hey all!! i picked up a late 60's 401 nailhead block and parts. well i got 2 ST400 trans, and engine block and the lower end parts for $400 for all!! are the pistons junk cause of the rust or can it be cleaned, same with all the parts?? im pretty much new to ground up engine building.
WOW seriously!! molasses?? just every day over the counter molasses?? is there a ratio of water to molasses or straight up??
Pistons have been knurled and block is going to need cylinder work.....nothing wrong with the price paid for the "core".....but pistons are worth only their weight.and by the looks of everything else...everything will need remachined in order to build anything of quality....
sooo the pistons are junk?? i cant clean and put new rings?? i cant really afford to do all new pistons. i do hav another block with all new bottom half but a broken lifter boss i could use parts off of (assuming it the same size) and yes, im going to get the block machined and checked out
You kinda answered your own question. When the block gets bored, them pistons ain't gonna fit no more. You're gonna need new pistons at minimum (and that's before you start thinking about bearings and lifters and well, everything else). A Nailhead isn't like a an SBC, its going take some real money.
Block needs honed....possibly bore&hone(good possibly ) If pistons are knurled then I'm fairly sure its safe to say someone has honed and reringed which means the bores are loose.... While Pistons can be reused at times......and they are also wear out items......pin bores loose,to much skirt clearance and ring lands are wore out.....the ring seal at the land is just as important as it is to the cylinder wall. Save your bucks and build it over a longer time period ..... Properly.
Nobody disassembles a good engine and lets it sit and rust like that. It means there was a lot of expensive work or maybe even the block and/or crank is not salvageable. The wavy lines on the pistons is a cheap and dirty bad idea to get a very short life out of them. They mean the bores were already loose and now they are really loose. Lifter bores may be too big also and that's why it was left to die in the weather. I dunno, $400 sounds like a bad deal to me unless one of those trannys is in great shape. Hopefully the block you have with a broken lifter boss has oversize pistons.
on this note, does anybody know a good, good priced, machine shop for this engine?? i also need my heads done. and a good, good priced, trans shop around the San Fernando Valley, CA. (im willing to drive to other locations if needed) id soooooooo prefer a barter deal because lack of funds but ok with paying please help!! its been 6 years, a few family member deaths, a deployment and possibly another deployment comming and my ride still in parts!!
looks like the crank will need grinding. Hows the cam? It's going to need some money to do at all right.
Hey Stg, There is a shop in the valley. The old man and his son have been doing engines for a long long time and is very framilar with nailheads. I will get the number tomorrow from my friends at Guldstrands. I was going to have him do my 63 401. But, I found a 65 401 for less than what it was going to cost to rebuild my original. Its a minimum 4000 for a rebuild on a nailhead. Not everyone knows how to do a nailhead and they can be junk very easy if done wrong. I'll get the number for you tomorrow.
and Buick's are not cheap. I've learned this. Russ Martin is the best and he starts at 4300 (I believe is what he quoted me) But, your motor will be perfect. My advice, Spend the money and do it right with all new guts. You cut corners and you'll be pulling it out again. It wont be cheap. Good luck. Dave
awsome news!!! i took the heads off my junked block and the pistons are .030!! now just hopeing my new block is std!!
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