best heads for nail head engine

[gforcecuda]

I have 4 nail head engines...2 425's, one from a 1964 Riviera, one from a 66 Riviera, a 401 from a 65 Wildcat, and a 364 from a 58 Century..all are 4 bbl engines..I know the intake on the 364 is narrower. does the 364 head flow as well as the 401/425...are any heads better flowing than any of the others.what are the best casting numbers...I am thinking about building one for a 32 Roadster..it will be a light car and I am going to put a 5 speed in it..i want it to be quick..And sound good..i will want to get a real cool intake manifold for it too..one that works well and is cool looking..what internals would you guys recommend for a reliable engine that makes good power and sounds good..how much compression will they take without detonation..

[Dr. Frankenbuick]

The heads are the same. The 364 had a shorter deck height that is reason for the narrower intake. Just like the 300 and 340 shared the same heads, but the 300 had a narrower intake. The 66 heads had AIR ports in CA, and 66 heads also had (exhaust?) valve seals. Those were the only differences. Use the set in the best condition.

[gforcecuda]

I had heard all the heads were the same...found it a little hard to believe they didn't change the design on them from 1957 to 1966. especially when the cu in increased from 364 to 425 cu in...all the heads are in great shape as are the rest of the motors...just wanted to make sure there were no differences. Finding a good induction system for the 364 might prove to be more difficult since it was different from all the other size motors..Trepanier has a cool Serpentine system for the 401/425 engines..he designed it and had it build for the 56 Buick..Alan Johnson made some custom accesory mounts for my 401 in my 58 Caballero...kept the Sanden Compressor, alternator, and power steering pump real low..nice clean look..hate the way the Grove system looks all hiked up in the air..

[Dr. Frankenbuick]

Your going to be limited to cast pistons if you want them off the shelf. They are usually listed at 10.25:1, but are more likely to 9.5-9.75:1 in a stock engine. Forged pistons can be made from a number of manufacturers, but be ready to shell out at least $700. The stock rods and crank are forged. They are very sturdy, but I would add ARP rod bolts and have the rods sized. You can cam up a little since you can slip the clutch to the start of the sweet spot. I like to aim for 8:1 dynamic compression instead of the focusing on static compression limits. This way you can be sure to run on 93 octane when you are done, and that the static compression and camshaft parameters have been taken into account. Head porting and oversized valves will help extend and enhance the power range if done correctly. There are not a lot of knowledgeable Nailhead porters out there: I am partial to Greg Gessler. I am fan of simple induction systems and like the Q-jet over all other available (3x2, 2x4, etc.) systems. I know they are less glamorous, but I am a go guy - not a show guy.

[gforcecuda]

I was looking online and read the article Nailing Down The Buick Nailhead...they said the 364, 401 , 425 heads were the same BUT the valves on the 57 and 58 364's were smaller..I guess the castings are the same so you can hog them out to put in as big of valves as you can put in the 401 and 425..I just got some rod and main bolts from Chris Raschle at ARP..no one seemed to have rod bolts for my 365 Caddy engine...no engine people knew of any...sent one of mine to Chris...they are the same bolts from 1949 thru 1976 when they made the 500 cu in..he didn't even know they were the same...But they were..The Nailhead article also said to use a longer rod...said Pontiacs work good..I was talking to a guy with a hot rodded nailhead...He said Kenny Duttweiler's brother is a good nailhead guy...i know a good 4 bbl would be a good choice...but it is going in a 32 Ford, and it needs to look cool too..article said to not use hardened seats in the Buick heads..not use bronze guides unless you are using roller rockers..no valve seals either...especially on the exhaust valves..also said 30 degrees of timing is all they need...plug is centered in the combustion chamber so it is very efficient..there are a bunch of us that are going to drive roadsters to the Fathers Day Roadster Show next year in Pomona..most will be Chevy powered..few Fords...I want a Buick in mine...don't want to get my butt kicked though...