gents ..I am trying to recall accurately just what was the procedure for an exchange Grey Holden engine , I don't recall any specific attention paid to the series of the engine number , for sure we had to record all sales in the Police register , and it was for police not the DMR as it was a police matter to trace stolen cars and therefore engines , the onus was on the registered owner of the vehicle to advise DMR ( the then Motor Registery ) of a new engine number ,because that old engine would go into the system and go back out again into another car , and there would be 2 cars with same engine number if that was not done , it also covered Repco as to how that engine came into their possession. I seem to remember the Repco in house part number on the engine would determine which model it fitted ...at Waitara , Brookvale or Chatswood there would have been about 10 engines in stock at each branch , so if a service station or fitting station rang up , " long motor for FE please ,plus a clutch kit ,and we will give the flywheel to driver to be surface ground to come back on next delivery  " he would have got any engine in stock,If a customer was fussy he could choose one from what was available.The old engine coming back in had to be reconditionable , a rod thru the block would cause a forfeit of deposit .cheers Vern .

yes if you wanted your own engine put through as if it were and exchange that was done , it worked out a little more costly , but you kept your original engine ..I cant recall for sure but I think when we started 149 and 179 exchange engines they were painted correct Holden red ..and to get the ball rolling we had to have reconditioned engines in stock ready to go , so engines were bought brand new from Holden and put into the system as an exchange engine ,all the pistons , rings , and bearings were Repco anyway ( ACL actually ) then owned by Repco , and of course we bought many from wreckers to put into the system ..and every man and his dog who wore out his 149 wanted to exchange for 179  .company policy NO !! ...when you pull your engine down the pistons will have a part number stamped on them and the oversize it was bored and honed to , you will need that if you are going to order rings ..also the big end bearings will be 6B5001 and the undersize ,that was the standard copper lead bearing , if it is 6B5001AL that is the Alluminum lead bearing , a stronger material developed when blokes wanted to  increase compression and power ..you may find the pistons are ACL , or genuine Holden , if we ran low on pistons we would buy back from Holden  .I will be interested to know what your engine is inside , if and when you pull it down ..cheers Vern ..

Squissy .. i worked for Repco 1960'-70's ..The Repco exchange engine system offered long , short and 3/4 engines . all were rebored, new pistons and rings ,cranks re ground , new bearings right through , rebuilt oil pump , new bushes , welsch plugs , head completely serviced you could have your engine reconditioned , or purchase an exchange . long motor was rocker cover to sump , same day fitting service ..short engine was just the block , 3/4 was same but with oil pump and sump but no head , reason being a lot of engines had heads re done maybe more than once before the engine needed an exchange ..in NSW the letter ' P " was stamped on end of the engine number as all sales had to be recorded in the police register .that would confirm yours...theft and joy riding was a young bloke pass time back then ..Most Repco Gold star engines were painted blue ..go figure ..Ford V8 and 6 cylinder , Valiant 6 cyl , Cortina < Morriss , Austin , Hillman engines ,Perkins 6/354 were all in the exchange system ..also exchange , water pumps , king pins , cyl heads , camshaftes, clutches,crankshafts with bearings , yella terra heads ,carbys , starters, the good old days , when Repco was a true parts company ..all the parts in a rebuilt Holden engine were made here in Australia ..cheers Vern .

Lazlo..I made an error , my visor does not have a chrome or stainless rib on front like yours , sorry , it just has a rolled edge front and rear ..Vern

Lazlo ..I am in the same situation as you , I have a one piece with a front chrome rib ,but have not refitted back on car after resto , it has shaped stainless clamps which are same width as the ends of the visor , but have been really bashed around in their life ,which sort of indicates to me pretty rough attempts to fix problems , also screws fitted from underside of gutter up through the gutter to strengthen as well as rely just on the clamp action ..the holes in the gutter were welded up during resto ..its part of the job I have not got back to , I have asked around contacts and to make clamps like the original ones is not easy ..If you have any luck let me know please as I will definately order also ..I hope Pete Mallaby reads this ..if you want to see image of what mine look like ,send your mobile to me and I can send to you , I have never mastered putting images on here ,,keep well Vern 0405 703 413

So back to the weather shields Pete ?

Probably right there Ken , spares thrown in , in the tray are FE , so its a mix FE X FC , no real surprise there , but never the less a nice looking find , great project , ya gotta do it justice now mate ...

Snoop .. Welcome home , i have to make a time to come down to Narrabeen , I have a mate who has just moved there and we need to catch up ,i'll bring the Special and we can hold a board meeting and solve the worlds problems ...cheers Vern ..

I am making a note of these suggestions , we will see what the test of time reveals ...Vern ..

I was never happy with the engine I did in my FC , so I decided in the Covid lockdown to take it back out again and address a few problems ..so engine and gear box out ,
stripped the engine back down ,,did not remove the crank ..hone the bore ,fitted new little end bushes ,this was done in friends local machine shop , where he set me up in a milling machine where the job was held true whilst reaming with a guided reamer ,fitted new piston rings , the oil control rings being 4 piece rings from JP in South Aust ..also fitted new bushes to the rockers , this time reamer held solid and the rocker the moving part . used best pair of rocker shafts I could get , drilled the rocker oil holes 180 deg on other side and welded the old ones.so when fitted the shafts are now upside down to how they were ..identified a problem with the side plate , it was different dimensions from two others I have , 2mm wider top to bottom than others , and found a all together better rocker cover , fitted new fibre timing gear , fitted one of Harvs head gaskets , and used R51 sealant on all other gaskets ...put on test rig and made all adjustments , then back in the car , only noise you can hear in the engine if you put your head down next to the dissy you can just hear the points opening and closing ..keep well Vern ..

keep the story and images coming , nice find ...Vern .

Mario ..The identification plate on the body of the 12 volt distributor should read VJU 6 BR ?? ( there is a number where the two question marks are ..}
If the suffix number is 30 then it was FE ,36 FC ,41 FB , 50 EK ,54 EJ .. so it follows a FC would be VJU 6 BR 36 ..
You definately can interchange 30 and 36 ...Vern

looks great Helen , you must be so proud , just love the red piping on the sun visors , your door pull handles look exactly like mine !!!!!! and your finished just in time for hopefully a return to normal life ...keep well Vern

hi Pete..yes grey engine rocker shafts , they are .7925 " on the OD ..all the same 1948 to 1963 , or at least interchangeable , the pedestals changed in FJ , maybe little plug in each end need to be sourced or modified ...keep well Vern ..   

Pete ..What about rocker shafts ?

John ..Would be interested in pair Red top L and R ..FC sedan  ...Vern ..

keep us posted mate ..Vern

great stuff ,it looks great ,quality work , and your neat and tidy ,will be a head turner for sure ...neat and tidy , Mum forgot to train me , I always look like i've been in greasy pig chase just 5 minutes after being in the shed ..any of you Canberra blokes remember the greasy pig chase for the kids before race starts at the old Tralee Speedway on the Cooma road back in the 1970's ?..I was there ...cheers Vern ,

Hey Pete ..Get me back my youth and we'll have a go....Vern ..

where did you get bag ?