Thread: ???s about aluminum Olds/Pontiac 215 motor

Tweet

Today a guy at a garage sale wouldnt let me leave without taking what he called a Pontiac 235 motor. All aluminum block and heads. I havent heard of a 235, so figure it is a 215. Where can I find out a little about these motors? I used to know what they were called but have forgotton.

It was mostly disassembled, with cam and lifters stuck in block. Examination didnt turn up any cracks or evidence of water having been in the combustion chambers. Unfortunately only 3 of the five main caps are present. Would it be feasible to find some other main caps and have the block line honed for proper match? The other big item missing was the intake manifold.

I couldnt believe that the block cam and lifters only weighs something like 70 lbs! Easy to lift and move around by hand.

the main cap can be easly made .if you can not find one .if it is the cap that has the thrust bearing would be a bit more work .and then get it line bored . this is no big deal .as for it being a all alum and a pontiac ?i never see one. but thats not to say they never did . buick made a small alum block.it would have to be very cheap .it you need a main cap and a line bore to make one cap less you have the tools could be easly 100for the cap. and a line bore would be about 150to 200

Originally Posted by pat mccarthy

the main cap can be easly made .if you can not find one .if it is the cap that has the thrust bearing would be a bit more work .and then get it line bored . this is no big deal .as for it being a all alum and a pontiac ?i never see one. but thats not to say they never did . buick made a small alum block.it would have to be very cheap .it you need a main cap and a line bore to make one cap less you have the tools could be easly 100for the cap. and a line bore would be about 150to 200

Yeah, Pat, back in the old days (62-63) there was a BOP 215 aluminim motor. Used on the Skylark, Tempest and Cutlas. Kindof rare but GM sold the molds to Rover in England. The rover aluminim V-8 is basically the same motor. Just for your info. BOP stood for Buick, Olds, Pontiac.

Here's a link that descibes the motor a little bit. http://www.britishv8.org/Articles/motors.htm

yes i did know that they use it in the land rovers and it was a buick. but i did not know they used it in any other gm cars so what gm did in the 80s was nothing new for GM ?? like pontiac with a chevy engine in it from gm or a pontiac with a olds engine

The Olds used it with a turbo charger. I can't remember the advertised HP but it was a suprisingly quick little car. Pontiac used it to in (I think) 61,62, and 63 along with the half of a V-8, 4 banger (one side of the block was cut off). The 4 was based ont a Pontiac Motor.
They always say the memory is the first thing to go.

Just remembered (DOH) Olds called the car a Starfire, not a cutlas. Boy my old brain is slow anymore.

Originally Posted by Oldf100fordman

The Olds used it with a turbo charger. I can't remember the advertised HP but it was a suprisingly quick little car. Pontiac used it to in (I think) 61,62, and 63 along with the half of a V-8, 4 banger (one side of the block was cut off). The 4 was based ont a Pontiac Motor.
They always say the memory is the first thing to go.

that 4 banger was used in the old tempest with the engine in the front and a trans axle ????in the back

Originally Posted by pat mccarthy

that 4 banger was used in the old tempest with the engine in the front and a trans axle ????in the back

Yeap, That's the one.

Originally Posted by Oldf100fordman

The Olds used it with a turbo charger. I can't remember the advertised HP but it was a suprisingly quick little car. Pontiac used it to in (I think) 61,62, and 63 along with the half of a V-8, 4 banger (one side of the block was cut off). The 4 was based ont a Pontiac Motor.
They always say the memory is the first thing to go.

Here ya go Duane, the Turbo Olds was the Jetfire, the Starfire was actually the full size car optional package (not turbo'd);
http://www.442.com/oldsfaq/ofjet.htm There're some resources on here for parts. There used to be a guy here in Seattle that was deep into these too. If I can find his info I'll post it.

Okay, this info is a few years old, so I don't know if he's still active, but it would be worth a shot if you're interested;

Phil Baker's Auto Repair
19552 40th Pl NE
Seattle WA 98155
206-363-5088

Thanks for the Info, Bob. That was an interesting article and gave much more info than the one I had found. It's been a lot of years since I've seen one of these motors, but I always liked them. Maybe 46Yblock can build one up for a light weight Rod.

My parents bought a '61 Buick Special with one of these. As I recall, the engine went bad due to a problem with the antifreeze. I think at the time, not all of the antifreeze on the market was compatible with an aluminum block.

Another foggy memory is that these had tin plated pistons in an aluminum cyclinder bore.