From the Reference Section:
Results 1 to 5 of 5

Thread: Can I put a Rover engine in place of the Buick 215?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2018
    Location
    Bohemia
    Posts
    2
    Rep Power
    0

    Can I put a Rover engine in place of the Buick 215?

    Hello there...

    My name is Mike and I'm a Newbie posting for the first time...

    I have a 63 Buick Skylark that I want to change the engine on because it's siezed... I would like to put in a Rover 3.5 or 3.9 or something cheap that is available as this is a car that will be used in the movies and it just needs to run... I currently have a seized engine so anything that runs will be better even if it burns a little oil but that seems to be very hard to find nowadays but the Rover engines are pretty plentiful but if you call the guy in Michigan, he tries to sell you a $900 kit before you even buy an overdrive transmission and have your drive shaft shortened and what not which I don't want to do... I want to use the original 2 speed transmission in there that does not have transmission lines and has those aluminum fins. supposedly there's a difference in the size of the crankshaft as far as size and depth but I'm not really sure. If anybody knows the actual sizes I would like to know... Supposedly the Rover engine is smaller and there's very little information known about the automatics it seems like everybody knows more about the manual transmissions... But being that the original transmission has those aluminum fins that come off the torque converter, I would like to machine that thinner if that's the case because I feel that would be very easily achieved because I've done that with another much more expensive torque converter from a Dodge diesel that I put into a V10 to get the durability and to lower the stall speed... Any help with sizing it up as far as bolting a Rover engine to the original 2-speed automatic would be greatly helpful...

    Thanks
    Mike in Long Island NY...

  2. #2
    by "guy in Michigan", i assume you mean www.AluminumV8.com

    i don't know what you mean by saying that the Rover is "smaller". 3.5 Liter is the metric displacement equivalent of 215ci the same as 7.5L is the metric equivalent of 455ci. being that the Rover was produced to metric dimensions, obviously there are going to be minor variances in part dimensions and i wouldn't try swap something like pistons or bearings without having a machinist check / rework everything but Buick parts are used with Rovers all the time. one particular favorite is using a 300ci crankshaft to stroke the Rover blocks.

    Rovers, as a practical matter, are the same size externally as 215ci and have the same bell housing pattern. and this includes the 4.6L.

    i can't speak to the variances in crank diameter but i'm sure people on BritishV8 would know all about this. www.TAPerformance.com may also be able to answer this question as they have a set of high performance heads available for the Rover / 215.


    https://www.teambuick.com/reference/...uminum_v-8.php

    https://www.hotrod.com/articles/hrdp...od-any-engine/
    The way to crush the bourgeoisie is to grind them between the millstones of taxation and inflation.
    Vladimir Lenin

    Government schooling is about "the perfect organization of the hive."
    H.H. Goddard, Human Efficiency (1920)

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2018
    Location
    Bohemia
    Posts
    2
    Rep Power
    0
    The previous sentences to where you just mentioned, explains how the back of the crank is smaller but also possibly deeper, meaning it sticks out more... But I'm not sure... I wasn't talking about cubic inch displacement.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 1999
    Location
    Dbl Oak,TX
    Posts
    745
    Rep Power
    25
    Another idea would be to install a 198 V6. In that way the original Dual Path automatic can be reused. The V6 was not offered on the '63 Skylark, but it was used on some lesser '62-63 Specials.

    This early V6 has an unusual galloping lope at idle which could show up in the movie sound tracks.
    What has been, can be again. (Bob Wills, 1942)

  5. #5
    Another idea would be to install a 198 V6


    oof da. that's about a unicorn. if he happens to have one to hand, sure, that's not a bad idea.

    good luck finding one though.



    explains how the back of the crank is smaller but also possibly deeper, meaning it sticks out more

    yes, there are differences in the crankshafts. no, i don't know exactly what they are.

    but anyone with access to a micrometer could tell you within seconds which one has a larger diameter or if they are the same size.

    as i said before, the guys on the BritishV8 forum should know all about these specs, they swap this stuff all the time.

    here is the Engine and Transmission sub-forum:
    http://forum.britishv8.org/list.php?6
    The way to crush the bourgeoisie is to grind them between the millstones of taxation and inflation.
    Vladimir Lenin

    Government schooling is about "the perfect organization of the hive."
    H.H. Goddard, Human Efficiency (1920)

Similar Threads

  1. 350 SBB and rover 215
    By fozwanger in forum 350
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 06-25-2016, 08:14 PM
  2. Help me piece this 3.9 Buick/Rover together
    By crankwalk in forum Small Block 215, 300, 340 (and Rover V-8)
    Replies: 14
    Last Post: 03-06-2012, 08:10 AM
  3. Replies: 2
    Last Post: 11-20-2010, 08:09 AM
  4. Buick World in Enumclaw.. Anybody know this place?
    By 73super in forum Restoration Talk
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 06-06-2008, 02:14 PM
  5. Land Rover engine in a Buick Special??
    By c.rorrer in forum Engine and Transmission Swaps
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 05-13-2003, 02:23 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
TeamBuick.com Privacy Policy