Nailhead Prototype, Experimental

[MartyWorld]

Good afternoon Group.

Anyone have any prototype, experimental or "export" parts for nailheads?

Any info (pictures) would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Marty

Edited March 26, 2012 by MartyWorld (see edit history)

[Ted "Wildcat65" Nagel]

You have probably seen this over @ V8 Buick:

Its and X-code manifold, its 1/2" higher than a stock and the carbs are spaced 1/2" further apart. Its going on a 425 in a 65 Wildcat...5-speed

Here it is having a litlle run time on the dyno:

I had to have an extended linkage part made for it! Local machine shop has mass fab skills.

[buick5563]

That is soooo pretty!

[MrEarl]

Oh BOY!!! This is gonna be a fun thread.

My old eyes can't read it, what's that written in the middle of the intake?

[Centurion]

Marty, perhaps you've seen this photo online of the restored carburetors for the Bill Mitchell 1956 Buick Century X. I recently received a private message through this site that restoration of the car has commenced.

[Ted "Wildcat65" Nagel]

Oh BOY!!! This is gonna be a fun thread.

My old eyes can't read it, what's that written in the middle of the intake?

Thats the Buick engineering number, starts with X

Wild Bill and I saw Denny Manner @ the GSCA Nationals a few weeks ago- we had to ask how many of these experiments were made-, not a lot!:eek:

Edited November 8, 2010 by Wildcat65 (see edit history)

[NTX5467]

If that's a GM casting, how different might it be from the aftermarket Nailhead 2x4 intakes from Weiand, Edelbrock, and such back then? Just curious.

THANKS FOR THE GRREEAAAATTTTT PICTURES!

NTX5467

[Guest wildcat465]

Oh Yeah!

Good stuff here.

Anyone know where to get those air cleaner assemblies in Brian's pictures?

[MrEarl]

Here's my entry. A prototype posi-traction rear end for a 1955 Buick. I picked it up off ebay from Joe Taubitz aka The Old Guy. I plan to try to fit it into the new little 54 Special I just bought.(behind a '56 322 w/hot cam and 6 bolt 3 speed with an Ansen shifter) It is a 3.6 gear which while it won't get me off the line quite as fast as I'd like, with the correct tires should still allow me a view of a bowtie in the rearview mirror. Joe can you share some more history on this piece.

Note the X prefix on the part #

Edited November 10, 2010 by MrEarl (see edit history)

[JohnD1956]

Its and X-code manifold, its 1/2" higher than a stock and the carbs are spaced 1/2" further apart. Its going on a 425 in a 65 Wildcat...5-speed

Ted, what's the advantages to the 1/2 differences?

[Caballero2]

How about a mechanical driven tachometer for a '58 364ci?

Dan

'57-76C

'57-56R

[The Old Guy]

Mr Earl

I got it 10-12 years ago with a bunch of parts I purchased. I was told it was an experimental piece that they decided not to use.

[MartyWorld]

How about a mechanical driven tachometer for a '58 364ci?

Dan

'57-76C

'57-56R

Good morning.

Is the distributor from the factory or an aftermarket piece?

Thanks,

Marty

[Caballero2]

It is factory, that is what is on the tag that was attached shown in other photos.

Delco factory Order #658-0

Model #X21717

S/N 658DE

Date tested 10-21-1957

Number ordered 6

Dan

Edited November 10, 2010 by Caballero2 (see edit history)

[MartyWorld]

Marty, perhaps you've seen this photo online of the restored carburetors for the Bill Mitchell 1956 Buick Century X. I recently received a private message through this site that restoration of the car has commenced.

Good morning Brian.

Is that a factory dual quad manifold........possibly "X" code?

Thanks...great photo.

Marty

[Centurion]

Good morning Brian.

Is that a factory dual quad manifold........possibly "X" code?

Thanks...great photo.

Marty

Marty, I believe this was a factory item, but obviously not a production item.

[buick5563]

Oh BOY!!! This is gonna be a fun thread.

So far SO good!!! Just like Mr. Earl predicted.

[NTX5467]

HHMMMMMM . . . . if there's a 1958 Buick V-8 tach drive distributor . . . where might the tach be?????? Much less the cable to drive it????

"The plot thickens!

LOTS of neat stuff coming out of the woodwork!!

NEAT STUFF, too!

Enjoy!

NTX5467

[GMPARTSMAN]

Rochester Fuel Injection......remember it was distributor driven...why not?

Chevy had it, Pontiac too in '57

[PONTIAC1953]

hi, i've never read or heard of buick in the rochester fuel injection program, chavy, pontiac, and oldsmobile were in it from the start, oldsmobile went with the J2 option (3-2's), there's even a picture of the 1957 oldsmobile fuel injection engine as a under the hood picture you can buy from general motors media web site. charles coker, 1953 pontiac tech advisor,poci.

[MartyWorld]

Hello Group.

Here are some "stock" and "D" exhaust manifolds for the 401/425 nailhead.

Marty

[GMPARTSMAN]

hi, i've never read or heard of buick in the rochester fuel injection program, chavy, pontiac, and oldsmobile were in it from the start, oldsmobile went with the J2 option (3-2's), there's even a picture of the 1957 oldsmobile fuel injection engine as a under the hood picture you can buy from general motors media web site. charles coker, 1953 pontiac tech advisor,poci.

Neither have I heard or read of F.I. in Buicks.But that doesn't mean that it never happened. The tachometer theory to me holds less credibility than fuel injection as what purpose would a tachometer have with a Dynaflow equipped vehicle besides a dash ornament? The three speed manual was a low volume item,definitely not performance oriented.

There were a lot of "skunk works" projects going on in GM, both official and unofficial back then. It could have been stopped at any point if the right or wrong people learned of it. Unofficially sanctioned projects I would still bet are going on today.

In 1975 there was a Cadillac Seville that was running Manufacturer plates with a cammed 350 Olds, true dual exhaust and a tricked Bendix fuel injection system. That car I personally knew of. It had a REAL nice lope at idle.

Off subject, the last "skunk works" vehicle I knew of had a blue oval on the grille. A Windstar with a 4.6 Lincoln Continental drivetrain, ijust after they were released for sale. Sadly, that never made it beyond the "whatif" stage. That was my friend's ride for a few days.

Edited November 12, 2010 by GMPARTSMAN (see edit history)

[Caballero2]

I never thought of F.I. After you bring it up, I tend to agree with you that F.I. makes more sense than the tachometer. The gearhead is positioned to face directly forward when installed.

Dan

[Guest]

Just a FYI on the Pontiac fuelie, in 57 only on Bonneville and uses a stamped steel manifold. 1958 a option on any 58 Pontiac- uses a aluminum manifold.

On the question of the air cleaners for those 2X4's in the thread above, the air cleaners look identical to the 2X4 air cleaners for the Super Duty 421 Pontiac's of 61-63 and you might try the Pontiac people such as POCI or some of the parts suppliers like Ames Performance Engineering for leads.

Question for Wildcat65. How much hp and torque did the dyno show for that engine? Just saw one for a 421 SD that pulled 586hp with the factory Mac # 12 cam!

Don

[NTX5467]

Until the "electronic tachs" came out circa 1961, with "the box" that ran things on the inner fender panel, most factory tachs were most probably cable driven. Corvette tachs used to be cable drive, even after the Rochester FI system was history. Of course, aftermarket electronic tachs were available, as electronic circuitry production expanded.

The FIRST Bendix Electrojector system was prototyped on a 1953 (?) Buick V-8, but it probably didn't get very far, all things considered, back then. Similar to the later Bendix system used on very few Chrysler 300 letter cars in the late 1950s. MANY electronic RF interferance issues, back then, made the Rochester mechanical system look really good.

Prototypes?? In the early 1990s, a friend worked at a large Ford dealership in northern Dallas. He mentioned that one time, they got in three Rangers with 302 V-8s in them, directly from Ford. They were destined to be used by a local courier company for a particular length of time, then returned to Ford. Each one had a huge data recorder under the seat.

Enjoy!

NTX5467

[MrEarl]

Here's my entry. A prototype posi-traction rear end for a 1955 Buick. I picked it up off ebay from Joe Taubitz aka The Old Guy. I plan to try to fit it into the new little 54 Special I just bought.(behind a '56 322 w/hot cam and 6 bolt 3 speed with an Ansen shifter) It is a 3.6 gear which while it won't get me off the line quite as fast as I'd like, with the correct tires should still allow me a view of a bowtie in the rearview mirror. Joe can you share some more history on this piece.

Note the X prefix on the part #

Wwhat is a source for looking up "X" part numbers, anybody know?

A very observent and wise road warrior pm'd me this re my posi trac unit.

Lamar, Looking at the posted pictures again of your prototype posi-traction rear end for a 1955 Buick, I can't see how you will lock the axle shafts with the usual C-clip. Some cars don't use C-clips and the axles are locked at the ends like the 56 Buick. Maybe this was....??

[MartyWorld]

Until the "electronic tachs" came out circa 1961, with "the box" that ran things on the inner fender panel, most factory tachs were most probably cable driven. Corvette tachs used to be cable drive, even after the Rochester FI system was history. Of course, aftermarket electronic tachs were available, as electronic circuitry production expanded.

The FIRST Bendix Electrojector system was prototyped on a 1953 (?) Buick V-8, but it probably didn't get very far, all things considered, back then. Similar to the later Bendix system used on very few Chrysler 300 letter cars in the late 1950s. MANY electronic RF interferance issues, back then, made the Rochester mechanical system look really good.

Prototypes?? In the early 1990s, a friend worked at a large Ford dealership in northern Dallas. He mentioned that one time, they got in three Rangers with 302 V-8s in them, directly from Ford. They were destined to be used by a local courier company for a particular length of time, then returned to Ford. Each one had a huge data recorder under the seat.

Enjoy!

NTX5467

Good afternoon NTX.

Any info on the 1953 Buick F.I.?

Photos?

Thanks,

Marty

[NTX5467]

I found that information in a book I found (and purchased) about 20 years ago on automotive fuel injection. The comment was that Bendix had the system prototyped on the '53 Buick V-8, with the entire "box" sitting in the passenger-side front floor area . . . which is how they presented it to Buick for their demonstration. Of course, the packaging would have to have been upgraded, if approved. I'll see if I can find the book.

Enjoy!

NTX5467

[MartyWorld]

Any "export" stuff out there?

Thanks,

Marty

[MartyWorld]

Anyone have the specs for the 1957 to 1958 "high power equipment" (export) camshaft? This would be the solid lifter cam.

Thank you,

Marty