Engine and Gearbox Choice

[VAN059]

Fuel injected, supercharged, 289 Chev with stacks through the bonnet      sigh...........

[perth_ute]

not legal though on both counts in wa for engine size and super charge. If it was 3lt then it is ok.

[Ol_Girl_58]

Horses for courses, perth_ute.

How much money are you throwing at your project? Ultimately, this will decide your engine upgrade.

If you want a V8 in your early girl, ask the people that have already completed this modification how much money, time and effort is involved. The same with EFI Jap motors. fchoon is a good reference point - he`s already done the mods and is happy to give assist with advice where possible.

Although I have not done it, I suspect an EFI (excluding EFI 202) motor (possibly anything other than your traditional straight 6) would need to adhere to engineering requirements similar to that of a V8 transplant (such as seatbelts, collapsible column, rack, four wheel discs, bucket seats with head rests, etc.) and that´s just stuff I can think of.

I have, however, installed a triple Webered 202 into my FC, which has been fairly simple. Seeing as you´ve already got a 202, to me, it seems to be perfectly logical. My car is now as quick as I will ever need it to be, it sounds awesome, and is different. I suspect a triple Webered FC is not so commonplace these days. Especially amongst a sea of Commodores, Falcons and Japanese imports. And the bonus is that once Webers are tuned correctly, they are perfectly streetable are reliable (hey, CraigA )

Anyway, it`s your car, your money, your time, your effort, and ultimately, at the end of the day, you are the one that will be driving it, not me or anyone else on the forum.

Just my two cents.

Ol_Girl_58

[FCRB26]

cant say i have seen too many trippled webbered fc s do you need to modify the firewall i just bought a eh and they have butchered it to get the webbers in

[Ol_Girl_58]

fchoon,

The firewall does need to be modified:





Admittedly, the hole is bigger than necessary, but it was cut to fit a taller manifold. I ended up using a shorter one. The hole was filled in using a cake tin.

[Glenn 'Stinky' Stankevicius]

The hole was filled in using a cake tin.

Brilliant, OT, you've just solved a problem for me. I'm off to the Kitchen shop tomorrow 

[Ol_Girl_58]

Glad to be of inadvertent help, Stinky 

perth_ute, back on topic - your engine transplant depends on what you are wanting to achieve. V6 powered early girls seem to be popular. But if you´re going that far, you may as well install a V8. Again, just my two cents.

[chrisfc]

One option could be to stamp a 253 engine number on your injected 304 and tell the rego dept its a 253. Thats what i would do. 

[FCRB26]

you lose very little injecting a 253 over a 304 they rev a lot better and the whole injection fits onto the 253

[FC427]

One option could be to stamp a 253 engine number on your injected 304 and tell the rego dept its a 253. Thats what i would do. 

And what happens if the engineer wants to measure bore /stroke  don't say it wont happen 2 out of the last 4 cars that I have done conversions on the engineer wanted to see the engine before the heads went on to take measurements....And with the new RTA changes in  engineering stature's  due early next year   I am sure most won't just believe an engine number .....I think gone are the days when we just stamped 307 in front of the 350's engine number and it was unquestioned by the engineer and don't think for one minute that stroking a 350Ci out to 383 or to 434 Ci is unknown to most engineers ......FC427....

[ehsv6]

You don't say who has knocked you back, in Vic the interpretation rests on the VASS engineer.  What you have quoted is the NCOP3 which recommends maximum capacity and is based on weight of the heaviest sedan available in the model not the ute. You need to watch whether you are quoting a dry weight or based on vehicle with its oil, water & petrol.   Manufacturers often quoted dry weight in the early days to reduce rego costs. If you can prove the weight of a sedan is over 1100Kg then the factor goes up to 5. Also this recommendation does not take into account what other modifications will be done to the vehicle, its a very simplistic approach - quite a poor one really because output power per litre has risen quite significantly in recent years.  If you could fit a Holden Alloytec V6 3.6 and would have close to 200Kw where the 304 is lucky to be 175 in standard form. If your fitting a chassis strengthening kit, bigger brakes, rack & pinion, tyres to the maximum size allowed this is obviously more than just changing an engine and should be considered as such. I note from the recent nationals there are already a lot of similar conversions done.
Re your original question, I would put in a Ecotec V6 with Auto or manual. The V6 is only slightly less in power, lighter compared to the V8 and much better on fuel economy and will run on any fuel you put in it.  A triple weber hot six may run OK when tuned and has good fuel but it will be harder to maintain and if you get a load of crook fuel will ping its head off.  My EH has a supercharged V6 and I am very happy with it and all approved. Good luck with your decision - Keith

[perth_ute]

I put the application in back in feb and there response was yes to a 253 and no to a 304. I am fitting power steering with drop steering rack, lsd disc rear with larger disc front, 15 inch all round, front and rear large sway bars and strengthened chassis. The new v6 would be interesting as it is over 200kw. They will not allow supercharge on more than 3lt so same issue. Think this is testing me you should have been with me eight times getting it rego'd/ They do not want old cars on the road here are more than willing to see you fail.

[chrisfc]

Option #2. Fit 253 to get rego then instal the 304 with the same 253 engine number. If you get pulled over at least your  numbers will be matching..  50 erxta cubes is always nice to have. A little more torque to get you going. Just my 2 cents worth.  Good luck.  Chris

[Glenn 'Stinky' Stankevicius]

Option #2. Fit 253 to get rego then instal the 304 with the same 253 engine number. If you get pulled over at least your  numbers will be matching..  50 erxta cubes is always nice to have. A little more torque to get you going. Just my 2 cents worth.  Good luck.  Chris

Have a crash and the Insurance checks over the car, voids insurance, Bankruptcy? Gaol Time?

[chrisfc]

Option #3 Fit a 253. Or move to victoria and fit a 304  while you still can.  For F#@K sake.

[perth_ute]

Have purchased a 253 and supra 5 speed with crs bell housing. Its Holden so will tick that box.

[ehsv6]

Theres a nice EH panel van with a 253 in Perth, see http://www.ehcarclubwa.org.au/asr2009a.htm you might get some ideas.  Fitted as it would have come from the factory.  Good luck with your project.
Sorry about the references to EH's (thats what I have) but I really like this site specially the projects. Cheers Keith 

[FCRB26]

strange all the trouble to make it look like a sleeper  with billet wheels ?

Suppose its only ten minutes to put a set of stockies on.

very slick looking tho

[Laszlo]

G'day Everybody !

I'm living in Qld  and I don't want to move to Victoria.....    Is the 304 legal in Qld ?

Thanx : Laszlo

Ps: Perth_Ute, good luck for your "organ transplant" !
Ps: Do it, do it now there may be a law against it tomorrow ! 

[FCV08]

Laszlo

I am based on Toowomba and Engineer I am consulting allows 304.

Other threads state spec for maximum engine capacity to weight ratios.

Cheers

Craig D