322 chevy truck engine ..

**322special51** · 08-16-2008, 12:27 PM

ok. so ive tried to find some info on these dump truck nailheads but no luck. i want to know what the difrence from these chevy nailheads to the compact car version. compresion.pistons etc. im looking at a 56 engine pulled out of a 54 buicks with the 1169334 cast on the block. what needs to be done to convert this manual powered block back to automatic. is it worth buying this version of the nailhead?

**TheCJ** · 08-18-2008, 02:34 AM

The 56 is a great engine, I just put one into my 54 special and gave it a load more torque. The Dynaflow should just bolt right onto the block, if you were converting the other way round, auto to manual, it would be more tricky. The Hollander Interchange gives the details but it's essentially a bolt-on deal for you. You'll need to balance out the torque converter using the instructions from the shop manual or give the set to a machine shop. The latter is more costly but it'll be balanced right. If you have a spare clutch and or flywheel from the 56 I may be interested.

Chris

54 Buick Special 41D (with a 1956 Century block)
64 Fiat 1500 cabriolet
83 Bertone X1/9
84 Jag S3 XJ6

**Tom Gallagher** · 09-03-2008, 05:09 PM

thousands of nailhead engines were installed in all sorts of chevy and Gmc trucks and school buses. At the time it was the only engine available that had enough torque to function a vehicle that had a tandem (dual wheel) rear axle.
They really had some "grunt" behind them.
If you are able to pick up one with a functional manual transmission behind them, it is a rare find and increases the torgue factor based on gearing.

**Three Tone** · 09-06-2008, 07:09 AM

I'm going to show my age here. The truck engine had less compresion than the car versions and thus was a prime canidate for a blower. Many of the blown 322 powered dragsters from the late 50's / early 60's were powered by a truck engine. My 1959 slinghot (now powered by a 283) had a blown 6 carb 322 from a GMC truck. It ran 145 MPH quarters. smoking the tires to about 1/2 track.

**322special51** · 10-29-2008, 10:53 PM

all sounds good. did they share the same pistons as the 50,60 and 70 series?i heard that the cam was dif from other 322's. could this be true....

**322special51** · 11-03-2008, 10:26 PM

ok! after a while of searching the web i found the info i was looking for on these loadmaster version of my fave mill the (322 NAILHEAD). link below...

http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com...to/59ted12.htm

http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com...to/59index.htm