Ryan - it is a very specialized spring. Exact same spring as the Q-Jet spring. They do come in the better kits. Ask before you order. Jon.
Here is a good read before doing anything to an aluminum 215. http://www.v8engines.com/engine-4.htm#v8gen Warren
Hey, man. Thanks! I thought I had scrounged the web and found everything on these mills. I'll have a read!
Ryan - please accept this post in the spirit of its posting: Discussion forums on the HAMB are present for the exchange of information. Buying and selling have their own forum area. Individual members may be contacted via PM. Generally, the moderators are somewhat lenient in enforcing guidelines, but everyone is generally happier if guidelines are followed. When approaching any vendor requesting a carburetor rebuilding kit, one needs to have the identification number of one's carburetor. In the case of the Rochester 4-GC, Rochester built more than 200 different, and there are dozens of different kits available from different vendors. And all of us in business appreciate...............................business. Glad you like to support HAMB members. Jon.
Yeah, sorry man. I got carried away. You are, of course, correct. I'll shoot you a PM. Tag is gone from the 4GC so I'll take a look and see what I can do about definitively ID'ing this one.
Hurst made a special Dual Gate for this transmission. I would keep the Slim Jim, there not that bad at all. B&M came out with a hop up kit for that tranny that really made them scream...
Hey, Elco! Hurst and B&M made stuff for the Roto Hydramatic 5??!! This isn’t the same tranny that’s in the full size cars that’s known as a Slim Jim. This is the baby brother. A... uh... slimmer Jim. Gears are 3.03, 1.58, 1.00 and has the “Accel-A-Rotor” fluid coupling and the funny shift between 1-2. One less shift on this one compared to a Slim Jim. Anyway... the transmission has been on my mind and I’ve considered swapping in a manual or TH200. But if there really are Hurst shifters and B&M guts... I’d definitely keep the RH5. This car would be fun as a floor shift Auto! Have any details to pass along or can ya point me in the right direction? I also wonder what transmission fluid is currently in this car... from what I’ve learned, the RH5 can be particular and shift funky if it doesn’t run the right ATF...
[QUOTE="Ricks Garage, post: 13768820,] 215 with the turbo had 215 HP (restricted by the use of a corvair side draft carb. 215 with a 4bbl 11: 25 to 1 compression also had 215 HP. detonation ate up a lot of these engines...use water injection or high octane gas.[/QUOTE] the olds and corvair turbo cars did not use the same carb. Corvair used the same carb as an early corvette with the straight six and three side drafts( Rochester, can’t recall model). The jetfire used a Rochester model RC iirc.
The turbo Corvair used a number of different Carter type YH carbs. The early 6 cylinder Corvette also used three Carter type YH carbs, but totally different from those used by the Corvair. Some parts will interchange; certainly not all. The Jetfire used both Rochester type R and type RC carburetors (6 different versions, If memory isn't too foggy). Jon
I have a lead on some parts, so it looks like I'm on my way. I'd appreciate some thoughts on how my recipe and approach are shaping up. Buick 215 heads - stock Buick heads that I can work/have worked to increase flow, valve job, etc. I'll be good to have a spare pair to get set up and ready to swap in. Thoughts? Finned valve covers - I like the stock Buick ones just fine, but looks like they'll get thrown in with some of the other parts... Rocker shafts, arms, springs, D&D shaft supports. Cam - Crower 50229 Cam Card Crower Catalog Description Pistons - whatever is in this block. I need to borrow a borescope to see if I can make a determination ahead of pulling the heads. I assume their the higher compression Buick dished pistons. I'd rather not get into the bottom end, but if I gotta... well then I gotta. Intake/carburation - still to be determined and appreciate any thoughts!! R
Glad to finally see an article on this little engine. After my plans to run a flathead in my "A" coupe fell through, I picked up a '63 215 Buick that was worked over by a guy back in the '80's. He did it right. He had a Kenne Bell 3/4 cam, worked over '64 aluminum heads, Melling HD oil pump, TRW pistons, the works. He even bored out the oils channel. I added a period "black cap" Mallory dual point distributer with a stock Quad 4 (at least for now.) and Rover cast headers. It is hooked up to an S10 five speed thanks to a lot of help from D&D Fabrications (aluminumv8.com). The good news is the engine was all apart when I bought it so I could see first hand all of the new parts and work that was done on the motor. Looking forward to getting the "A" on the road this summer.
I've had a couple Rover 3.5's- abused, run dry, thousands of miles missing head studs... They're tough little engines despite their reputation. I didn't do much other than an OT ignition system (Lumenition, you can't hide it so don't try it but it really helped in the damp), Edelbrock Performer intake, Holley 390 vac secondaries and a Piper 291 cam. Would run happily at 4500 rpm all day long at 85. Unbalanced headers and nothing quite sounds like one. Glob glob glob from the left, praka praka praka from the right. BW35 with the standard torque converter wasn't going to set your hair on fire but it just kept giving and giving, that carb and cam didn't bog down, despite it being a bit much for the engine. Per people who'd built that combination up, about 190 bhp for just adding better intake and a mildly ground stock 1962 Rover camshaft. Can't beat one for the weight though. Fully built it weighed less than the iron 4-banger it replaced so it was worth it to keep the handling of the car. Not much lighter than the Buick, and that saw a 14.7 at 83, which isn't shabby. Phil
Hey, gang. It's been a while since I dropped in, so I thought I'd give a quick update. The '63 Cutlass and I are getting along great. I daily drive it in all weather (and it's been HOT... maybe A/C is overrated...) to the tune of about 250 miles a week and I took it on a 500-mile round trip from central Pennsylvania to Connecticut. I've racked up about 5,000miles since April. So now that I've gotten to know the car a little better, I can give some thoughts. The car is comfortable and enjoyable to drive. It's been a blast for the most part, and the kids love it. I do still plan on hopping up the car a bit (Some parts in-hand. More on that plan soon...) but I've really been pleasantly surprised at how nice this car is all stock. I'm always tinkering with something, adjusting this, tweaking that... and I feel like I have a pretty good sense of this car's personality. Here's a couple impressions along with some questions the H.A.M.B. might be able to help me with. The Roto Hydramatic that I was so terrified of has turned out to essentially be a non-issue. It certainly has its quirks, but I'm learning to drive it. This tranny, in my car at least, likes to be romped on a little. The long, queasy 1-2 shift is really only a bother in slow, in-town driving. As long as I can get the RPMs up right from the line, the shift is a bit slow, but smooth. And with higher initial RPMs, the drop when going into second isn't so pronounced. But slow, lazy acceleration makes for a wonky 1-2 shift that comes in early (7mph!!!), seems like it wants to bog the car, and I swear I can feel the fluid coupling fill with fluid! So I tend to jump on it a bit, and all is well. The shift points also seem a bit early (1-2 at 7mph! And that's factory spec!). To compensate, I've found 'Super'. I start in 'S' most times when starting from a stop. Higher RPMs from stopped gets us through the 1-2 shift and 2nd is good for most in-town driving and all the way to about 55mph on the highway. Then just slip into Drive and the 2-3 shift is almost imperceptible. This car would be fun with a Hurst Dual-Gate or other auto shifter on the floor where you can control the shift point. Couple quick Roto 5 questions: For those that have them or have had them... What are ya all using for ATF? My research shows Dexron III was GMs backwards compatible fluid, so that's what I've topped off with. (Apparently my driving style exacerbates the leaky RH5's 'external oiling' feature...) But I'd love to know what others are using. One quality guy over on the classic Olds forum said his transmission guy (who actually knows the RH5...) has suggested Type F. Type A was spec'd when the car was new. Under what circumstances should I be able to kick down into passing gear? Seems like if I'm lazy and I get into 3rd by 35mph or so, if I then floor it it will kick down into second. But not always. And not if I'm rolling over, say, 40mph. Just curious if I need to look at the TV rod adjustment. PCV… the Buick 215 in the car is set up with a twist-in breather in the driver side valve cover and a leaky grommet-breather thing-hose to the air cleaner on the passenger side. Hose to the air cleaner enters outside of the filter element. There’s a LOT of crankcase vapor escaping the system and keeping the engine bay a mess. Minor leaks here and there too. I’d like to run a PCV (I run a fancy M/E Wagner on the OT '78 Suburban with great results…) and would be interested in how everyone has theirs set up. Right now I plan to keep the breather on the driver side and find the right grommet to install a PCV valve on the passenger side with a hose running to the 4GC. I think there’s a vac fitting on the back of the carb, otherwise I can tee into the line going to the distributor advance can. Anyway, curious to your thoughts. Brakes. Overall, the drums and single master have given satisfactory service. However, two scenarios make things a little sketchy, and I don’t have much experience with brakes. First… things can get a little hairy in the rain. If I lose focus on a wet road, it doesn’t take much over-braking to lock up and skid. There’s a fine line between just slowing down and skidding. This is likely more a tire issue than the brakes which has me thinking about new rubber. Second… when the ambient temps are HOT as they’ve been here recently, it seems like I get a pressure build up in the brake hydraulics. Peddle travel shortens up and goes from nothing to full 4-wheel lockup with almost no effort. In the worst situations, the brakes don’t fully release and drag while driving. I need to pull back on the peddle with my toe to get the drums disengaged, sometimes without complete success. First thing in the cool morning, everything is great. Temps get hot... things get touchy. The heat may be a red herring... this could be a pre-load sorta thing where pressure builds as I use the breaks. But if a shut off the car and run into the store for a cold soda pop and the engine bay heat soaks, the brakes are guaranteed to be tight after that. Coming up... some parts and plans to start in on the 215 warm-over! Appreciate all the support. This place is great! Oh... and a pic from at work last week...
So... I managed to gather up a few parts. And I have a lead on a complete local Olds 215 but it sounds like a low compression 2-barrel. Still gotta take a look. Anyway... I was able to pick up a set of Buick 215 heads complete with rockers. Rumored to have come off of a Bonneville car. I haven't had a chance to go over them yet, but on first glance it doesn't seem like they've been worked over. I'll get to cleaning them up and measuring things this weekend. But whatever... I have a set of heads to work up and learn on. Along with the heads I was able to pick up a used but clean cam. Cower 50229. About the mildest of "performance" cams. Here's the specs: Grind: 258HDP IN/EXH Adv. Duration: 258*/260* Lift: .430/.445 Duration at .050": 196*/202* Lobe Lift: .269/.278 LSA: 112* Based on Rocker Arm Ratio 1.60:1 I'm certainly not married to this cam, but it's what I have on hand. So... that's a starting point. The 4GC needs a rebuild and I'm calling for a kit shortly. I'd love a cool vintage aftermarket intake... something like a 2x2v or 4v Offy or Edelbrock... or a modern performance intake like a Performer... But until I know what the block has been decked, what pistons I have, where compression will be, what I can get out of these heads and cam, etc... I'm sticking with the stock intake manifold and rebuilding the Rochester. As I've been going through all this 'dreaming' it's occurred to me more than once... if this car had anything other than the Roto 5 and oddball rear end in it, I'd probably build a Buick 300 with '64 aluminum heads. Dead stock, the 11.0:1 4-barrel was good for 250hp and 355 ft-lb and only 80lbs heavier than the 215. As it is, it's gonna be fun to see where we can go to make this 2,500lb car a fun daily driver for not a ton of money.
Ryan, I have an Olds 215 for a planned future build. Keep in mind that smaller displacements will make a cam "act bigger". So that mild cam should give you a nice bump, especially with all other things remaining stock. As for the intake, you can't beat the wow factor of a dual carb, but if you're not gonna rev the crap out of it, go with the Edelbrock Performer. It's a great dual plane. If you just have to have a dual carb, send Mark at D&D an email and ask him to put you on a wanted list for one. Be ready to shell out about $450-500. People apparently dump old 215 parts on him, so he turns those up fairly often. Anyways, really diggin this thread. Love your car. It's super clean!
Thanks for the compliments. I’m gonna hold off on intake/carb until I have a better idea of what the mill is gonna need. Daily Driver status and the Roto 5 pretty much have me committed to a single 4GC… but I do keep thinking of multi-carb. Or a blower. Now if I was offered a nifty vintage 2x2 set up for a screaming deal… I think this cam should do well with the small displacement, but we’ll know for sure when it’s in! Currently the car will do 0-60 in about 9.5 seconds while shifting the auto on the column. I think we can do better. Here’s another pic from this week at work.
How is it the local parts stores don’t have an air filter for this motor? It isn’t anything exotic. I mean, the 215 is an oddball engine, but this is just a round air filter. Knownothing guy at the parts counter said he can’t search by size, just application. Can’t cross reference. Can’t even order one. Asked if he could point me to the round filters on the shelf and I’ll find one that will work. “Well if ya want to start opening all the boxes. I think they’re mostly square or cone shaped.” Good grief.
trying to find the intake pics from britishv8forum. found this one. great site for the 215 forum.britishv8.org/read.php?6,68728 copy and paste it. the brits and aussies make some awesome homebuilt intakes. the production ones cost 2 arms and 2 legs.
the va89 is an a/mrkt filter made by group 7. now fram ca328. if not will have to find my old books Product Height :2.56" Product I.D. :8.59" Product O.D. :10.81"
Well that was a revelation. The Wix replacement for the filter currently in the car only flows 155cfm. And there are different filters for the Olds and Buick 215s. I happen to have a Buick motor (filter spec 265cfm) and an Olds air cleaner (Olds filter spec 155cfm). Interesting!
Here’s a quick question… will a Rover 4.6 crank drop in a Buick/Olds 215 block? A 300 crank with the cylinders bored .030” over gives a 266, but has some machining requirements to make it work. A 4.6 crank in a .030” over 215 block gets us 253 c.i. If it’s a direct drop-in, that makes a stroker feel more achievable for a guy like me. Hmmm…
A question for 215 guys the 215 and the 300 and 340 have the same bore centers can a 215 be bored and sleeved to 3.75 like the 300 and 340.
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