Buick's Nailhead Engine gets a rebuild

The Nailhead in the Buick Electra was a little tired and rattly as well as using water even though there was no head gasket issue.  It was therefore decided to rebuild the Buick 401 Nailhead.  Upon crack testing the cast iron heads we discovered that cylinders 3 and 5 were cracked and this was where our water usage and part of our overheating issue was caused.  The block was in good condition however in order to clean up the bores we had to enlarge them making the rebuilt Nailhead 412 Cubic Inches.  The Buick Block was line bored and torque plate honed, the rods and crankshaft were hardened.  Once a new cylinder head was located they were slightly ported and entirely rebuilt with new springs, retainers, valves and collets. 

As Anja wanted something that caught your eye when you lifted the bonnet we painted it in Chameleon Green metallic paint and finished off with polished stainless steel bolts. Once the engine was in the car it was offset really nicely with the black background of the Electra’s Engine Bay.