Starting my recent 401 Nailhead to my 31 Tudor Model A

Picked up a 1961 401 Nail head for my 31 Tudor . Have been doing some reading on it . It has had all the machine work done and all parts are here . Think the new cam id maybe stock form so I am shipping to Comp Cams to get profiled .


Lots off work done and comes with a 65 SP400 Turbo that mounts right to the engine , I am looking for the trans slip yoke for this . They say a tail shaft change will work but what type and years are interchangeable

Couple pics to light the fires .

This is going in my 31 Model A Tudor !










Looks suprer great in its original form !!!

 

nailheads are such great looking motors.

 

Mmm...tasty!

 

Nailheads are junk!!



If your looking for any parts PM me I got some stuff that I will sell

 

i agree, give it to me and il "dispose" of it

seriously tho theyre a sweet motor

 

Very nice. That will look real nice in you 31.

 

Thanks I know it will look better then the 302 for vintage looks . I am looking for some thing to shorten like water pump I think I found . Then will be needing the pulleys to match .

 

X3.......I have plenty of room at my shop for that. Drop it off anytime. Your'e welcome.

 

Figured I show a pic of the 31 , rollers is on it now . Have a Le baron Bonnie interior . But the best add will be pulling my 302 for this nailhead .

 

Some body will prolly correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that all T 400 tail shafts interchange. I've changed a bunch of em but no Buicks or Caddys that I remember.
Those old Buick moters were unique and waaaaaaaaaaaay cool.

 

Chubby I picked up another tail shaft and yoke and correct on the Interchange .

 

gota like it it a nailhead!!

 

Nice! I'm currently in the process too. I havea 66 425 that I'm using in my 31 sedan. With a T5 and a 9in.

Later,Bill

 

I have a 65 SP400 to use but maybe later I will convert to a MT .

novatattoo what did you find to mount up a T-5 to the Nailhead I have only seen adapter kits for 4 speeds , or maybe I was misunderstanding them .

 

I love Nailheads--here is mine:

 

Nice yep I seen it listed and cheap .

 

Eelco sells it. It works on 55 and up Chevy trans. T5, Super T10, Muncie..... I bought the whole kit.

Later,Bill

 

Thanks nova I will have to look into it .

 

My Parts will be in this week . I ordered up a short water pump with matching pulleys , This will help It fit in a lot better in the A . Now between the 302 and the Nailhead on a rough guess Naildead should be a hair shorter .

Ordered up finned valve covers and a center cover . Also came in lucky some one has some paint that is right on with the Nailhead so things are getting close .

 

Mine has that shades of blue on it, and red too. Wasn't sure which was correct. Or even what color I may use.

Where did you get the pump and pulleys from?

Later,Bill

 

Nova picked them up from this guy , found him on ebay , but he cut the price a little since I called his store . Well knowledged on all Nailheads .

http://www.centervilleautorepair.com/

 

De burred the rough castings off the lifter bores today seems the Nailheads are bad . Also picked up a short water pump conversion with the pulleys to make it fit a lot better in the Model A . Flywheel and adapter to put the 65 SP400 trans up to the 401 Nailhead .

Before the rough casting


After with them smoothed off .



Short water pump





Long cast iron 61 Nailhead pump



Short aluminum pump clears up almost 3 more inches .

 

As you found out, the TH400 tailshaft housings are pretty much all the same. The original yokes are way hard to find these days. Just a hint for all the guys reading this, if you get the ST400 or SP400 for your Nailhead try and get the yoke with it...

There are a few 5 and 6 speeds that use that standard GM mounting.

Not a fan of Eelco, Bendsten's has them though.

The blue is early, the late ones are red. POR15 has the correct blue engine paint.

That's Russ Martin, he has some pulleys as well if you need them.

 

zman Thank you yeah Russ sent me everything to match for the pump , super clean stuff also .

Timing I am going after next with the cam degree , I never did a Nailhead and don't want to put a valve into the dome piston .

 

Been a while since I posted here , so I will catch you up .

Got the block , heads and intake ready . Shot it with the turquoise por 15 . Only 1 pint came in the kit so I ordered 2 more they just came in today . First coat I laid on straight from can and didn't have enough to finish 1 head and the intake for a good second coat .

Starting to look better .

Taped and trimmed out every place it didn't need coated .



The engine bloc and heads stripped very easy




The intake had por 15 on it and the stripper didn't hardly nick it .
What I did was shoot some self etching on it let it tack , then shot Por 15 on top for some good adhesion . The two being wet will bond . I do this whit filler primer also on my cars .



So here is the color and block just stacked together .

 

One more short add to be where it is . Assembly is getting close . I ordered a more aggressive cam , a NOS exhaust valve one had been replace with a later model . I also ordered new lifters the ones that came out have no wear but not taking a chance .

Cam specs This was recommended from Russ .

 

Lookin good!

Later, Bill

 

I'll be following this as I've got a '61 364 I plan on stuffing into a '29 roadster. Bluestang, that's the first I've read bout a short waterpump. Any help "shortening" a nailhead is welcome. I'm trying to avoid recessing my firewall and have looked at getting an custom extended frame built. Does the short pump shorten the length enough?

 

goetzcr I did a rough measurement but I think it will be short enough , Its about the same as my SBF at 29 inches roughly . My firewall is recessed 4 inches already . Its not the 27 inch long SBC though .

It dropped off a good 3 plus inches on the water pump if that helps you when calculating it in .

 

Thanks Nova .