Well, finally found the 1966 'play toy' to go with my '66 GS; got it home last Saturday. Exterior looks kinda dull but I have worked on it quite a bit since Sat. ; needs some more cleaning & polishing. Other than a few dents & dings from the elderly couple who owned it, it's amazingly in good original shape with hardly any rust..... Manual steering, radio delete, no clock, 300 ci V8 engine. Got it cranked up but water pump sounds really bad. Was last registered & running in 2000. Plans are to make it a fun street / strip car with a 425 nailhead / TH400 in it..... Being the thin pillar post car; it could be 'cloned' to my GS, but I kinda like the red for a change! Lots of work ahead but looking forward to it! Big Thanks to Gordon (JR) Wills for helping me get it home! What a friend!
is that the car that was just on Ebay? i was drooling over that thing and trying to justify buying it for myself..nice score
Yes, it was on ebay. Has a few dents along the sides but it is an extremely solid car. After a quite a bit of clean-up, it looks a lot better. Steve
Nice find Steve! I bought my '66 Special in '96 and it has been a great car to fix up. I recently swapped in a 3 speed manual trans setup that really transforms the car and makes it REAL fun to drive! The 66 responds well to simple upgrades like disk brakes, fast-ratio power steering box, a fat sway bar from a Trans-Am, and some FAT radials. Have fun with it!:beer
Walt, Thanks. Sure hope to have some fun. Will take a lot of work but that's half the fun..... Still looking for a few pieces for the conversion to the nailhead: GS engine harness, junction block for horn relay / starter cable, radiator, rear sump pickup tube, etc. I have a 'running' 401 & TH400 from a '65 Rivi to install before the 425 is rebuilt. I just called & talked to Don Colomb; trying to pump a little adrenalin back into his involvement with our club activities and his GS..... I need some of his expertise with the 425 so I hope he does. Hope your projects are all coming along well. Steve
Nice... I just saw this post. Two weeks ago, I made a family trip to home just to see the car (okay, and so the grandkids could see their grandparents!!!). What a great car to start with. You couldn't have asked for a better deal. See ya' on Friday..
Very nice Buick. __________________ Buick Engines - Original engine in Buick Performance Parts Catalog by TA Performance
NIce find Steve..... stuff a nice fat 425 in her with nice meats under the rear..with those poverty hub caps.. now were talkin...!!! Jimmy
Hi Guy's; I don't mean to be a hi-jacker, but how do you hook up a TH 400 Trans behind a 425. I have a 66-425, and can see no way to hook one up. I also have the SP/400 Trans that came with the Engine and it has a completely different bolt pattern than a TH/400. Am I missing something? I have a 200-4r Trans in my car now and it has a similar bolt pattern as a TH 400. I wanted to install the 425 but I thought I would need an adapter plate. What gives? PONCH
Jimmy, 425, that's the plan! Just had the block sonic tested, magnafluxed and cleaned. Now it's getting to the big $ decisions...... and a few more 'GS' parts to convert / install the nailhead in the Special. Seems to be quite a bit more interest in the '66 A bodies lately. Steve
Ponch, Short answer is basically the ST400 ('65 - '66) & the later TH400 (with the SP) are the same; bellhousing for the 401 / 425 nailheads is different, plus a few more internals. You are correct; you would need an adapter plate for the 200r4; I think they are available but not sure who or where you can get them. If you have the matched '66 425 & ST400 trans, you have what you need, with the exception of modifications necessary to put it in an A body Skylark or Special. I'm sure there are some posts directly related to the swap. Steve
...first off.... to put the 3 speed in you have to move the tabs on the frame back 6 inches to remount the cross member...as far as an adapter?? the ST400 will bolt to the 401-425...I have done it once it worked great...
You know Steve, I envy you...I'm dying to put a dual-quad Nailhead into my Special.... But the 300 still runs nice, and I can actually DRIVE the car...unlike several of my 'projects'. Have fun with it! Hopefully THIS summer I'll get the 401 rebuilt for my red GS. It's great that you found a Special 'Deluxe'....it has the extra side spear chrome and rear panel trim like the GS. Sweet. If you added a black top and Buick mags it would look like my Special....Here's a before/After pic: And Ponch...the Nailhead ST400 used a unique bellhousing shape only found on the 64-66 Buicks, and some 70's Jeeps(with an adapter)....so that's what you gotta use.
Hi Walt; I know all about the limitations of the nailhead bellhousing. I'm just puzzled about someone installing a later model TH 400 behind one. As I stated before, I have a 425 and a SP 400 Trans and can't see how a TH 400 can fit up to the 425. PONCH
Hey Ponch, Didn't mean to confuse ya! I probably used the incorrect terminology for the trans (TH400); probably should have said ST400 as that's actually what I will be using. Although they are basically the same trans, Buick started calling them TH400's with the new engine designs in 1967. There are even some mods you can make to the ST400 using later TH400 parts that will firm up the shifts and allow you to use the later style filters which are more readily available. Friend of mine has done that to his '65 Wildcat ST400 and really likes it.... Steve
Common Dad, they still called them ST400s in 1967 as well! Even though they are often referred to as TH400 (which they basically are), the correct terminology in the manual for 1967 is ST400. So it is possible to have a ST400 tranny with a nailhead bellhousing and a ST400 tranny with a 400-430-455 bellhousing. Just chiming in here!
