![]() Its cylinder heads and rocker covers were styled to resemble the big Olds Rocket V8, and it’s interesting to note that while the heads of the Buick and Olds 215 engines look very different, their intake and exhaust manifolds interchange. While Buick and Pontiac used the original Buick version of the aluminum V8, Oldsmobile was allowed to spin off its own 1961-63 variant, above, called the Rockette V8. Racers were quick to recognize the performance potential, starting with Mickey Thompson, who successfully ran a modified version in the 1962 Indy 500 with driver Dan Gurney, qualifying in the 8th spot. That was several hundreds lighter than a small-block Chevy in the same dress, less than many inline four-bangers of the period, and half the weight of a big Chrysler or Cadillac V8. Of course, the truly eye-opening stat of the new V8 was its quoted weight: a mere 318 lbs. At mid-year an optional four-barrel version with 10.25:1 compression was rolled out that boasted 185 hp. ![]() When the new V8 was introduced for the 1961 model year, it was sporting a Rochester two-barrel carb and 8.8:1 compression ratio, and it was rated at 155 hp at 4600 rpm and 220 lb-ft of torque at 2400 rpm. Naturally, the cylinder heads (interchangeable from left to right) were also semi-permanent-mold aluminum castings with cast-iron inserts for the valve seats and guides, while the intake manifold and timing cover were aluminum as well. The crankshaft main caps were cast iron, too, while the crankshaft was Armasteel-GM’s trade name for its special grade of malleable iron. In another new wrinkle, the eight iron cylinder liners (.1875-in thick centrifugal castings) were cast in place when the block was poured, with serrations on the outside diameters of the liners to help lock them in place (above). The aluminum alloy was a special GM recipe, GM 4097-M, containing 11 to 13 percent silicon and around one percent copper, formulated in part to suit the novel casting process. A hybrid semi-permanent-mold process was used, in which permanent molds formed the block’s exterior while sand cores created the coolant passages. The real departure was in the materials and construction of the cylinder block, above. In many ways, the new Buick V8 was a fairly typical GM pushrod V8, if a bit more petite than most with a 3.50-in bore, 2.80-in stroke, and 4.24-in bore centers. ![]() Both engines use the familiar GM V8 firing order, 18436572. On the 1953-66 Nailhead V8 the distributor is at the rear of the engine, while on the aluminum V8, it’s at the front. In fact, the two Buick V8s are sometimes confused, especially at a distance, but there’s an easy way to tell them apart. (Read about the Nailhead here.) While the 215 V8 shares no significant features with the Nailhead (or with the 215 CID experimental V8 used in the GM LeSabre) we can see that the new engine was styled, if you will, to resemble the senior Buick V8, especially in the rocker covers (above). These three products included a number of advanced technical features, and the new 215 cubic-inch lightweight V8 was one of the more noteworthy items.Ĭhief engineer for the new V8 was Buick engine guru Joe Turlay, who had also led the project that created the original Buick Nailhead V8 of 1953. ![]() That year, General Motors launched its senior compacts, the Buick Special, Oldsmobile F-85, and Pontiac Tempest. But back in 1961, Buick’s aluminum V8 was a bold innovation for the Motor City. Today, all-aluminum engines are commonplace throughout the American auto industry. The Buick aluminum V8 was produced for only three model years in its original form, but its impact on the auto industry continued for decades. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |