Hello Fellow Triumphists:
In order to set the record straight regarding the original uses of the most
famous Anglo-American engine, I'll point out that it was developed for use
in the BOP (Buick, Olds, Pontiac) Division of General Motors. These
engines were introduced to power the second generation of GMs response to
the successes of European economy cars and the Rambler American in post '57
North America.
The first generation American compact cars were the Chevrolet Corvair, Ford
Falcon and Plymouth Valiant intoduced in 1960. The Corvair was GMs first
aluminum-engined car and was a very revolutionary concept for North
America. The other two were more conventional. The Valiant proved to be
the best of the lot in terms of engine and performance.
Following the introduction of the Corvair, GM felt that it had to follow
through with compact versions of its other cars - Cadillac excepted.
(Cadillac didn't get a compact until 1976 and a sub-compact in 1982).
The three cars developed were the Buick Special, the Oldsmobile F-85, and
the Pontiac Tempest. Each of these machines featured imaginative and not
entirely successful innovation.
The Pontiac Tempest was the most radical version of the car and featured a
four cylinder engine, derived by using one bank of Pontiac's 389" V8,
connected by a curved, flexible driveshaft to a rear-mounted transaxle. It
could also be ordered with Buick's aluminum V8, with which a total of 2004
Tempests were equipped.
The Olds F-85 was a conventional car which used the same basic body as the
Pontiac and Buick. It used the 215" V8 engine from Buick which produced
155 hp and 210 ft.lbs torque at 3200 RPM with an 8.75:1 CR. No other
engine was available and a total of 69,609 cars were built in '61.
The Buick Special was another version of the same compact car. Buick
division developed the engine which was used in all of the cars.
Performance figures were the same as Olds except that a four-barrel carb
was used on the mid-year Skylark sports model which gave performance of 185
hp with 10.25:1 CR. A total of 86,868 Specials were built in '61. Total
production of '61 215s was 158,481.
Improved performance and sports models went hand in hand in 1962 when power
was up in all versions of the engine. Buick introduced a V6 made from
their cast iron V8 and made it available optionally in the Special and
Skylark. The Skylark V8 made 190 hp @ 4800 rpm with 11:1 CR. A total of
153,763 Specials and Skylarks were built in '62 but no break out by engine
is available. My best guess is that about 126,000 V8s were built.
The Olds F-85 was offered with a brand new innovation for '62 and it was a
"World's First". This was the addition of an alcohol/water injected
turbocharger to the 215 which was placed in a new Jetfire coupe. The new
Cutlass performance models also received more powerful versions of the
aluminum engine. Performance figures ranged from the original 155 hp
version through 185 (Cutlass) to the Jetfire's 215 hp @ 4800 rpm with 300
ft.lbs of torque @ 3200 rpm. Total production was 91,891, including 3765
Jetfires.
Pontiac also introduced a sports model. The new LeMans was available with
either the four or the V8 as was the case with all Pontiac Tempests. Few
buyers took the V8 and only 1658 were built.
The last year for the alloy engine was 1963 but not in Pontiacs. Pontiac's
V8 was a debored version of the larger 389 and had 326 cu.in.
In Oldsmobiles, the V8 carried on in all three models of F-85 with power
figures as before. 5842 Jetfire turbos were built with a total of 95,250
V8s built.
Buick continued as before but power was up in Skylarks with 200 hp
available from the 11:1 CR engine with four-barrel carb. 42,321 Skylarks
were built which with an estimated 80,000 V8s in the other models for a
total estimated number of 122,321 engines.
It is obvious that GM production of the engine vastly exceeds the existing
production of British versions of the engine. While the newer engines are
undoubtedly better than the original GM version, the GM version should
still be much more plentiful in North America and quite a bit cheaper. The
trick will be to find a good one and/or parts to rebuild it.
The grand total of engines produced is estimated at 787,781. This is
accurate to within 10% and should reflect the significance of the engine in
absolute terms. By comparison with production figures of TR8s, MGBGT V8s,
Rover 3500s, and Range Rovers one begins to realize how many of these
engines actually were constructed and how few are the modern version.
If anyone has more specific questions please don't hesitate to ask.
John McEwen
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