A week after my personal deadline, I got the nailhead to fire up. My excitement lasted about a tenth of a second. Sounded like someone was banging on the block with a roofing hammer. Im gonna pull it and rebuild it. What is a good source for parts for it? Its a 1962 401. Also, I might as well throw in a mild performance cam and other stuff while I'm at it. Is there a particular cam to go with or stay away from? Unless someone can convince me otherwise I want to stab it back in with a 700r4 adapted to it. It needs to be a reliable daily driver. Im gonna try to revive the a/c as well. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Jared
Followed your previous post when you bought the wagon. That sucks about the nailhead, sorry to hear it, glad youre rebuilding it though, wish I had done the same in my 60.
Forget the 700r4 and just find a st400 or sp400 out of a 64-66 Nailhead equipped Buick. No need to waste money on an adapter and a bunch of headaches.
BTTT. All I can find is Northern Auto Parts complete rebuild kit for $1036. And it comes with a factory spec camshaft. Is there another source? Speedway has limited parts.
I've found Northern Auto Parts pretty hard to beat on price and if you call them they will probably switch cams if they have one you prefer or deduct the cam and you can source one elsewhere. Worth a call.
try this site http://www.nailheadbuick.com talk to Russell martin....he's a Nailhead guru and won't bullshit ya....good luck
I cant afford to rebuild the nailhead for the time being. My dad has a freshly rebuilt sbc in his garage that needs the odds and ends to get going. I know, I know, what the hell am I thinking, but I want to get the wagon on the road and this is only temporary. So, does anyone know where I can find motor mounts to put a chevy 350 into a 62 invicta? Ive searched and searched, but came up empty.
putting the SBC in there will nickel and dime you to death, to the point you could've rebuilt the Nailhead. Radiator, starter, accesory brackets, transmission, transmission mount, driveshaft, and on and on. Also have you pulled it apart to see what the issue is? Might be a pretty easy fix. You should be able to get what you need to rebuild her for less than you find those kits for. I get most everything from my local parts house and it adds up to less.
EGGE is a source to check. and Bendtsens (google it for the website) has everything for doing the tranny work. Nailheads are not a sbc. It will cost more than a belly button motor, but in the long run it is worth having.
The nailhead parts are somewhat easy to find but the rebuild kits are salty if you are used to the sbc rebuild prices. I have a 53 322 in the shed because I could not afford to rebuild it at the time. Egge has almost all the parts but I think you will have to have the camshaft ground. Zman is correct, trying to put in a sbc will cost you damn near the same as having the nailhead rebuilt. Then you have to go back and change everything back again, not worth it. Put the engine you plan on running it the buick the first time and save yourself time and money. Thats my $.02
theres a company out there i cant really remember the name at the moment but they sell quite a few hot cams for nailheads. maybe some one else knows. they speacialize in buick nailheads
The nailhead will have to wait. I will rebuild it and reinstall it when the time comes, but for now Im gonna run the sbc. Sure Ill have to do fab work and adapt parts, but I wanted to run an overdrive trans later anyways. Im not afraid of the work and I have pretty much everything I need for the sbc to run. Thanks
Like I stated before, no need for an overdrive with the nailhead. More than enough torque to pull a good gear and still plenty of pep. That and the adapters don't inspire confidence, the whole dual flexplate and aluminum spacer thing.
I'm with Zman. If you really want to just get it on the road, find a running nail that will bolt in just to get you by. Cheaper and easier in the long run and you won't fuck up a good car with stuff you have to undo. Your car though.
Make sure the oil pan isn't dented up. I put a 425 in my friends car last year and when we started it it sounded bad. I was about ready to give up when I saw the pan. The pan was bent from moving it around. The crank was hammering against it. Pulled it off and hammered it back out. A new gasket and it good. You wouldn't think it would be that loud but it was. Take a look.
Nail heads are cool, especially in open wheeled cars. If it were mine I'd stuff a big block out of some big G.M. car, it'll move that beast around better and you can save the your old Buick motor for a future project. (I say this because I rode in these cars when they were newer and in my opinion they didn't boogie like a hot rod should!)
Okay, Ill look over the nailhead real good and determine what the cause of the knock. Ill try to stick with it. Of coarse Unclee has a good idea and it just so happens my older brother has a buick 455 with everything ready to be built! Just needs a home.
Hmmm... I've ridden in many a 401 and 425 powered car. Never heard anyone say they didn't boogie. Now the Dynaflow equipped cars, yes they need some help, but a ST400/SP400 equipped car, not a problem... Maybe you're just to old and only had experience with the Dynaflow cars.
Little brother... If the knock is something minor...fix it. If the motor needs a rebuild, stuff dad's SBC or the 455 in it and drive it. Rebuild the 401 and save it for a hot rod. Motor mounts & transmission mount aren't very hard, so don't be discouraged.
Today, my dad and I started pulling the motor. We got it out and torn down completely by 2pm. We also pulled the tranny. We tore down what we could while the engine was in the car. When we took off the lifter valley cover I found 3 large chunks of aluminum. They were beat to hell. No other evidence of damage until we pulled the oil pan. There was about 1/2" thick layer of metal sludge at the bottom along with several more large chunks of steel. That's when we noticed the #3 cylinder skirt was broken off. Also the #3 piston skirt was gone. Other than that, everything else looked normal. Except for the passenger side exhaust manifold gaskets. There weren't any!! Heres some of the photos taken throughout the day: Note the #3 piston with its missing skirt Heres whats left of the bearing Gasser Wagon?
Im gonna take it to a machine shop to make sure it doesn't have any cracks and whatnot. The broken skirt should be low enough still work. You can see the mark from the rings is about 1.5" above it. Ill just grind it smooth and forget its even there. I still havent found a cheaper rebuild kit than $1036 from Northern Auto Parts.
Okay, yall win. The block and heads are getting worked at a machine shop. Ill rebuild the 401 as the money comes. Ill put the dynaflow back in until I can find an st400 or sp400.
do not under any circumstances let them try and put in hardened valve seats, it does not need them and most likely they will ruin the heads....
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