Dry sump? Follow the oil lines. Do you have the pump and regulator or is all that missing?

 

The pump is bolted to the cover, and this engine has a normal pan on it, it just doesn't have anywhere to screw the filter on like a stock 215.

 

I took the throttle bodies apart so I can clean everything up, looks like these are actually 215 and not Buick 300 throttle bodies like I thought.
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Got it cleaned up, could be better but good enough for me. Not building the engine anytime soon but cleaning up gave me something to do.
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One word. Sexy.

 

The biggest flaw with those Hilborns is being able to tune the idle. The throttle plates need to be individually hand fit so they seal 100% when closed - no light should be visible around the throttle disc when shut. This makes up for the vacuum leaks around the shafts, which can be adapted to take seals as well if you wish. Get this right, and you can make it streetable!

 

I know Mark has converted a few to efi, would no doubt help with drivability. Beyond cool at any rate.

 

We've done the same here, but in order to get an IAC to work even half decent, you need to get all the throttle plates to seal. It may actually require boring each throttle body and making new throttle discs that fit the bores well, instead of being stamped pieces in rough cast & bored manifolds.
Then you can also split the throttle shafts so you can properly synchronize them.

 

How cool! My boy is still bugging me to check out my 215. I told him if it turns out good he can have it for his 66 Volvo wagon. Have to buy a T-5 bell housing but it would be worth it. They sound pretty good.

 

Makes sense getting the throttle bodies to seal or it would be a nightmare to get a stable idle. A T-5 or any OD trans would be awesome behind that little guy.

 

i have another engine i pulled out of one of my f85's that has a multi pattern bellhousing( old style 3 speed and muncie) and a t50 5 speed a plan to use. and i have no intentions of converting to efi so im not concerned with the throttle blades sealing as long as i can line them up i should be able to set a good idle. ive been researching mechanical fuel injections that were offered on preduction cars like the bosch k jetronic and the alfa romeo spica. looking forward to the challange

 

Ahhh, but you need to be able to get the throttle blades to seal, so you have a baseline for balancing them. If you can't equalize the air flowing through all 8, your idle could end up at 2000 rpm - not uncommon for that setup. Take the time and do it right, so you'll enjoy driving it. This isn't much like the Jetronic or Kugelfischer or Rochester. You're handicapped by the enormous throttle blade surface area. Its designed to be an on/off switch. In order to make it drivable, extra machining is involved, even if you just hand file the throttle blades until they seal, then split the linkages so you can balance them.

 

You know the 300 Buick heads have the buick valve cover. Plus they don't have the extra head bolt.

the stroker crank is a neutral balance crank.
what piston and rod combo do you use on the stroker crank?

Gene

 

Yes I know. The crank was ground to use sbc rods

 

I would like a T-50 behind my 260, hopefully the torque won't be too high and blow it apart with this little aluminum V8.

 

id be more worried about a t50 behind a 260 than the 215, its smaller than a t5, i got it free so i dont care if it breaks.

 

Have you seen the power ratings of the 260? The British V8 site mentions the 205 ft/lbs should be strictly adhered to! Either way a free OD manual trans is cool.

 

No actually I haven't. When I get a car put together we'll see how strong it is, it isn't going to be a car that's treated nicely. Btw I am keeping an eye out for an Opel manta to put this engine in if anyone is wondering.

 

The 260 is rated at 105 horsepower and 205 ft/lbs of torque. I am thinking my monster has 120 to 125 horsepower and maybe 220 ft/lbs of torque with dual exhaust and the open top air cleaner.

 

Where are you getting these horse power rating's. The stock 4 bbl 215 had 185 horse.
The T50 i had was a terrible trans. Has a weird shift pattern. The pattern was not like a T5.
A little Opal manta would be real cool. Just looking at a Opal there will be no extra room. A very tight fit.
I'm looking for a '73 to 75 Toyota pick up for the 215 I have, with a T5 from a camaro.

Gene

 

It's also in a heavier car then what I'll be using

 

The only cars that float my boat that I'm willing to put it in are Opel manta a, Alfa Romeo gtv/gtv junior or an early vega, vega being last on the list

 

I put a 215 in a '71 Vega 20 years ago. I used 3.8 V6 mounts and had to mod the trans X-member with a T50 trans. The T50 is a terrible trans, weird shift pattern. It was no tire burner, but it was great to drive. I used the Olds starfire GT chrome wheels, Monza front disc.
Drove it for 6 months, sold it, and have kick myself for doing that.
It would have been better with a T5 trans, but could not find one in my price range at the time.
Finding a Vega now that is not a rust bucket would be pretty hard.
Gene

 

Do you not like it just because of the shift pattern?

 

for the most part, yes.

The fact you put in first and shift to second like you were putting it in first on a normal trans. I also thought the gear ratio's were off, or big diff between gears.

Gene

 

Think of it like a race car, 1st is for cruising the pits and 2-5th are for racing

 

I drug a car home for the engine, 75 Opel manta.
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That car looks very cool.
How did you find that?
Is it a stick shift already?
What is the over all condition?

Gene

 

I actually had no idea they existed till a couple months ago one popped up on my local craigslist. I missed out on that one but I kept looking and this one finally popped up about 4 hours away from me. Overall it seems to be in pretty good shape, once I get the chance to really clean it up I'll get better pictures. It's a 4 speed car so it already has 3 pedals.

 

I got the Opel running today, I'm going to keep it stock and daily it while I'm converting the 66 to efi. It probably won't get the 215 swapped in for another year or so I'm guessing.

 

The original engine, thread starter, has been pulled down to a short block. Found out why it had low compression on 2 cylinders and I found it has .030 pistons in it. The heads and cam from this engine are mated to another 215 I had that was a good runner when I pulled it. Will finish it off with an edelbrock performer intake and hopefully the headers I have fit the Opel. Stock engine in the Opel got multiple flat lobes so I pulled it and am throwing this 215 together for it to make it a driver again so I can pull the 66 apart. When funds allow I'll build a nasty engine for the hilborn and dry sump.

 

So your saying they bored only two cyl's ? The rest are stock bore?
Was there a problem with the two.
I would having two .030 over would not cause a problem. Boring just two cyl's is very unusual.

How you going to mount the 215 and what trans and bell housing are you going to use?

Gene

 

It was supposed to be two seperate comments, I found out why it had low compression in two cylinders. And I also found that it had been bored, I previously thought it was stock bore. I'm going to cut off the old frame perches and weld new ones in to mate up with the 215's block mounts. I'll be using a t50 for now mated to the bellhousing on the olds 215 I have( multi pattern bell). Then I'll make a tranny crossmember that will hopefully catch the stock body side mounts

 

Looks like it'll be easier to mount the 215 in the manta than it was the 455 in the 62. If there's enough interest I will update progress on the manta in this forum

 

yes for sure keep the up dates coming at least for me. with pic's.
You can e-mail me if you want.

Gene

 

I can post progress pics here, just have to start taking them. On top of working on the engine and tranny I've been working on swapping the car to 5x4.75 so I have some better wheel options.

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And a picture of the cleaned up hilborn before I tore the engine down all the way.
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Just went out and took some pictures
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picked up the wheels from powder coating, 15x10 rears and 15x8.5 front.
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What was the cause of the low compression in the 215?
and what the cost to powder coat the wheels?
what about fender clearance with those wheels?

 

Two cylinders got water in them, Pistons look like they could all be reused with new rings if I ever wanted to bore out another block. No that I know it has been bored in curious if it was balanced too. Wheels were $195, I blasted them myself. And I'll be putting gender flares on to account for the wide wheels. I'm kinda going for a 70's rally look with a modern twist I guess