The Buick Nailhead

Buick’s legendary V-8 engine from the mid-fifties to the mid-sixties is often called the “nailhead” motor due to its long, thin-stemmed valves with small diameter heads that resemble vertical rows of nails. The first Buick nailhead engines (debuting in 1953) had a 1.75″ intake and a 1.25″ exhaust valve, and even the later Wildcat 401 nailhead V-8s from the mid-sixties had valves that were much smaller than those used in Chevrolet engines at the time. However, the new Buick V-8…