Antique & Classic Cars Blog
Embarrassment of Riches
Tuesday, December 18th, 2007My wife styles it “embarrassing junk,” but she hasn’t been in the trenches, the mud and the weeds foraging for lost automotive treasures. Those in the know can appreciate that Bigfoot appears more frequently than 4-speed bellhousings for the 215 V8–though in photographs of the two, he’s always blurrier.
To mount an equally rare ‘63 4-speed gearbox to my V8 Triumph project, I had sourced a 3-speed bellhousing (left). This is probably as rare, which is fun, but it requires modification or an adapter to fit a four speed. I had planned to modify it but stumbled across a sale for various 215 parts including a 4-speed bellhousing. I fired a quick email offer to the seller just for the bellhousing and he accepted. Here it is (right).
This version of the 4-speed bell’ (named for its shape) also has the 3-speed holes, which you can see are narrower. (Gearbox photo below demonstrates wider 4-speed holes.) Shouldn’t take too much effort to cut and file some aluminum stock in the shape of the “missing” pieces and weld them onto the 3-speed for the same effect. But this is a genuine 4-speed housing for a genuine 4-speed gearbox and that’s even more exciting. (”More irrelevant,” my wife says–she’s just envious of the automotive Indy Jones, prowling the boneyard with whip, hat, leather jacket and fuzzy photocopies of obsolete parts.)
An intriguing mystery here is the date-stamp on the “new” part. Ten years of seeking and studying 215 parts has never disclosed anything to suggest this bellhousing was still produced in 1964. Its engine-side bolt pattern is unique to the 215 V8 and 198 V6, neither of which were produced after 1963–at least no known production info says they were. Production years for the cars made with 215s (Buick Special, Skylark; Olds F85; a few Pontiac Tempests) are 1961 to 1963.
Was the 215 (with 4-speed) still available as a forgotten option on the 1964 Buick Skylark and Special, for which Buick built a new 300 cubic inch cast iron V8 to replace the 215? (The 300 bell’s bolt pattern is different.) Did GM keep making them as replacement parts? Did they build a few for performance entrepreneurs like Carroll Shelby, who supposedly considered the light 215 engine for his Cobra?
Anyone with a clue on this, please let me know! Every other part I’ve seen for the 215 or 198 has been stamped from ‘61 to ‘63, like the 3-speed bell, which is stamped ‘61.
7 Responses to "Embarrassment of Riches"
A great find!!
There are several possibilities for this. GM could very well have made replacement pieces for a couple of years. Another possibility is that in January of 1965, Buick sold the engineering and tooling for the engine to Rover, who used it for about 35 years before they finally redesigned their engine line starting around 2000. But since that piece you have is dated ‘64, it’s probably a replacement piece. Also, in ‘64, Buick’s iron 300 cu/in shared similar architecture, and since the transmissions had to interchange between engines, it’s very possible this bell housing was once bolted to a 300 iron block.
My wife should NOT meet your wife. In my garage resides a ‘67 Olds 330, a ‘74 Olds 350, a ‘68 Olds Turnpike Cruiser 400 with the TH400 that came with it, and a Heavy Duty (Fully synchro’d with cast iron case, really heavy!) Chevy 3 speed from a ‘68 Impala. Also, various peices of sheet metal and glass from above donor cars.
Just some thoughts.
Good ideas Dave. The first Rover to use this engine was the P5B, but I don\’t know what gearbox it used. Some quick research suggests the P5 got the 215-derived V8 in \’67.
I\’m certain it didn\’t come from a 300 because the bellhousing bolt pattern on that block is not the same as the 215\’s despite design similarities–including the fact that the \’64 300\’s aluminum heads bolt right up to a 215. (I have two sets on my shelf.) The transmission side of the two bells is surely the same, but not the engine side. Conceivably Buick made some pre-production 300s that shared the 215 pattern–but why do that and then make one that didn\’t? Tooling got damaged? Unknown internal decision to make the 300 and V6 cars share a bellhousing? No clue.
While I have no shred of evidence for it, I\’m drawn to the specially-made-for-Carroll-Shelby angle, which is a lot more interesting. In fact let\’s speculate that John DeLorean heard about the conversations between Buick and Shelby after the special post-production bellhousings were produced but before they inked a deal. DeLorean didn\’t want another division handing over a powerplant to a car builder with the potential to upstage his GTO so he pulled some strings to shut that down. All but one of the special bellhousings were destroyed on order of GM but this one was smuggled off the grounds, briefly used in a Bonneville record car before disappearing, only to be bought by the man I purchased it from through an anonymous ad in Hemmings: \”Bellhousing. BOP 4-speed. Good shape. $10.\”
P.S. The wife stuff is 98% poetic license. She\’s a neatnik but she likes the TR6 and the MG and LOVES the Goodwood Festival of Speed. More though, she likes horses–in single digits.
I’m interested in the 4 speed bellhousing and would like to submit it to my foundry to duplicate and make it available to other users of the 215 v8 and 198 v6 engines. Please contact me at 619-423-3523 so we could discuss this. regards steve
FYI, Steve found his bellhousing before we connected and will soon be making them.
I finally found out the ‘64 mystery. It appears that the 215 did linger on into 1964, as I traded emails with a guy selling a ‘64 Buick Special convertible that came with the 215, which he says was a special option. That’s most likely what I have then, a limited edition ‘64 Special (or Skylark) bell from one of the very few cars special ordered with that engine. The standard V8 option was the cast iron 300, which had aluminum heads in ‘64 only; cast iron in ‘65 and ‘66.
The first prototype bellhousing is out of the foundry and at the machine shop. they will fit the B_O_P 215 engines as well as the Rovers. Will be working on a five speed version to take a T5 trans next. Following that with Tall valve covers so roller rockers can be used on these engines.
Steve Schroeder
the 4 speed bellhousings are out of foundry and are at the machine shop. they will followed by cast aluminum flywheel dust covers next week. they are made to a t6 strength aluminum the same as the bellhousings will offer free dust covers to the first twenty buyers of the bellhousing. before they go on sale, will post photos of both for everyone to look at. the 5 speed bellhousing will be a universal fitting item with mounting holes for both 5 degree offset as well as 18 degree offset. this means that with the proper choke ring you can use any of the borg-warner and tremec transmissions regardless of original application. we will have the choke rings as well as mcleod(our supplier) and the spacer for the long input shaft ford trans. this means you can use truck (ford, dodge, or gm) auto (ford, gm, jeep, chrysler, nissan, isuzu, cobra,etc) with this bellhousing. regards steve
chris give me a call at 619-423-3523
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MotorMouth Kris Palmer, freelance auto writer and editor, blogs about vintage cars, the collectible auto scene and just about anything else that goes vroom.
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