New V8 Motorcycle - Aurora Hellfire OZ26 V8

[wfooshee]

My first thought on seeing the Aurora name on the motorcycle was, "Does GM know about this?"

The Aurora car was from Oldsmobile, but there was not a single Oldsmobile badge on it. They called it an Aurora. Period. Like it was its own division.

All the paperwork, like title, registration, insurance, and stuff calls it an Oldsmobile Aurora, but the marketing guys (which is the only way GM interacts with the public) never called it an Oldsmobile.

And GM execs always wondered why people didn't understand their product lines......

 

[Big Sky]

Well, let's see... Six speeds are better than five; six cylinders must be better than four and clearly eight is better than six; more power is better than less. Of course, it all depends upon the specific application, eh?

 

[Warpdrv]

Cause they were stuck developing a semi high performance car for a name associated with OLD PEOPLE....

Oldsmobile wasn't always stuck with that moniker, but in the last couple of decades that is the direction it went....

2.5L and 400HP!?!?!?!

Hang on tight and have lots of cash for rear tires

That Aurora was a front wheel drive... And in my opinion not much of a looker either...

In all honesty that engine was a pretty shaddy design.... It may have been powerful, but was fraught with issues, and when you wanted to take it apart to fix it, you will find yourself throwing wrenches across the shop screaming - who the f designed this thing like this....

Northstar Motors are the bain of a mechanics existence.... do a google search of Northstar timing chain, take a look at some of those images and try to wrap your head around the task.... LOL

 

[wfooshee]

Oh, I've been all through the lists of stuff to check. If you let it overheat you have to pull the heads, and parts of the block threads will come out with the bolts so you'll have to have the block studded before you can reinstall the heads. Some folks treat studding the block as a normal maintenance task when acquiring an engine!

You can't drop the oil pan with the engine in the car, as the transmission and exhaust pipe are BOTH in the way.

Not only will the valve covers leak oil, so will the block seam (block splits at the crank, just like motorbike motors,) the two sets of mating surfaces at the oil pan (only one of which has a gasket,) and the front cover.

The aluminum used to cast these things is so porous the block seeps oil through the metal. The outside surface gets oily without any leaks!

The timing chains (all three of them) are child's play next to all of that. As long as the engine's out of the car.

But it runs like a scalded dog, is smooth as silk. Although it probably won't keep up with the Aurora motorcycle.......

I think the not calling the Aurora an Oldsmobile came from Cadillac. The original concept car was GM, not any division, and Cadillac wanted it. GM wanted to keep the Cadillacs way upmarket, like the DeVilles and such. To use the motor, Cadillac said they couldn't call the car an Oldsmobile, nor could they call the engine a Northstar. Just shows the pettiness you get when names mean more than products.

 

[HotRodZilla]

Aurora is Sleeping Beauty. GM owes Disney a royalty. Lol.

It's also the aurora borealis, so maybe GM couldn't demand royalties for the use of a name that is public like that.