Check out the article on nailhead trans adapters in the November 2003 Custom Rodder by Doc Frohmader. Some good ink for Tom Telesco, and Doc is working on a book about the nailhead! Mark
I bought that one this weekend at the local magazine stand. It is a good article and a good sign that the Nailhead may indeed be on its way back to a more prominent role in the custom and performance aftermarket. It is great to see that the custom movement that so embraced the Nailhead in its early days remains the champion of it today. This is a great engine family that deserves all the attention that the aftermaket can give. Thanks, Rudy E.
Rudy, I've already talked to the shop. This is what I asked: Hey guys, I just saw your write up in the new custom rodder mag. Great article! I was curious about the price for the adapter. The motor is a 425, so I'll need a pretty strong tranny. Any recomendations? I'm thinking about adding fuel injection to the motor at a later date, would it be worth it to put a 4l60e in it with your stand alone computer? Just curious. Thanks for the help, and I hope I can afford the kit!!! This is what they said: The kit sells for $498 and fits up to 1963 engines. I really like the 4L60E for its tunability and driveability you can't quite get with a non electronic trans. But, if you gag on the price of the adpapter, you are really going to cringe at the price of a 4L60E with stand alone computer system. These sell for $2788. If you want a nice, strong, affordable overdrive, you will be hard pressed to beat the 700R4. We have these starting at just $1395. Let me know if we can help! Greg then I asked: Greg, I was under the assumption that the later ('65 and '66) 425's and the '63-'65 401's were all the same (dimention wise). I have both a 401 and 425, but the 425 is what I decided on because of the extra torque. Is the block extension different? When will ya'll have a kit to fit the 425? I'm really interested because if I'm going to put one on, I need to do it asap. I'm wraping up the loose ends on my Merc before final assembly. Thanks and, finally, this was Greg's reply: The main difference is in the crankshaft design. The pre-64 crank had a different pilot size than the later models. Our adapter hub is designed for these earlier engines. We went with the early design first, since these cannot be fitted with ANY modern trans because of the crank and flexplate issue. The 64-up 401/425 can use a 400 trans, and we weren"t getting much call on the later engines. We are planning to do a later adapter, but it won't be ready for another 60-90 days. Let me know if we can help, Greg So, all you 425 guys, start saving those dollars, it's coming.
