In a message dated 97-10-09 23:13:18 EDT, mlazye@northvalley.com writes:
> The first Buick V-6 off the line were ALUM. Ask any old JEEPER.
> As I said look around, I did I've seen then.
Mark:
I wasn't there, so I have no first hand knowledge, but Terry B. Dunham and
Lawrence R. Gustin, authors of "The Buick - A Complete History," John
Thawley, author of "The Buick Free Spirit Power Manual," and Pat Ganahl,
author of " V-6 Performance," as well as some other sources I've forgotten,
all say the first, as well as the current, Buick V-6 engines were cast in
Iron.
I quote from the first reference:
"In 1962 Buick introduced a V-6 engine for the special. Because it was the
first instance in which such an engine had been offered in a major American
motorcar, it was a major news story.
<snip>
The 198-cubic-inch V-6, basically the V-8 with two cylinders eliminated, had a
cast iron block instead of aluminum"
<snip>
Hurriedly designed in the months before 1962 model introduction, the V-6 would
survive at Buick through 1967. The entire manufacturing line was later sold to
Kaiser-Jeep, where it showed up in the CJ-5 and the Jeepster"
Even if the first blocks were of aluminum, by the time Jeep got hold of them,
they most certainly would have been iron, rather than aluminum. If there were
any aluminum blocks produced, I would assume they were prototypes.
Again, I wasn't there, so I, and all these other people, could be wrong (it
wouldn't be the first time!).
Dan Masters,
Alcoa, TN
'71 TR6---------3000mile/year driver, fully restored
'71 TR6---------undergoing full restoration and Ford 5.0 V8 insertion - see:
http://www.sky.net/~boballen/mg/Masters/
'74 MGBGT---3000mile/year driver, original condition
'68 MGBGT---organ donor for the '74
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