Buick 425 Nailhead

[jaf1]

Tommy Ivo had a four wheel drive dragster with four nailhead motors back in 1961 that ran 9's in the quarter.

 

[StuP]

A 500 hp, 350 lb/ft. torque engine will outrun a 350 hp, 500lb/ft torque engine all day.

A lot does depend on what type of driving you enjoy, and the running gear. Top speed, almost certainly. Off the line, probably not, if you can harness the torque. In the real world I think torque is more fun off the line. 250hp will get you to speeds that they'll tear your license up pretty quick.

Lots of cars out there with home built high power engines that can't put it down on the road. One of the reason most modern performance cars have a bunch of electronics managing things.

 

[Ken Ford]

A 500 hp, 350 lb/ft. torque engine will outrun a 350 hp, 500lb/ft torque engine all day.

Neither would get my Dailey driver out of my driveway.
How’s 498hp with 1850pf of torque sound?

 

[Tony2X]

Neither would get my Dailey driver out of my driveway.
How’s 498hp with 1850pf of torque sound?

It sounds like this....

 

[brad sweet]

Anybody have any experience with them? From what I have read on the internet, they aren't your basic 350 small block rebuild. Curious about what can be done to bring up the horsepower, without major cost. Just starting to do some research right now. It's sitting in my '66 Riviera GS.

T/A performance and McIntosh performance google for best results..Don McIntosh was one of the leading performance builders in Marietta and was president of the GS club..nail heads have limited top end performance due to the design and small valve size...better option would be to set that one aside and find a 455.

 

[brad sweet]

Torque is what sets you back in the seat. Higher torque is much better than higher HP.

yep due to the length of rod over bore size aided in the massive amount of torque at 2800 rpm Stage one's made 360 hp at 4600rpm and 500 ft pounds at 2800 with mid cam and fresh air induction in 1970 ,71/72 compression ratio was reduced to pass emissions and insurance requirements with about 20% loss in horsepower and 10% in torque..it was a wolf in sheep's clothing..but lost top end grunt of the LS 6 454 in the chevelle...but if you didn't launch correctly it would eat a Chevelle at the light..