I recently came into a 63 Skylark that I would like to do as a 60's style custom. It has a v6 in it that as best as I can tell would be something similar to the 80's regals. Does anyone have any experience with v8 instalations in this size of car? What has to be modified? Also, does anyone have any pics of them "done up"?
i had one. a 2dr hardtop with a 215 aluminum v8. that motor is kick ass and would bolt right in. ive been seeing them pop up on here from time to time for sale. try to get the power pack version(i believe thats what they called it) it had 10.5 to 1 compression and like 220 hp? for only 215cu. it scooted pretty good. they car i just cut the springs and put some 1 inch white walls with the og 13" wheels and some baby moon caps. drove that care everyday everywhere for like 2 yrs and it was fun. best $500 bucks i ever spent. have fun with it, they are kool cars.
The '63 is a one year body style but based on the same platform as the '61/'62 model and the '61-'63 Olds F85. I think they may share some stuff with the same years Tempest, early model Corvairs and Novas. Parts are not the easiest to find, especially body parts. The 215 should bolt right in. It is smaller and a lot lighter than a 350. I think it comes in a little over 300 lbs if I remember right. There is a Buick and Olds version of the 215. The Buick version has a head design like the Nailhead motors, Olds looks more like a SBC. Also they are aluminum. In '64 the went to a 300 cube motor and a iron block with alum heads, '65 they went to iron heads. The transmissions behind them are generally considered junk. GM sold the stuff to Rover and they were used for many years, in larger cubes but the overall design is the same. There is a company in MI called D&D fabrications that deals in custom parts for the 215 and Rover motors. If you do some searching on the net there is a guy that put a Nova Wilwood it on the front of a '62. I have heard that the Nova spindles will swap as well and that would allow for a disc brake setup as well. You will not find much as far as wheels go in the 4 lug pattern. If you have any other questions I can try to help
it has 5x4.75 bolt pattern on it already... not sure if something has been changed or what. it has an 80's model v6 in it and I wondered about just going to a 350. I think the 215 might be hard to find.
In '63 the Special could be had with a 198-CI V6, 8.8:1 compression and good for 135 HP at 4600 RPM. With a 2GC on it. It got bumped up to 225 CI for '64 when it replaced the 215 V8 entirely. I suspect with the right combo of parts the later 80s V6 is a bolt in, but by then they'd sold the rights to Jeep, bought it back, changed from odd-fire to even-fire... you can do a lot with that little V6, it's what the turbo Regals and Grand Nationals had in them.
you can get a buick 300 v8 for stupid cheap. the 4bbl ones are usually 10-11.25:1 comp and some had aluminum heads as factory options! the 2bbl are still decent engines and whats nice is the motors are tiny and fit in almost anything. it should bolt right in place with the same mounts as your v6. i have one in the garage if you wanna know anything else
You could also look for a 340. Came in 65 to 67 Buicks. Same dimensions as the 300 just 40 more cubes. A little harder to find but worth the effort. There are some good cam choices out there for the 215/300/340's as well. Don't put a SBC in it, that's what camaro's are for.
I have a 62 special, pulled the 198 and bolted in a 300 v8. The engine went in with the stock mounts and all. The area I had issues with was putting the th200 tranny behind it, modified crossmember, and the floor was severely modified. your 63 may afford you some extra room. the 64 300 v8's had alum. heads, but the ports on the iron heads are much better. I'd guess the 350 would bolt in, its the tranny thats the bitch.
Also the 215 is the only v8 that will bolt up to the stock round belhousing dynaflo tranny. I used the left hand exhaust manifold from a 215 when i installed my 300. It just needed to be gasket matched.
Actually, the Rover-built descendants of the 215 also bolt up. These are commonly available in Range Rovers through the early 2000's, in displacements up to 4.6 liters.
Stock was 4 lug so it obviously has been changed. A 350 will go in there it will just take a little more work than what the 215 or 300 will go. The 215 motors are out there, just need to look for them. If that is the route you want to go let me know and I can point you in the right direction. No matter what you go with you do not want the stock trans and you will have to modify the floor for any trans other than the stock one.
What is the stock trans? It has a th200 in it now and a 231 engine. Are the 231 mounts the same as the 215? I'm all mixed up with this damn thing because its so hybrid now. If i can go back stock I'd be thrilled. I agree with the sbc thing. I hate that route but I figured its the most economical route.
Stock trans I think was called a jetaway, there are not worth a crap. With an adapter you can put anything you want behind the 215 including the TH200 that is there but if you are going to do the work of swapping a different motor you might as well do a 4 spd auto like a 200r4. Do you have any pictures of the car?
Just so you know, my '61 Cutlass came with a 3-speed columb-shift transmission. It's the T-86 which was also used in later Jeep products. So, not all of the transmissions sold with these cars were junk. The Ultra-Hi Compression 215 put out 185hp weighed 305#'s and looks like a SBC. There was a Jet-fire option that was 225hp but it was an early turbocharged design with about 50 vacuum lines that all had to be hooked up and working right for the thing to run. The Jet-fire also had a second 'fuel' tank. It was for a mixture of alchol and water which was automatically injected during excelleration to prevent 'predetonation'. If the 'Jet-fire' ran out of the extra fuel it didn't last long. There was also a lower compression model that put out 155hp they all looked the same, so if you do decide to do a 215 make sure you buy the right engine for your plans. After all these years with who knows what kind of people working on and modifying these engines it'd be easy to inherit a mixed-match batch of parts bolted together. Just wanted you to be aware of what's out there. Dan Stevens dab, Steelsmith
The trans are usable but in your situation since everything has been swapped it would be easier to go to something better.
What's wrong with hopping up the 231? I didn't think those were all that terrible of a motor. Weren't they the basis for the motor used in GM Nascar Busch Series (Nationwide) cars around 1990, or am I way off?
Here's some pics. Sorry they're a little dark. just took them. And dont mind the one trailer wheel. Had to make it move. Plan to make an attempt at buffin it out. Had the seats redone, not installed yet. I think a good cleanin and the interior would be great. I really need to add some style to the engine bay.
I have to say if the V6 runs good I'd leave it... You can make it decently quick with it, and it can look good. Worry about all the cosmetics...
Probably not 'economically feasable', considering the prces they go for nowadays, and I'm not sure how 'HAMB friendly' it would be, but if you're interested in keeping a V6 in it, have you thought about swapping in a 3.8 EFI-turbo V6 engine and trans from from a mid-to-late 80's Buick GN??? It'd be still be a V6, be all Buick, and would go like hell! Mechanically it should be a near bolt-in, but the wiring and electronics would take some work, as it would reqire either the stock GN engine harness and computer, or some sort of aftermarket 'stand- alone' controler (Mega-squit perhaps??) to use the EFI, but what a sleeper!!! Mart3406 ==============================
You should be able to find a 215 or 300 on Ebay, Craigslist, or (gasp) the HAMB Classifieds. If not, look into Rover engines at the same places and junk yards. I know Edelbrock makes (or made) a nice intake for this application. That's what I'd do if it were mine!
The Jalopy Journal
