Help with my new 56

[powerage]

Hi from New Zealand! Just purchased my first Buick - a 56 Century 2dr Hardtop, 95% complete, original and rust free, apart from no motor and trans. The car was imported here in 89 and has sat in storage ever since and its in great shape! There are a ton of questions I'll be asking, but I'll start with these -
What engine do you guys recommend? I believe its originally a 322/Dynaflow? These may be hard to track down in NZ and shipping one could be costly.

Also, the decoding of the VIN and the numbers on the firewall plate -
6C2034056
1956MOD
Style No 4637
Body No BC4003
Trim No 633
Paint No AMM
TOP ACC66R

Thanks in advance for any help!
Cheers
Matt

[BillK]

Matt,
Welcome aboard ! I would think the best thing to do is going to depend on which engines are available to you. Small Block Chevy engines seem to be the most popular almost anywhere, so that would be my first guess. It should be fairly easy to swap in a 350 Chevy with a matching automatic transmission. Best thing to do, no matter what engine you decide on, would be to find a "donor" car so that you can get all the brackets, pulleys, motor mounts etc.
Hope this helps,

[powerage]

Ok, I may have scored a Buick 350 and auto, supposedly out of a mid 70's Buick. Reckon this would slot into the 56 easily? The 56 appears original from the driveshaft back. Would this be good move?
Cheers
Matt

[Judd]

Mat
You'll have to move to open drive shaft unless you use 53 to 59 nailhead trans the 54 to 56 Special Century would be a bolt in. Check for the steering box clearance.
first number 6+ Century, C= 1956, 2= built at South Gate plant, the rest is production number looks like early production number. Does the grille below the hood air plane have open slots or is it solid with black painted slots?
Trim # 633 is black and red interior
paint AMM is black top with red body
Judd

[powerage]

Does the grille below the hood air plane have open slots or is it solid with black painted slots?
Open slots. Is the mid 70s 350 still called a nailhead?

[Judd]

Matt

Your car is early 56 production they stopped the open slots because of complaints about trash comming in through them. The Nailhead was produced from 1953 to 1966 with changes in trans bolt pattern and exhaust port shape in 1957.

Judd

[powerage]

So do you guys think the 70's Buick 350 would be better than a small block Chev?
Or should I try and get a Nailhead and keep it as close to original as possible? Again, this could be hard in NZ.
Cheers

[Bob]

While I don't think you need to keep it close to original, personally, I do like to see a [img]graemlins/shield.gif[/img] Buick in a Buick [img]graemlins/shield.gif[/img] . You could consider a nailhead all the way up to a second generation 455. The sbc is a lot more economical to build, but everybody has one. [img]smile.gif[/img]