Editing Buick V8 engine (section)

==First-generation Nailhead==
[[File:1956 Buick 322 V8 engine (Century), left side view.jpg|thumb|The 322 Fireball V8 in a 1956 [[Buick Century]]]]
Buick's first generation [[V8 engine|V8]] was offered from 1953 through 1956; it replaced the [[Buick Straight-8 engine|Buick straight-eight]]. While officially called the "Fireball V8"<ref name="flory 50s">{{cite book |last=Flory |first=J. "Kelly" Jr. |title=American Cars, 1946 to 1959; Every Model, Year by Year |year=2008 |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers |isbn=978-0-7864-3229-5}}</ref> by Buick, it became known by enthusiasts as the "Nailhead" for the unusual vertical alignment of its small-sized [[poppet valve|valve]]s (Originally it was known to [[hot-rod]]ders as the "nail valve", because the engine's small heads contained valves with long stems, which made them look like nails.)<ref>{{cite web |title=Vintage Buick Engines |url=http://www.streetrodderweb.com/tech/0811sr_vintage_buick_engines/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716155606/http://www.streetrodderweb.com/tech/0811sr_vintage_buick_engines/index.html |archive-date=2011-07-16 |access-date=5 December 2018}}</ref>

During this era, Buick ranked smoothness above most other marketing objectives, and the [[Dynaflow]] transmission's non-shifting design was demonstrably smoother than the other rough shifting automatics then available. With the Dynaflow, a high torque engine was needed to provide adequate acceleration, so that's what the Nailhead was designed to deliver. 

Both the intake and exhaust valves were on the [[intake manifold]] side of a "[[pent-roof combustion chamber]]". To offset restrictive port diameters and the smaller-sized valves [{{cvt|1.75|in}} intake, {{cvt|1.25|in}} exhaust], the Nailhead V8s used a [[camshaft]] with greater lift and duration. The small-diameter intake runners allowed these engines to develop high [[torque]], with many exceeding 1&nbsp;ft-lb/cu in (exceptional for the time).

First-generation Nailheads were painted "Late" Buick Green (also called Apple Green, used from 1953 to 1965).<ref name=TeamBuickengcol/>

===264===
The {{cvt|264|CID|L|1}} produced in 1954 and 1955 was a direct replacement for the [[Buick Straight-8 engine#263|263 straight-eight]] and the only engine available in Buick's economy "Special" series vehicles. It was the smallest displacement Nailhead, sharing stroke and deck height with the 322, but having its own smaller bore {{cvt|3.625|in}}.

===322===
The larger {{cvt|322|CID|L|1}} was the original Nailhead, used by Buick from 1953 through 1956 in the Roadmaster, Super, and Century models, and the Special in 1956. It has a bore and stroke of {{cvt|4x3.2|in|1}}.

The 322 was also used in the 1956 through 1957 10,000-Series conventional-cab [[Chevrolet Task Force|Chevrolet heavy duty trucks]] labeled as the ''Loadmaster''.