There was a time when I had no idea what a Buick Nailhead was. That all changed a dozen years ago when I bought a 1965 Buick Riviera. The initial appeal for me was the beautiful lines of the car but the more I drove it, the more deeply I came to appreciate its 401 nailhead motor. Its low throaty purr. The gobs of torque it produced with nary a hiccup. Before long, I was under the hood of that Riviera loving on that Nailhead like my own dear sweet mama had berthed it. And while I no longer own my Riviera, I now harbor a deep appreciation for the motors that the General put into the mid 50's to 60's era Buicks. So imagine my delight when while shopping for a model A or T hot rod, I came across a 1929 Ford Model A roadster with a 66 425 Nailhead. I subsequently purchased the car from Ian Loska in California and had it shipped out to Austin. Then disaster struck. On my tenth day of owning it, a car pulled out and front of me a freeze like a deer in my headlights. I'll skip the gory details, other that to say the car was totaled, leaving in a one-man battle with Liberty Mutual Insurance for six months. I fought tooth and nail to get a fair settlement, which is ironic their customer admitted full fault. What a pain in my ass. But I digress. The small bit of good news was that the 425/Turbo400 drivetrain survived except for a bent rear end. I ultimately purchased what remained of the roadster with my settlement and set out to find a new home for the 425 engine and its accompanying Turbo 400 transmission.
Hubba hubba.
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