ok so this buddy of mine has an old 1962 olds delta 88. he said it had an all aluminum motor. so from what i found out its a 215 all aluminum rockette engine?? so what can you guys tell me about this motor. got any pictures of it in any cool rods?? would it be worth anything???
That's not a bad motor. They have had more lives than anything. They went into a lot of British cars and up until recently were in Land Rovers.
The aluminum 215 V8 engines were never factory installed in the larger Delta series Oldsmobiles. They were only offered in the F-85 compacts from '61 thru '63 models. While anything is possible, I seriously doubt anyone would have retrofited the little 215 into a full size Olds. Perhaps the model name is being confused F-85.....88 ?? Ray
from what i know they only came in 61-63 olds cutl***. i believe they came as a four barrel carbed 185hp as well as the 215hp turbo engine in the 62 and 63 jetfire. ive heard of them being put in vegas, but as far as i know not a very good engine if you want alot of horse power.
No, they weren't bad motors at all.........but it was the Buick version of the aluminum V8 that was sold to Rover cars in England. The Buick version had different heads than the Olds. The Pontiac Tempest was available with a Pontiac slant four or the Buick version of the aluminum V8. The head designs used were similar in appearance to the larger versions of each make. The block and internals were pretty much the same. Buick developed the design into a cast iron block of 300 cubes for '64 models, retaining aluminum heads and intake for that year. The '65's and later used iron heads and manifold. It was further increased to 340 cubes. Ray
Search the net, lots of info on the 215 V8. Some MG transplants. a few Volvo 1800s and the like. Special considerations when rebuilding them. Sleeving. On the subject of the 300 V8, Buick also made a 225 odd-fire V6 starting in 64 using the same pistons and many other parts of the 300 V8. The 6 is the predecessor of the GM V6 engines. Aluminum front timing cover that housed the oil pump. Buick shopped the motor. The odd fire 225 made its way into Rovers, also, Chris Craft, as well as being called the Dauntless V6 when outfitted with a 100 lb flywheel by Jeep in the later 60's. I've heard it was used in dirt track cars. It had cast iron heads and block. A great 6. Buick had some good engine pioneering going on, starting with the alloy 215 you posted about.
Toast had a buick that had one... he told me that Range Rover still uses the same exact block in their rovers!
On the subject of the 300 V8, Buick also made a 225 odd-fire V6 starting in 64 using the same pistons and many other parts of the 300 V8. The 6 is the predecessor of the GM V6 engines. Aluminum front timing cover that housed the oil pump. Buick shopped the motor. The odd fire 225 made its way into Rovers, also, Chris Craft, as well as being called the Dauntless V6 when outfitted with a 100 lb flywheel by Jeep in the later 60's. I've heard it was used in dirt track cars. It had cast iron heads and block. A great 6. Buick had some good engine pioneering going on, starting with the alloy 215 you posted about.[/QUOTE] Actually the Buick 225 V6 was preceded by the 198 V6 of '61 thru '63 and it was odd-fire. The idea was, being a 90* V6, they could use the same maching lines as the V8 as well as many of the internal parts, and keep costs down. It used the same bellhousing pattern as the 215 alum V8, which is unique in the GM lines. In '64 models, when the 300 V8 was intro'd, the V6 was upped to 225 cubes and, as with the V8's, switched to the so-called BOP bellhousing pattern. Later the V6's became 231 and 252 cubes and used different cranks/cams to be come even fire and smoother running. The later 3800 V6's are a derivative of the early V6 but use a bellhousing/block pattern like the smaller 60* V6 and 4 cyl FWD engines. Over a period of about ten years, starting in 1970, I built four trucks, three Datsuns (Nissan) and one Toyota, all with Buick V6's, the last with a factory turbo V6. At the time I did the first one nobody in the midwest was foolin' with mini trucks much and it was a real "sleeper". Pretty much stayed that way for several years. By the mid 80's Nissan and Toyota were putting V6's in at the factory. Though not as powerful as the Buicks, it was no longer necessary or unique and I moved on to other cars. Ray
hmm sounds interesting. my buddy told me it was a delta 88 but ive only seen the car once and didnt really look at it as i was off looking at other more interesting stuff. so anybody have a pic of this engine all gussied up in a rod or other wise.
I am currently working on a Model A roadster project that I am going to run a Rover block with the Buick heads. They kind of look like a mini nailhead which is cool, and there are readily available cams and intakes to build up to a 300 hp motor that is 200 pounds lighter than a SBC. Perfect for a roadster with a quickchange and a 4 speed. Check out this link to D&D http://www.aluminumv8.com/tech/tech.htm
if you are doing something like that parts are easily available from Land Rovers. My wife has a '97 Discovery, it has the "buick" 4.0 V8 that was THE engine in all rovers sold in the US both in both the discovery and ranger rover, so they are available. I had though of swapping the 4.0 I6 in my jeep for the land rover 4.0, i know, lateral move as far as displacement, but was going to look into weight & torque and see if it would be worth it. The other reason was for the transmission in the disco, i love the way it feels, the way it shifts, just over all a pretty trans. It moves the rover along VERY well, and my jeep weighs much less than the rover, so the power to weight ratio will be better i am guessing.
I know the Buick 215 weights about 350 lbs complete, carb to pan. They are light, I know 'cuz i have three of them to move around my garage and can pick up the block/heads/crank ***embly by hand and put it up on the counter. So maybe not a lot of horsepower, but a lot per lb.
Part of the reason i would do that, HP to weight ratio is better than the 4.0 I6 in my jeep. so even if it is the same HP and/or torque, the weight is less = better overall power:weight ratio. and as stated above i just love the way that ZF trans drives. There certainly is NO benefit in terms of MPG, as of right now, i thinki can get about 3-4 mpg in the heep while not running 100% than i can get in the D1 running 100%, both running K&N, hers in the stock air box, mine is the 80% larger airbox out of a grand cherokee and injectors out of the grand cherokee. I may not be able to do any custom fab, i cant rebuild an engine, i have no shop, just a gravel driveway, and basic had tools. Considering what i DONT have, i have done amazing things with them on a nearly $0 budget. I truly envy the guys who have a shop to work in, can weld/fab, have access to the materials & tools and $$ to do all that. I can only imagine what i could do with ANY vehicle if i had that.
Haaha, I did that in the 80's. Put a 4bbl 215 and 2-speed auto in a 73 Vega. Cool motor, and light. I got it a little too hot one time and the valve guides dropped down in the heads, other than that, no problems.
Actually, the Rover version was built in displacements up to 4.6 liters (and 5.0 liters in the TVR sports car). The 2000-2006 blocks use cross-bolted mains. Most 215 parts interchange. You can install the Buick 300 crank in the Rover block and get 292 cu in with stock bore, more with different liners. I also did the 215-in-a-Vega in the 1980s, using the D&D kit. They are still around and are still the guys to go to for these motors.
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