Nailhead in 50s Jalopy --- What is it?

I've been trying to ID the nailhead in a recently acquired jalopy built in '57 or '58 in San Diego. The old guy who built it and raced it in the San Diego area in the late 50s can't remember what year or displacement the nailhead is. He said that he put the nailhead in the buggy in about '59 after deciding that neither the original flatty nor a short-lived Corvette SBC could produce the kind of torque that he wanted.

I understand that there is probably a serial number on a machined surface between the middle branches of the exhaust manifold on the left side of the nailhead, but removing the header to access the side of the block where the serial number should be will be quite a chore. The builder had attached the nailhead header flanges with allen head bolts and I can't get enough torque on them to loosen them up after 50 years. Eventually, with heat, I can probably loosen them, but I'm trying to get a quick ID on the engine (planning a winter rebuild).

The old nailhead has a Cragar trans adapter connecting it to a top-shift Ford 3-speed ******, and the Cragar number on the trans adapter is 309.

I measured the distance between the front two intake bolts and it looked to be about 8 3/8 inches center to center. This tells me that the engine is probably a 322 or a 264, but I'm not even sure about that. Even if it is, how would i tell which one?

There is a casting number centered on the back of the block right next to the Cragar trans adapter that looks to be 1165185.

Is anybody familiar enough with these older nailheads that they can tell how to ID them without knowing the serial number?

 

pic's would help.

 

264's and 322's were the only Buicks with spark plug covers. If yours has, or has the threaded bosses for the covers, that narrows it down a bit.

 

I can't find that casting No. How sure are you of it?

The only one that I can find that looks close is 1185485. It's a 401.

Pete

 

Do you have casting numbers off any other parts? Might help to narrow it down.

 

"I measured the distance between the front two intake bolts and it looked to be about 8 3/8 inches center to center. This tells me that the engine is probably a 322 or a 264, but I'm not even sure about that. Even if it is, how would i tell which one?"

The distance between the right & left manifold bolts on a 264/322 should be 7-7/8". A 364 should be 8-3/4" and 401/425'should be 9" even.

On the engine block (I believe these numbers are in all the nailheads, not just the bigger ones which I'm familiar with) , just in front of the valley cover should be two sets of stamped numbers. One set set of numbers is stamped upside-down, as you view it. Let us know what those numbers are.

 

Took a couple of pics and verified some casting numbers on the old nailhead. The casting number on the heads is 49840-2.

The intake manifold casting number is 70617-2.

The casting number on the back of the block above the transmission is 1165185.


There are no stamped or cast numbers on the machined edge in front of the valley cover. Any buick nailhead experts out there?

 

From the looks of the bolt pattern on that transmission adapter, it's got to be a '53-'56 block. The '57-'66 blocks didn't use the two top bolts that are shown in the pix.

 

Another pic.

 

The engine serial number is stamped on a machined surface on the top outer edge of the left cylinder bank, between the middle branches of the exhaust manifold.

Decipher them with this page.

http://www.buicks.net/shop/reference/engine_ident_53_58.html

 

remember too that only 264s and 322s had round exhaust ports, if you ever take the manifolds off. also, looking at the block casting of 1165165 (?) appears to be a 322/264 casting number. according to here:http://www.buicks.net/shop/reference/nailhead_casting_numbers.html
the numbers with 116 beginnings are 322s or 264s. that's most likely what it is plus all the other info. these guys gave already. Any pics of the jalopy???

 

Yes, if I could get the left header flange unbolted, then i could access the serial number, but since I cant loosen the header flange bolts (in a hurry anyway), I was hoping there would be another way to tell a 322 from a 264, etc. 'Thot maybe the casting numbers would tell the story???

 

do you have a harmonic balancer?

 

Pull a head...... A 322 cylinder hole is 4.00 in. anything smaller is a 264... I know cause I thought I was sending a 322 to be bored .30 over and the guy from the machine shop called and told me what I sent him was something smaller then a 322 cause a 322 is 4.00 in. It ended up being a 264

 

264s have a bore size of 3.625. I see that someone mentioned the presence of a harmonic balancer; all 264s had a simple lower pulley, with no balancing ring.

 

Valley pan with the oil fill is from a 53 to early 55 Motor they would be 264 or 322. You can see the motor stamp# between the exhaust manifolds on the opposite side of the oil dip stick on block deck with the manifolds on.

 

How about taking some pics of the engine a little farther away? Let us get a good overall view of as much of it as possible.
It's looking like a 264/322 engine, but seeing the exhaust manifolds would help. '53 322s didn't have a harmonic balancer.
The surest way is to measure the bolt holes on the intake, and compare to the numbers TagMan gave.

-Brad