Gday all just doing some research for a mate. He's about to drop a 264 baby nailhead into a Model A & wants to run a manual trans behind it. Is there such thing as an auto crank & a manual crank? Any info would be much appreciated. Cheers from downunder!!!!
Hey mate, I'm also down under with a baby nail and a manual behind it. you'll need a pilot bush adaptor if it was originally an auto. Russ Martin is your man. centerville auto repair / nailheadbuick dot com.
Measure the bore of the crank and the OD of the crank pilot. If my memory's correct, they're the same size as a small block Chevy crank.
I don't know anything about the nailheads, but the Buick Straight 8's had a totally different flange on the crank for manual vs auto trans. Not sure if they carried that forward to the nailheads, but as a word of caution I'd measure carefully to make sure that what your buddy wants to do will work.
I forgot - I have a Buick Parts manual! Looked up a 264 crank and the book says: 1953-1957 crankshaft - All V-8 - Group # 0.646; P/N 1318491. NOTE: For C.T. ("Conventional Transmission" i.e. manual shift) use Brg. & adapter Group #0.649; P/N 1611771 Therefore, the crank is the same for both transmissions. You'll just need the pilot bushing. Try a SBC bushing....................
The Jalopy Journal
