Technical buick dynoflow to open drive shaft

can a 57 buick dynoflow be converted to an open drive shaft? in the early days of hot rodding would guys convert the tail shafts to put the nail head and tranny in a hot rod, or would they just adapt the engine to another tranny?

 

Maybe from Dynaflow equipped '53 Cad or Olds victims of the Hydra-Matic plant fire shortage ? The '53 is "twin turbine" while the '57 is a "triple", I think.

 

To my knowledge no one has ever done this, or wanted to. Hot rodders couldn't get rid of the Dynaflow fast enough. They would adapt the Buick engine to a Ford or Cad/LaSalle 3 speed manual box.

They did put Dynaflows behind Cadillac V8s for a few months in 1953 due to the disastrous fire in the Hydramatic factory. Those ones must have been adapted for open drive shafts. Good luck finding one.

 

That would probably be like hunting for rooster teeth now. It probably be more productive to pony up the bucks for and adapter to run a Turbo 350 or 400 or
GM OD trans behind it. I think I would just rob the rear bars off a 60/72 Chevy pickup taking the crossmember that they fasten to in the front for a pattern to mount them. That would be the simple rear suspenson setup. You could probaby get away with running the stock Buick Sway bar.

 

thanks, the motor is going in another hot rod, just trying to find the cheapest way to connect it to the open rear. the kits are expensive, not saying they are not worth it..........i just don't want to spend it.
are standard bell housing available?

 

Back in the day, I used nailheads in many projects. Offy and Webber both offered cast aluminum belhousings/adapters for the Buick to std trans. Now there are several places that offer adapters to GM turbo trans

 

probably Buick std trans conversion then use a 37-38 buick 3 spd behind it with later Buick gear set say from a 40 or staying with open drive line a Olds gear set and tail. many posts on this here. There was a std conversion over on the AACA forum a while back. Might look there for the std goodies you need

 

Are you going to be working on your 57 Buick??? Thanks Bruce.

 

Bruce, i have the 57 sold to a local guy who wants all the trim and interior parts to convert his century. he is giving me the naihead/tranny out of his '57 as a partial trade. he is swopping in a later engine. deal works out good as the car will get saved [with the century stuff and resold] he gets the trim he wants and the correct power seats [his has volvo stuff in it, and i get a running nailhead complete [has leaks] we are both happy with the deal.
the nailhead can then be put in the '31 buick coupe i have. just need to find a solution to getting it connected to the 10 bot rear.

 

Sound like you made a good deal.Good luck with your future project.Bruce.

 

They did make Buicks with manual transmissions back then but not very many. You might find an original bellhousing and flywheel or you could buy aftermarket. Would suggest using a more modern 4 speed or 5 speed trans. Or, if you prefer an automatic there are adapters.

 

does anybody know if this looks like the right one for a '57?

 

part # appears to be
H0 26

 

this one is listed as a '57 and looks like the same engine bolt pattern. this one for a factory buick 3 speed.

 

I'm getting ready to do a 700r4 in a 56. When eliminating the torque tube you need to re-anchor the diff because the torque tube provided rigidity to the rear suspension. I'm using early c-10 truck arms. Others have used a 4 link with success. Also, the rear ends can be converted to open drive by dropping out the closed drive pumpkin (like a 9" Ford) and finding (not easy) a 61-62 Full size Buick 33 spline pumpkin. The engine to trans adapter is made by Bentzens, but I'll probably buy mine from the Nailhead guy.

Any other questions go to nailheadbuick.com and call the guy, highly knowledgeable. Russ is the guy's name I think.

 

you should check with Sheps Machine down near you as he had a bunch of adapters and trannies for sale. If you cannot locate him I have his number somewhere

 

In case you wanted to stay with a Dynaflow, you could use a 61-63 Buick Dynaflow, they switched to open drive in 61. But I´d get rid of the Dynaflow and find a 64-66 Buick ST / SP 400 ( similar to a TH400, but with a Nailhead bellhousing). My neighbor fabbed up a truck trailing arm style rear suspension with a mounting bracket that bolts to the stock x-member right behind the trans to convert his 53 special Riviera to open drive. It drives perfectly. He used a TH700 using a homemade adapter .
If you want to stay with an automatic my choice would be the SP 400 with 3.23 or lower rear gears. That is what I have in my Riviera and for it´s size that boat really moves, but is still quietly cruising at 85 mph.
Thinking about this I´ll go and listen to Junior Brown´s "Little Rivi Airhead" now, hahaha

 

motor is going into this, a 31 buick coupe that was set up for a sbc and 200r. either i adapt to the 200 or connect the tail of the dynoflow to a driveshaft. i guess i could look for the later dynaflow.
this is a light car and with a v8, i do not think i would need more than a 2 speed.

 

Im running a 2 speed PG in my Model A, it works fine. Like you mentioned, the light weight allows very good acceleration from a stop.

 

No matter which way you turn it is an expensive swap.Finding a flywheel or flexplate for the conversion is going to be a big expense.Later nailhead flywheels wont fit the earlier nailheads .These were all.luxury cars and not many were manual transmissions .Both of the bell housings look correct.
I got.lucky and found the parts to switch to manual trans mission on my 66 401 .Offenhauser adapter to ford transmission .
Good luck on the hunt .there is a company that specialize in nailhead conversions, but the name escapes.me at the moment .

 

Check out Bendtsens speed gems for conversion info .

 

Real Hot Rods have 3 pedals.

 

YEP, i am liking the idea of your bell housing more and more. which flywheel would i use?

 

There's a 47 Plymouth coupe in a local junkyard with a nailhead and a 3 speed in it, someone actually modified the torque tube 3 speed Buick trans to run it open drive. Looks crude but it must have worked. Unfortunately there's very little left of the car and the bellhousing and flywheel are already gone. Not sure if this info is really helpful, just interesting.

 

actually, i thought it could be done and that some hot rodder out there did it.. the tranny and motor are not out of the donor yet, once i get it on the bench i really want to see what it would take to do it. i probably will go the standard route but i am really curious.

 

It has been 30 years since I built the one with the buick engine, but I found one then. I am trying to remember if they are a neutral balanced engine or not. I may have adapted something. Gary

 

I'm actually going there tomorrow, if I think of it, I'll snap a pic of the tail end of the transmission. At least we will have a picture for posterity, to prove it was done, at least once.

 

very cool, can't wait to see it.

 

The cool thing about the 364 is it's the same bellhousing pattern as the 401/425 There are lots of manual shift bell housings available. You can also strap on a ST400 or SP400 from a 64-66 401/425 Lots of options. The hardest part for the 364 is going to be finding the proper flywheel if you manual.

 

The flywheel is going to be the biggest problem, although there was probably more manually shifted vehicles in 57 .the bellhousing is the same to 66 , the offenhauser bells are out there resonable !!!