A '55 nailhead into a '57 Buick - Can it be done?

[truckmen]

Hello all,

I have a very "dilapidated" '55 Buick Century with a Nailhead and was considering imstalling it in a '57 Buick. Is this a reasonable easy job or are the '55s and '57 too different for this fit?

Thanks in advance.

Ralph M Bohm

[1957buickjim]

Ralph, I am not a 55 specialist, but I suspect that there will be major differences in the way the engine fits in the compartment as well as how the linkages will hook up. The 57 was about 3-4" lower in height than the 55 /56 and some of that came out of the engine compartment, based upon the different air cleaners between the two model years. I think the 364 is an all new engine for the 57 model and carried over to at least 1961, maybe later.

I defer to OldTank on this one as he is the 55 engine guru, but as for the 57...great car! Does it have an engine in it?

[Leif Holmberg]

There are different splines on the shaft(propeller" between 1955 and 1957.As someone in the forum sad, if fix one problem you will have three new problem and I think that will happend in that case.

Leif in Sweden.

[truckmen]

There are different splines on the shaft(propeller" between 1955 and 1957.As someone in the forum sad, if fix one problem you will have three new problem and I think that will happend in that case.

Leif in Sweden.

Greetings 57BuickJim and Lief in Sweden.

Thank you kindly for shedding light on this subject. I am just beginning my learning curve regarding these beautiful cars (being busy previously with '65 Marlins and '66 Chargers)

So, I will not make this swap and to answer 57BuickJim's question, the '57 does have an engine in it and from what I was just told by the seller, it is re-buildable.

The '55 Century that I DO have at home is in really bad shape with lots and lots of body rot. I have a major challenge there. I am looking to buy the '57 if I deem it worth the asking price because I really love those rear quarter windows. It's a 2-dr post car though and it so far away from me. :-(

Thanks again for the replies.

Ralph M Bohm

[sean1997]

Bellhousing bolt pattern is different too. You would need to swap the bellhousing and Dynaflow front pump from the '55 to the '57. I know people have gone the other way ('57 into a '55) so it might be possible.