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MG MGB GT V8 Factory Originals Technical - olds 215 for $150.00

I just bought a complete 1964 f -85 oldsmobile with a 215 and automatic for $150.00.The guy i bought it from said it had overheated on the previous owner who parked it.The radiator was plugged according to him.Anyway it has 115000 miles on it and i haven't heard it run as it's out so what now do i rebuild it,have someone else rebuild it,how do i make sure it is undamaged from the overheatin?Dan Lagrou of d&d fabrications said it was probably just bad radiator or blown head gasket any opinions? Also it has some neat looking exhaust manifolds kind of like cast iron block huggers will these work in the mg application?Thanks for any help.
greg phillips

gregg...before i did anything to an overheated 215, i would disassemble it and have it magnafluxed...heads & block.
Anthony Barnhill

Thanks for the advice Anthony is this a procedure any shop can do or is it specialized?Do i need the heads completely disassembled?
greg phillips

my local machine shop magnafluxes quite regularly...have to disassemble everything....completely, but it worth it to find a fault before you spend any time or money on it....also, have them check the condition of the aluminum for pitting over age...plus, i believe oil left sitting in an aluminum engine over time will eat into it...help me out here mr. g...
Anthony Barnhill

Aluminum is non-magnetic so you can't magnaflux the heads and block. You can magnaflux the crank and rods though. The heads can't be pressure tested. Corrosion is usually obvious once disassembled. I've never seen any problems with the blocks but I have with the heads. One trick with aluminum engines is to use K&W coppercoat block seal. It's excellent stuff for sealing up any porosity or leaks. We've used it on a number of engines, including a high mileage Rolls Royce aluminum V8, and it really works.
Follow the directions and use the cooling system cleaning after flushing out the coolant.

Dan Jones
Dan Jones

Meant to say that the heads can be pressure tested.

Dan
Dan Jones

Dean...maybe magnaflux isn't the correct term to use w/aluminum...how do you test for cracks..know it can be done because i knew a guy in kansas who had a block tested before he built it...found some cracks....
Anthony Barnhill

Aluminum can be crack tested using a fluoroscein dye penetrant process. The block/heads are cleaned and then coated with fluorescent dye which is then rinsed off lightly. A UV light is then shined on the part, cracks will have absorbed the fluorescent dye and will show up readily.

At the aerospace company where I work, we do this on titanium and aluminum parts every day.

Cheers,
Paul Kile
Paul Kile

Zyglow is the name of the flourescent dye penetrant process use on non-magnetic
materials.

Dan Jones
Dan Jones

if the car is a 1964, the engine is a 300 or some such. 215 all aluminum engines were 1961-1963. All rights were sold to Rover in 1964, so either you have the wrong year car, or something other than a 215 engine.
Jim Stuart

Jim it must be a 63 then as it is all aluminum,i've seen plenty of aluminum small blocks.So the block is %100 aluminum.
Dan what do you think about this pitting issue?As you're within 4 hours of me do you guys work on these,are you in the buisness? I was told by my machine shop the bead blast the parts then visually check for cracks.Does this sound reasonable?
Also does anyone know where to get rebuild parts?Is this the same engine as the buick 215 i see parts for?Do rings,bearings,pistons,etc. interchange?
If anyone knows of sites with high performance build ups on this engine please let me know.
greg phillips

>Dan what do you think about this pitting issue?

I've never seen an problems with the blocks but I have thrown away a couple of sets
of Buick 215 heads due to corrosion. The corrosion was repairable (aluminum is much
easier to repair than cast iron) but it was cheaper to just get another set of heads
from Dan Lagrou (D&D Fabrications).

>As you're within 4 hours of me, do you guys work on these, are you in the buisness?

My dad was an engine builder but is retired. I'm just a hobbyist who does his own
work. Dad's got the tools (boring bar, hones, valve grinding equipment, etc.) so
it keeps the cost down for me. I have five project cars at the moment with several
engine build ups in the pipeline so I don't really have time to take on any other work.
I may now a local guy that might be for hire. He races an Olds 215 stroker (266 cubes)
and builds his own engines. The engine's in a highly modified Lola chassis with
centrally mounted wing (pulls over 2 lateral G's) and is fuel injected and dry-sumped.

If you want to stop in sometime, compare notes, and look over parts let me know.
I have some interesting parts (stroker cranks, Buick 300 heads, Edelbrock and Huffaker
intakes, Venoia forged pistons, Crower rods, etc.) worth taking a look at.

>I was told by my machine shop the bead blast the parts then visually check for cracks.
>Does this sound reasonable?

Bad idea if your going to do zyglow or magnaflux. Media blasting, shot peening, or
even rotary wire brushing can mask the cracks. Hand clean or hot tank the parts then
test for cracks. Bead blast after the inspection.

>Also does anyone know where to get rebuild parts?

In no particular order (note: numbers and addresses may have changed):

Dan Lagrou
D & D Fabrications, Inc.
8005 Tiffany
Almont, Michigan 48003
810-798-2491

Buick/Olds/Pontiac 215 specialist. No Rover stuff but has some parts for
MGBV8 swaps. Vega V8 kits. Stroker cranks, rods, flywheels. Best source
for used parts and carries a wide range of rebuild and performance parts.

Car Products
P.O. Box 96
Paragonah, Utah 84760
435-477-8213 or is it 801-477-8213?

Street rod place that also has Buick/Olds/Pontiac/Rover parts. Rebuild
gasket sets, Isky cam kits, Edelbrock and Offy intakes, Offy valve covers,
etc.

The Wedge Shop
Woody Cooper
100 New State Hwy
Raynham, MA 02767
508-880-5448

Woody's a TR8 specialist. Sells Edelbrock intakes, Holley carbs, Mallory
distributors, and Sig Erson custom grinds for Buick/Olds/Pontiac/Rover
aluminum V8's. He also sells used parts and rebuild stuff. Likes to
build stroker motors and big cams.

Barry Bassford
Total Alloy Enterprises
23300 Neck Road
Aquasco, MD 20608
PH/FAX (301) 888-1023

Buick/Rover/Olds specialist. Lots of high end stuff. Harcourt importer,
Crower stroker cranks, roller rockers, etc.

Ted Schumacher
T.S. Imports
Pandora, Ohio
800-543-6648

British car specialist. Rover/TR8/MGBV8 only. No Buick/Olds/Pontiac 215's.
Rover core engines, Edelbrock intakes, Isky cams, mini-starters, had
connections to Huffaker.

Hydromotive Engineering
Ron Hopwood
440-729-2753
7675 Sherman Road
Cleveland Ohio 44026

Alloy V8 race engine builder. Strokers, exotic induction stuff,
head porting.

Kenne-Bell
10743 Bell Ct.
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730
(909) 941-6646
Buick V6 and V8 performance parts. Custom cam kits.

Ruggles Performance Products
2305 Varkel Way, Lithonia, GA 30058
(770) 484-0300
Buick V6 specialist (normally aspirated too). Some parts interchange.

T.A. Performance Products
PO Box 14615, Scottsdale, AZ 85267
(602) 867-8488
602-992-4515 FAX

Buick V8 performance products.
Don't forget about your local auto parts store. Find the place that still has
books and can order parts. Mine can still get me just about everything to
rebuid a Buick 215.

>Is this the same engine as the buick 215 i see parts for? Do rings, bearings,
>pistons, etc. interchange?

The crank, rods, rings, rings, bearings (rod, main, crank), manifolds, front
timing covers, etc. interchange. The Olds 215 used the same block but was
drilled for an extra head bolt per cylinder. Pistons interchange but yield
different compression ratios (Buicks were dished, Olds were flat top). Cylnder
heads and all valve train parts are different between the Buick 215 and Olds
215 but intake and exhaust manifolds interchange. Rover was based upon Buick
215. You can interchange between all three if you what you're doing.

>If anyone knows of sites with high performance build ups on this engine please
>let me know.

I know of several but don't have the URL's handy.

Dan Jones
Dan Jones

This thread was discussed between 23/07/2000 and 25/07/2000

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