Hot Rods 215 aluminum Buick

Was going to mention that

 

I have always been a fan of the Olds/Buick 215 V8s and I was thrilled to buy a Morris Minor with one in it. It runs fine with its little Crower cam, Edelbrock intake and 390 cfm Holley but here are a few realities:
It's only 215 cu. in. so it has very little torque. It's almost the same physical size as a SBC. It has a bastard bellhousing bolt pattern and flywheels are scarce, so transmission choices are limited. Sure, you can adapt a later model automatic but the 215 doesn't have much torque, so a 5 spd is a better choice. Hot rod parts are hard to find and usually pricey. They have poorly designed heads by most standards. The fact that Rover developed and used them for years is helpful but when you add in the unknown corrosion damage to the aluminum block and heads due to misuse of coolants or storage, it's still pretty far down the list of engines for swapping in my book. If the little Buick 215 in my Morris dies, an aluminum headed SBC will go in in it's place. Just two cents from one who owns one.