DXROLLA Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 I'm after some held with a vh commodore I have just bought. It's a sl/x so factory 6. Wanted to put either a 253 or 308 in it. Done a search on the Aussie forums and there seems to be a difference of opinion on if the bolt strait in or need to change a couple of things. Can you just use all the 6 cylinder box, k frame, drive shaft ect or do you need v8 stuff? What's the ultimate bolt in combo as far as diff, box ect to mate to a 308? I'm guessing to go to a chev 350 you need to change quite a bit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllTorque Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 Put the jug on and have a read of this. //oldschool.co.nz/k-trips-1982-holden-commodore-vh/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakotom Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 I'm after some held with a vh commodore I have just bought. It's a sl/x so factory 6. Wanted to put either a 253 or 308 in it. Done a search on the Aussie forums and there seems to be a difference of opinion on if the bolt strait in or need to change a couple of things. Can you just use all the 6 cylinder box, k frame, drive shaft ect or do you need v8 stuff? What's the ultimate bolt in combo as far as diff, box ect to mate to a 308? I'm guessing to go to a chev 350 you need to change quite a bit? Can use six cylinder subframe for 308 Supposedly only difference is there's additional bracing/gusseting on V8 frame but cannot confirm due to never seeing one side by side. Threeonthetree is the guru regarding gearboxes on Holden's. Some 3/4 speeds will bolt up and and even then, there's different patterned blocks for bellhousing. Trimatic and turbo Crossmember and driveshaft will depend on box Diff wise, cheapest option would be a VN onwards borgwarner 28 spline LSD disc rear end from a wreckers. But These are 20mm wider than your current rear end so take that into consideration with your wheel fitment. you could get a VL turbo 28 spline rear end, but good luck finding one. Could also jam VN onwards center in the VL housing (borgwarner) and get axles shortened. And throw the disc rear end on that aswell. Front Brake wise, VN V8 front rotors and callipers (larger diameter and finned callipers) coupled with a 1in master will be a cheap upgrade. Could get fancy and go VR/VS booster with a VT onwards quickfill master if you wanted. 350 chev requires spacing the subframe down to get clearance for oil pump/starter/steering rack or something.This, coupled with lowering the car will make it handle like junk/geometry get bad real quick. If your not going to go with the 308, consider putting a LS1 into it. Can buy a complex conversion kit from Castlemaine rod shop in AU and that swaps documented all over the Internet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KKtrips Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 308 bolts straight up to the 202 frame. There is one extra brace to the 308 but it is nothing. V6,RB and 4 cyl K-frames are different.  Power steer and non power steer Kframes are different. But only in the width for the steering rack mounting bolts they are about 5mm different and you could probably get away with filing the holes I cut my mounts off and rewelded them back on.  Chev 350 requires spacing the crossmember about 10-20mm away from the body which is not a bad thing.It only really effects the ability to lower the car to a nice height, you can get the same height but the resulting angle of the bottom arms would give you nasty bumpsteer.  Gearbox - 308 blocks came with Turbo Hydra and Trimatic bellhousing castings. You can get adapters easy enough to switch between them and most aftermarket bellhousings have both options. All depends on what you want to run. I am running a W55 with a Castlemaine Rod Shop bellhousing and it has both options so can run which ever block I want.  Diff - VN and newer live axles are a fair bit wider than VH and older and VL is in between but they all fit you just need to be careful with your rim choice.A VL turbo diff is the ultimate but SPENDY! Also Wagon and Sedan diffs are different but only where the shocks mount so you can cut them off and reweld them on if you are handy with a jig and welder.  Now don't get me wrong - a conversion is expensive - my motor cost me less than $500 and my conversion once "done" was tapping on the door of $10K. I didn't rebuild the motor even and that is just the conversion - buying the car and all the other stuff I have done to it isn't even factored into the equation. So if I was to do it again I would find one already "done" (or a factory one) and buy that then spend the extra money on tidying it up from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DXROLLA Posted December 6, 2015 Author Share Posted December 6, 2015 Sweet cheers for the advise, will have to start making a list, hardest part seems to be finding the right bits needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KKtrips Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 First thing is to decide what you want to run for a gearbox, manual or auto? Â I'll see if I can find my list I made of all the stuff I bought when putting it together and what it cost. Its not complete but it'll help you get a start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DXROLLA Posted December 6, 2015 Author Share Posted December 6, 2015 That would be awesome, cheers  I plan on running an auto, as the car is already auto so will hopefully keep costs down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KKtrips Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 Here is my list up to end of 2013... Some of it you may not encounter but then again you may have more stuff you need instead. This adds up to ~$10K so far. Motor $350 Engine mounts $230 Engine mounts pt2 $70 Engine mounts pt2 $110 Starter motor $320 Cam and Lifters $180 Water pump $50 Oils and filters (run in) $120 Hoses $120 Radiator $400 Oil and filter $160 Electric Fan $30 Air filter $60 Carb overhaul $100 Inlet Manifold Repairs $120 Fuel pump $120 Exhaust Headers $380 Muffler and Diff Pipe $340 Bell housing $520 Flywheel and Bolts $290 Clutch $600 Release bearing $90 Gearbox $350 Drive shaft x 2 $450 Drive shaft Loops $150 Rear Trailing Arms $120 Front Suspension Bushes $250 Diff $350 Wheels $150 Spare wheel $40 4 x Tyres $200 Front brakes $400 Master cylinder $50 Cross member $60 Throttle bracket $60 Fan Shroud $250 PCV valve and fan belt $50 Fuel check valve $30 Degree Tape $15 Bonnet Pins $50 Alternator bracket $200 HT Lead Set $80 Gasket sets $150 Gasket goo etc $40 Wiring miscellany $100 Steel miscellany $50 Nuts and bolts $150 Speedometers bulbs $20 Exhaust and tuning $1,100 Speedo cable $50 Powder coating $40 Tyre Swaps $40 Make Batt. Leads $30 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KKtrips Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 Since then I've bought another carb, rebuilt the gearbox, another set of wheels and tyres... so well over $12K now. I can't remember if the $10K included cert or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DXROLLA Posted December 6, 2015 Author Share Posted December 6, 2015 Cheers, looks like a big list haha, its the small things that add up. Did you get most of your parts locally or get things from aussie? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KKtrips Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 Spent a fair bit of time looking on trademe. Finding all kinds of bits took a lot of time. I only bought the first pair of engine mounts from Aussie. Everything else was locally bought or made. My advice if you aren't going to buy a car that is already done is to get a motor that is as complete as you can get with the correct Commy sump, engine mounts, starter motor, alternator etc. Probably even try to get it with the gearbox too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KKtrips Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 Something like this is a fairly good deal - plus you can carby these motors for about a grand. http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/car-parts-accessories/holden/engines/auction-993221107.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DXROLLA Posted December 6, 2015 Author Share Posted December 6, 2015 So those later engine and boxes all bolt up do they? Just need drive shaft and diff to suit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DXROLLA Posted December 6, 2015 Author Share Posted December 6, 2015 There was a 253 with box just closed on trade me for $800 , looked complete as well. But im guessing a later model 308 would be a lot nicer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KKtrips Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 So those later engine and boxes all bolt up do they? Just need drive shaft and diff to suit?Yup bolt in - you can leave the 6 cyl diff in the car - its plenty strong enough unless you are doing skids erryday. The centre CV is a different size on VN onwards and the diff pinion is a different type also. But you may be lucky and be able to slot the factory 6 cylinder driveshaft into the bum of the later model transmission but I'm not 100%. Either way if you are getting the correct yoke with that 304 I posted then you can mix and match bits. Or at worst you may have to use the original 6 cyl driveshaft with the correct front yoke and get a new shaft made up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DXROLLA Posted December 6, 2015 Author Share Posted December 6, 2015 Sweet, well thats food for thought than. As you say would make it a hell of a lot easier getting a complete setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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