Actually, the engine is quite a bit lighter than even the thin wall
castings of the 289. Remember, the heads on the 289 are not so thin!, nor
are any of the other cast iron parts on it. To give you an idea of the
weight, I carried the complete engine minus the Aluminum bell housing, on my
shoulder with ease into my High school shop class in 1978 when I bought it
from a wrecking yard. Granted, at that time I was 6'4" and 275 lbs, so it
wasn't any big deal. But this was the complete engine. Exhaust manifolds
(iron), intake, water pump, pan, iron crank, even the fly wheel.
As for Hot rod parts, there are lots..This engine, unlike the 289,
is still in production in various displacements from 3.5L all the way to
4.4, and can be pushed to 4.8 with a stroker kit. Parts are abundant once
you know where to look. This combination of Aluminum engine, Aluminum Bell
housing, and Aluminun 5 or 6 speed gearbox, will give the car a erfect
ballance with upwards of 475 HP if I wish to push it that far. My goal is
for around 350-375 HP in a good streetable version. The major prblem is the
steering, as always in this car.....
When AND if I ever actually do this, it will be a killer car. I
still think it's what Shelby should have done. It a better fit.
Rich
> ----------
> From: Marc James Small[SMTP:msmall@roanoke.infi.net]
> Reply To: Marc James Small
> Sent: Tuesday, January 20, 1998 4:50 PM
> To: tigers@autox.team.net
> Subject: 215 CI Buick Mill
>
> >At 03:16 PM 1/20/98 -0600, you wrote:
> >Why would you want to mess with the 215 Buick engine? I have a block
> >from one that I made into a coffee table. The only advantage it has
> >over the 289 is that it won't rust. With its cast iron cylinder sleeves
> >and re-enforcing, it weighs nearly as much as a 289 block. Plus there
> >aren't exactly a glut of high performance (let alone any) parts for it.
>
>
> Ah, but there are! This became a stock high-performance Leyland engine
> for
> many years and parts are available from the UK (or were fairly recently).
> I believe it is still used, in its 3500 guise, in Range Rovers and the
> like.
>
> Marc
>
> msmall@roanoke.infi.net FAX: +540/343-7315
> Cha robh bas fir gun ghras fir!
>
|