I had a ‘56 Buick 322 squirreled away for a rainy day and decided to send it down the road. Eventually, someone actually responded to my ads and tonight he showed up and bought it. The buyer turned out to be a local guy who my wife knows through her office. A really nice gentleman with little engine experience and modest means. He also happens to do upholstery on the side for a little extra cash. He’s going to need guidance if he’s going to get this thing running. It’s going into a very clean ‘55 Buick Special 4dr hardtop that’s been in the family for years. I want to help him as much as I can. I told him to take the block and crank to be cleaned first and bring it back to me so I can mic it and see if we can just do a ring, bearing and valve freshen up. He already choked at the cost of an engine rebuild kit but I told him not to panic yet. Do we have an all encomp***ing Nailhead thread? I’m curious if there are more common replacements for things like rod and main bearings ($329 for mains). Maybe lifters. He will also need a cam or at least a core to regrind since the engine came to me without one. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Russ and Matt Martin at centerville auto repair have a lot of tech articles on the nailheads. They are near Sacramento I believe? But not too sure. Here is a link to their website https://www.nailheadbuick.com/
I've got a 401 Nailhead in my 32-5W coupe and @Bangingoldtin on here has been very helpful with Nailhead info which is a bit hard to come by here in Australia. A couple of things that I've found, lifters are solid with no adjustment and if you have a problem then adjustable pushrods are the answer. Also Felpro head gaskets are not recommended, go to Martins website for the reason.
Google, Cl***ic Buick parts.com This is where I purchased parts for my wife's 51 Buick RoadMaster. Great service, knowledgeable people to help you, I highly recommend them, I was happy. maybe ? a little pricey, but it was worth it. That was my first experience with a cl***ic car and I found out there's more money involved with cl***ic car parts than hot rod parts, Good Luck !
Although these engines are popular and have a big following, companies that carry parts are limited. Centerville, TA Performance, and Best Offer Counts are the big three. Old Buick Parts have some engine stuff for the first-generation Nail. Unless heavy machine work is done, I am not aware of any rod/main bearings that will fit other than those designed for this engine. Quality lifters are an issue. BBC valve guides can be used if needed, stay away from using liners, especially bronze. Use Best Brand gasket sets. Might be able to clean-up and re-ring. A full rebuild is costly with these. The camshaft was the same for 56-66, so easily obtainable new from one of the big 3. Used ones are out there if a re-grind is desired, with the 1957 364 cam being the most aggressive.
Thanks guys. Good information. I don’t know this gentleman well so I don’t know if he’s serious about getting the old family Buick going this year or just enjoys gathering parts for it. I’ll do some more research just because it never hurts to know this stuff. We’ll see if he stays in touch. So we don’t have a big thread for Buick engines like we do for Hemis and Olds Rockets?
^^^^ Everything you want to know about these engines can be found on Centerville's website. Tons on information and tech articles, as well as what changes happened over the years of production. Russ and Matt are most helpful. Here there are a lot of threads, but not really an all-encomp***ing one.
Thanks. I’ve dealt with them before and I’ve looked at some of the tech stuff but I will revisit it. I was focused on my 425. They are great to deal with. No Buick V8 thread, hmmm. We need to fix that. They are everywhere in the hot rod world.
I have a 322 out of a '55. I have most everything to put together for my '34 Chevy. I'm really good at gathering parts but lack the know-how to put them all together. I agree an ultimate thread would be great. Larry
1955 was a split year. Early '55 engines (identified by solid valve covers and an oil fill in the valley cover) had forged camshafts and dinky 1 1/4 inch exhaust valves, while late '55s with oil breathers in the valve covers had cast camshafts and 1 3/8 inch exhaust valves.
Matt and Russ at Centerville Auto are the Nailhead GURUS!!! I've also gotten lucky with Rock Auto, Auto Zoned & Advanced Auto parts (looking up by year make and model) for standard replacement parts. Not everything is available- yet my budget has gotten lucky! You'll have to dig around a little bit for more part interchange compatibility. You'd have to verify, Rings from a 340 mopar fit, lifters/cam/rod/crank bearings from Buick 350/455 fit. Fel-Pro replacement gaskets work if needed- Best Gaskets truly are best (especially head gaskets).
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