So there is a bit of confusion on the part of my girlfriend and I on what motor should go, or rather, will fit, in the 55 Buick. Original plans were to get a 401 off the guy who sold us the car, but that fell through, so now we're left engineless. My female companion wishes to keep the car manual (is an original 3spd manual car), and I don't blame her. If we were to use the 401, we were going to make it auto, and convert it to open driveline. She then learned that if she puts a nailhead in it from the era the car was made, she could keep it manual, as long as the engine has the appropriate block extension. This would also let us keep the torque tube, which may make things simpler. What I need is a breakdown of what will and won't fit this car. 264, 322, 364, 401, 425 etc. What will fit the mounts, the trans, the torque tube, etc? What will fit with some modification? Also, I've seen one, yes ONE 322 for sale anywhere since we got this car, so I assume that they are not the easiest thing to find. On the other hand, in the local junkyard there are 3 401's.
A 264 was the factory engine size for that car. The Century was the same body size/frame as the Special, and came with a 322, so I would think a 322 would fit as well.
What you want is a '56 322, the best of that breed. They are out there... A nice freshly done, warmed over 322 will be just what the doctor ordered... 264 and 322 share the same bellhousing pattern. 364/401/425 share their own.
The 322 was only made from53- 56. Thats why it may be hard to track one down. On the other hand the smaller nailheads 264,322 are not as sought after as the 401-455. So when you find one it won't cost you your soul. Just don't expect too many go fast parts for those motors. Regardless, it's a buick it needs a nailhead pushing down the road. There's enough sbc out there.
I swapped out the 264 in my '55 Special 3-speed car and installed a 401 with a ST-10 4-speed and open drive. I modified the old motor mounts fairly easy and it fit right in. I had to do the following: Buy a 401/425 Nailhead to Chevy transmission bell housing. Make a bell crank for the clutch linkage and mounted it on the frame. The transmission cross member had to be slightly modified to move the transmission mount back a couple of inches. I used the stock rear axle (3.36:1 ratio) and removed the torque tube. Located the rear axle with ladder bars, but I'd suggest using a tri 4-bar set up, which I plan switching the axle to, at some point in the future. Ladder bar is too stiff, although using polyurethane-bushed rod ends from Speedway on the lower mounts, made it compliable enough, but still kind of stiff riding. PM me if you need specifics and I'll be glad to tell you the details.
56 4barrel 322 is the best motor that is a direct bolt in. The 55 trans will be the weaker trans with small bell pattern and may not hold up to rough use. The 56 Special had heavier trans but the length may be different.
Tagman, can you post a picture of how you modified the linkage? That is the part that worried me most. Also, what adaptor for the bellhousing are you referring to? And if I did make it open driveline, I saw jegs had a nice Y shaped axle locating arm. I was eyeing that up, along with a crossmember kit for my 49.
The 264-322 are the only motors that will bolt up with no other mods. You could use a 364-401-425 if you use a 57-59(?) bellhousing which takes the early trans pattern (Buick, Pontiac, Olds selector style). However, the trans will not hold up long to the 401-just 'jumping on it' while in gear can take the trans out due to the torque. Also, you would need to modify/fabricate the motor mounts, change exhaust manifolds etc... There was a similar post last week asking about putting in a 401 and th400 in a 55 or 56. I gave a much more elaborate story for the swap there. Would be worth looking/searching for.
TagMan--you said you kept the stock rear end...how'd you modify the pinion yoke to accept an open drive shaft? Moloko...I didn't see where you've mentioned the model '55 you have. If it was a Special, the stock engine was a 264, with a manual trans that has 5 bolts on the cover. That trans is weak. '54-'55 Specials had the 264 only, and that engine was a 2-year engine, only in the Specials. Everything but the block and pistons will interchange with the bigger 322. If it's a Century, or even a Super, then it came with a 322 and a 6-bolt cover trans. That trans is much better...though I've not heard of a Super coming with a manual, and the Century's with the manual are pretty rare. The bellhousing is also different between the 5-bolt and 6-bolt trans, though I THINK that's just because the clutch is bigger for the Century. There's a LOT of good info on the HAMB about engine tech, suspension swaps, etc. for the '54 Buick. I've got a '54 264 stick car that I drove daily a few years ago, but it's been apart for a long time with a busted 5-bolt trans. I've had the car for about 8 years, and started immediately looking for a 6-bolt trans. They do show up if you start beating the bushes--I passed on several because I'm a cheap bastard. I finally found one earlier this year. That'll put the car back on the road for me without a ton of fab work, and it'll live behind the '56 322 I'll build for it. Your fabrication skill level will dictate a lot of your answers. And your wallet. The 322 isn't cheap to build, and takes some more hunting to find the parts, but I think it will be cheaper than putting together a 401--especially if you're wanting a manual trans. Check around on prices for a manual bellhousing kit. Ouch. -Brad
"TagMan--you said you kept the stock rear end...how'd you modify the pinion yoke to accept an open drive shaft?" Took the internal end spline of the drive shaft, cut it off and welded on a flange. The drive shaft company I used fit it up with a u-joint afdapter. Here's a pic of how it's set up.............
Of course! That makes a whole ton of sense. Every now and then, it takes a little extra electricity for my light to come on. Thanks for the pic. I've wondered a long, long time about that. There was another post on here about this subject, and someone said a later model center section also drops right in...that'd give the benefit of Posi. -Brad
Yes, I'm also intriqued by which center will drop in. Someone said an early 60's full size center will drop into the 55 torque tube rear, and allow the install of a driveshaft. Another idea I had, anyone know of any nailhead to chevy bolt pattern adaptors? I was thinking of running a factory hydraulic clutch chevy bellhousing up to a chevy manual behind a 401. This would make a lot of things easier.... maybe.
That will work to locate the top of the diff housing and keep it from moving left to right. Acts like the top pair of triangulated four bar rods. You will still need to use something to locate the lower part of the housing, you should be able to split the original wishbones/arms and make brackets to mount them to your frame. then if you wanted to take the panhard bar off the orig set up and use that upper 'wishbone' to locate it you could. Or you could just leave the original panhard rod on it.
For what you would pay for an adapter you can actually buy a Nailhead pattern bellhousing. The whole kit is actually worth it if you price everything out. The early 60's full size center section and a set of trailing arms, along with the stock panhard bar, works great, and isn't hard to do...
I'm in the planning stages for this (okay, I've been in the planning stages for 5 years now...) My OPINION is that the tubing of the stock wishbones is too thin to be used as trailing arms. The wishbone connects to the torque tube, mainly just diagonal stability of the rear end. Without those wishbones, there would be a LOT of pressure on the area where the torque tube meets the rear end housing. However, the toque tube is what does all the front/rear locating, and handles most of the load. The torque tube material thickness is pretty heavy. My feeling is the thinner wall wishbone material will bend and fold after a short period of time. I don't know anyone who has done it, I haven't heard of it being a problem, and someone on here may have actually pulled it off with no problems. But on my car, I'm going to use a pair of '60-'72 Chevy Truck trailing arms, the factory pan hard bar and coil springs mounts welded to a 9-inch or '57 Chevy rear end housing. (I've got both). As for the bellhousing adapters, there are a couple of choices for manufacturers that will put a Chevy trans (manual or auto) behind a 401. I found a NOS Trans Dapt to put a Chevy trans behind the 322 I'm building. I would think you could rig up your own hydraulic slave at that point. It shouldn't be too hard to fab a bracket that bolts to the engine or bellhousing. The biggest issue, I would think, is putting the clutch pedal and master cylinder somewhere. -Brad
<TABLE id=HB_Mail_Container height="100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 UNSELECTABLE="on"><TBODY><TR height="100%" width="100%" UNSELECTABLE="on"><TD id=HB_Focus_Element vAlign=top width="100%" background="" height=250 UNSELECTABLE="off">Looks great, there is another rout as I did on my fifty. It had a 322 and dynaflo with enclosed driveshaft when I bought it. Then a friend of mine traded me a 77 Cad for some engines so we put the Buick on the 77 Cad frame with all the goodies, cost $7,500.00 , not bad for all you get out of it. Good luck man, Rags </TD></TR><TR UNSELECTABLE="on" hb_tag="1"><TD style="FONT-SIZE: 1pt" height=1 UNSELECTABLE="on"> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
I have a 53 322 nailhead for sale. Same old story, it was running when pulled and its complete from the air cleaner down to the starter motor. Cheap, PM me....
Yeah, but I'm on the other side of the Country. I'd have to pay more to have that shipped than the entire car cost.
Ok, I really need to look at the rear suspension on this car. I still never really LOOKED at it, because the springs are shot and its pretty much laying on the ground. Seems like this is like no rear suspension I have ever seen.
You'll be doing yourself a huge favor to buy a '55 Shop manual...Look on ebay, they pop up there all the time.
The rear suspension is similar to an early Ford closed drive set up except it uses coil springs instead of a transverse leaf. The drive shaft is enclosed in a 'torque tube' and only uses one u'joint at the trans flange. The rear end is located by the torque tube, the two 'wishbones' that come off the rear just inboard of each wheel hub, and a panhard bar which runs side to side from the rear crossmember to the rear end housing. All of this is very similar to a 40-48 Ford. If you go with a regular driveshaft, you will need to remove the torque tube and that will remove the front mount for the two wishbones. At this point you will need to determine what will locate the housing front to rear (the panhard bar will locate it left to right).
If it were me, I'd replace the 264 with a 322. It's a direct bolt in and you can use all the 264 standard shift parts and transmission. Replacing the 264 with anything bigger requires new motor mounts, bell housing, flywheel, clutch, transmission and creates torque tube issues. Back in the "OLD DAYS" we put a 364 in place of a 264, used a 37 Buick floor shift transmission which required replacing the tail shaft with a 48 Buick tail shaft to match up the torque tube length. In this day and age I don't believe you could locate all the Buick standard shift parts required for the swap. Go with a 322 and drive the wheels off it.
There was a running '56 322 in a yard near me a couple of years ago that I wanted to pick up for a project. I never got it- maybe nobody else did either... Give 'em a call. Ask for Kenny. Dorr Street Auto Parts 9445 Dorr St. Holland, OH 43528 (419) 865-9062
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