FE-FC Holden Discussion Forum

Howdy all,

Im sure this topic has been trashed out a number of times however I did and search which did not bring in too much info.....

I just put my 132 grey in for a full recon, I dont want the thing to be a fire breathing monster however a few mods just to warm her up a little never hurt.

I just wanted to get some comments off others on performance mods they had done on their grey motor to get it hummin a little harder!  I have got a good twin carb set up so that part of it is locked in.............it was more mods to the internals I was trying to find out about.

Any comments would be much appreciated.

MICK

Mick,

I'm putting my grey motor into St Marys Engines some time next week for a full recon as well.They are putting steel timing gear (I'm providing)in it and a mild cam (For economy) I have also got a twin carb set up to be recco'd as well and also putting extractors on it. The head is also being done with HR inlet and exhaust valves and hardened seats for ULP/Gas.

That's about it
Cheers Rusty

Rusty,

No doubt it is an exciting time getting a new donk all prepped up and ready to slot in.......I am getting my engine done at RLC Engine Reconditioning at Capalaba QLD.  I went round to a lot of places before settling with them, besides the fact they were cheaper than most others, the owner Chris seemed to really know his stuff about the old motors which was refreshing.

Just put in a quick call to him and it seems he has made a few of the decisions on warming it up for me already.......he is boring it to around 149, grinding a mild cam as well as doing some minor head work (including conversion for ULP).  I am also looking at putting headers of some description on it too.  Have been trying to source some Jack Myers headers however it seems everyone is asking a minimum of $450 for them which I can't really bring myself to pay when you could get a set of tuned polished ones made for not much more than that.

Will keep you posted on how it all goes...

MICK

what sort of dollars is it costing,as i need to get one of my motors done soon.

the quote I got for a straight recon was 1800 - 2000 (long motor) however this was a fair way cheeper than most........and without any mods (apart from ULP conversion which is standard)...........I am expecting it to come in around the 2500 mark which is still a fairly good price compared to most of the quotes I got especially with the mods......But as we all know with this sort of stuff no one is prepared to lock in a firm quote because of how hard some parts etc are to get......

I have done a lot of looking around on this subject and these guys seemed to really know their stuff, and had even done a few recent grey motor rebuilds......

MICK

Mick
    RLC has been around for donkeys years and in the same shed.
    I have dealt with them many times over the last 20 or so  years and have always found them to be of great service and excellent work. But I have heard of a couple of horror stories about them :-/ I hope all goes well for you with them.
      The 149 pots are most probably being put in because oversize grey pistons are very few on the ground and 149 are more readily obtainable. The reco motor for my van has 149 pistons for this very reason. It will also help it go a bit harder ;). A mild cam is the way to go for an every day driver and if you have the extra bucks get the motor balanced as well, it's well worth it. For the valves i'd get sleeves ( mine has phosphorous bronze )and if possible stainless valves and seats. Then port the manifolds to suit whatever exhaust manifold you're putting on
     If you're thinking of putting the motor together yourself there is a full gasket kit on e- bay at the moment for around $120.00? and about 2 or 3 days to run I think?
        Brad

so your getting new pistons a 3.3/16 bore is huge for a grey engine make sure youre rods are resized and balanced with "new" gudgeons and new rod bolts try lightening youre flywheel to reduce youre rotating mass.. when balancing youre crank have the flywheel and balancer done aswell together as for your cam dont get double valve springs if they are not needed grinding youre head for increased compression  will help good luck andy

Mick,
The quote I got was for $1850 plus $375 for the head and assembled .This bloke has been around for a long time as well and he told me what he will do with it so I gathered he knows his way around a grey and he knows his stuff as well.He built my daughters brother inlaws motor for his HT street car.A real flier at Eastern creek. My car is off to have the paint blasted from it soon and then it's off to Alfio's (The Love God on the forum)to be painted. I too will have progress pics posted once we are underway.The plan is to have it finished and on the road for the clubs Xmas party.Fingers crossed.
Cheers Rusty

Thanks for all the input guys its always good to hear what others have found from experience......I have never had a grey done before however have done a few reds so this is a first for me......

Brad......thanks for the heads up on RLC too....as I said I have talked to a fair few people about this and they seemed to know the most.............I'll be marching it back there all guns blazing if something goes wrong.......

Supposed to be done Friday or early next week, but it will be a few more weeks before it goes into the car.......shall let you all know how it goes not doubt!

MICK

Mike,
Mild!  :)or wild! ;D - doesn't matter, but to get it going nicely you need to make it breath properly. If you are fitting twins, extractors and mild cam to start with, consider larger valves, head port matched to your manifolds, to marry it all together for a nice strong little motor. You can get carried away with all sort of internal modifications to make it realy hum, but depends on your budget. It can empty a good bank account very quickly if you really wan't to. There is no other sound like a nice grey humming along they certainly stand out on their own ;)

regards
Weddo

if you paint it red it might go a bit quicker