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  • The DisAstre project

    The 1975 Pontiac Astre project.. Trying to replicate the D&D swaps from the late 70's early 80's
    Last edited by Hoffbug; July 31, 2014, 03:57 PM.
    " You can sleep in your car, But you cant drive your house"

  • #2
    I have a 1963 Oldsmobile 215 aluminum V-8 Im working on right now.. Should be going to the machine shop next week.
    " You can sleep in your car, But you cant drive your house"

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    • #3
      I did a D&D swap into a Vega (Actually the engine found its way into several Vegas). It's a great kit and does what it's supposed to do. I had a little trouble with over heating but we didn't have the great aluminum rads like we can get now (Be Cool, etc.). There are a couple of guys on here who have 215s and 300s and I think Super Buick Guy has a Rover which should fit and has more CID.

      Dan

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      • #4
        Yeah. He said I should start a build thread here.. I have all kinds of stuff accumulated for a bigger engine But want to do the Lil Olds first and make it a nice driver...
        " You can sleep in your car, But you cant drive your house"

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        • #5
          More....

          The Green Astre pictured above is gone now.. I took the front grill, some interior pieces, and the rear tail panel off.. They will be transplanted onto the Orange 77 Vega.. The 75 Cosworth is a field car/ Barn find.. Ill be taking the interior, dash, sway bars, Fuel tank, and rear end out of it for this project and hopefully find a good home for the Cosworth parts... I have a 200R4 transmission and anr BTE 10" converter for an early small shaft 700R4 that I think will work..
          " You can sleep in your car, But you cant drive your house"

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          • #6
            One of the challenges with this swap is the funky blot pattern on the Buick Olds 215 and 67-04 Land rover engines... A few places make adapter plates to mount the more familiar/modern BOP or Chevrolet bolt pattern transmissions up.. I bought mine from Kennedy Engineered products a few years back... You have to send them a Buick 215 flexplate and they dimple and re-drill it for the modern converter bolt pattern...
            Last edited by Hoffbug; July 31, 2014, 08:09 PM.
            " You can sleep in your car, But you cant drive your house"

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            • #7
              Aftermarket intakes are pretty limited to the Edelbrock dual plane.. A lot of guys run them with a 390 Holley... In doing some research I cam across a guy in Australia who was casting up single plane manifolds with injector bosses for the land Rover... Bill Laney of Maxwedge performance.. Its interesting calling a dude up on the other side of the planet to order parts.. Actually had to look at a time date converter online to see when the hell I was making his phone ring.. I ordered one up and wired the money to his bank and got the stuff around the planet no problem.. Now why cant get something shipped from two states over without drama? anyway here it is... Its very similar, but possible a tab smaller in port and plenum size than the vintage Huffaker and Harcourt manifolds.

              The willpower has the Holley bolt pattern So I can run a carb.. I am planning on using FAST EZ-EFI which might present some other challenges on a small cube low horsepower engine... Even though I should be getting one horsepower per cubic inch out of an engine only 30 LBS heavier than the Vega boat anchor. It is only 215 cubic inches..
              Last edited by Hoffbug; July 31, 2014, 08:30 PM.
              " You can sleep in your car, But you cant drive your house"

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              • #8
                I loved mine - but that was MANY moons ago, around the 1979 timeframe. I used to have some pics but they weren't digital. Digits hadn't been invented yet.

                Oh - good lookin' manifold! I ran the Offy with a 390 and it worked well.

                Dan
                Last edited by DanStokes; August 1, 2014, 05:51 AM.

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                • #9
                  Had one back in the 80's. The bolts that held the engine block and tranny together finally ate their way out of the aluminum and vibrated the car like crazy. Traded it off to a Ford dealer who didn't even drive the car before the deal. Boy, were they surprised when they put it in gear!
                  Act your age, not your shoe size. - Prince

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                  • #10
                    glad you're posting. My dad was the 215 aluminum in a vega guy. He built a couple of the, and for awhile, sold a 215/chevy bolt pattern ring to guys who wanted to use a more available transmission. The LR motor is going to him for a Sunbeam (fake) Tiger project.
                    Doing it all wrong since 1966

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                    • #11
                      NEAT! this is cool, cant wait to see more.....
                      If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark Donohue

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                      • #12
                        Picked up some powdercoating today.. The valve covers weren't the greatest but the Offenhauser finned aluminum valve covers for the Olds 215 head That I ordered through Summit are back ordered till after Christmas.. Progress.
                        Last edited by Hoffbug; August 8, 2014, 02:16 PM.
                        " You can sleep in your car, But you cant drive your house"

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                        • #13
                          Rear control arms and panhard rod.
                          " You can sleep in your car, But you cant drive your house"

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                          • #14
                            More, MORE!!!!!!

                            Dan

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                            • #15
                              pretty cool, my dad told me he used to have one of those when he was a teenager. every time he made a left turn, the passenger door would fly open
                              Hellinor- 2005 Mustang GT-Bolt ons, in need of a turbo

                              War Wagon- 1966 Bel Air Wagon-355 Crate motor, 700r4, flies pretty good for a brick...

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