Crazy Question: Would a Sprint OHC fit under the hood of a...
 

'62-65 US Chevy Nova (there must have been a Canadian Pontiac version of one...) or the US '71-'76 Ventura II?

The former is just for fun to confuse Chevy guys... the latter would have been a half-price BMW Bavaria.

Idle speculation on my part... just wondering.

Thanks!

I would think it could easily...
 

If you have access to one here are rough dimensions from a '66 SPRINT to check.

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...OHC%20SPEC.jpg

Besides if they could squeeze one into an Opel then IMO anything is possible :D

That Opel is the Shizznit!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Actually, the Opel GT is a cross between the Banshee and C3 Vette, rendered in about 7/8ths scale. And the Opel OHC engine uses a dead knock off of the OHC belt and cam follower. So there's that.

BOB

PS is the wart on the hood to clear the cam gear...? And where did the snazzy FI system come from?

Yes the bump on the hood is to clear the Camshaft Timing gear. If I remember correctly the EFI on that car was a conversion of weber DCOE Carbs with a Clifford OHC-6 Webber intake.

I actually thought about doing this for my Stroker, but the cost was out of my budget. Here is a link to a company that sells conversion kits for many types of Webber Carbs

http://www.redlineweber.com/carb-kits/auto/jaguar/

Other OHC swaps...
 

Just for the he!! of it here are a few more cars using an OHC 6.
Some worked and some...

The Acadian Canso is the Beaumont (Canadian Pontiac but Chevrolet powered) version of the Nova.

I always thought it would be cool if someone built a 71 to 74 Ventura II "Sprint" with a true "Sprint" engine. The way Pontiac should have done it, if they would have continued producing these engines. (not with the Chevy engines) I think they would have performed and sold really well. Should be a total drop in as far as a swap.

I wouldn't call it a "drop in". It likely needs full custom motor mounting, either custom engine frame brackets or custom motor mounts. Where as just about any other GM engine made after 1966 would have "bolt-in" options for the engine mounts. And this is no guarantee the timing cover clears the hood.

I agree, had production hung on for another 3 years they would have really taken off.

That is my thinking, exactly.

A Sprint/Ventura II with the OHC would have been an outstanding small car that was "more Pontiac than it wasn't" versus the rebadged Nova reputation that got hung around its neck.

An OHC 4-door with a stick and some Herbie Adams chassis magic would have been perfectly timed for the fuel crisis, Pontiac would have come out smelling like a rose instead of sweating harder than Mike Tyson at a spelling bee.

I'm really surprised at Jeff Hamilin's shot of the SecondGen F-Body with the Sprint, thought the reason they speared the Sprint was that it wouldn't go under the hood of the Firebird. Sure looks like that one closes. Shoot, wasn't that the reason for the "Ironing Board" styling feature on the hood of the firstgen Firebird and A-Cars from '68 on?

Sounds to me like that gutless Jim McDonald was tired of all that crazy DeLorean stuff like a dozen ratios of posi axles and Ram Air engines tying up his precious factory space. (Who's gonna know?)

Same asshole that drove GM into the ground in the '80's... "We don't know how high is up with the "A" (c. 1983-4) body"

SilverBuick,
It should be pretty much a drop in due to the same subframe as the first gen Firebird. The FB frame and motor mounts should bolt right up, as well as harness interchangeability, etc. The hood clearance is the only thing that would be of a concern, but there are ways to work around that. How about the 74 GTO shaker offset for the Sprint 6? Just thinking out loud..

Touche, I stand corrected. I was thinking they used the 2nd gen Camaro subframe.

I agree Hood clearance up front may be the only issue to overcome.

Look at any Flat 67-68 Firebird hood and you will see a Dimple in the underside bracing to clear the timing belt cover, that dimple is not present on the 400 hoods. Also I am not sure if the later 2nd gen hoods are higher up front than the early 70-75 hoods. But I also see that the 2nd car has the Timing belt cover removed. This removes at least 1/4" from the engine height.

A 71 to 75 Ventura with a Sprint engine would be interesting.

There is a local guy around here with a 67 ohc Firebird with a 400 hood. I've never checked what year 400 hood it is though (they are not all the same, bracing wise).

I just ran across this and the answer to the first question is YES... it will fit under the hood of a first-gen Nova :)