T/A Nailhead "A" body header question

I like the challenge too Dr Frankenbuick.......I've had 50 different people tell me to put a BBC in it but i just can't do that......I will keep toying with the nail until I get it fast enough..... it might cost me 15,000 dollars and take 10 yrs to save that much money......but there has to be a way to force the air in and out of an old nail.........BTW; does that person you know still do head polishing for the general public (people like me).....I know I need to get that done.......then maybe go with some slightly thinner head gaskets to boost compression.......

Mike
 
To make it short Mike, about 12-15K. Maybe you should think about selling many parts. Much of it has to do with details Mike. As Dr. has stated it's ALL about the air!!!!.
 
I think the carb bonnets alone are about 400 bucks a piece...........

Are carb bonnets the same as pressure boxes? If yes, would you consider a draw-through instead of a blow-through setup? If you mount the carbs as closely as possible to the turbo intakes, this would simplify the plumbing and clearance issues quite a bit, and the throttle linkage could be handled easily enough with cables. It would mean putting the turbos up front though, not 2 feet behind the engine.

I know all this sounds weird, but I have talked with the builders of a couple of draw-through installations who said they were trouble-free and performed quite well (but unfortunately, none of them was on a nail).

Ray
 
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I've thought about that quite a bit as well...........then I wouldn't have to worry about air fuel ratios or air leaks in the carbs from the blow through setup (raycow)..............I realize it's going to cost a lot of $$$$$$$$ (Tom)........And I'm definitely NOT made of it by any means but, "a penny saved is a penny earned"........and with time I will find a way to modify forced induction on it; start out light with the PSI and work my way up I guess...I've talked to guys running forced induction engines with 11:1 compression so I'm sure the stock 10.25:1 will work fine at low boost......Trial and error is usually the only way to figure NEW things out.........I also have 3 extra rebuilt nailhead engines in case i blow mine up.......one 401 numbers matching 66 skylark GS engine, one 425 66 wildcat GS engine (single 4 barrel version), and one 64 wildcat 401 (the factory dual quad engine I mentioned earlier).......

Mike
 
401's NEVER came from the factory with QUADS. It was more than likely added either by a PO or a dealer. The advertised compression of 10.25-1 is NOT true as the pistons normally sit in the hole .040"-.055". The BEST I have ever measured on a stock/virgin engine is not quite 9.7-1. My friend bought a new '66 Riv. GS back in the day. He added a Latham to it which had 4lbs. of boost & found out that the boost & the compression, even stock, destroyed his engine. Of course he was NOT a full time mechanic but a plumber. Today we know ALOT more so maybe you could get away with it. This I DO NOT know.
 
I bet that Rivi ran pretty dang good at 4PSI before it destroyed the engine..:).............But yeah, The 64 wildcat 4 door hardtop I got the dual quad engine out of was a beautiful car..........I figured someone probably added the dual quad manifold...(I couldn't pass up all the parts for what I payed)........Too bad it was a 4 door because if it was a 2 door I probably would have bought the whole car.........It had (I believe; It's been a while) swivle bucket seats, auto on the floor with console, tach, tilt wheel, power windows, power antenna, 3.08:1 posi, etc. and absolutely no rust.........Dark metallic blue.........There was a salvage yard in Eastern Omaha in the mid-late 90's that had TONS!!!!!! of buicks: most of them were nails...........The city shut them down roughly 12 yrs ago and they scrapped EVERYTHING they had left.........I wish I would have known because I would have done one last search through their bone yard.............I also wish the dumbass that I got the 66 wildcat GS 425 from didn't take that car to the scrap yard.........I couldn't believe it when he told me what he did........I mean, the car was rusted being imagination; floor pans were gone, trunk pan was gone, quarters were rusted about 6 inches up from where the wheel well used to be...........but still; It was a 66 wildcat GS..........the guy had no clue that was the only yr the car was produced............I would have fabricated every piece of metal that car needed just to be able to restore it..........Oh, BTW; I got my starter today...........It looks VERY!!!!!! tiny.........I wont be able to install it till this weekend but it looks much smaller than both NH mini's pictured on T/A's website.....I will keep you all posted.......Thank's for the input guys...........

Mike
 
BTW; does that person you know still do head polishing for the general public (people like me).....I know I need to get that done.......then maybe go with some slightly thinner head gaskets to boost compression.......Mike


Mike, I have not had heads ported for the Nailhead in over ten years. Steve Magnotti from Flow Tech did mine then (914) 962-1325. Tom and his associate Bob were having him do some work for them at that time. They may have moved to others by now, and I do not know if Steve is still porting.

I have a head flow chart for some of the heads I have owned (including the Magnotti heads) hosted on this site here: http://www.teambuick.com/reference/head_flow.php. They are all converted to 28" of water regardless of the introduction. Although, the Magnotti heads outflow the Gessler heads, the Magnotti heads have a larger intake valve (1.94" vs. 1.87") and the exhaust ports were opened up to fit a 1 3/4" exhaust header flange. The Magnotti and Gessler heads would flow similar without those changes. Sadly, Greg Gessler just stopped porting a few months ago. He was a real force in Buick performance head porting.

Here is a link to my 425 idling with the Gessler heads and Kenne Bell cam: http://share.cx.com/Bcyn2Y. I am not sure how well it will work since my old hosting site crashed and CX is new. I broke the motor in using my 65 chassis since it was just sitting without an engine at that time.
 
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Thank you Dr........I will try to contact flow tech on Monday.......Hope they still do porting or can lead me to someone good who does...............And Tom, I will try to get a picture uploaded tomorrow before I install it..........the solenoid is much bigger than the starter itself.......

Mike
 
If the solenoid is bigger than the mini starter Mike it is of the older design. You will more than likely have to do the little cut Steve mentioned. Originally we had Steve do our heads. As far as I know Steve does NOT do porting any longer. Then the last were done by Greg. There is only one guy left who does the porting on a professional basis. Pro-Tech from Ca. Mike Lewis, 559-227-4773. Tell him I told you to call. I do have a guy I have been using for the last few yrs. who also does an excellent job with excellent flow #'s, but he is NOT a pro & since he does it as a hobby part time it will take awhile to get them done, but he's also less expensive. He also ports intake manifolds & gets excellent results from them also.


Tom T.
 
Hey guys, I attached a couple pics of the starter............No way, no how is it going to fit without grinding atleast 1/2 off my block by the frost plug..........I tried moving the head in every position possible and even tried putting it on with the solenoid upside down............I guess I'm just going to have to eat the restocking fee and get yours Tom........How much is your mini Tom?

Mike
 

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Mike,

I did not have to shave the block anywhere near as much as you think you will. I think your TA solenoid has a larger diameter then the older model from Tom that I have. Tom's solenoid looks longer. I attached a picture of Tom's older Nailhead starter on the right (TA 455 mini-starter on the left) for comparison below.

I also added a picture of a procharged 401 in a Riv that might be something to think about.
 

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The "Mini" I sell Mike is $319.00. It will fit in a medium "Flat Rate" box & will ship in the U.S. 48 states for about $13.00 for a total of $331.00. A Postal Money Order ( preferably) made out to myself. I will also take a personal check. Whatever is easiest for you, & mailed to the address below. PM your address & I will ship it in the am.


Tom T.
 
Forgot to add. That "Mini" is the one being produced by a Co. in Ca. As of this moment they are the ONLY one's making the "Nail""Mini" now as far as I know. Mine is a bolt-in swap & weighs in at 6lbs. 12 ozs. My original "Mini" was 8lbs. 9ozs. The one you have I'm sure weighs more than the original older design as it is actually larger. Instead of the "R" terminal mine has a one way diode for the "R" terminal. I include the nec. connectors as well as the diode already mounted which others charge more for. As many of us well know, you get what you pay for. I have done the R&D to make sure whatever it is I sell works the way it was designed & don't count on the unsuspecting buyer to do the modifications & R&D nec. to make things work the way they are supposed to/designed to do. Even with the older/larger design of the one I sold previously I included directions & a small drawing to show what needed to be done. There was NO guessing!!!! No major mods were nec. etc. We all know there's no substitute for the real thing!!!


Tom T.
 
Money order will probably work best for me as well Tom.........Address is 1853 Rolling Hills Loop, Council Bluffs, IA 51503...............I'll keep you all posted too as for what T/A says tomorrow when I call them about returning their mini.......(which BTW; I dont think T/A's mini will EVER be able to fit on a nail with headers, solenoid is either too close to the block or too close to the header).......Thank's guys......and thank you Tom.........I'll get the money order sent out ASAP............

Mike
 
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