has the kit ready just has to fab up the manifolds . . .Be the first kid on the block :TU: If I win Lotto:laugh: I will be the first but my 455 is almost ready for the machine shop . . .
I have the same magazine and have previously scanned the article for "educational" use. If anyone wants to see it, here it is: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/amdn/2451436340/" title="Untitled by Brian Starr, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2199/2451436340_44ba2ee737_m.jpg" width="183" height="240" alt="" /></a> Larger: http://www.flickr.com/photos/amdn/2451436340/sizes/o/in/set-72157604784379808/ Full 4 page article: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/amdn/2450610897/" title="Untitled by Brian Starr, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3094/2450610897_1bdf62d693_m.jpg" width="183" height="240" alt="" /></a> View it huge here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/amdn/2450610897/sizes/o/in/set-72157604784379808/
You'd be lucky if it was the same engine and turbo as the original. I've seen The GM Heritage display at the Car Craft Summer Nationals in St. Paul. I applaud the general idea--it's about time GM remembered some of their past endeavors. Some of those engines are--ummmm--less than authentic. The Olds W-30 display uses the crappy emissions-restricted "J" cylinder heads; etc.
The blower is driven from the crankshaft; and the intake and exhaust ports are reversed. The idea is that the exhaust port and valve is tiny on a Nailhead; so the blower is required to force enough air through the tiny port--but--the intake side is about the right size for an exhaust port and so it was "re-tasked". Looks wild; I expect it didn't work too well. There was a guy at a recent car show that did the same thing to a Chevy small block (but with no blower) Had carbs on the exhaust ports, and PIPES coming out the intake ports. It actually ran--but I bet it was a real dog.
Here we go with copyright again. <grin> 39 year old magazine. You'd think some people would be happy someone is preserving this type of stuff!! But it is "educational" use, afterall, isn't it?
