Buick was always one of General Motors’ most important performance innovators. Anyone who’s ever followed the legacy of Buick’s forced motor heritage knows the story of how the automaker was able to take a V-6 Regal in the ’80s, and turn it into one of America’s greatest door slammers. But what many GM performance buffs take for granted is that it’s been this whole notion of “forced induction” that has been one of Buick’s most important strongholds.

The story of Buick’s use of forced induction did, in fact, not start during the late ’70s or ’80s, but indeed started during the more active segments of the 1950s and ’60s. This is because the automaker’s then innovative, “Nailhead” V-8 design would become one of GM’s first engine platforms to use supercharging as a means of building horsepower, and it was a 1954 issue of Hot Rod that documented what could have very well been one of the very first, blown Nailhead motors.

The earliest Buick V-8s came in mere 164- and 188-horse packages, but because they were small and narrow, the Nailhead mills became popular for engine swaps, just a few years before Chevy introduced their very first small-block. In spite of their restrictive exhaust ports and narrow valve diameters, Buick’s Nailhead V-8 became a popular choice for early hot rodders everywhere.

Why exactly Buick decided to use such small valves in the Nailhead’s construction may never be known for sure, but the generally-accepted explanation is that the company was aiming to build the motor to be more torque-heavy at a higher RPM, rather than trying to achieve maximum airflow.

Because this was the idea, some of the earliest manifestations of the Nailhead V-8 used 1.75/1.25-inch valves, and because the mill had a unique valve train layout that created a hemispherical chamber similar to the Chrysler design, it offered a chilling challenge to the early engine builder.

The Nailhead’s small valves and aggressive chamber angle demanded a more race-cut cam profile, and each camshaft would have to be ground in a way that allowed for earlier and faster valve openings. It was an engine design that by today’s standards is, at best primitive. But though outdated now, Buick’s Nailhead mill was one that broke ground by doing what Oldsmobile and Cadillac’s flathead engines couldn’t, by building power through better air volume.

Our web guru of everything old-school in the Tennessee rod and custom scene, Scottie D brings us a classic example of a mid-’50s Nailhead from the Nashville Goodguys’, 2013 event pre-party. Our featured Buick, a trick lead sled from the creative forces of Rad Rides by Troy in Manteno, Illinois, is a Nailhead-powered custom that uses a twin-turbocharged variant of the classic, Buick V-8. Among the nicer aspects of this truly trick king of the Kustom Kulture are the wheels. They are special one-offs done for Troy by Billet Specialties. The all-billet rims even feature 3-D machined spears on the faces. Nice!

Rad Rides’ tricked-out Nailhead pays tribute to the Buick motor with the little tiny valves, but as much as it’s a tribute to GM performance, the Illinois shop’s custom sled is also a grandiose piece of radical, street rod architecture. This is because the ’50s ride is ornately dressed, using various shades of what Rad Rides describes as a brushed nickel, brushed black and black nickel finish.

The fact that Rad Rides’ ’56 Nailhead takes time to truly study and understand is one of Scottie D’s favorite features of the build, and we must admit that it is kind of why it caught our attention. Rad Rides’ twin-turbo, Buick Nailhead is a clean sled with plenty of go. Do you think that early Buicks make for bitchin’ street rod builds?