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<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--> I'm in Los Angeles and my 61 Buick with a 364 Nailhead is at my friend’s house in Van Nuys. The car was running fine until it was backfiring through the carb. It had 4 bad lobes on the camshaft and was still running. I have changed my camshaft, cam bearings, timing gears, chain, lifters, rods, and couldn't get my car started. I did not degree the cam when I put it in. I was told by Elgin and the guy I bought it from that I should not have to.

I got the right firing. I put the timing chain and gears in tdc and according to the manual. I have checked the timing, it has good compression, firing stroke, correct firing order and can’t get my car running good. I then changed my carter carb with an Eldebrock 1406 and it started but the rpms are too low, It will idle with the carb held wide open and the valves are hardly moving. The stock nonadjustable rockers are in it. Some of the new rods from Egges seem too loose against the rocker arms. The valves don't look like they are moving very much.

I have been trying to get it going for over a few weeks. I made sure all the cam bearing holes lined up. I put in a stock 401 cam E-564-S from northern auto parts, Vl-3 lifters, 364 push rods from Egges. Cylinder 1 on the passenger side is on the firing stroke, the rotor is facing 1, and timing is at 12. I got a 1406 Eldebrock carb. Flame thrower coil, Petronix points which were in the motor before and worked. New plug wires, distributor cap and ac 45s plugs. I soaked the lifters in oil first but did not pump them. I thinking maybe the lifters are not pumping up but I don't know why they wouldn't by now when the car has started. They lifters are VL-3 's according to the box.

I tried again to get it going with no luck. It will turn over but it will barely idle. I looked at it with the valve cover off and they are barely moving. I have read so much at this point but I don't where to go from here. I thought I did everything right, timing, firing order, etc. Everybody has a different idea but nothing is working so far. My next step is to tear it apart again or find a shop. I haven't been able to find a shop that wants to work on a nailhead or is familiar with them.

I took the valley pan off, the cam is still good. I turned the oil pump shaft with a drill and screw driver. And there is pressure of 45 to 50 on the oil sensor but I don't see any oil coming up through the engine. I'm not sure what the oil path is on the nailhead. Do I need have an old distributor shaft to move the oil through the engine? Also the push rods are loose against the rockers. There seems like there is too much play. I feel like the none adjustable stock rockers should be tighter against the rods, I’m wondering if the rockers are worn but again the car ran before with a bad cam. Some of the push rods are very noticeably loose. I pulled a new lifter out and there was no oil in it.

This is a daily driver and you know what it's like not having a car in LA. I'm becoming very desperate and grasping at straws I need help or someone that can come look at it with me in Van Nuys to figure it out or a nailhead knowledgeable mechanic that I can bring it to in southern California close to Los Angeles area.

Steff Garletts 323-605-3795

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The oil flows from the pump, through the main oil gallery, and to the front cam bearing; from there, oil goes to each of the lifter galleries and to the rocker shafts on the heads.

My best guess would be the front cam bearing may be installed incorrectly or the new cam does not have a groove on the front journal....might even be some sludge that got dislodged (since that is the only thing you changed on a running engine).

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The front cam bearing has an oblong hole in it. If the oblong part of the hole is not positioned correctly over the hole in the block, you can't move any oil to the rocker arms.

Google "Russ Martin Grass Valley" and find his website. He has some technical write ups on it that should help. If the articles don't help, give him a call.

Ed

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Have you put a vacuum gauge on the engine yet, and also check the length of your old pushrods to your new ones? If you can find/ borrow a dial indicator micrometer for checking valve lift that would answer your questions on whether the problem is from valve lift/valve train components. If it is a stock cam the engine vacuum should be in the high teens and possibly over 20" of mercury. The needle should be steady. If the needle is fluctuating, or low that indicates mechanical problems in the engine. Search the web for a vacuum gauge chart to explain what the readings mean. Low and steady vacuum indicates a vacuum leak and as mentioned an unsteady needle indicates a mechanical problem but a cam with too much overlap would cause the same. How are your power brakes working? If the cam has too much overlap, there may not be enough vacuum to assist the brakes. There have been multiple postings on the Riviera forum here on AACA's site about the various camshafts installed in the Nailhead originally by Buick. The stock one available from aftermarket is apparently a "blend" grind to suit all Nailheads but the grind MAY vary between manufacturers.

I went through a similar situation with my 64 Rivy with a 425. Similar in the sense the engine would not idle well. The valves appeared to be moving fine. I was resealing the engine to correct some oil leaks and noticed my lifters had accelerated wear for the miles since the rebuild most likely from lots of sitting and dry starts. So I decided to replace the cam and lifters. I went to a local cam manufacturer here in San Diego and asked for just a little hotter cam, "just one step, but don't want a lopey idle" " I asked. I have owned the car for over 30 years so I just wanted a change. Should have never done that.

The engine would barely run, very rough idle,vacuum gauge needle all over the place and low. I triple checked my work like you, i.e. TDC, timing, etc., everything was OK. What made things worse, I lost the cam card and had no idea of what grind cam I had and the cam shop did not have a system to search my receipt of my purchase. So I pulled the cam out and took it to them and had it checked t see what I had. The cam was ground 3 STEPS HOTTER! The shop said they could "mellow it out" to what I wanted which I had them do but I had to buy a new set of lifters.

Well things were better, but not acceptable. The Riv still idled like a car at the drag strip even though the cam specs for the mellowed out cam should have produced a reasonable idle. I said enough. I went the El Cheapo route and went to Auto Zone and purchased the cam they showed which is for all Nailheads. Being conscious of quality I confirmed the Autozone camshaft for the Nailhead is made by Melling in USA (good) and I purchased my stock lifters (another set, UGH!) from Summit racing and those were made by Crane in the USA, also good and the best price. Under $200 for everything. This was 3 years ago. BTW, I saved the lifters and cam that was too wild, marked the lifters so they could be re-installed with their mated lobe by the next guy. Put the package on ebay explaining what the deal was and sold it all for $100.

Now, this stock Melling camshaft still did not have as smooth of an idle as the one I originally removed when I started this swap or created vacuum as high, but the idle was smooth overall and appropriate for a luxury car. The car was faster and what I remember it being when I purchased it in 1980. What gives I thought? What kind of cam did I originally remove? Well the cam I removed was a regrind from when I had a machine rebuild the engine in 1986 and I have no idea what the specs were. That cam provided a butter smooth idle and over 20" of rock steady vacuum but I noticed the engine did not have quite the punch previous to the rebuild. The Melling cam offers 16" of fairly steady vacuum, a smooth engine idle with an occasional bump now and then but the engine feels very close power wise to what it was back in 1980.

Hope this info helps more than confuse you. It sounds like you have a oil supply issue which should be corrected first and that most likely is your problem causing the lifters to not pump up and open the valves. But it IS possible you may have the wrong cam for your engine. Consider this if the engine still does not run good after the oiling issue is corrected. You mentioned the cam is "still good" but that is hard to tell by looking. If you are going to remove it to check the cam bearings for proper installation you may want to have it checked by a speed shop before you take the time to reinstall it. Attached the specs for the Nailhead cams from year to year and a link to the Melling cam specs sheet. Scroll down for the SBC3 which is the aftermarket cam listed for Nailheads, 364, 401 and 425s. Prices have gone up. The cam is now $120, up from $87 3 years ago at Auto Zone.

http://www.mellingengine.com/Portals/5/pdf/pdf_catalog/engine-parts-camshaft-specifications.pdf

Nailhead Cam Specs.PDF

Edited by Paul K. (see edit history)
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If you Google "nailhead Buick", you should find an article on rebuilding Nailhead Buicks, authored by Russell Martin in CA. One of the things he mentions is the critical positioning of the front cam bearing in the cylinder block and its affect upon oiling of the valve train. Lots of good information in there, too.

Russ's articles also explain the camshaft differences. In general, when a camshaft is "reground", that means the lobes are returned to more of their original configuration, thereby removing some of the wear on the lobes as they are "reground". This is done by also grinding the "base circle" of the lobes closer to the diameter of the blank the camshaft was cast from, which might also mean that a few tricks might have been done to compensate for the increased distance of the cam's base circle from the end of the rocker arms.

In the case of "replacement" camshafts, they are NOT an exact duplicate of the original (copyright things and such), but are a "close match" equivalent. Timing events might vary a few degrees here and there, but the total will be close to what the factory cam it replaces might have been. In other words, it's close enough to pass a tech inspection at the end of a race, but not being an "exact match/repro" at the same time.

As for cam specs, you'll notice that some of the cams had lobe centerlines at 109 degrees and others at 114 degrees. A huge number of replacement cams are in the 110 degree centerline area. These will generally perform better than a similar cam with a wider lobe centerline, but will not have quite the same smooothness at idle. The cams with the 114 degree lobe separation will have a smooother idle and genreally higher idle vacuum, but with a little decrease in total power production.

In putting together a spec combination for an engine, if the cylinder heads might have some issues with having enough airflow, then this can be somewhat masked by keeping the valves open longer (duration) and possibly a little higher (valve lift), with longer durations also usually meaning more valve overlap, which can increase higher-rpm performance. Buick did that with the Nailheads and Pontiac did that with their V-8s too in the 1960s.

Take care,

NTX5467

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  • 5 months later...

It sounds like you might have the wrong lifters and / or pushrods. Had a similar problem with a 1955 264 engine. As I recall the engine parts supplier sent lifters from a 1956 which are shorter in length than the correct 1955 ones. Same problem, valves not opening fully and backfiring through the carb.

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  • 1 month later...

I am in no way schooled in this, but i noticed when you mentioned VL-3 lifters , i saw that they were acvailable at Bob's when i was researching parts for my own build.

But they do not say they are for the 61 364. they say "Hydraulic Valve Lifter For 1956-58 V-8 Engines"

here as a link:

http://bobsautomobilia.com/shop/engine/hydraulic-valve-lifter-for-1956-58-vl-3.html

Hope this helps...

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  • 6 months later...
  • 1 month later...

If memory serves, the timing chains on nailheads are not installed with dots straight up you have to do an 11 tooth count one direction or another might be a good idea to call Russ Martin 530 272 1564 cuz he's not old enough to be ready for a "dirt nap" like me! he prolly remembers.

<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--> I'm in Los Angeles and my 61 Buick with a 364 Nailhead is at my friend’s house in Van Nuys. The car was running fine until it was backfiring through the carb. It had 4 bad lobes on the camshaft and was still running. I have changed my camshaft, cam bearings, timing gears, chain, lifters, rods, and couldn't get my car started. I did not degree the cam when I put it in. I was told by Elgin and the guy I bought it from that I should not have to.

I got the right firing. I put the timing chain and gears in tdc and according to the manual. I have checked the timing, it has good compression, firing stroke, correct firing order and can’t get my car running good. I then changed my carter carb with an Eldebrock 1406 and it started but the rpms are too low, It will idle with the carb held wide open and the valves are hardly moving. The stock nonadjustable rockers are in it. Some of the new rods from Egges seem too loose against the rocker arms. The valves don't look like they are moving very much.

I have been trying to get it going for over a few weeks. I made sure all the cam bearing holes lined up. I put in a stock 401 cam E-564-S from northern auto parts, Vl-3 lifters, 364 push rods from Egges. Cylinder 1 on the passenger side is on the firing stroke, the rotor is facing 1, and timing is at 12. I got a 1406 Eldebrock carb. Flame thrower coil, Petronix points which were in the motor before and worked. New plug wires, distributor cap and ac 45s plugs. I soaked the lifters in oil first but did not pump them. I thinking maybe the lifters are not pumping up but I don't know why they wouldn't by now when the car has started. They lifters are VL-3 's according to the box.

I tried again to get it going with no luck. It will turn over but it will barely idle. I looked at it with the valve cover off and they are barely moving. I have read so much at this point but I don't where to go from here. I thought I did everything right, timing, firing order, etc. Everybody has a different idea but nothing is working so far. My next step is to tear it apart again or find a shop. I haven't been able to find a shop that wants to work on a nailhead or is familiar with them.

I took the valley pan off, the cam is still good. I turned the oil pump shaft with a drill and screw driver. And there is pressure of 45 to 50 on the oil sensor but I don't see any oil coming up through the engine. I'm not sure what the oil path is on the nailhead. Do I need have an old distributor shaft to move the oil through the engine? Also the push rods are loose against the rockers. There seems like there is too much play. I feel like the none adjustable stock rockers should be tighter against the rods, I’m wondering if the rockers are worn but again the car ran before with a bad cam. Some of the push rods are very noticeably loose. I pulled a new lifter out and there was no oil in it.

This is a daily driver and you know what it's like not having a car in LA. I'm becoming very desperate and grasping at straws I need help or someone that can come look at it with me in Van Nuys to figure it out or a nailhead knowledgeable mechanic that I can bring it to in southern California close to Los Angeles area.

Steff Garletts 323-605-3795

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Regarding the "hotter cam" and Mr. Earl's "they came with . . . " comment . . .

In the world of engine designs, there are certain "obstacles" which are in many designs. In the new V-8s of the 1950s, one obstacle was the car bodies were still designed, generally, for inline motors (i.e., straight 8s and such). No real need for a wide engine compartment with that sort of thing, so stuffing a wider V-type engine in there presented some obstacles. Chevy had a new car in '55, but other brands got "theirs" a year or so later. Hence, the engine designs reflected some of these things.

The Buick Nailhead was designed during the "inline architecture" era and went where inline engines used to be. This meant the engine had to be narrower. They did that with a cylinder head that was taller and with different valve angles AND exhaust manifolding that was closer to the block. The resultant heads and valve sizes (valve sizes relate to bore size) tended to have more restrictive ports and smaller valves than the other GM "new" V-8s did.

Valve sizes, port efficiencies, and camshaft timing events are all related. With the valve sizes fixed toward the smaller side of things, ports that might not flow as well as others do, and "tight" manifolding all as "givens" in this equation, the only variable in the mix is "valve timing". Generally, exhaust valves are 75% the size of intake valves, as the hot exhaust gases are "under pressure" when the valve opens, therefore they don't need quite as big of a "gate" to get out of. But the efficiency of the port is important too, as it the related manifolding. End result is that "poor" ports can be somewhat compensated for by larger valve sizes, higher valve lift, and longer timing event durations. With the "larger valve" issue out of the mix, that leaves valve timing and lift as the variables. To a certain extent, the valve size/port issue can be overcome with "more area under the valve lift curve", which is what Buick did. What this also did was to build torque into the motor, too. Torque characteristics and other items are affected by the "rod length/stroke length" number, too, but that's another issue.

Also, valve duration and cubic inch displacement ALSO have a specific relationship. For example, a cam in a 300cid V-8 might appear "wild", but in a 401 would purr like a kitten at idle. So, cam duration should increase with engine size for a particular set of performance parameters to be met and continued in the larger engine. Valve size and lift can also be in this equation, provided the cylinder bore will allow for the larger valves, but if not, then valve lift might help compensate (provided port flow will also increase at the higher lift levels!!).

So, for "bolt-on upgrades", so to speak, it would be best to increase AIRFLOW into and out of the engine rather than get involved in the internals, to me. That would mean a 550-600cfm carburetor (probably Edlebrock AFB--see other thread of installing this carb on a '55 Nailhead!!), then putting a better "undercar" dual exhaust system in place (think 2.25-2.50" pipes and low-restriction (NOT Flowmasters!! Sorry, I've heard far too many 5.0L Mustangs with those mufflers) mufflers. Even the 2.25" pipes are probably bigger than the factory pipes, as I recall. The larger carb is needed as the originals probably only flow about 450cfm (flow rates were not available, back then, although "venture area" was a measure in the earlier 1960s).

As others have mentioned, there are a little too many "ins and outs" of earlier Buick camshafts relating to particular model years and what the "replacement" market has available. Plus, I suspect the factory cam is pretty decent as it is, just need to make things easier for it to work.

You'll probably need a chassis dyno session to get the carb mixture accurate for the engine it's on. Don't forget about an upgraded ignition system, too.

These are the things and areas I'd address, personally, first. If everything's fine-tuned well, the performance, throttle response and driveability, and cruise fuel economy should be Increased to make the car more joyful to drive . . . at least that's the eventual goal.

Just some thoughts . . .

Enjoy!

NTX5467

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Like 2carb40 said, i would check the correct timing.I had the same problem with a 55 Roadmaster customer car.

With the Oil pressure i would pull the Distributor and would turn the pump directly with an old Dist shaft and a drill maschine.

Try this first but if its not work you must open the motor and then you can look for the timing problem too in one step.

Just my 2 cents :)

Wish you good luck

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