You guys will enjoy this cool article reprint in the new edition of BritishV8 Magazine: "The New Buick Aluminum Engine" (circa 1961) www dot britishv8.org/Articles/Buick-Aluminum-Engine.htm (41 original images!) (Sorry, but this message board won't let me make that URL into a hyperlink.) ----- Incidentally, the rest of BritishV8 Magazine issue can be read (FREE!) from here: www dot britishv8.org/British-V8-Current-Issue.htm (47 articles, ~990 photos)
Curtis just published the new BritishV8 newsletter and is letting you guys know about it in his own inimitable way. It's a good read if you get the chance to look at it. Jim
http://www.britishv8.org/Articles/Buick-Aluminum-Engine.htm hi Curtis! we've linked several of your articles to the v8 board before, you've definitely got some interesting stuff on those 61-63 motors. ps - i'm pretty sure that if you just copy the web address and then paste it into the text of your post it will display just fine.
That EXPERIMENTAL XP-300 ALUMINUM ENGINE sure would have been cool!! Hemi heads, blower and side drafts.:beers2:
The thing that I like is that all Rover V8's are Buick. So all those British cars running around with Rover v8's are using good old American V8 power courtesy of Buick of course. I think that's pretty cool. Jim
Yes Sir, I'd love to publish an article or two about THAT engine! --- All these little, old Buicks are under-appreciated! The 215 has been a popular swap into British cars since the beginning. Mickey Thompson helped a friend swap a 215 into an MG-TC, and it was successfully road-raced in California throughout 1962. Thompson was very busy with the Buick 215 that year! That's the same year he entered a Buick 215 powered rear-engined racecar to the Indy 500. Rookie Dan Gurney qualified 8th and raced well for 92 laps before retiring with transmission problems. Up until then, since 1946 there hadn't been any stock-block cars at Indy! In fact, in 1962, the Buick motor was the only non-Offenhauser powered entry in the field of 33 cars. (1963 marked the first entry of Lotus, plus Chevy and Ford engines.) Of course, the Buick 215 engine block was also the basis of the Repco-developed engine that Jack Brabham's 1966 Formula One car used to win the 1966 championship. Rover versions of the 215 are still being raced today... if I had five more posts I'd share this cool article with you: www dot britishv8.org/MG/LesGonda.htm (71 photos, including induction system and dry sump system, etc.) www dot britishv8.org/MG/LesGonda/LesGonda-BB.jpg
You could make 5 more posts with just a number or a Smiley, right here in this thread. I'm sure everybody will be okay with that :TU: But I'm happy to post your links again:
That last photo is Curtis' own personal car, an MGB-GT (hardtop) with the Buick 215, powder coated Rover cast aluminum rocker covers and hand bent and fabricated tri-y headers. It's a very light and rigid car, having been race prepped, but it is his daily driver. Quite a performer with Buick V8 power and around a 2180 lb weight with fuel. If you like you can see the details of the car here: http://www.britishv8.org/MG/CurtisJacobson.htm As you can see he's made a few upgrades since then. Jim
I have one of those alum 215 engines and it is going into my cousins MG... Maybe even a single turbo once we get it running.
Whoa! That last photo actually wasn't my car... THAT engine belongs to Lorenz Hassenstein, and additional photos/info on it appears here: http://www.britishv8.org/MG/LorenzHassenstein.htm Jim, I haven't found time (or money) to change my oil since you saw my car in July! Maybe sometime this winter I'll get some changes made. Hopefully one day my engine will rival Lorenz's... However... I just arranged another interview with an MGB GT V8 racer! Here's a sneak peak at an aluminum V8 powered car that will be featured soon on the BritishV8 site:
Curtis (or anyone else), Do you know of any Buick/Rover V8 swaps into older BMW's? Such as 2002, 320, etc. I've got a 320i and that would interest me quite a bit. That last pic with the frontend off somewhat reminds me of an older 3 series, that's what prompted the question. Look forward to future articles on that car!!:beers2:
Sorry... I don't know much about BMWs. However, I do know one bugeye Sprite that was fitted with a Buick 215 and then after many years it got a BMW 2002 4-cylinder when the owner rebuilt it for a second time. He told me the car was too much of a monster with the Buick engine. A Sprite is pretty tiny, you know. He's a real perfectionist, and he wanted a very "balanced" sportscar. If you're curious, the final results are shown here: http://www.britishv8.org/Other/BruceUchida.htm
