Transaxle for 215?

[rudy2]

Is there an affordable transaxle that can be fitted to the 215 in a north/south mid-engine arrangement? Something that will handle maybe 300HP?

Randy

[nailheadnut]

The TH325 (79-82) and the TH325-4L (83-85) is a transaxle that was bolted to Rivieras, Toronados, and El Dorados behind the 5.0 Liter Olds motor, Cadillacs TH4100, and the V6 Turbo (Riv only). Those motors were rated from 145 hp to 185 hp. They had different final drive ratios in different years depending on which motor they were behind- 2.78 to 3.36. They are the FWD version of the TH200 and 200-4R, so they can probably be built to handle 300 hp. (Regal Grand Nationals used the 200-4R) They bolt to the BOP bell housing. I'm not sure of the 215 bell housing but I think it's the same. The 4L model is the overdrive unit and both work with a lock up torque converter which is chain driven. The engine sat in the north-south orientation and the transmission drove the front wheels.

Good luck. What are your plans?

[rudy2]

Well, no firm plans but mostly dreaming right now. First I need more shop space then any plans will get more real. But, to answer, when I was a teenager (a long, long time ago) I was at a British car shop in Renton (South of Seattle) when a very odd looking character pulled in in a completely trashed out Mclaren sport racer, or possibly early Can-Am car. It was low and wide, had a birdcage style brazed tubular frame and was powered by a Buick 215, mid engined. Honestly, it was held together with duct tape but boy was it cool. How he got it licensed I don't know. Anyway, when he left I watched as he briskly short shifted the car down the boulevard and immediately understood just how fast that worn out piece of crap was. I would like to build something similar. Know of anyone who has done this? I know I can buy a Mclaren kit but all I have seen are mucho $$$. Too much. All I really want or need is a decent body to build from.

BTY, I found a nice 4BBL Buick 215 which was supposedly rebuilt 6 years ago and then run only a couple of hours. $300. Sound like a deal?


Randy






Randy

[exfarmer]

Definately buy the 215, it's a steal IMO.
Nailheadnut, was the engine in those cars in a north south alingnment (front of engine pointing to front of car) or was the motor cross mounted?
The same mid engine layout can be accomplished using a cross mount engine, it just won't be quite as cool, in which case you could use any transaxle from a 3.8L V6 (SC 3.8s rated at 250hp).

[rudy2]

Engine definitely was N/S and not transverse. This would be around 1969 and transverse engined cars weren't even on the scene yet, except for the Mini and Fiat X-19 maybe? Not sure how the Fiat was laid out. Engine was toward the front, transaxle in rear on the McLaren. Most likely a 4spd Hewland transaxle. Pure Brit with a Yankee engine.

Were all the transaxles for the Rivieras, Toronados, and El Dorados etc. automatic? 4 speed or 3 speed? Any of them 5 speed?

Randy

[nailheadnut]

All of the 79-85 E-body Rivs, Toros, and Eldos are all N/S oriented. Looks just like a conventional rear wheel drive set up when viewing the engine, but the transaxle powers the front wheels. I've owned four of them.

The early E-bodies were three speed automatics, the later ones were 4 speed overdrive automatics. No 5 speeds. The 5.0 liter v8's had the low 2.78 final drives, and the T-type Rivs (Turbo V6's) had the higher 3.36 final drives in the 4 speed transaxles. I don't know what the final drives were in the 3 speed transaxles.

Ed

[exfarmer]

Cool, I learn something everyday. Unfortunately I doubt if there is a manual transaxle that you could bolt the 215 to without some fabrication, definately no N/S one.

[bob k. mando]

I'm not sure of the 215 bell housing but I think it's the same.

NO, the 215 has it's own distinctive bell housing which does NOT match up to anything else.

D&D Fabrications makes adapter plates so you can attach pretty much any man trans you want though.
http://www.aluminumv8.com/




Unfortunately I doubt if there is a manual transaxle that you could bolt the 215 to without some fabrication, definately no N/S one.


think outside the Buick/GM box.

the 215ci design ( and bell housing ) was in production at Land Rover until 2004. and it has been used in PEAK performance 4 wheel drive competition. the Dakar Rally among other things.

http://www.qtwildcat.co.uk/models/?w...R#transmission

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowler_Wildcat

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_Ro...ne_development

Land Rover punched the original 3.5L displacement out 4.0L / 4.6L and 5.0L in production vehicles. customizers have gone bigger in full race applications.


so, look for Land Rovers in the junk yard or a Rover service guy around you.

if you want full race prepped transmissions and transaxles, they can be had. but i'm betting the exchange rate from USD to British Pound is painful.

can you imagine a road going AWD McLaren? if you do this, be sure to post back to us.

[rudy2]

Well Bob, now you have gone and done it. Not that it matters a whit since I have a shop addition to do before I can do anything seriously, but a race-ready road-going 4WD McLaren clone would be just about the coolest thing on the planet. Hey, how about a Volkswagen Synchro trans? Or maybe better yet, a Subaru 4WD Turbo trans. That might do it somehow? In either case I think the usual "rear" drive yoke would need to point to the front somehow since the engine would be mid-engine. But it certainly could work. Getting there is at least half the fun.

Did Rover retain the aluminum heads on their engines or go to cast iron? I know the Rover V-8 has a way-cool individual throttle body EFI setup on some of their vehicles.

Definitely no vintage racer though with a Rover setup... Hmm.

I need a body first and foremost. Oh yeah, and a bigger shop.

Randy

[bob k. mando]

Did Rover retain the aluminum heads


block, heads, intake, it's all aluminum on ALL 215's. and also on all of the Rover derivatives that i know of. there's a 4.4L tall deck "P76" engine from Australia that doesn't match up to anything Buick did. but it's still all alum.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leyland_P76

it was Buick that changed the 1964 iron block + alum head + alum intake 300 to an all cast 300ci in 1965.



Definitely no vintage racer though with a Rover setup... Hmm.

yeah, but you get every "modern" design element except OHC. i think the 4.6L blocks have 4 bolt, cross bolted main caps.

you want OHC you'll have to get knock offs of the 1966-67 Repco F1 champion heads and block.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rover_V8_engine#Racing

http://www.ddavid.com/formula1/brabham-bt19-repco.htm
( the "Olds" engine mentioned in this article is the turbo version of the Buick 215 that was installed in Oldsmobile F85s. the biggest difference in the block is that Olds uses 6 head bolts per cylinder instead of Buick's 5 bolts )

on the plus side, OHC would be vintage. and considering it's highly doubtful that you'd beat on it like the F1 guys did, you could probably make a go of the DOHC version from 1968 ( i can't find the web site now, but a couple of years ago there was a web presence for a company that was custom making these old F1 engines and parts for the Brabham cars ).


yes, i know, i'm an evil *******.