Nailhead engine's the reason why

Yea Im a ***** I dont know all that much about them but I had heard bad things sorry about that kustom

 

Anybody know of a source for a 6-71 blower manifold for a 425?

Dan

 

Tagman-

Did you scan that picture? If so, are you able to do a even higher-resolution scan? I saved that pic for reference, but a even bigger one would be excellent. One other thing, if you scanned it, what book or magazine was it in? I'm always looking for Nailhead reference materials... thanks.

 

Post deleted by 1oldtimer

 

i gotta learn to use the quote ****on!!!!

 

[ QUOTE ]
I'm planning to go look at a "running" 425 nailhead today in a supposedly nice more-door sedan. The guy that owns it said the quad carb needs rebuilding, but otherwise the engine runs fine. How difficult is it to rebuild one of these old Buick quads, and does it take an "Nailhead" expert to do a decent job of it, or can a rodder with average mechanical ability and the patience to read directions handle it? Is there literature out there on rebuilding the Nailhead quad carb?

[/ QUOTE ]


if it's a quad (quadrajet-rochester), then it's just like a chevy or any other gm. if it's a carter then it's still easy. look at the carb if the rear ****erflies are bigger then the front area, then it's a quad.

 

[ QUOTE ]
So I have a couple o' questions...

if the factory 2x4 is the best set-up,(which I've also heard before)
what would be the 'second' best..??

I have a 425 in my '65 Rivi, and when it was rebuilt 2 years or so ago,
we put a little bit more of a cam in it(from TA Performance)
and it now has an Edelbrock 750 just begging for the headers/exhaust
that TA Performance now offers too...(finally..!!)
That ****er is one bad mofo..!!
It'll annihilate the tires(posi too) at any given time..!!


So, what about extrude-honing the factory intake manifold..??
I've heard that is the hot ticket to boost performance
not only from stock intakes, but also stock exhaust manifolds...

I'm planning on getting the headers from TA eventually this next year,
but would extrude-honing the stock intake be worth it..??

Or should I start another thread on this subject..???




[/ QUOTE ]


of all the stock stuff the 2x4 was the best, then the quadrajet (only came on '65-'66 425's), then the carter. the only aftermarket intake that was worth anything perfomance wise was the edelbrock b262 2x4.

 

[ QUOTE ]
anybody know the numbers or a way to identify that
particular better stock 4 barrel intake..??



[/ QUOTE ]

the 2 rear holes on the QUAD intake are bigger then the front 2. the CARTER intake all 4 are the same size.

 

Mojo:
I scanned it out of the 1965 Buick Ch***is Service Manual - page 2-12. I'll try scanning it at a higher resolution and PM it to you as an attachment.

 

[ QUOTE ]
Mojo:
I scanned it out of the 1965 Buick Ch***is Service Manual - page 2-12. I'll try scanning it at a higher resolution and PM it to you as an attachment.

[/ QUOTE ]

Tagman-

I got the email! Thank you!

 

i want one too! PLEASE!!

 

kustombuilder:
It's on the way !!

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2446187851&category=34198

qjet intake+carb (not a qjet carb though)

 

Ok, Ok, enough of this nonsense.

The nailhead namesake come from Buick's attempt to cut costs in the early 50's. They did this by avoiding standard machining and nut & bolt construction, instead opting to use long roofing-type nails to fasten the heads to the block. The name was actually penned by Harley Earl's lesser known brother "Suzuki Bob", before his untimely death from ********** asphyxia.

And the reason they are so narrow? That's simple! Knowing that British Rover couldn't design a proper v-8 on their own, and knowing they'd be on GM's doorstep begging to buy an engine design eventually, Buick decided to be proactive and make the nailhead nice and narrow, making it the obvious choice to drop into british sports cars! Unfortunately the idea failed, as Rover opted to purchase the aluminum 215 v8 instead. Ooopsy!


On a less serious note,

Snacky, I just got my t/a perf shortys coated & will probably do the full exhaust after Christmas. I'll let you know if they're worth the 500 dollars I now have into them. And as stated earlier (in regards to single 4 intakes) the desirable "spreadbore" intake (which utilizes the coveted quadra-junk carb) has small primaries & large secondaries, whereas the less desirable "squarebore" (carter) intake has equal sized primaries & secondaries. Riviera Larry seems to find the spreadbores fairly often, but he doesn't sell them cheap. I paid him 3 bills for mine.

And as far as power, it's pretty simple - ALL 4 barrel 401's were rated at 325 horsepower and 445 ft lbs of torque.
There were some 2 barrel 401's (62 & 63 only) that were rated at 265 & 280 horses. The single 4 barrel 425's were rated at 340 horsepower and the 2x4 425's were rated at 360 horsepower (both rated at 465 lbs of torque).

Also, Tom Telesco (who's pretty much an expert on these motors) has put all of the nailhead intakes on the flow bench and claims that the single quad intake actually flows better than the stock 2x4 intake, but not the Edelbrock B262 2x4 (which was last seen strapped to DB Cooper's back as he jumped out of a Boeing 727 somewhere over Washington state, and is now rumored to be buried with the elephant man's skeletal remains at the neverland ranch).

 

I was asked yesterday why is the motor called a 'Nailhead', low and behold thru a google search it brought me to the HAMB.

 

The valves have long stems because of the rocker arm geometry and the valve head diameters, especially in the earlier engines, are small indeed. This is my 1954 Roadmaster 322 with 1 3/4 inch intakes and 1 1/4 inch exhaust valves.

 

^^^^ 1 1/4" exhaust valves? No wonder they are called Nailheads. Just for kicks, I measured the exhaust valves on the heads I have from my '56 322 - a whopping 1 3/8"! (intakes still 1 3/4")
I've been told that the '57-'59 364 heads are a good upgrade for the early 264-322 engines without sacrificing port velocity and low end torque.