Should I put a '66 nailhead engine in a '67 (instead of the factory 430)?

[C-Rad]

My goal was to buy a '66 or '67 Riviera that could easily be made reliable enough for weekend drives with the family, but needed enough maintenance/restoration, to provide teaching opportunities to my mechanically inclined thirteen year old son.  I've recently acquired both a '66, AND a '67 Riviera, both of which need work, but not the same work.  (I'll put the story of why/how I ended up with both instead of just one of them at the end so you can read it if you are interested).  I'm going to do most of the work myself (and kid) in our spare time (i.e., slow progress)

 

My primary question is: Will a 425 Nailhead from a '66 Riv easily go into a '67 Riv (which was the first year of the Buick 430 engine)? 

 

In short, the '66 has a rebuilt engine and trans (not installed) but bad flaky rust in at least six spots, and the '67 has a solid body, but tired engine and potentially inappropriate trans.  I want a car that I can regularly drive on weekends as I gradually improve/work on it, until it is ultimately a beautiful and reliable daily driver.  

 

Does the following plan make sense, or will I run into trouble:

1) Pull the tired 430 engine and 1976 trans out of the '67 with the intention of doing a slow rebuild on the engine, and maybe finding a correct '65-67 ST400 ("Switch-Pitch") trans.

2) Put the rebuilt 425 Nailhead engine and TS400 trans for the '66 into the '67 ("temporarily"), to make it a more reliable daily driver.

3) Gradually restore various parts of the '67, while also taking it on weekend joy rides with the family. 

4) Gradually rebuild the 430 engine from the '67 (which is now driving around with the 425 engine)

5) When the 430 engine is finished, pull the Nailhead engine from the '67, paint the '67's engine bay, and install the factory-correct, newly rebuilt 430 engine back into the '67.

6) Continue to improve, and drive, the '67 (body work and paint, suspension, wiring harnesses, etc.)

7) After the '67 is a mostly-restored, reliable, good looking daily driver (Maybe I'll be retired by then) focus on fixing the rust on the '66, and then put it's low-miles factory-correct 425 Nailhead back in.

😎 Ultimately sell the restored '66 to recoup some of the costs of this adventure, and keep the restored '67 to pass down to my kid, who helped me restore and enjoy it - the end.

 

Sorry for the long post, but here's more if you haven't had enough:

 

The Story...

I wanted a 1966 OR 1967 Riviera for a rolling restoration project to do with my thirteen year old son.  I wanted to be able to drive it often during the restoration, so I could build memories with my kid, and  so he'd have a sentimental connection to the car some day when he inherits it.  I didn't want one that would spend the next few years in pieces in the garage, while I slowly made it drivable.

Given that goal, I decided to not buy a '66 Riviera project I had found, despite the already rebuilt engine and trans, and the $5000 price, because it had a lot of rust, and so would require a teardown, and a lot of fabrication and welding, which I don't yet know how to do.  It would not be available for driving and memory making with my kid, who will be 18 and out of the house in five years.

A couple weeks later I found a '67 Riviera that had almost no rust, ran, drove, and stopped, but was old, tired, and cost $10,500.  It served my purpose so I bought it.  A week later I was starting to wonder how much rust I could have had repaired for $5500, and wondering if I'd bought the wrong Riviera, when the phone rang.  The man who had the rusty '66 that I didn't buy said he needed $2000 to fix his primary family car that had just broken down, and asked if I would take his '66 (with a rebuilt engine and trans) for $2000.  There's only one answer to a question like that, so hoped my wife would understand and said "yes".  Now I literally have more Rivieras than I know what to do with.

[RivNut]

Not easily by any means. Everything is on the wrong end/side. Starter motors - nail head left, big block right, distributors - nailhead back, big block front. Radiator inlets & outlets - opposite sides.  I think there’s a 20+ item list on the ROA’s website in the tech tips that details what’s needed.  If I remember correctly, the idler arm interferes and the pan doesn’t fit well.  Check it out for yourself and make your decision.

 

Ed

[gungeey]

Let's see how rusty the 66 is.

 

 

Edited December 9, 2022 by gungeey (see edit history)

[gungeey]

This is rust.

[telriv]

Some years back there was a person named Joe who did this swap.

Just like you he had both a '66 & a '67.

The 430 was actually blown up where it could not be salvaged/repaired.

Since he had both it was just a matter of swapping out the needed components.

Everything transferred over with no problems.

IF I remember correctly he went by "Nailhead in a '67".

 

Tom T.

[gungeey]

18 minutes ago, telriv said:

Some years back there was a person named Joe who did this swap.

Just like you he had both a '66 & a '67.

The 430 was actually blown up where it could not be salvaged/repaired.

Since he had both it was just a matter of swapping out the needed components.

Everything transferred over with no problems.

IF I remember correctly he went by "Nailhead in a '67".

 

Tom T.

He frequents www.v8buick.com

[EmTee]

Probably easier to find a serviceable 455 to put into the '67 temporarily while rebuilding the original 430.  You could sell the nailhead & trans to fund the rebuild or ST-400 for the '67.  Then the swap from the 455 to 430 is simple.  Swapping the nailhead back to 430 would cause you to remove all of the modifications and reinstall all of the original pieces...

[dr914]

16 hours ago, gungeey said:

This is rust.

That was a beautiful car when it was new!

 

[joelj]

If your goal is to ultimately put the 430 back into the 67, I don't think the temporary swap would be worthwhile. If the 66 is truly a rusty basket case it sounds like you have a complete parts car. The rebuilt 425 should be an easy sell to someone who needs it especially if you have receipts for the work that was done to it. 

I am curious about the 430. What specifically is it doing. Does it smoke, bearing noise, low compression? 

The last time I checked with my local engine shop they were about 6 months out on a complete rebuild. The heads I had redone took about 4 months...A long time, but not all that long in the big picture. 

Edited December 10, 2022 by joelj (see edit history)

[XframeFX]

I dread an engine rebuild at todays' cost. Justification to post "4-Sale" and move on to my other project.

Save money and do the swap if the '66 is too far gone. Otherwise, sell the '67 and use the proceeds to do body work on the '66.

Both engines should be red so at 1st glance, few will catch a Nailhead in a '67.😊

Edited December 13, 2022 by XframeFX (see edit history)

[RivNut]

21 hours ago, RivNut said:

Not easily by any means. Everything is on the wrong end/side. Starter motors - nail head left, big block right, distributors - nailhead back, big block front. Radiator inlets & outlets - opposite sides.  I think there’s a 20+ item list on the ROA’s website in the tech tips that details what’s needed.  If I remember correctly, the idler arm interferes and the pan doesn’t fit well.  Check it out for yourself and make your decision.

 

Ed

I correct myself, there are only 14 points of consideration going from putting a 430/455 into a 1966 chassis.  One thing that was not mentioned or pointed out is that the 67 transmission must be used.  In 1967, Buick went to the BOP bellhousing transmissioin.

[C-Rad]

Thanks for the info guys

I have both cars, so I can transfer accessories and other parts, but I need to examine that list to see if there are any deal breakers (like

'67 suspension parts interfering with the '66 (Nailhead) engine.

[telriv]

In one word, NO

 

Tom T.