[whatever you think a project is going to cost double it and you will have a reasonable estimate.]

he said it would run forged pistons h rods tommi cams thanks again rod

Lol, how much money do you have to spend that is sounding VERY expensive.

IMHO anyone talking about running any kind of RB20/25/30 motor N/A is nuts. The beauty of the RB motors has always been the copious amount of power you can get out of them reliably with boost.

How much $$$ do you have to spend on this conversion?

I think the RB swap and the V8 can cost about the same, it all depends on how you source your parts, how knowledgeable you are, and how much work you can do yourself. A conversion that costs under $10K for someone can cost $20K+ for someone else.

But as a general rule of thumb that has been told to me, and I have found true almost every time, whatever you think a project is going to cost double it and you will have a reasonable estimate.   No kidding!

But may I ask what you want from this conversion?, do you just want a reliable and fun driver, if this is the case I would just go V6, plenty of torque from 3.8l, the conversion has been done plenty of times and parts are so easy to get. A V6 can easily make more power than a tired old badly tuned 253/308.

You can put the computers where you want, but you will need to add a lot of wire into the loom to put them back in/underneath the tray, and there are a lot of wires, annoying but definately do-able.

They have been putting the RB25DET head onto RB30ET's for years, there are plenty of how to's done by VL owners, just google it. It is not as simple as it might sound though!

The RB25DET is not the skyline GTR motor as someone mentioned that is the RB26DETT (two T's for twin turbo), both heads are do-able on the RB30ET but the GTR's is harder (not to mention the RD26DETT stuff will cost you a LOT more $$$).

If I was going to do the swap I would buy a nissan skyline front cut from an importer with an RB25DET (there is also a 2.0 liter version the RB20DET, but I would steer clear of that). Mainly because you can get a much newer motor, already fitted with the DOHC head.

As Ed has mentioned a Turbo 3.0 shouldn't be a problem, you may just need to look for a more accommodating engineer.

Hi all,

I have deceided to sell my FJ Ute, I have just moved and no longer have a garage (or even off-street parking for that matter).

I have put it up on ebay as I want to sell it asap. Here is a link to the listing, there are plenty of photos and info there:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200113721495

Car is located in Sydney NSW

I know this is an FE/FC forum but there doesn't seem to be any active FX/FJ forums around anymore.

Cheers

Excellent info guys, and thanks for posting the pics.

customFC: Are those brackets used to mount the oil filter to the motor all custom made pieces?

Cheers,

Daz

Cool, great info guys. I have sent you both PM's regarding the parts.

I had a look at a hydramatic ek today and saw the mounts you mean, I never realised they were there. So these mounts will bolt straight up to a trimatic in my FJ, or will they need further mods?

Also this adaptor you guys mentioned that Roger makes, is that a flex plate re-drilled with the bolt pattern from the grey motor crankshaft?

I will be hitting the parts yards over the weekend to see what I can get for the swap (I doubt there are any ek's there, but I am hoping there will be plenty of trimatic holdens around).

Thanks,

Daz

Hi all,

Just wondering how I can fit a modern replaceable type oil filter onto a grey motor.

I have seen reference to ac delco filter or ryco filter kits, is this what I would have to look for.

Does anyone have pictures they could post of such a setup.

Cheers,
Daz

Hi Tayz,

Thanks for that info, extremely useful. I would definately like to look at those instructions you mentioned.

Did you go for a vacuum actuated kick down?

Is your speedo working, did you have to buy a special cable to get it working?

Cheers,

Daz

I know this has been covered, there is definately some useful threads in the archives that I have read through.

I just had a few more questions.

First off this swap is for my FJ ute, but I thought I would ask here since of all the early holden forums on the net this is definately the best.

Floor mods, how much bigger is the trimatic than the original 3spd manual box, what needs to be done to fit it(I know the FJ may be a little different to FE/FC)?

What years/models had the trimatic with the vacuum operated kick-down (since this seems to be the choice for ease of install)?

What years/models had the trimatic with the '360deg' bellhousing which seems to be the one to go for?

Gearbox crossmember, does anyone have pics of their modified crossmember for this swap?

Cheers

The holden ecotec V6, as most of you probably know is from buick.

They actually made factory turbo versions in the states, you can often find factory turbo manifolds and all the other items required for a conversion on ebay.com , if you are dead set on turbo'ing that may make it a bit cheaper. On the other hand how can you go wrong with a factory supercharged motor that is easy to get parts for locally.

A turbo will never match the instant grunt a supercharger gives.

Hi Stewart,

Thanks for that. I appreciate the tip, I didn't know that forum existed.

Cheers

Hi All,

I have finally made the hard decision to sell my very original and much loved EK special sedan.

Here is it's listing on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200052435502

Please message me through ebay if you are interested as I may not check back here before the auction ends.

Thanks