Hi all, this is my first post here on V8buick.com I have 2 quick question, one a little longer then the second. Let me just say that I am looking at purchasing a porsche 914 with a 215 V8 in it as a lil fun car for the summer. My questions are all about the engine so I just wnated to thank you in advance. 1) Is there any other "brother" engine, that has the same specs as the 215 but is just bigger. more cubic inches? or are all the small blocks differn demension? that was was easy. the next one is more about the engine that is in the car that I am looking to purchase. if you can give me any information about it good bad or indiffernt it owuld be great as i have no knowalge of buick engiens at all. thanks This is what i know about the engine: Rebuilt 1970 Rover/ Buick all aluminum 215 V8 Standered Bore/ 10.5:1 compression Cylinder heads Ported, 3 angle valve grind, Hi flow back cut swirl polished valves, Crane dual valve springs M-488 custom ground hydraulic cam and lifters Hi volume oil pump with V8 filter housing Facet electric fuel pump and GM canister filter Offenhauser Aluminum Intake 400 Carter 4 barell Carb electric choke Custom stainless headers Try-y Buick dist with Mallory Unilight electronic conversion Mallory 40K volt coil Kep 2400# Pressure plate 200mm. VW clutch disk Kep throwout bearing Custom HD. radiator Flexalite electic fan with adjustable thermostat The rods are .001" under the mains are .010" under The ring end gaps on the top rings are .020" Thanks again for all your help. You can post here or email me at gooseguy84@aol.com. Hopefully i will get can an have a few more questions about the upkeep of the engine as this woudl be my first buick engine. Brian
The 300/340 are kinda sister engines, however they are cast iron blocks. I am not sure if Rover kept the rounded bellhousing on the 215 or if they went with the double-pointed one like the Buick/Olds/Pontiac bellhousings were on the 300/340/350/400/430/455.
brian, if the 215 is a 1970, i dont think rover changed it to much in the bellhousing area. therefore changing to another engine shouldnt be a problem. i would look for a 4.1 v6. there are a lot of performance options you can use w/out turboing it. weight would more in line with the 215. as far as the 215 goes, they are pretty cool engine. if you decide to get rid of it, there should be no problem in selling it. guy in michigan(d & d) is into 215's. john
Hey there Brian, Welcome to the board! Years ago, I knew a guy who put a SBC 350 into a 914... Er, well, actually it was a 916, but basically the same car as yours. MAN! that thing was wicked fast! It had a serious traction problem so it would only run low 12's, but had a trap speed in the 120's. Unfortunately, it was soo overpowered that it "high speed oversteered" one night, and hurt a couple of people in the process At any rate, back to your questions... It looks like the 215 you have now is just about perfect for the car. It's smaller displacement, and larger custom cam-shaft should keep you in the "higher RPM" powerband, which is probably where you want to be in such a light weight car. A 300, 340, or even a 350 "should" bolt in without too much trouble as the bellhousing, motormounts, block dimentions, etc are the same across the SBB family. Something else to consider, I once heard it was possible to put a 300 crank into a 215, making it 300 cid in an all aluminum case. 231, or 252 V6 engines could also be considered as they are basically SBB's with 2 cylinders missing. Whatever you decide, look closely at the exhaust system, because they ARE NOT the same across the SBB family, and it may require custom made headers if stock exhaust manifolds wont fit, and that could get REALLY expensive!!! As far as the 215 you have now,,, I'v heard stories about the water passages giving way to corosion, and that aftermarket performance parts are hard to come by, but for the most part, it's a fine little engine. Good luck!
