308 in WB Ute.

[Silk]

The young guys at work think they know all about this stuff, but when I was their age this was my daily grind, so my old guy perk. This has been a pretty good body off resto, but let down by minor stuff like suspension bushes and body mounts not being replaced. It's been sitting for a few years, and I'm looking at the brakes. First off new rotors and pads, see how the pistons retract, I have rear wheel cyls, give it a flush and see what happens. So, the rear brakes are new, hopefully a flush is all they need, but I can't bleed the fronts and now the wheels are locked. So on monday I'll do caliper kits and a new master cyl.

The Holden V8 was made out of 6 cyl parts, and has a leading right bank...it has some low compression cyls. Bad photo shooting into the sun, but that's all I could do.

 

[anderson]

neat car !

 

[clinebarger]

I didn't know Holden made their own V8, Not everyday you see a Cogged belt running an alternator!
Thanks for sharing Silk.

 

[Shannow]

clinebarger,
yep, debuted in 1969 as a 253 c.i. in the "Hurricane" concept car
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJn6tJXk9t0

4" bore in 308 c.i. and 3.625" bore in 253, both with 3.062" stroke...was destroked to 304 c.i. in the 80s for motorsport homologation, and later stroked to 3.48 for more displacement and power.

Towards the end, it went to even port spacing which enable Larry Perkins to win Bathurst against the incoming chev NASCAR bloclks, with slide throttle bodies and the like.

I like them, a bit lighter then an SBC, but a Chrysler style oiling system that I wasn't much a fan of.


I had a few of them, a flamenco red ute per the title of the thread, but with a 253 4 speed and propane.

 

[Shannow]

white one was a 253 4 speed.
green one behind it was a 308 4 speed
red one was a worked 202 (6 cylinder).

Wish I had all my old toranas now...would have been a great retirement income.

 

[Silk]

It's got hidden wiring too, the coil lead goes into the firewall. I hope it doesn't have any wiring issues, because I can't see any.

The 253 was pretty good with the 4 speed, no so good as an auto.

 

[clinebarger]

Thanks Shannow, When you say Chrysler style oiling system......I just think Gerotor oil pump as what set Chrysler apart while GM & Ford used Spur Gear pumps?

 

[maxdustington]

Australia/NZ: where the muscle car never died!

 

[ls1mike]

Pretty cool. Since I have owned the Caprice I have joined some Holden sites on Facebook and the internet.

I have learned a lot about Holden and the cars they offered. It is a shame that they are not building them anymore as I love my Caprice.

 

[Silk]

They'll still slap a Holden badge on anything they can find, no matter where it's really made.

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted by clinebarger
Thanks Shannow, When you say Chrysler style oiling system......I just think Gerotor oil pump as what set Chrysler apart while GM & Ford used Spur Gear pumps?



Ahhh...
it was spur gear, but removable, and mounted up on the block at the front...very high above the oil level.
Know a guy who flubbed a rebuild not filling it full of petroleum jelly and not getting a prime...rems build oil pressure - not

 

[Silk]

Out in the yard, and a close up of that external oil pump. A young fella at another shop (who used to work at this shop) got it going. I'm no expert on these things, but as I said, pretty common at the time. A quick glance and I notice No1 is not where it should be on the cap, so did a quick check on firing order and timing...I really want to pull that dizzy and put no1 where it should be. Sorted vacuum hoses and got a better idle, it's only got 10hg at idle so expect it has a cam in there....picks up to 20hg with revs. It's not good at all.

 

[hpb]

Tidy looking ute. Pity the donk isn't running at its best.

 

[nthach]

Donk? I thought that was an Oakland thing with old Chevy Caprices or 1st gen Lexus LS400s?

Was the Holden 308 their effort to make an all-Australian V8 even though they had access to whatever GM had in the States?

 

[Silk]

They had all sorts of tax cuts for locally built stuff...and tarrifs on imported stuff. They would often make small changes to claim local content. Like, the Aussie Mini had concealed hinges and wind up windows, the block had no cam follower covers.

 

[hpb]

Originally Posted by nthach
Donk? I thought that was an Oakland thing with old Chevy Caprices or 1st gen Lexus LS400s?


Donk = Aussie slang for engine, e.g., "What donk has she got in 'er, mate?"

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted by hpb
Originally Posted by nthach
Donk? I thought that was an Oakland thing with old Chevy Caprices or 1st gen Lexus LS400s?


Donk = Aussie slang for engine, e.g., "What donk has she got in 'er, mate?"

Ah - when I think of a donk, this is what comes to mind: https://autoweek.com/article/diy/whats-donk-and-how-build-one

They were popular in the Southern US around Houston and New Orleans I believe, a similar thing with ratty Lexus LS400s and SCs happened in the San Francisco-Oakland area.

 

[Shannow]

Etymologically based on "donkey"

 

[Shannow]

donkey came from "horsepower" to the best of my recollection