1957 Century 330hp high performance kit?

The Buick Standard Catalog lists the hp for the 57 Century engine as 300 hp and then states (330hp with high performance kit)

What's this? Pontiac had fuel injection and solid lifter jobs, Olds had the J-2 tri power set up, and Chrysler had D500 Dodges and other special performance kits but at least I have never heard of the Buick "high performance kit" that added 30hp to a 57 Century.

Anyone?

It is my understanding that Buick offered for a brief period, a two 4bll setup for the 364 Century in an effort to respond to the Chevrolet 270 model. I once saw a cast iron two 4bll manifold on ebay and tried to get it but failed when bidding got too high. I have <span style="font-weight: bold">no</span> documentation to back this up, but maybe Al Bell or some of the other '57 fans may do so.

Dan

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BJM</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The Buick Standard Catalog lists the hp for the 57 Century engine as 300 hp and then states (330hp with high performance kit) </div></div>

The Standard Catalog is filled with errors. It should be considered a preliminary reference, and not the final word.

Having said that, I am unable to answer your specific question on 57's.

Greg,

I understand and agree, but still...

It was period correct, which is why I included the examples and Buick did go on to develop the 2x4 for the Nailhead. No mention of it for 56 or 58 and no mention of it for other Buicks (Super/ Roadmaster)

I have never heard of the high performance kit, however Russ Martin has a picture of a factory experimental 2x4 intake for the 364 on his website (click on 4th picture from right in top row):

http://www.nailheadbuick.com/nail/nailhead.html

I have also seen a factor experimental 3x2 intake for the 264/322. It had the factory X experimental stamp on it and even has a part number that starts with 117:

http://www.v8buick.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=130766&d=1233023768

http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=158310

The '57HiPo kit was a HiPo camshaft, solid lifters and special rocker arms. Dealer cost was about $78.00. I ordered one for my 1957 Century but my Dad-who was the dealer--sent it back. It did exist. Not sure whether it was available in later years.

Buick made the following parts for the 57 to 58 364:

Adjustable rocker arms

Longer pushrods

Solid (hollow) lifters

Blocked (exhaust crossover) intake gaskets

Higher compression pistons

All of these parts are listed in the Buick Master Parts Book

of that era.

Marty

So based on what Marty said I decided to check my Master Chassis Parts Book 1940-1963 and here is what I found:

Group 0.333 Arm, Valve Rocker:

1957-58 All (R.Frt. & L. RR.) High Pwr. Equip., 1175508, $3.25, arm, 8 per car

1957-58 All (L.Frt. & R. RR.) High Pwr. Equip., 1175509, $3.25, arm, 8 per car

Group 0.426 Rod, Valve Push:

1957-58 All High Pwr. Equip., 1174699, $1.10, rod, 16 per car

Group 0.429 Stud, Valve Push Rod Adjusting Ball:

1953-58 All V8 High Pwr. Equip., 1171076, $0.35, screw, 16 per car

1953-58 All V8 High Pwr. Equip., 1171073, $0.10, adj. screw nut, 16 per car

Group 0.459 Lifter, Valve:

1957-58 All High Pwr. Equip., 1179775, $2.50, lifter, 16 per car

Group 0.519 Camshaft:

1957-58 All High Pwr. Equip., 1179701, $50.00, use with high pwr. equip. lifter 0.459 only, 1 per car

Group 0.629 Piston and Pin

1957-58 (11-1 Compr. Ratio) Buick high power equipment, 1388026 (std.), $11.50, 8 per car

1957-58 (11-1 Compr. Ratio) Buick high power equipment, 1388027 (.010"), $11.50, 8 per car

Group 3.270 Gasket, Manifold:

1957-58 All High Pwr. Equip., 1173705, $0.85, gasket less heat holes, 2 per car

There are similar listings for 1953-56 (but nothing after '58). I don't know about the rest of the items, but you can still buy intake gaskets with the heat risers blocked off from Poston Enterprises:

http://www.postonbuick.com/eshop/10Expand.asp?ProductCode=PE947320

Hello:

This is a follow-up to prior discussions I see on this list about 1957 Buick Hi-Performance Pistons.

I recently purchased eight (8) Buick Pistons at a local swap meet. They are all in the original Buick boxes. On the Buick box it says " Buick Factory Engineered Parts 0.029 1388026 PISTON & PIN ". On one side of the piston it is marked BUICK and has the number 1174833. On the opposite side it says BOHNALITE.

So the question is, what do I have here? Are these the 1957 Buick 11-1 compression ratio hi-performance pistons discussed in earlier postings to this list. I'm assuming Bohnalite made these for Buick and they are lite-weight aluminum???

Does anybody really know what these are? I'm not a Buick guy and don't ask me why I bought these. They just looked interesting so I bought them. Any info on what I have is appreciated. My e-mail address is jlinden374@sbcglobal.net These are for sale.

Cheers! John

Hi!

I just need to open up this thread again. I bought the 8 HP pistons from John in this thread, and they are now restored and controlled, ready to start working. To secure and save everything for the future I have had them scanned in 3D CAD, and all messures, weight and data are captured. So to my question; the High Performance Camshaft, is it possible to get any kind of data on it, cam spefication, producer etc

I have allready established contact with Crane Cams, which will try to look in to this challenge in view of their NEW product line. Precision Blueprinted camshafts for '50s, '60s and '70s classic and muscle car applications that are replicas of popular factory high performance profiles and meet OEM specs for lift and duration.

Is it a mission "impossible" or "possible" I am about to jump into. I really like to try to build a 364 Nailhead with a copy of the High Performance package Buick offered.

Thanks

Jorn (Topper 1961)

Junior member

1957 Buick Century Model 63 Four Door Hard Top Riviera &

1957 Buick Century Model 66R Two Door Hard Top Riviera

Hi!

I just need to open up this thread again. I bought the 8 HP pistons from John in this thread, and they are now restored and controlled, ready to start working. To secure and save everything for the future I have had them scanned in 3D CAD, and all messures, weight and data are captured. So to my question; the High Performance Camshaft, is it possible to get any kind of data on it, cam spefication, producer etc

I have allready established contact with Crane Cams, which will try to look in to this challenge in view of their NEW product line. Precision Blueprinted camshafts for '50s, '60s and '70s classic and muscle car applications that are replicas of popular factory high performance profiles and meet OEM specs for lift and duration.

Is it a mission "impossible" or "possible" I am about to jump into. I really like to try to build a 364 Nailhead with a copy of the High Performance package Buick offered.

Thanks

Jorn (Topper 1961)

Junior member

1957 Buick Century Model 63 Four Door Hard Top Riviera &

1957 Buick Century Model 66R Two Door Hard Top Riviera

Good evening Jorn.

Any luck trying to obtain the hp 1957-1958 camshaft or its' specs?

Did you find any other hp parts?

I am attempting to do the same as you but not on a 57.

Thanks,

Marty

Marty!

Did you get my PM on your question?

Thanks

Joern

1957 Buick Century Model 63 & 66R

Marty!

Did you get my PM on your question?

Thanks

Joern

1957 Buick Century Model 63 & 66R

Yes I did.

Thank you very much.

Marty

Hi,

Sorry to bring back this old post, but after reading what I saw here and what I have seen in other sites, it is not clear to me what the 330HP option meant. I have seen a handful of engines with 3 carbs... was this the 330 HP option? If not, did Buick ever offered the tri-carb option for nailheads?

Thanks,

Victor

Thanks! So the engine above might have a specially made tri carb manifold or do you find manifolds easily to fit a nailhead?

This one in particular is in a 1957 Special hardtop sedan, but it is not the only tri-carbed engine I have seen.

Several aftermarket manufacturers (Weiand, Offenhauser, and others) made 3-carb intakes for the nailhead.

Buick would have used neither aftermarket air cleaners nor valve covers on a production engine. Any 3x2 factory carb set ups from GM that I've ever seen have always used one large air breather rather than three single units. Try to find numbers on the carburetors and see what their original application was.

Also this engine has neither an oil filler tube nor a draft tube in the valley cover which would have been a factory item in that era.

Mmmmm.... so it is either a dressed up engine (with the beautiful aluminum ribbed covers) or a fully incorrect engine from a later year (due to the filler and draft tubes you mention). I will have to check. Thanks!!