getagripgreg

Hi All,

New member here. I have a project car with a problem that I hope to pick your brains on. It is a 1960 Austin Healey (Bugeye) Sprite, that had a 215 Olds V8 stuffed in it back in the late '60s or early '70s. I got it a few years ago and am nearing completion on the rebuild.


The motor is from a '61 F-85 Cutlass as near as I can tell. It had one hi-comp head and one low-comp head, but a 4 barrel intake. I bought a replacement head so now have the pair of 185 HP 10.25:1 set.


The issue I have is with the distributor interfering with the hood. I made a clearance bulge, but I missed, and the front terminal hits, as well as others on the right side. I cut the top 1/4" off the cap terminals and made barely clearance, but need a bit more for the rubber boots.



Are there different caps from the GM corporate overlords that will fit the Olds 215 distributor body? When I search on "GM distributor cap interchange", all I get is HEI blah blah blah. Really hoping to find a "crab cap" type that will allow me to re-clock the dizzy to get out of the hood.


Here's a link to all the gory photo details...
http://getagripgreg.smugmug.com/Cars...rogress-Photos


Here is a shot of the hood before glass work...
http://getagripgreg.smugmug.com/Cars...CAM00278-L.jpg


Thanks in advance,

Greg

oldcutlass

Welcome to the site, sorry I can't help with a direction on the cap. Hopefully Joe P will chime in as he is probably the most knowledgeable on the 215.

joe_padavano

Welcome. The Delco "window" distributor caps are all the same size and shape. Short of converting to a distributorless ignition system (as on the later Rover motors), your only other option might be some smaller body aftermarket distributors, like an older Mallory Unilite version. Any small block Buick distributor will work in the 215.



Mallory also sells flat distributor caps that should fit their distributors:



Also, while you're certainly welcome here, if you haven't stumbled onto the britishv8.org website, you'll definitely want to check it out. That site is primarily devoted to the BOPR (Buick-Olds-Pontiac-Rover) aluminum V8 family and swaps of those motors into British cars. Good luck.

getagripgreg

Thanks Joe, that's what I was afraid to hear. I'll just have to massage parts and positions for clearance.

I have an old thread on britishv8 covering the beginning of the project. (also an ad for the unfinished car for sale). That's a neat site.