Hello My first time stopping in - Good to be here - Almost missed the exit - these old drum brakes on this 39 Century have got to go !!!!!!!!!!!!! I have some questions concerning Nailheads. I don't know that much about them. I'm thinking about replacing my old straight 8 with a nailhead. I have a chance to purchase a complete good running 60,000 mile 401 out of a 65 Electra. I would like your opinions pro and con about the 401 Nailheads. What is do 401s as described above go for ? (average ballpark price) Also, what is meant by the term "switch/pitch" in regards to transmissions ? I'm sure I'll have more questions, but the above are things I'm presently curious about. Thanks 39 Buck
Hello 39.... Please put your name in your signature, we're all on a friendly first name base here :TU: For the Switch Pitch info: I could type a really long post here, but all the basic info is found on this webpage :Smarty: And with the right proportioning valve, you could fine tune your brake drums to stop on a dime...... :3gears:
Welcome - Don't know much about nailheads myself, but I'm sure you've found the space on the board for those questions. "Switch pitch" refers to the 1964-1967 Super Turbine transmissions with a variable pitch torque converter. They have two stall speeds - low stall and high stall. The high stall speed trades "slip" for more torque - so the motor spins up higher to get the heavy car off the line. After the car is up to cruise speed, the electro/hydraulic system switches the torque converter to low stall to improve efficiency. These systems have been used a lot in lighter cars (Skylark GS etc.) to improve drag strip times. They are typically wired to a manual switch rather than the factory throttle switch system. You can get more and better info by posting and/or searching in the "Juice Box" space.
