For US cars with the aluminum V8, look for '63-'64 (and maybe '62, but I
forget) Buick Specials or Skylarks. Also the Oldsmobile and Pontiac variants (I
forget the Olds, but the Pontiac Tempest is the one. The Buicks are more
common, although finding any thirty year old car in a wrecking yard is going to
be a challenge.
The one to find is the '64 Buick 300-inch motor. I believe this was a cast iron
version of the aluminum block, but the crank and heads (which are aluminum)
bolt into the aluminum block, giving 300 cid. Also, on the old Buick engines,
compression was varied by varying the head, not the piston, so any block/piston
set you find is the same, the heads are where any difference lies. Check with a
good GM parts guy or salvage-yard type, he/she may be able to find parts
numbers for you.
NOW- there _was_ a turbocharged version of this motor. I think Pontiac made it,
it was called the Jetfire 215. It used a smallish turbo to generate 4psi boost,
had 10.5 compression ratio, and used water injection to fight detonation. In
stock form, it made 215 horsepower, one of the first engines to have 1hp/cid!
And then, in a fit of supreme wisdom, the suits at GM sold one of the best
engines ever designed. (Just one in a long line of stupid moves on their part)
Anyway, I have a very good friend who has three dissasembled engines in his
garage, but won't part with them for love or money. I even offered him one very
loveable Beagle/Basset/Mutthound, but the scoundrel won't budge. alas....
They are out there, good luck finding one (or two).
Also, get on a Web browser, and there is a home page that has _lots_ of info
about swapping the V8 into a B. If you can't find it, let me know, I'll send
you the text via email.
I've often lusted after a V8 B also, but what I really want is a 455
for the Buick, then I'll put the 350 in the B, and build a go-cart for the B
engine, then.....
James "needs a real job first" B.
'71 MGB
'71 LeSabre
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