Pierce Engineering Stage II Heads

rodruckus

Taking out the Euro trash
Joined
Jul 30, 2014
I just wanted to share this extremely rare find of Stage II heads I happened to stumble across. I don't know how many of you have ever heard of Pierce Engineering in Lansing, MI or even knew they once made Stage II Nascar V6 racing heads for Buick in the late 80s. Especially, considering they are now strictly a gunsmith, machining custom actions, accessories, and building precision rifles.

Now, if you've heard of Pierce Engineering and know their unique history, odds are you've never seen their extremely rare Buick Stage II Nascar V6 racing heads. The reason I say this is because, only 12 sets were ever produced. I know this because, I called them recently to see if I could get some background on their heads and history into their Buick racing pedigree.

Pierce Engineering was the predecessor to Chapman Racing for Buick Motorsports' Nascar V6 racing heads. They were paid by Buick for 2 years in the late 80s to do research and development. Their heads ran really good with no issues and Buick was happy with their work. After a 2 year relationship with Buick, Pierce decided to go a different route, Chevy Nascar V6. This is where Chapman Racing came into the picture to fill the void with Buick.

The heads I have are marked with a production date of 2/5/87, part #25500031, and are totally virgin. They have never been installed on a motor and we're only mounted once to be flowed. Unfortunately, I can't find where I put the exact flow numbers. But I recall they nearly flowed identically on the intake side to a set of Chapman max flow heads I have. However, they were outflowed on the exhaust side.

If someone has anything to add about the history of Pierce Engineering, their relationship with Buick, or anymore info on these heads, I hope you will share. Below is an excerpt from their website and some pics of the heads and their valve covers. https://pierceengineeringltd.com/

What We Do
At Pierce Engineering, we build precision actions and rifles to precise standards providing uncompromising accuracy. We’ve been building race engines for over 35 years. This passion evolved into building guns and rifles. We have now been manufacturing bolt action receivers and complete rifles for over 15 years. We haven’t looked back! At Pierce Engineering, we love what we do and we’re committed to building your dream rifle!

Our History
John Pierce, the man behind Pierce Engineering, is a serious shooter himself (competitive benchrest and FTR). He knows what produces and detracts from top-performing rifles. Pierce’s pursuit of the best equipment has immersed him in the creation of everything from class-winning wooden stocks to precision actions to a precision firing pin that increases accuracy.
Pierce set up shop in 1980, originally working with competition racing engines. He worked on race engines the better part of his life, building engines for Oldsmobile, Chevy, and NASCAR, among others. A hands-on process demanding precision, something Pierce enjoys, he tested and improved car engines performance and vehicle aerodynamics.

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I just wanted to share this extremely rare find of Stage II heads I happened to stumble across. I don't know how many of you have ever heard of Pierce Engineering in Lansing, MI or even knew they once made Stage II Nascar V6 racing heads for Buick in the late 80s. Especially, considering they are now strictly a gunsmith, machining custom actions, accessories, and building precision rifles.

Now, if you've heard of Pierce Engineering and know their unique history, odds are you've never seen their extremely rare Buick Stage II Nascar V6 racing heads. The reason I say this is because, only 12 sets were ever produced. I know this because, I called them recently to see if I could get some background on their heads and history into their Buick racing pedigree.

Pierce Engineering was the predecessor to Chapman Racing for Buick Motorsports' Nascar V6 racing heads. They were paid by Buick for 2 years in the late 80s to do research and development. Their heads ran really good with no issues and Buick was happy with their work. After a 2 year relationship with Buick, Pierce decided to go a different route, Chevy Nascar V6. This is where Chapman Racing came into the picture to fill the void with Buick.

The heads I have are marked with a production date of 2/5/87, part #25500031, and are totally virgin. They have never been installed on a motor and we're only mounted once to be flowed. Unfortunately, I can't find where I put the exact flow numbers. But I recall they nearly flowed identically on the intake side to a set of Chapman max flow heads I have. However, they were outflowed on the exhaust side.

If someone has anything to add about the history of Pierce Engineering, their relationship with Buick, or anymore info on these heads, I hope you will share. Below is an excerpt from their website and some pics of the heads and their valve covers. https://pierceengineeringltd.com/

What We Do
At Pierce Engineering, we build precision actions and rifles to precise standards providing uncompromising accuracy. We’ve been building race engines for over 35 years. This passion evolved into building guns and rifles. We have now been manufacturing bolt action receivers and complete rifles for over 15 years. We haven’t looked back! At Pierce Engineering, we love what we do and we’re committed to building your dream rifle!

Our History
John Pierce, the man behind Pierce Engineering, is a serious shooter himself (competitive benchrest and FTR). He knows what produces and detracts from top-performing rifles. Pierce’s pursuit of the best equipment has immersed him in the creation of everything from class-winning wooden stocks to precision actions to a precision firing pin that increases accuracy.
Pierce set up shop in 1980, originally working with competition racing engines. He worked on race engines the better part of his life, building engines for Oldsmobile, Chevy, and NASCAR, among others. A hands-on process demanding precision, something Pierce enjoys, he tested and improved car engines performance and vehicle aerodynamics.

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Now you need a 25,000 dollar short block to drop those on. Oh, and the other hundred thousand you have hiding from your wife under the mattress can be used to build the rest of the car. :)
 
Well Joey, since you called me out and Guy agreed about my NACA ducts hood, let me tell you where I'm currently at. As of now, I'm not too far off the mark. TA 4.0 off-center block, check. Special, wide journal, H beam, 6.300 billet rods that have been multi treated and each lightened 23 grams, check. If you were at Bates 2018, you may have seen this exact set of rods being displayed. Billet Buick Motorsports crank currently being machined into a 3.625 stroker at Scat Cranks, check. I'm having it knife-edged, micropolished, and machined/treated to Kenny D's exact specs.

At this point, all that's left besides the hardware are pistons and cam. Which I will be letting whoever blueprints and builds my motor choose and order themselves for me. The combo has yet to be determined, but'll be something that's way too overkill for the street.

At the rate I'm going, I'll soon be stealing cans of my Granny's beanie weenies, donating sperm, and likely lending my body to a whole slew of scientific testing. Totally worth it! Just remember boys and girls, you can sleep in a car, but you can't drive a house.
ba104038d31b406e90f5c39f26bf9218.jpg
 
Well Joey, since you called me out and Guy agreed about my NACA ducts hood, let me tell you where I'm currently at. As of now, I'm not too far off the mark. TA 4.0 off-center block, check. Special, wide journal, H beam, 6.300 billet rods that have been multi treated and each lightened 23 grams, check. If you were at Bates 2018, you may have seen this exact set of rods being displayed. Billet Buick Motorsports crank currently being machined into a 3.625 stroker at Scat Cranks, check. I'm having it knife-edged, micropolished, and machined/treated to Kenny D's exact specs.

At this point, all that's left besides the hardware are pistons and cam. Which I will be letting whoever blueprints and builds my motor choose and order themselves for me. The combo has yet to be determined, but'll be something that's way too overkill for the street.

At the rate I'm going, I'll soon be stealing cans of my Granny's beanie weenies, donating sperm, and likely lending my body to a whole slew of scientific testing. Totally worth it! Just remember boys and girls, you can sleep in a car, but you can't drive a house.
ba104038d31b406e90f5c39f26bf9218.jpg
Been there, done this!

Go for it buddy. You and I will both be homeless, penniless, single and then you can join me living in your ride at some truck stop. :eek:
 
I found the flow numbers for the Pierce heads. Let's just say my racing buddy was in disbelief and a definitely a bit sad, that these V6 heads outflowed his Air Flow Research big block Chevy heads on his 454 stroked to 477. He said his heads flowed 310 at .650 lift, while the Pierce flowed 322. The guy running the machine had never seen V6 heads(Pierce and Chapman Max Flow) with flow numbers greater than V8 heads, which made him recheck his work. He theorized these heads could flow 340+ at .800 lift. But since we don't run cams that big, he said it wouldn't be an accurate reflection to go so high. Not bad for V6 heads. It's too bad I can't find my flow numbers for the Chapman Max Flow heads. But like I said, they outflowed the Pierce by such a miniscule amount. My buddy recalls only 3 points. But the Pierce did outflow the Chapman Max Flow throughout low lift, which should make them a superior head for that low end on the street. I'll post pics soon of the markings on the heads.

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I found the flow numbers for the Pierce heads. Let's just say my racing buddy was in disbelief and a definitely a bit sad, that these V6 heads outflowed his Air Flow Research big block Chevy heads on his 454 stroked to 477. He said his heads flowed 310 at .650 lift, while the Pierce flowed 322. The guy running the machine had never seen V6 heads(Pierce and Chapman Max Flow) with flow numbers greater than V8 heads, which made him recheck his work. He theorized these heads could flow 340+ at .800 lift. But since we don't run cams that big, he said it wouldn't be an accurate reflection to go so high. Not bad for V6 heads. It's too bad I can't find my flow numbers for the Chapman Max Flow heads. But like I said, they outflowed the Pierce by such a miniscule amount. My buddy recalls only 3 points. But the Pierce did outflow the Chapman Max Flow throughout low lift, which should make them a superior head for that low end on the street. I'll post pics soon of the markings on the heads.

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That’s what made buick competitive. The cylinder heads where designed from a fresh sheet of paper by guys that where looking to get every lil bit of power out of them . It looks like you got your self a nice flowing set of heads . I have a set from a Indy car that I would be curious to see what they flow but I’m sure they are up there . Nice score bud keep us posted
 
I bet Bison would like to get his hands on these heads for some cool project...

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
 
It was years ago that I stopped by Pierce Engineering when I was racing my 1997 Grand Prix and was looking for guidance with getting the most out of the V6. Saying that they are knowledgeable about extracting the most out of these V6 is a huge understatement!
Fast forward many years, and I came across them again, this time from a different field of interest - firearms! I was thrilled to see their new operation and the quality of their custom firearms is outstanding - I will have one of their engineering marvels one day :)
Great people, good work, wonderful people with passion.
Rodruckus: if you are in the Lansing or surrounding area, drop me a PM. Wed nights, there is a car show at City Limits near Bath Meijer 6-8p and we are typically there - stop on by!
Thanks for sharing your story on the heads = very cool!
 
Pics of markings on heads...

1) Buick Power 6 embossed, "GN" stamped only into this head
2) "A" inside a circle, "201" engraved only into this head
3) part #25500031
4) "APP 462," eagle or hawk inside a circle
5) "APP 462," "8219" scratched over only this head, eagle or hawk inside a circle
6) date stamp
7) numbers on top of ports, "6 1, 4 3, 2 5"
8) numbers below ports, "1, 3, 5"
9) eagle or hawk inside circle
10) the letter "B," embossed only on this head

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