Buick's 322: The First Nailhead V8 Engine

The V8 engine has been around for a long time — since before World War I. It wasn't until 1953, however, that Buick decided to give the V8 a try, replacing its straight-eight and stepping onto the pages of history. This first-generation Buick V8 displaced 322 cubic inches, and was called the Fireball V8. At least, that was its original name. 

The Fireball later came to be better known as the Nailhead because the intake and exhaust valves were not only vertically installed, they were small, seemingly like nails. This design helped make the 322 narrower than some V8s. It also didn't allow for huge airflow through exhaust ports, so the special camshaft provided higher lift for longer opening to compensate. Early versions rated in the low 140 hp range, easily overshadowed by other engines on the market, but the design was brilliant for loads of torque to get those heavy Buicks rolling, smoothly. 

In later iterations, the 322 Nailhead went up to 255 hp, and was certainly Buick's go-to engine. Let's take a look at some of the models that used it.

[Featured image by Mr.choppers via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported]

In the early 1950s, Buick offered four lines of vehicles: the Roadmaster, Super, Century, and Special. Roadmaster represented Buick's largest class of vehicles, and skewed to the higher end of the brand's price range. These fancier models all ran a 322 Nailhead under the hood from 1953 to 1956, and included the two-door Riviera coupe, the Convertible, the enormous Estate Wagon with a tailgate, and the four-door Sedan. By 1957, the engine size increased to 364 cubic inches to better move these steel giants that weighed over two tons.

Buick reached its 50th anniversary in 1953, and to celebrate that half century of automaking, it released a gorgeous special-edition convertible called the Skylark as part of its Roadmaster line. This limited-production Skylark, with chrome-plated wire wheels and cowhide seats, naturally sported the special new 322 Nailhead engine, offering 188 horsepower and quickly achieving cult status. Collectors had to have one, such as storied song man and car fan Neil Young. The splashy ragtop was only made for one more model year, 1954. 

Buick produced two mid-range model lines through most of the 1950s — the Super and the Century. The Supers were built on a larger frame, with its full-sized wagons and other vehicles typically priced at around a couple of hundred dollars more than their smaller Century counterparts. The powerhouse for Supers in model years 1953 to 1956 was the 322 Nailhead, after which Buick moved on to a larger engine. The 322-packing Super trims included the Buick Super Sedan, the Super Riviera, the Super Convertible, and the Super Riviera Sedan. In terms of engine and build, these models were thought of as lower-priced versions of the Roadmaster lineup.

The Century was a line that Buick produced only intermittently, reintroducing the Century in 1954 with a 200 hp 322 Nailhead on board, continuing into model year 1956. Century's were the same size as the Special, but they had more bells and whistles than the base model and came in configurations ranging from Estate Wagons and Sedans to Convertibles and Rivieras. In 1955 and 1956, the Century's 322 put out more horsepower, 236 and 255, respectively. Buick clearly knew the attraction of a mightier engine in a smaller vehicle.

Buick's line of entry-level cars, the Special, was built on the smaller frame the Century used, but at a lower cost to consumers because it offered fewer amenities. Unlike the Super, Century, and Roadmaster lines, the automaker's base model did not start using the 322 Nailhead until model year 1956. In 1953, Specials were using Buick's 263.3 cubic inch Fireball L8 with 130 hp and the Dynaflow transmission. In 1954 and 1955, the Specials moved up to the 264 Fireball V8, and grew in horsepower each year to 150 and 188, respectively, coupled with the Dynaflow transmission. 

When Buick finally put the 322 into the Special in 1956, customers could get one in each of the models, including Sedan styles, Estate Wagons, Convertibles, and the Riviera, turning the line into a top seller for the manufacturer. With the Nailhead came a boost in horsepower to 220, which was especially good for behemoths like the Estate Wagon. 

Whichever flavor of chromed-up Buick the 322 graced, it gave muscle, and kept some moving well into the next century.