301 Nailhead into 1980 Triumph TR7...shoot me now?

[halfmoontrail]

All right,

You've already written me off as a nutjob by the Subject line, so if you are reading the post anyway, here goes.

I am about to get a '65 Skylark 4-dr parts car for my '65 GS convertible basket case (sounds OK so far, right), it appears to have a 301 nailhead in it.

I also have a 1980 Triumph TR7 convertible with a frozen engine, and I broke the crank bolt off trying to break it free. I know that the '61-63 Buick 215 aluminum V8 became the Rover V8 in the TR8, which is actually a TR7; and I know that many people put Buick 3.8 V6 into TR7...so (here's the weird part)

What are the chances that a '65 301 nailhead will bolt into a 1980 TR7 5-speed?

I know, can you say "Baker Act" for this guy, but seriously, the nailheads are easy to work on and can be quite reliable, and I don't really want to rebuild the Triumph 2-liter.

Thanks in advance for any input!

Regards,

Steve

[Brian]

That is a 300 cubic inch engine, and it not considered a nailhead.  Quickest way to distinguish a nailhead is that it has the distributor in the back and the oil filter hanging vertically at the rear bottom on the passenger side.  The 300 is a good engine though.  Will probably fit in the car, but will require alot of custom stuff.  Adapting it to the transmission in the Triumph may be possible--there are alot of adaptors made for putting different engines in British cars. 

[halfmoontrail]

That is a 300 cubic inch engine, and it not considered a nailhead.  Quickest way to distinguish a nailhead is that it has the distributor in the back and the oil filter hanging vertically at the rear bottom on the passenger side.  The 300 is a good engine though.  Will probably fit in the car, but will require alot of custom stuff.  Adapting it to the transmission in the Triumph may be possible--there are alot of adaptors made for putting different engines in British cars. 

Brian,

Thanks for being gentle...I learned the difference earlier on another site where they basically cussed a guy out for confusing a 300 with a nailhead. It actually seems to be pretty good news, as the 300 appears to have evolved directly from the 215.

If I do this it will be "low-buck", so I might even try it with the Buick 2-speed auto at first. I had no idea that V8 conversions into British cars were so common, there is a whole forum devoted to it!

Thanks again,

Steve

[Doc]

Steve, 
You can make that little 300 perform very well for just a little amount of effort if you do it right....
Buick had an ''optional'' version of that engine that had a single 4bbl [ carter 550 cfm afb] ,, 11.1 forged pistons, dual exhausts, better dist advance curve.... Then if you add a good hot cam and some good valve springs, it is a good set up...  in 64 there was some alluminum heads and alluminum 4 bbl intake.... with alluminum timing gear cover....
They were rated at only 250 hp.... actually put out quite a bit more than that....
I had one in a 64 skylark coupe that won more and broke less than any car that I have had since.... and I did not have a performance gear in the back... I had 2.93 s .... With a good 4.11 and a posi... it would have been really strong.....
It responds very well to bigger carbs, cold outside air and bigger dual exhausts... the factory exhaust manifolds are as good as shorty headers if you port match them....
It is good for 6000 rpm repeatedly...... with a stock cam.....
a hot cam will go more..... but it uses a nodular iron crank and iron rods..... not forged like the nail head has....
For serious rpms .... a custom set of forged rods, pistons, and back grind the crank and have it hard chromed and ground to specs....
Dont try to run it ''loose''.... use stock buick clearances.....  and ''break it in'' and then it will live....
use zddp additive....in the oil....
Doc

[Chris]

Dan Habel has a nice running 300 in his 65 Skylark and I don't think he's made a whole lot of modifications on it.  I know one thing he did to take advantage of the low end torque was switch to a 200R automatic (he's done this in his 65 GS also).

Dan has been really busy lately finishing school, but maybe we can talk him into dropping a few words on the screen and telling us about Skylark.

I was just out in Vegas to see him last month and his Skylark is looking really nice!

 http://65gs.com/GS_Gallery2/displayimage.php?album=19&pos=2

Chris

[halfmoontrail]

Thanks, Doc; and Thanks, Chris!

I'm still working on the deal, hope to make it happen. I've heard before that the 300 was a sweet motor...in fact my '64 parts car had a 300 in it, it had been sitting for years. It fired right up, and I drove it home. Unfortunately, the deal I made with the previous owner was for the car  but not the engine! He came and picked up the engine a couple of weeks later.

Steve

[Brian]

Just want to warn you based on your statement that the 300 evolved from the 215.  That is correct and there are alot of similarities, but one big difference that is very important here is that the flywheel housing design is completely different for a 300 than for a 215.  The BOP flywheel housing that everyone is used to now was introduced on the 300V8 and 225V6.  The 215 was used by alot of British car manufacturers, so there are alot of transmissions/adaptors/flywheel housings out there for it, but the 300 was never used in production for a British car, so anything you find to adapt it will be aftermarket.

[halfmoontrail]

Thanks, Brian. I'll probably use the 2-speed auto if I do the swap.