Any thoughts on the baby nailhead?

That carb setup was an inefficient son-of-a-bitch - that's why we used a 4-barrel on our conversion . We do service a factory v-8 car for a customer , and that one retains it's crazy SU setup to keep it all stock . We also service a Triumph TR-8 ... but that one is fuel injected .

 

Go to aluminumv8.com for all the info and parts-good people...


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I raced a 1961 Buick Special with the 215, four barrel, and 3 speed with great success in the 60's. It ran G Stock and would give 265 Chevys a run. The car raced out of Bozeman, Montana and I ran all over Montana and Wyoming. They are a very attractive motor when you dress one up and weigh only a few pounds over 300. I'd love to have one today in a Track T.

 

Guys run em in sand rails due to their light weight. Have a buddy that has a test engine from Buick set up with a 3 x 2 manifold and some Finned covers..looks cool and would be cool in a little T roadster

 

I built up a 215 for my A coupe. Kenne-Bell cam, Rover cast headers, NOS Mallory black cap dual point, 300 alumni heads, and 300 short pump. I running the stock Quad Four for now. It's mated up to a T5 five speed.

 

I just scored a bell housing, clutch, and flywheel for mine at the local junk yRd. It was in an Opel
Manta of all things.


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A 215 in a Manta A sounds like a happy combination.

 

Can't say much about the Buick, but the Rover 3500 is great, and so are the 3.9, and 4.6. The first one got an improved top end, and it's bullet proff. The two later ones have a stronger and improved block.
The caps that holds the crank in place, bolts straight up like most engines but also bolts in to the side of the block, and the hold a damn of power. There is a cage build in to the block.

I plan on rebuilding the 3500 in the one of my Volvo, that has been campaigned as a gasser.

The twin Strombergs or SU set up ain't that bad. They work very well, the biggest issue with them is they are VV, and uses a lot of fuel. A 4bbl gives the best of two worlds.

I like them a lot, but the price for performance parts are higher then SBC and lower then Flathead.

 

They do a good job in a Opel kadett, manta, record,
Mgb, Mgc and T-series,
They work well in Volvo 544, Volvo 121/122s, 142 and 240
I've seen them in Ford escort, Granada, Taunus, Capri.

And even seen a few in covairs! The do good there too.

They are the ultimate v8 swap engine over here.

 

Not HAMB friendly but I always wanted a Rover 3.5 in a Mk I Capri. It was THE lad's car back in the 80s in the UK. Kind of the British equivalent to the Mustang. Either that or a MK I Cortina.

Great engines and I remember being surprised back then to learn they were actually from the Buick 215.

 

The intake I have is definitely NOT one from the MGBGT v8 intake.A friend has a cherry car with that intake on it and the 2 carbs are parallel to each other and situated at the rear of the intake.On mine the carbs are in the middle of the intake with the backs facing each other at about a 30/35 degreel slant. Send me an e-mail address and I will send some pics.Air cleaners say WEIAND of Australia and are Zenith(look similar to S.U.) carbs

 

Intake like this:


All the rovers pre FI ran them. I got at least two.

Beau plans to run one in his modified.
Woodbox runs one in his modified to.

 

Excellent engine and very light. Watch out for corrosion damage to blocks and heads if it is a sixties engine. The antifreeze they had back then was very corrosive if not changed every year or 2 and if you used water, it was as bad or worse.

Rover engines from the 80s up are less likely to be corroded just because the antifreeze was better and maybe the aluminum was better too.

 

This whole car is for sale. '62 Special and its complete with the V-6 and PG trans. $750 obo

 

Sounds like quite a combo. I'll bet it's good on MPG too. Any pics?

 

V6 was a different engine, based on the V8 with 2 cylinders lopped off and changed to cast iron heads and block. Early ones had a bad vibration at idle, smoothed out with very soft motor mounts. This is the same V6 GM used up until 2008, with improvements.

 

I'm cutting up the stock intake to put a blower on it. I think it looks pretty cool.

 

Oldsmobile 215 had the turbocharged "Jet Fire" version which I think was one of the first production turbo engines; maybe one year before the Corvair Spyder. I have an early version that uses a pressure box around the whole carb with grommets for all linkage and lines to hold the pressure. Later versions used a blow through system. IIRC the Jet Fire had a water/alcohol bottle with a pump that sprayed into the carb under high demand to cut detonation. No knock sensors and computers back then. Went through the one I have back when you could buy the parts over the counter and it's sat ever since---maybe 40 years. Maybe an MG will want to mate with it some day.

 

Look at D&D fabrications. Dan is the guys name. Lots of good stuff there. It's in Michigan.

 

Growing up in the UK, the Rover V8 (an improved version of the Buick 215 block) was THE engine of choice to power your hot rod or custom car. It's light and highly tuneable.
I think it was Micky Thompson who drag raced those motors back in the 60's Stateside.
Dan Woods used one in the Ice Truck, which Dave Shuten described as "scary #!#! fast".

 

GM marketed a mysterious potion called "Turbo-Fluid" to prevent detonation! H2O, was it not?

 

Sweet looking engine with that cool old Magnuson blower and it should be a nice performer. What size blower is it? Magnuson made several sizes back in the day, even had a twin blower.

 

I don't know the size. All it says is magna-charger on it. How do I determine the size?

 

Sorry, I do not remember the different displacements Jerry Magnuson offered in his magnacharger line, but there were several sizes. They were popular on drag bikes and other smaller engines back in the 70's and his dual magnacharger was marketed for V8's. I was considering one myself and had talked with Jerry at length back then. I think I still have one of his catalogs and if I can find it, I'll copy and post it. BTW, Jerry Magnuson just passed a couple of weeks ago.

 

Jim, I don't have time today to dig out my old catalog, but will look later this week.

But just doing a little online research, I believe your 3 rib blower is one of Magnuson's smaller motorcycle blowers, an MC80, which pumps 80 cubic inches per revolution. Seems you'd need to overdrive that by 35% to get in the ballpark on a 215 inch engine. A MC110 would have been better suited and would probably be OK driven 1:1

 

Jim,

I'm pretty sure that when you're done with this we'll all be stunned (in the good way). I know absolutely nothing about these engines mechanically but I've seen pix of them polished top to bottom and they will knock your eyes out.

 

I'm not looking for super power here. I had the blower and I had the rebuilt nailhead. I'm going to run it 10% overdriven and put a Saginaw 4 speed behind it with 3.55 gears in a car that weighs about 2000 lbs. it will run out just fine. Here's a pic of the lower actually mounted to the intake. I'm stoked.

 

I got the pulleys made up on the lathe. Next is a tensioner.

 

If you are stocked, then I most be jealous!
And maybe a little turned on, that is down right hot!

Keep posting pics!