53 Nailhead mating to a 51 dynaflow?

[Riviera Dude]

Found out the head on the straight 8 322 is cracked, and came across a nailhead from 53.... Yeah, I know some things will have to change, but will it bolt up to the Dynaflow trans?

 

[raycow]

At the very least, you will need a 53-56 V-8 bellhousing, converter and flexplate. You can't use the straight 8 converter because its ring gear won't mesh with the V-8 starter. If you can find all these parts, it will probably be no more difficult to find a complete 53-56 transmission, which IMO would be the better way to go.

Another possibility would be to leave the car stock and replace the head on the straight 8. This would be a lot less work than a V-8 swap. One of the engines in the ad linked below has a cracked block, so it is not likely that anybody is going to want it except for parts. Naturally, you will want to find out first if the head on it is still usable.

http://www.teambuick.com/classifieds/showproduct.php/product/6281/title/320-263-engines-trans/cat/53

Ray