Turbo for a Buick 215

[Vintage_barry]

Will a 1962-63 Oldsmobile Jetfire turbo fit on a Buick 215? I know the heads are slightly different but what about the intake manifolds? Any thoughts, Barry 

[JohnD1956]

I know that in the same time frame, a turbo charged Corvair had different rods than a regular Corvair engine.  And although each Division may have had separate engineering units, I would just try to verify that the Olds engine did, or did not employ a stronger rod.

[RivNut]

If the heads are different then the exhaust manifolds would be different. If this turbo is like others, it runs off exhaust gasses so the plumbing for the turbo would have to start with the exhaust manifolds.???

 

 

[Beemon]

1 hour ago, RivNut said:

If the heads are different then the exhaust manifolds would be different. If this turbo is like others, it runs off exhaust gasses so the plumbing for the turbo would have to start with the exhaust manifolds.???

 

 

 

You are correct. And you need a really good manifold design to make sure the turbo has a steady stream of exhaust feeding it.

[Vintage_barry]

Thanks for all replies and you sound very correct.  Regards, Barry

[jensenracing77]

Why not just use the entire Oldsmobile Jetfire engine and turbo setup? I have extra Jetfire engines. The Oldsmobile has more head bolts also so less likely to blow a head gasket. 

[joe_padavano]

As Eric notes, all the Olds versions of the 215 used six head bolts around each cylinder instead of the five that Buick used.  The Buick blocks have the bosses for the sixth bolt hole (under the intake ports on the heads) but they are blank.  Obviously the Buick heads don't have those holes either.  Do you need them for a turbo installation? Probably not if you keep the CR reasonable.  The Olds Jetfire used the misguided idea of running 10.25:1 CR with a turbo. 

 

To answer the original question, yes, an Olds Jetfire intake, turbo setup, and matching exhaust manifolds will bolt to a Buick 215. The different shape of the Buick heads and valve covers MAY pose a clearance problem in a few specific areas, but nothing that can't be resolved.  The bigger question is, is this a good idea?  The Jetfire is probably the poster child for why you want computer controls on cars.  Since this was a pre-computer design, there are a bazillion little vacuum, pressure, and fluid lines running to a wide variety of pressure sensors and actuators to band aid this motor under all operating conditions.  All of the parts are long out of service and you'll need to talk to specialists like Eric or Jim Noel to make them functional.  The turbo is an ancient Garrett unit, and rebuilds are difficult. Naturally, you need to rebuild the entire motor to accommodate the stress of a turbo. You need to upgrade the oiling system. You need a turbo grind for the cam. All of this is extremely expensive due to the unobtanium parts in the original Olds system.

 

Frankly, adapting the supercharger from the 3800SC is a much easier modification.

 

http://www.britishv8.org/Articles/MGB-V8-Supercharger.htm