(the cowbell of cars!) Soon to be new Special Wagon on its way. 63 is a bit homely but the 215/column shift manual got me. It has a long ride from Oregon to Cincinnati. Cheers, Ted
Welcome! Is that little 215 still healthy? If I had found that one here in Oregon, I might have jumped on it myself! Had one of those engines in my very first car, a '63 Olds F-85 Cutlass coupe.
Did a little research, because I had heard that the Oldsmobile and Buick 215 cubic-inch aluminum V8's were a bit different from each other. Here's what I found out - Note: ALL specs pertain ONLY to 1963 models. Did not look up any specs on the '61 or '62 models. Also, am not including any info here on the Olds Jetfire turbocharged version of the aluminum V8...... Oldsmobile: - Basically TWO versions of the engine, with different compression ratios for each. Both had 4-barrel carbs. For manual transmission vehicles: 215 cubic-inch V8, 10.25:1 compression ratio 185 hp; 230 ft-lbs of torque For Hydra-Matic transmission vehicles: 215 cubic-inch V8. 10.75:1 compression ratio 195 hp; 235 ft-lbs of torque (This is the engine my F-85 Cutlass had.) Buick: - Basically 2 versions of the engine, one with a 2-barrel carb and lower compression, the other with a 4-barrel and high compression. 1. 215 cubic-inch V8 2 barrel carb, 9.0:1 compression ratio / 155 hp / 220 ft-lbs of torque 2. 215 cubic-inch V8 4-barrel carb, 11.0:1 compression ratio / 200 hp / 240 ft-lbs of torque No specification with Buick as to having a particular transmission go with a particular engine, so I would assume either could be had with a manual or automatic.
A friend had a 4bbl from the olds and has gifted it to me. Now Ken at everyday performance (q-jet specialist) is working his magic on it. We shall see how th 4bbl works with low compression. My 2 bbl is frozen. Oil looks good and it turns over... time to do a brake job.