Hi. I have a 2002 DII that has a cracked block. I pressured tested it and found that it would not hold pressure for very long. After a couple months of trying to figure out whether to fix the DII or sell it for scrap I started looking for engine swap options. Every swap I looked into either was too expensive or too complicated for me. I came up with the idea that I could find an older Buick 300/215 and replace the poor Rover version of same. I found an ebay auction for a Buick 300 V8 and put in a bid. Upon researching the block numbers of this engine I found that it was actually a 1962 215 V8 and an HP version at that. I won the auction for the 215 V8. Anyway, I had the original Rover heads (4.0) redone and was planning on using them instead of the stock 1962 heads so I could use the original accessories that came on the 4.0 engine. Can I just have the engine bored to a new size using the original liners that are in the cylinders or do I need to remove them and have the block bored to a new size and buy replacement liners for the new bore size and have them installed? Can I do away with the electronics of the original 4.0 and run a 4 BBL and distributor? Is there too much pressure coming from the gas tank fuel pump to convert to a carburetor application? Would it be feasible/possible to just remove the fuse from the gas tank fuel pump and run the line to a motor mounted mechanical fuel pump and operate the carburetor normally w/o using a pressure regulator? I see a few advantages to using the 1962 Buick engine over a 4.0 Rover engine. Most are just reliability. Yeah I am sure they had similar problems like the 4.0 Rover but only after they were overbored. That's why I was asking about the boring and the liners as I don't want to go so far as to cause the engine to become like the Rover's original engine. Can I get by with just replacing all the bearings with original bearings or do I really need to send it off to a machine shop and have them mic and grind everything to new spec's? The thing I didn't want to do with this engine was to build it up to a $3800 replacement that would fail because of the past engine problems with the 4.0. Can I just replace all the bearings and rings to original size and get by for a few years? The 1962 Buick 215's pistons, rings, bearings, etc or not so expensive but the machine shop will cost as much. Will the transmission shift properly if I convert over to a Carb? Does it work on vacuum or sensors or ? I am also going to replace the cam with an RV type cam and new lifters. Does anyone know if there are any roller lifters that would fit this 215. Like the ones that have the little roller in the bottom? I am wondering if there might be an older chevy version of the roller lifter that would swap out and still provide the proper lift needed. Just wonderin. So far I have spent a little over $2200 for the DII. About $600 in parts to figure out that it had a cracked block and not just a blown headgasket like the previous owner said. I also have an additional $300 in gaskets and timing chains and other stuff that are mostly 4.0L related. Now I have a 1962 215 V8 that went for $400. I have gotten about $4000 into this DII and I can't even drive it around the block without it overheating terribly. It must be the curse of British Leyland or something. I already had two Jaguars and should have known better than to buy this vehicle but it seems like there is always a cloud of being overengineered, underengineered or just too cheaply made for them to be dependable and last. For this reason, I went to the 1962 Buick 215 thinking that it would be the better alternative between the 4.0 or 4.6 or chevy 4.3 or 5.7. And was hoping that I could get back the reliability that Buick gave the original 215 when it was in the original 1962 Skylark. I know that the engine will bolt up properly to the transmission, I know that it will bolt up to pretty much everything but I am not sure about wiring it up to use the distributor. Could I just bypass using the distributor and let the computer run the engine like the original 4.0? Is there someone who could give me directions for wiring up the distributor/engine for an old school setup within the framework of the 4.0 wiring. I know it's a mess and there are a thousand questions to ask but I felt it was better to ask them here than in the junk yard before selling the DII for scrap. Any help will be appreciated.

 

Did you spray soapy water around your liners when you were pressure testing to see exactly where it was leaking and to determine that it's not just one of your block off plates leaking down?

 

Yes. I sprayed every I thought it might be leaking but unless I put it in a tank of water I don't think I will be able to find the exact location of the leak. I even made a home made stethoscope to try to find it and was unsuccessful. I guess it doesn't really matter at this point as it is really messed up somewhere behind one of the liners.

 

Paul Grant has bare 4.6 block you can have cheap.
to run a carb. you need a return line to the tank and a fuel pressure regulator.
the easiest way to do the distributor is replace it with a one wire GM distributor.
you will want to check the count on the head bolts, the 215 will have more than the 4.0 i think.
As much as i commend you on trying to find a solution, i think the bare 4.6 is cheaper and easier.

 

Hi all. I decided to purchase a 4.6 engine and rebuild it. I used better parts than Land Rover used when they original built the engine and added ARP headbolts and ARP main bolts. Rebuilt the oil pump, put new brass freeze plugs in and new stock cam and lifters. Everything turned out fine. I decided not to use the synthetic Rotella as I felt it felt a little to thin to me so I went with the blended Rotella and added a pint of Lucas break in oil to the mix. It is almost time for the first oil change after rebuild. I would do it all again. I got the three amigos showing now but that will be a project for the spring. I did think the Buick 215 swap but would have to make quite a few concessions. It is better to have the 4.6 power as well. There are other engine swaps that I am pondering on but for now the 4.6 is the way to go.

 

Just FYI for those searching in the future; despite the fact that it's essentially the same block, there is the issue that the 60s block will have a place for a distributor and the bell housing pattern is actually different so it would require an adapter plate.

 

sorry to disagree but the bolt pattern is the same, the 215 does not have the standard BOP bolt pattern.
and the hole for the distributor is in the front cover not the block

 

I stand corrected on the distributor, but I'm almost positive that the bell housing pattern is different. I read that it was when I was looking for T5 transmission bell housings to fit the 215. I found one but everything I read said the rover pattern was different from the buick pattern. Unless what I read was simply wrong.

 

215 is the only one that fits, everything else has the standard Buick Pontiac Oldsmobile bolt pattern.
www.gomog.com/allmorgan40difference.htm is a good resource

 

Ah, very interesting. Well thanks for the correction! Maybe that bell housing will work for my trans swap.