Please someone help out here.I have just got a nailhead 401 for my truck but it is still in the car and 120 miles away from me till i can get it home.The small block is still in the truck at the moment.Now what i need is measurements of the Buick engine as i cannot seem to find any sizes on the net.Now one guy on here told me it was 30 inches long but how wide and how high?can someone actually physically put one next to a small block for me and take a photo.Common i know some of you have 30 plus engines kicking about in your garage.We only have very smalll garages here and smaller wallets.................................Marq
http://www.carnut.com/specs/engdim.html Has lots of engine dimensions. Nailheads are narrow but a lil long.
I have a couple of 425's in the garage I can measure for you, but it will be late before I get home tonight to measure and post a reply. What all do you need besides length? I will assume waterpump fan flange to trans flange, but be more specific about the higth and width - i.e., with exhaust manifolds or not, with carb or not. Go Nailheads! Doug
i need as much information about them as you can possibly give me.By the way nice first post lol.I do sense the arrival of the intro police is imminent but welcome to the best World Wide hotrod Board the H.A.M.B...................Marq
FATHER BUICK!!! You're here now?! Hot dog--I always enjoyed your posts on the BCA! Do an intro at the front of the board to let everyone know about you. Glad you'll be on here. Always some pretty great nuggets of info to be found on this board. -Brad54
Hey, Brad, nice to see ya here too. OK, here are the dimensions to one of th best mills ever made - the Buick Nailhead. The third-gen Nailheads, that is the 401 and 425, measure as follow: Length, from fan flange to trans flange appr. 30.5 inches. Highth, from carb mount to bottom of center-sump oil pan appr. 22.5 inches. Width, from head bolt to head bolt appr. 23 inches. That's all for now. I will do an into later. Happy wrenching,
By the time i have the adapter on and the fan on it looks like it will be 31 1/2 ins all in ,now that is one big mutha.Anything i should know about them?good ?bad?.........Marq
Good Post Marq - I was thinking I was going to be able to slide the 364 I got from Brad in my A pretty easy - shit I had no idea it was 6.5" longer than my SBC. That ain't going to fit too well.
Not really that long... It is just that the torque converter sits up into the block somewhat, and therefore the trans case is proportionally shorter. But when you use a trans adapter and another trans, you have a longer set-up. A great source of nailhead info is the Yahoo chat room for "Buicknailhead" - I think I have that right. Very active and a good bunch of guys. A lot of experience there. Above all, DO NOT LET SOMEONE TALK YOU INTO HARDENED VALVE SEATS. You rarily need them on a nailhead, and will more often than not ruin the head because you get too close to water jackets. You usually do not need them because the iron is better in Buick engines - more nickel - and valve spring pressure is lower, hence less wear. Good heads are easy to come by, as Buick sold a LOT of these cars, and they were usually well-kept and unabused. Don't plan on reving it real high. Build it for torque, and you will have a good fun engine. I can give you some references if you like... Happy wrenching!
Tudor ,yes i knew they were long but not that long ,they are not very wide for a big block but still a little wider than a chevy motor.That engine will dominate your A bay.As for power,yes i prefer torque to bhp as bhp does not tell you the whole picture.Buick built thier motors for torque and for a period motor of the time i'm pretty sure they had the most torq i believe 445 for the 401.Torque =acceleration.Seudesled is getting over 1200 hp out of his so he tells me.They also have the most radical cam grind of the time too.Ft buick any info on available intake manifolds facts and figures i'm a bloody sponge mate so could do with you chuckin as much as possible at me ...........Marq
I put a 401 in my 33 p/u when I built it, I put a 401 in my 31 C-dan I just finished recently, and I'll be putting a 425 in my 37 chevy coupe project I'll be starting real soon...Nailheads suck and they're ugly too! Are there any other dimensions you need?
The Jalopy Journal
