Guest Posted August 29, 2001 Share Posted August 29, 2001 So Judy and I are at a cruise night last night and the fellow walks up and asks her if her '66 Skylark 300 is a "nail head".<BR>She doesn't know the term so asks (silly girl) what's a nail head and what's it mean?<P>Guy proceeds to tell her that it's cause "way back when" in the olden days when valve got stuck in the Buicks the owner could remove the valve cover and hit the valve/spring combination with a hammer (hence NAIL head) and free it up.<P>How do these stories get started?<P>*I* thought it was cause the earlier Buick "valve in head" engines used such small valves that resembled nails.<P>N'est ce pas?<P>Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Old Guy Posted August 29, 2001 Share Posted August 29, 2001 Jim, the generally accepted version ,is the one you stated. The small valves gave it the name. It also made them almost unbreakable, as they couldn't turn enough RPM to hurt them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YellowLark Posted August 29, 2001 Share Posted August 29, 2001 Jim,<P>I've heard people refer to the 300 and 340's as "mini nail heads" due to the vertical orientation of the heads. Generally, though, for our 1966's, they are talking about the 401 engine in the GS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest scott mich bca # 6619 Posted August 29, 2001 Share Posted August 29, 2001 I have heard the head orientation story, but I was corrected by Bill Wildt of Motorsports Unlimited. (Cable TV Show)<P>He stated that they derived their name because of their small size, that they looked like nails.<P>Scott Mich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 29, 2001 Share Posted August 29, 2001 TOG and YL,<BR>Thanks for the replies. <P>YL, I had rather thought that it was the larger blocks rather than ours.<P>I still loved the story the guy told Judy though.<P>Shows to go you.<P>btw,<BR>at a cruise night the other week I had an 'expert' tell me that my RoadRunner wasn't a RoadRunner since (in 1973) they "didn't use that body style". <P>Live and learn.<P>Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Skyking Posted August 30, 2001 Share Posted August 30, 2001 I was always under the impression that all Buick engines with the valve covers in the vertical position were nailheads. From 1953 to 1966. That leaves 340s out because the valve covers or heads are on an angel....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YellowLark Posted August 31, 2001 Share Posted August 31, 2001 SkyKing,<P>You're right about the head angle. <P>But, that didn't stop Hot Rod (August,2000) from referring to the 340 as a "mini nail head". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 3, 2001 Share Posted September 3, 2001 never heard the term until the "nail-head" came out,the 53- 322 V8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DugsSin Posted September 4, 2001 Share Posted September 4, 2001 Mini Nailhead = Tack Head Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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