Well, I'm no expert, but I've collected a bunch of info about these
engines; here's a summary. Everything you always wanted to know about the
3.5 liter Buick/Rover V8, but didn't know where to ask...it's a wee bit
long, so you might be wanting to hit 'n' now if you're not a motorhead...
_History_
In 1961, General Motors released a new line of compact cars: the
Buick Special, Oldsmobile F-85, and Pontiac Tempest. Marketed as economy
cars, they were never the less designed in the American idiom: probably
larger than any European car of the time, though relatively light, and
powered, of course, by a V8, albeit of only 215 cid. The special twist on
the American design theme of the car was that the block, heads, and intake
manifold of this engine were cast entirely in aluminum, yielding a
compact, short-stroke, oversquare V8 weighing in at only 320 pounds fully
dressed - compared to 575 lbs for an all-iron small-block Chevrolet. ("So
it's lighter than a SB Chevy", you say, "so what?" - weighed an iron 4 or
6 cylinder recently? It's less than, say, an all-iron Toyota 4 ). Power
was 155 hp, for the low-compression 2-bbl, 185 hp with the 4bbl. In '62
and '63, Olds released a limited run of cars with a 2.5" Garret
turbocharger, moving the horsepower figure up to 215 hp. Surprisingly,
Olds engineers retained the _10.25:1_ (!!) compression on top of the
turbo, using water/alcohol injection to limit detonation & carbon
build-up. The regular 215s can be a little difficult to locate; the turbo
engines are _quite_ hard to find (only about 5500 made). [Full story of
the Olds Jetfire is in a recent Autoweek]
Turbochargers notwithstanding, by 1964, GM decided that the cars
needed more cubic inches, and as other considerations presupposed
retooling (new bellhousing pattern), the General decided to save some $$
and cast the new-for-64 300 cid Buick in iron, albeit still with aluminum
heads in '64. GM chopped two cylinders off this lovely engine, enlarged
it a bit & cast the resulting V6 in iron, and thus was born the 3.8 L
Buick (ever wonder where 90-degree V6s come from?). Olds went with a
330-inch all-iron engine, and (I think) Pontiac introduced the 326 that
same year. The 215 tooling was sold to Rover, who still produce the Buick
variant, tho it's often referred to there as the "3 1/2" in deference to
the metric metric displacement of 3.5 liters. Needless to say, continued
availability makes those of us who like lots of cylinders in small, light
engines very, very happy. Rover has used this engine in a variety of
Rover saloons, the TR8, and the Land & Range Rover, and it is also used in
the 'big' TVR (350-450i) as well as the TVR Tuscan spec-race cars, the
MGB-V8, and notably the US-spec Morgan.
_Engine Technicals_
As delivered, the 215 was available in two versions, Buick and Olds
(Pontiacs used the Olds), in both 2 and 4bbl configurations. Maximum
overall dimensions are 28"L x 26"W x 27"H, max. dressed weight is 320 lbs,
and motor-mount positions are as for the 3.8 L V6. Both Buick & Olds
shared the same basic bottom-end (3.5" bore/2.8" stroke), but differ in
the heads & valve train. Buick used 1 head pattern and changed the piston
for to set compression, while Olds used 1 piston and had 2 & 4bbl head
variants. Olds heads also use 5 bolts/cylinder while Buicks used 4; the
upshot is that Buick heads will bolt to the Olds block, but not vice-versa
(sealing is considered OK with 4 bolts in the Olds head - valve train used
must be same make as head).
The Rover may be considered a Buick, although the accessory mountings
are different, and I would not be surprised to see different timing covers
and other small details (timing covers, incidentally, appear to be
interchangeable between 215s, the later Buick/Olds V8s / Buick 3.8/4.2 V6
- timing marks may not match up, tho). Rover also produces a 3.9 liter
version, which, I believe, is a stroked 3.5. If I judge the TVR model
numbers correctly, they seem to carry 3.5, 3.9, 4, 4.2, and 4.5 liter
versions - take this assertion with an appropriate grain of salt.
The GM versions were all carbureTed, while the Rovers have been both
carbureTTed and fuel-injected.
_Parts, supplies, and More Horsepower - U.S._
Bolt-ons:
Post-'74 Buick V8 HEI electronic distributors will fit the 3.5 with a
little grinding of the intake manifold. There are GM factory 2 and 4bbl
manifolds around, drilled for the early Carter AFB carb, aftermarket
Holley-compatibles, and there are presumably factory fuel injection and
carb manifolds available for the Rover [tho I really can't understand why
anyone would fit that wacky dual-Skinner's Union semi-downdraught
configuration when a Holley Fuel Injection or Weberized double-pumper
could be used just as easily].
Parts such as cams, manifolds and headers are not as easy to find as those
for more popular US V8s, but there are certainly some suppliers to try:
Kenne-Bell Performance Products (Buick/Olds)
1527K West 13th St.
Upland, CA, 91786 714-946-7671
Dave Smith Oldsmobile
112 North Manchester
Anaheim, CA, 92802, 714-635-3100
Also, in addition to the usual BritCar suppliers, there are
EightParts/ Rovers West
731 South Vine Ave
Tucson, AZ, 85719 602-662-1290
(also another in AZ that I can't find a ref. for - I'll post in the
addendum)
Advanced Fooling Around:
The block is dry-sleeved with iron liners, and there is quite a lot
of 'excess' material around the cylinders. The sleeves themselves can be
bored 0.030" (for 217 cid), but there's plenty of room to fit larger
sleeves, up to about 4.1 liters/247 cid. With more work, and the use of a
Buick 300 (3.4" stroke) crank, displacements of up to 5 liters/305cid are
possible - all in the same 320 lb, compact package. These displacements
require some parts selection from various US engines to obtain correct
clearances; fortunately the _Hot Rod_ magazine of March '85 detailed them
pretty nicely; this missive is getting quite long, so I'll USmail a copy
of the article to those who send a SASE.
There are a few folks in the U.S. who specialize in building variants
of the 3.5; Phil Baker in Washington State [Baker Automotive, 19552 40th
Pl. NE, Seattle, WA, 98155 206-363-5088] has been building alloy Buick
motors since 1966; he currently performs stock-displacement rebuilds
starting from about $1600, and will build 250"/4.1 L, 262"/4.3L and 305"/5
L variants to order. Prices depend on what parts you'd like to use; a
low-budget 247" motor (the largest size using the stock 2.8" stroke, also
the size I want!) starts at about $2,700; addition of goodies like forged
pistons, moly rings, baffled oil pans, etc, is extra...going all the way
up to $5,700 for a top-line 5 liter (drool drool drool).
While there are Rover parts available in the US, they tend to be
expensive, and as often as not one might want to use local bits. There
are intakes, cams, and many such goodies available from the US suppliers.
Trans-Dapt sells a complete bellhousing [p/n 0527] for use with GM 4 or
5-speed V8 manual transmissions, and Baker's carries adaptors for the GM
TH350 3-speed and THM-700R 4-speed automatics to these engines.
Parts, supplies, and More Horsepower - U.K.
(Note: I'm still waiting for replies from many UK suppliers such as Rimmer
Brothers - an addendum will be mailed when they arrive.)
Haughin's Northern TVR Centre in Cumbria provides a TVR 350 upgrade
using a Sprintex supercharger running 6 lbs of boost yielding 270 BHP @
5500 and 290 lbs/ft @ 3500. The upgrade is done in a package with
suspension and brake mods, and runs 3000 Pounds ... not a small piece of
change, but quite a nice-looking package.
There is a British spec-racing series for purpose-built TVRs known as
Tuscans, named after that firm's monsters of yore. The Tuscan is an
evolution of the TVR S, and carries a 4.5 liter variant built by NCK of
Coventry. Not only do these cars look _great_ - I was fortunate enough to
see one at their introduction at the '88 Birmingham show - but the
cross-bolted, quad-Weber-carbed race engines pull 396 hp @ 7500 rpm! If
you have the cash, I'm sure that NCK'd be willing to talk...
Cardinal Triumph Spares [Cardinal House, Rabbit Bank Road, Gateshead,
Tyne & Wear NE8 2AG UK] sells new front cross-members for the TR8 (95
Pounds) which should bolt up to the TR7...
_What To Do With Them_
Because of their size, weight, configuration, and power potential,
these engines lend themselves really nicely to swaps as well as to the
cars for which they've been installed from new. Rotus, in Maryland, has
installed them in their version of the Lotus 7 - remember, this engine
weighs about the same as an all-iron 4 cylinder. While I don't think that
MGB V8s were available here from the factory, the parts needed to make the
conversion are not too difficult to find, as is true for the TR7/8.
Before the Big Healeys became too valuable to violate, this was a very
viable choice as an engine, and the resurrected Healey 3500 (?) runs it as
standard powerplant. It's probably the only logical choice for those of
us afflicted with a Triumph Stag;the cost of a properly-built stock engine
would cover a rebuilt 3.5 _and_ the rest of the swap! [Personally, I'm
waiting to find just the right car to build my Olds 215 for...probably my
Stag will end up with it, but ya know, I keep having these visions of a
Sprintex-blown 4 liter in a suitably-upgraded early Esprit ;-) ;-) ;-)
].
There's no substitute for cubic inches except cubic dollars; a good 3.5
needn't cost much more than a good turbo install + performance rebuild,
and I for one prefer to see lots of cylinders before lots of plumbing.
Keep these engines in mind when you drive an older car and say "Yeah, but
if it only went faster..."
... Next Part: A (hopefully) Comprehensive List of Suppliers US/UK ...
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ed Devinney ... ejd@iris.brown.edu ... IRIS/Brown University
"I'm not in this world to live up to your expectations;
neither are you here to live up to mine" - Peter Tosh
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