One trick is to tell 'em stories that don't go anywhere - like the time I caught the ferry over to Shelbyville. I needed a new heel for my shoe, so, I decided to go to Morganville, which is what they called Shelbyville in those days. So I tied an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time. Now, to take the ferry cost a nickel, and in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on 'em. Give me five bees for a quarter, you'd say. Now where were we? Oh yeah: the important thing was I had an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time. They didn't have white onions because of the war. The only thing you could get was those big yellow ones...
Now my story begins in Nineteen-dickety-two. We had to say "dickety" because the Kaiser had stolen the wold "twenty". I chased that rascal to get it back, but gave up after dickety-six miles.
So good to watch, my boyfriend has a 5L VS and I want to help him do a full engine rebuild to thank him for all the amazing things he does, and this has really helped. :)
Was 5044, went to 4987cc. This is the modern equivalent of ancient story telling. Passing down the ancient knowledge to the younger generations. Had one of these, XX3 (195kw). Wasn't massively strong, but was very smooth and with a manual was reasonably efficient. Good cruiser. The problem with a power number alone is that it doesn't always account for drivability. Power, Torque, rev numbers each is achieved at and the vehicle and driveline used are all contributors.
I'm going to say that is the best episode you have ever done! The first fifteen minutes, pure history, and Al shining more and more with passion. I really enjoy hearing about all the odd quirks, silly decisions and fascinating past that makes a engine what it is today, or what it was then. Thanks so much for producing content that makes me proud to be an Australian. Great spit too Al.
Al: talks for 25 minutes unscripted about the history and geneology of Holden V8s Also Al: But i don't know much about them, just a vague interest. LOL!
I'm amazed of how much knowledge and experience he has, until today I thought he basically messed around with japanese stuff, turns out he knows a shit ton of stuff regarding EVERYTHING.
It's a good job Al labelled the ziplock bag, otherwise he'd be scratching his head for hours during reassembly wondering what they were. S'pose he could always google it 💭
Yeah we got Holden V8s down here in Tassie ... and yes they usually end up in the bushes ! Straight 6's seem to be the thing ....... they still end up in bushes.
It’s a shame all those noise is heard screaming up the street but the cars generally don’t go anywhere fast. Great sound with zero actual go. I’ve owned them too
6:06 Those rockers and aluminum pivot bridges look like USA Oldsmobile V8. On cars with infrequent oil changes, the center pair on the PCV valve side would wear causing a valve tap. The fix is to replace the rockers and pivots, a backyard fix is to look at the pivot, measure the amount of wear then file that amount off the bottom of the pivot.
The Holden V8 in 1967 , Holden Australia went to Detroit and was allowed to tour all the GM engine factories, they chose Oldsmobile valve angles, port layout, cooling system, and Oldsmobile valve 8 degree valve angles, along with Olds starter location , I built a 403 Olds in Australia and needed parts , the Olds flywheel fits the Aussie 308 , so does starter. , bell housing is also Olds , and a Holden intake fits small block Olds ! So I guess we copied the Olds a bit , except our 308 has chev crank locations !
I mean he’s spoiling everyone with this project of his it’s like mind games with this shit haha I think he’s tryna throw me off from the main focus of this 😂
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You're onto it with the splayed 4 bolt main caps Al, Steve Morris agrees with you on that and I think he knows a thing or 2 about big strength, high horsepower engine design 👌 I have a couple of VS generation 304s and an old blue 253 sitting in my shed at the moment 🤣
Totally agree on that one ! I had a mate in the 80's who had a VK with a fully balanced 304 - @ 60 km/h in first gear it was like a sewing-machine - SO SMOOTH !!!
michael tristan nice yeah I loved the VL turbo project then unsubscribed because I’m not interested in any of the projects after that .. now the 304 project Yes Please and I’m a subscriber again 👌. ... hope they slap a come stroker crank In her !! Standard 304’s boring! I speak from experience! As I have a VL Calais 5.0 with the roller cam engine stroked to 355 🇦🇺
Thank you so much for this I love the Holden V8, my favourite engine. Driven 304’s as daily’s for many years and have a n/a 355 in the build for my VN Calais.
@@alexcorona WTF! The Windsor was used through to the AU then they went to the mod motor in the BA. When did Ford Australia design a 5.0L of their own!
Ford Built the 302 (5ltr) Cleveland in Australia cast here heads redesigned here , 6 inch rods , crank 3.0 inch. Sure was based on American Cleveland but now USA wants Aussie Cleveland's cause better heads and block.
Watching them take the bearings out makes me want to cry. This engine with supposedly 190k looks brand new compared to mine with around 120k. My bearings were so worn that the copper was showing on nearly every crank/piston bearing. I don't even want to think about what the cam will look like when I take the top end apart. SERVICE YOUR ENGINES PEOPLE!!!
Except only one is worthy of that. Skid Factory is the only good thing to come out of MCM. No childish sex jokes or weird tangents; just knowledge and thorough builds.
back in the day the thing to do with these was offset grind the crank,add 350 chev rods or 265 rods and 350 or 327 pistons and make them a 331 cube stroker
yep poor mans stroker :D lots of weird things used to be done to em lol I've heard of people putting 253 cranks in 308's to destroke em to around 277 and they rev to the moon hahaha or even 253 heads as well to bump up compression too lol all poor mans tricks
Awesome work @skidfactory this brought back a lot of great memories pulling all nighters helping rebuild a mates 308 which ended up in my hands after he decided to sell his car. I eventually decided to stick this injection head and manifold combo on my VB commodore as they fitted that HQ red block, i still remember the engine number, it was a great little combo that I still miss today
At 25 minutes into a 28 minute video he says he doesn't know much about these engines... having just nonchalantly demonstrated a jaw dropping encyclopedic knowledge of them..!!
This was the perfect love letter to the Holden V8. To my mind, you showed the engine and what it represented just as much love as it deserved - and not an ounce more 😂
Brocky... What a legend. I had the pleasure of seeing him take place in his last ever Bathurst. Such a shame he died in that Cobra. Also as a POME...im crying here. We missed out so much in the UK with our high fuel costs and lack of V8s
Right. Like how Haltech does very well on a 2000hp rb26 but doesn't really like running a 4500hp methanol hemi. Two of the "Street Outlaw" guys run Haltech and do alright.
I'm glad you mentioned the main bearing side clearances, everyone else seems to overlook it. My vertical clearances check out, but the sides of the bearings are 3 thousandths more narrow, which is smaller than the crank! I hope it seats better when I put the crank in, otherwise I guess I need to swap bearings until they check out.
So keen for this build! Those pistons, rods and crank are all stock and genuine, and the VR series 2 (if I remember correctly) to VT engines came standard with a double row chain. A fairly easy way to get some low cost power is to slap in some flat top pistons, zero the deck height and shave the heads with a bit of head work. The VT heads have heart shaped chambers to give them the extra compression over the previous gen 5 litres (pre VSIII). These simple things will bump the comp up to nearly 11:1 and the headwork will allow the engine to make upwards of 400hp at the crank. If you're going to stay with a roller cam, you're better off going with hydraulic roller tie bar lifters, as the spider plate is prone to cracking over any more than stock pressure/lift. It's definitely easier on the wallet to go solid or solid roller, but as you'd know, hydraulic roller cams have a better power band. Another great thing about the VT block is that the lifter castings are taller than previous blocks, which means you can pretty much run whatever you want without running into lifter void issues. Some advice that I'd give you (which I'm sure you're already aware of) is to de-burr the long oil "channels" in the valley. It helps with getting oil back down to the sump, which is a big issue with performance 5L engines. They tend to starve the bearings of oil because it all gets pumped to the top of the heads and gets stuck there. There is also a section of the oil pump that doesn't match up with the block surface that can be shaved down to match, and will improve flow.
I bought a VN ex police car when I was 19, so that woulda been 1991 or so. 5 speed, 304. everyone told me i was crazy to buy an ex cop car but that engine never let me down, apart from when people tried to steal it (3 times). I had it for 7 years, paid $12,000 for it at govt auction and sold it for $7,000 i think. it had something like 210,000 km on it when i sold it but it didn't use oil. The car itself was falling apart around the engine cuz i never had enough money to fix things but the engine was always strong. like Al says, didn't blow your head off with power but it was torquey, great fun pushing it through the gears. Except when it was wet, then i'd get beaten at the lights by 200Bs and Geminis and stuff because I couldn't get any traction. Only traction control back then was your right foot... like someone else said here it sounded great, mine had stainless headers which i'm not sure were standard or a cop thing but anyway it was a sweet note. great car.
How does Larry Perkins not come into this discussion? He and his team had all the right things to make 590hp at the crank and surely they have made some info available on these questions that need answers. I’m 100% positive some of his parts or at least copies of them are still floating around.
as a yank i find this engine series fascinating. i was scratching my head and glad turbo yoda gave a history lesson. would be cool to see one in a hot rod here in the 'states.
New build, instant like. Nice lump of engine those 304s. My cousin had a freak stock 253 4-door Torana that was always kept immaculate. We were coming back from the Surfers Drags one afternoon back in about 1977/78 (I think). There were 5 of us in it and an SL/R 5000 motored up beside us on the highway (with a car-full as well) and challenged us (best way to describe it back then). My cousin's car ate the slur. One might argue the SLR was neglected engine-wise, but then, that 253 was a good engine.
Very informative! Now I'm thinking in hindsight, I probably shouldn't have brought it, but I've owned my VN 304 commadore 20 years and have had nothing replaced in the engine. 57.000 km later & apart from the typical mods in the beginning, torque convertor upgrade, pacemaker headers, blah blah and some other upgrades over the years, it owes me nothing. Who wants a VN these days anyway? So I'll just cruise in it till the motor dies! Cheers mate!
Hi gents, I watch most of your stuff because you’re good and I like your humour. But I will be following this series with anticipation as I too am doing a 355 VN style build with a 4l60e. It’s going into a VS with a haltec 2500 so I can do Drive By Wire. I will be using a transmission controller from Compushift. I am a Cabinet Maker with a little bit of mechanical knowledge, so you two will be able to help me heaps mates. Thank you for what you have shown us so far, I appreciate your efforts.
Cool episode lads. Look forward to the next one. Just had to pull the 304 from my vt to fix an oil leak after nambour sprints the other week. Keep up the good work
Thanks for sharing your passion and knowledge about this engine Al. I own a 94VR CLUBSPORT 5Ltr my pride and joy for 5year's now and planning to keep it for ever, it sounds awesome and man she's pretty quick. Great video Al, it inspiring me how to look after my baby lol. Cheers bro. From Aotearoa NZ
I'm old enough to have worked on stuff of this vintage when it was a little old!!! 😳 I've seen a LOT of GM Engines - but never ANYTHING resembling that! But then, I'm a Yank... Fascinating.
The early 253 ci and 308 ci engines from around 1969 onwards were designed around other GM engines , the early intake port location is Oldsmobile and so it Exhaust port location , valve angles of 8 deg also Oldsmobile, intake manifold also Oldsmobile , the only other GM input was small block Chev bore spacing , they had a unique Bell housing pattern that was very close to Oldsmobile , in fact I'm in Australia I got a 403 Olds small block , I needed a ring gear and starter I was having trouble finding in Australia, I looked at the Olds crank and pulled out a 308 ci Holden ring gear , lined up and bolted on , same amount of starter teeth and the Holden starter bolted to the Olds block ! They share a lot of parts , pop off the valve covers on both motors , same linked alloy rocker mounts ! Later in 1988 GM Holden revised the 308 to 304 ci for or so it could compete in or road racing events as 308 ci comes under 5.1 litre rules and has a massive weight penalty, they took 1/32 off the stroke to make an even 3 inch stroke and 4 inch bore , the road cars got new fuel injection , the " bunch of bananas" intake as it got called looks exactly like a LS1 intake but we got it in 1988, port locations were moved to be even , just like the LS ended up, it got a roller cam , in its final incantation it was enlarged to 355 ci . In 1997 then the next year we lost our V8 and Holdens got 5.7 LS1 motors . There was a small side note , in 1987 when redesigning the Holden V8 the engineers built and tested in car a single over head cam version , it looked like a Ford 427 Cammer from the 1960s it came so close to production it had a build code .
Yep they sure did, engineers Leigh Maguire and Mick Webb made it. They were trying to give it an overseas appeal. They put it in a Calais mule and did everything it was asked for but GM decided to shelf the idea.
![GM HOLDEN 304 V8 ENGINE RE-BUILD [EP2]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/gg9kjjJPg1w/mqdefault.jpg)
![GM HOLDEN 304 V8 ENGINE RE-BUILD [EP2]](/img/tr.png)
![GM HOLDEN 304 V8 ENGINE RE-BUILD [EP3]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/56YzPeigvns/mqdefault.jpg)
Al -“I’m not an expert on Holden V8s”, proceeds to explain in intricate detail every GM V8 made in Australia!
Well at least he covered his arse just in case he made a mistake.
What an absolute weapon 💪
One trick is to tell 'em stories that don't go anywhere - like the time I caught the ferry over to Shelbyville. I needed a new heel for my shoe, so, I decided to go to Morganville, which is what they called Shelbyville in those days. So I tied an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time. Now, to take the ferry cost a nickel, and in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on 'em. Give me five bees for a quarter, you'd say.
Now where were we? Oh yeah: the important thing was I had an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time. They didn't have white onions because of the war. The only thing you could get was those big yellow ones...
polishdiapersale most obscure simpsons reference I’ve seen in awhile, kudos to you sir!
Those were the days...not like Gen X Hamsters sipping Lattes.......
@@ReignitedAuto I knew this sounded familiar.
Now my story begins in Nineteen-dickety-two. We had to say "dickety" because the Kaiser had stolen the wold "twenty". I chased that rascal to get it back, but gave up after dickety-six miles.
As an American I’ve no idea what’s being said but I’m laughing and enjoying all the fun slang/words while clapping!
So good to watch, my boyfriend has a 5L VS and I want to help him do a full engine rebuild to thank him for all the amazing things he does, and this has really helped. :)
Slick with the 8 ball this time! I enjoy its random appearances!
To early, I never watch past the discovery of the ball
3:32 looks like a can a xxxx gold in the motor too, xxxx gold and a 8 ball you can’t go wrong haha.
@@noeleenbatchelor3736 nah mate good ole lemon squash
I was like wtf is that🤔🤔
Was 5044, went to 4987cc. This is the modern equivalent of ancient story telling. Passing down the ancient knowledge to the younger generations.
Had one of these, XX3 (195kw). Wasn't massively strong, but was very smooth and with a manual was reasonably efficient. Good cruiser. The problem with a power number alone is that it doesn't always account for drivability. Power, Torque, rev numbers each is achieved at and the vehicle and driveline used are all contributors.
Feel like i just got schooled for 28 mins! What an Ep, so good mate!
Same. Epic learning. Thanks Al!
I don't know it all but I am happy to chat about what I do know. Thanks for watching.
"Onions on our belts". love the Simpson's reference.
Did you see the Simpsons flag in the background of the whole episode.
It was the style at the time. You could only get yellow onions! Because of the war.
I'm going to say that is the best episode you have ever done! The first fifteen minutes, pure history, and Al shining more and more with passion. I really enjoy hearing about all the odd quirks, silly decisions and fascinating past that makes a engine what it is today, or what it was then. Thanks so much for producing content that makes me proud to be an Australian. Great spit too Al.
Love this engine archaeology Al. You are a wealth of knowledge. Thanks for sharing.
Al: talks for 25 minutes unscripted about the history and geneology of Holden V8s
Also Al: But i don't know much about them, just a vague interest.
LOL!
@@robmatthewswoodturning4988 And manages to be seriously funny. Just the best channel ever.
I'm amazed of how much knowledge and experience he has, until today I thought he basically messed around with japanese stuff, turns out he knows a shit ton of stuff regarding EVERYTHING.
The bag labeled "bolts" had me rolling
Descriptive!
It's a good job Al labelled the ziplock bag, otherwise he'd be scratching his head for hours during reassembly wondering what they were. S'pose he could always google it 💭
He forgot his nuts too never forget the nuts 😂
Yeah we got Holden V8s down here in Tassie ... and yes they usually end up in the bushes !
Straight 6's seem to be the thing ....... they still end up in bushes.
But the difference was how far did the car get wrapped around the tree.
Cracked open a VB tallie and put my mullet wig on for this one 🤟🏼
I all so cracked open a VB tallie and I didn't put a mullet wig on tho...🍻👍😎...Why...Because I've got a mullet...😂👌...
My old man calls tallies King Browns lol
I call them VB long necks...👍🍻...Cheers Bra...
Victorian
Breakfast
busted your a ford owner us gm boys can grow our own
Forced induction is an irrelevant question, Al is not known as "naturally aspirated yoda"
Turbskies tend to go well with a Holden 5 litre too, 14 psi is not uncommon for these things to happily handle
@@HotForgeChaos absolutely right mate, I was sarcastically eluding to the fact that "turbo yoda" is not an n/a kinda guy.....
He engraved a turbo on the connectong rod...
Forced induction is awesome but it's also great to check out the Naturally Aspirated side of life too and see how it goes.
@@theskidfactory too much lemon squash tonight mate 🤔🤔😉🍻
Best sounding engine ever put in a car. So happy with this already.
It’s a shame all those noise is heard screaming up the street but the cars generally don’t go anywhere fast. Great sound with zero actual go. I’ve owned them too
@@agga3955 yeh, designed for maximum time for hearing them drive by
@@agga3955 who cares there's always something faster. Not many engines are as reliable though.
@@agga3955 uve owned clapped out shit boxes then.mine goes quite nice thank you very much
90% of them make a lot of noise and go nowhere. The rest have some decent money sunk in them 😂
Interesting history of this motor and dear Peter Brock's input to a 304 motor. Nice one.
Al's commentary is informative and entertaining. As an american, I find the Australian mannerisms very entertaining
Loving the eight ball surprises. Alan's knowledge on engines is outstanding. I learn something every time I watch these videos.
6:06 Those rockers and aluminum pivot bridges look like USA Oldsmobile V8. On cars with infrequent oil changes, the center pair on the PCV valve side would wear causing a valve tap. The fix is to replace the rockers and pivots, a backyard fix is to look at the pivot, measure the amount of wear then file that amount off the bottom of the pivot.
The Holden V8 in 1967 , Holden Australia went to Detroit and was allowed to tour all the GM engine factories, they chose Oldsmobile valve angles, port layout, cooling system, and Oldsmobile valve 8 degree valve angles, along with Olds starter location , I built a 403 Olds in Australia and needed parts , the Olds flywheel fits the Aussie 308 , so does starter. , bell housing is also Olds , and a Holden intake fits small block Olds ! So I guess we copied the Olds a bit , except our 308 has chev crank locations !
Holden engine archaeology class, love it! I was always a crossflow boy, but this is still riveting
Who dropped their guts at 19:23 before the transition lol
It's the little things that make ya smile....
I come into the comments just to see this comment 😂
a really moist one hahah !
HAHA
Not just me so 😂😂😂
A 304, an 8 ball, and a Simpsons reference. Spoiling us today Al.
Playwme Surname and a xxxx
I mean he’s spoiling everyone with this project of his it’s like mind games with this shit haha I think he’s tryna throw me off from the main focus of this 😂
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From what i can see they look like aftermarket pistons has i have almost the same but in a flat top. ACL are quite a good budget piston
Subbed from the go
hey throw that engine in my ute lol
You can just see the hope on Al's face, waiting for Woody to ask if he wore brown or red onions on his belt... but alas, nothin'.
*sees Al leaning over a V8
Me: Aww yeah, bring on the twin turbo!
Al: Nothin's off the table
:>
Darthane hahahahaha nothing was ever on the table unless he’s tryna cram air onto that too😂
Methinks the "8 ball " 🎱 is looking for "10 mm" sockets!.
We need a 10 mm socket emoji ?
Looking forward to much Aussie V 8 Ness. Thanks for sharing.
You're onto it with the splayed 4 bolt main caps Al, Steve Morris agrees with you on that and I think he knows a thing or 2 about big strength, high horsepower engine design 👌
I have a couple of VS generation 304s and an old blue 253 sitting in my shed at the moment 🤣
Could listen to Al talk about engines and just stuff for hours
Very informative. I learnt a lot. I have always had Holden V8's. I even had a blueprinted VK 5 liter which ran like a Swiss watch. My favourite.
Totally agree on that one ! I had a mate in the 80's who had a VK with a fully balanced 304 - @ 60 km/h in first gear it was like a sewing-machine - SO SMOOTH !!!
Love it when Al gives the detailed history and knowledge. Cool to learn over here in the states. Now put two hair dryers on it.
Like this post for Al and Woody to build a 355 stroker outta this!
19:23 small bit of turbulence from the Skid Factory
Really enjoyed learning the 304 history 👍.
Hell yes boys! My first car was a 304 VP Wagon. Stoked on this one.
There's something so satisfying about hearing bolts crack loose.
Cant wait to see what this goes in.
Enjoying the larger displacement builds- more skids- more fun. Leave those tiny car to Marty.
michael tristan nice yeah I loved the VL turbo project then unsubscribed because I’m not interested in any of the projects after that ..
now the 304 project Yes Please and I’m a subscriber again 👌. ...
hope they slap a come stroker crank In her !!
Standard 304’s boring! I speak from experience! As I have a VL Calais 5.0 with the roller cam engine stroked to 355 🇦🇺
@@ianharrd mad skids!
Thank you so much for this I love the Holden V8, my favourite engine.
Driven 304’s as daily’s for many years and have a n/a 355 in the build for my VN Calais.
Al's virtually encyclopaedic with his knowledge. Could listen to the man explain engines on repeat.
"And if i didn't say in inches, no one would know what I was talking about." I wish you knew how much I love you lol
Yeah the skid factory 🏭 Aussie 5L for the win !!
Adam Ridley the Aussie Ford 5.0L was legendary as well. Way before the coyote and after the Windsor.
@@alexcorona WTF! The Windsor was used through to the AU then they went to the mod motor in the BA. When did Ford Australia design a 5.0L of their own!
Ford Built the 302 (5ltr) Cleveland in Australia cast here heads redesigned here , 6 inch rods , crank 3.0 inch. Sure was based on American Cleveland but now USA wants Aussie Cleveland's cause better heads and block.
@@joeycowen7929 lmao nobody in USA wants 30 year old shitty engine parts.What information have you based your comment off? Lmfao
Watching them take the bearings out makes me want to cry. This engine with supposedly 190k looks brand new compared to mine with around 120k. My bearings were so worn that the copper was showing on nearly every crank/piston bearing. I don't even want to think about what the cam will look like when I take the top end apart. SERVICE YOUR ENGINES PEOPLE!!!
MCM and Skid factory number 8 & 9 on trending, well done lads 👊🏻
Except only one is worthy of that. Skid Factory is the only good thing to come out of MCM. No childish sex jokes or weird tangents; just knowledge and thorough builds.
Have a vp bt1 after owning a few ls’s the 5 litre sounds so much nicer!
I love it Al. A see thru plastic bag of bolts... Then labelling it "bolts" now you won't have to open it an look inside to know what it is! Classic.
This is so cool! Would Love to see more engine teardowns/ Australian motoring history lessons.
back in the day the thing to do with these was offset grind the crank,add 350 chev rods or 265 rods and 350 or 327 pistons and make them a 331 cube stroker
yep poor mans stroker :D lots of weird things used to be done to em lol I've heard of people putting 253 cranks in 308's to destroke em to around 277 and they rev to the moon hahaha or even 253 heads as well to bump up compression too lol all poor mans tricks
I had a 333 stroker in my vc. Was a weapon! And sounded tough.
@@STREETCARCULTURE nice. I had vb sle with 333 with a t400 and vlt diff went 👌
The 333 strokers are a fun setup!
@@5lcalais1 253 crank has same stroke as 308 crank, they re about 10% lighter though so that could make it feel like it's more rev happy.
Awesome work @skidfactory this brought back a lot of great memories pulling all nighters helping rebuild a mates 308 which ended up in my hands after he decided to sell his car. I eventually decided to stick this injection head and manifold combo on my VB commodore as they fitted that HQ red block, i still remember the engine number, it was a great little combo that I still miss today
Holy shit Al, the knowledge you have is absolutely second to none. Crazy background and passion on everything on the skid factory
At 25 minutes into a 28 minute video he says he doesn't know much about these engines... having just nonchalantly demonstrated a jaw dropping encyclopedic knowledge of them..!!
This bloke is a legend. Pissed myself at the squashed can and 8 ball. 🤙
i have waited so long for an in depth video on this engine what a great engine builder an person awsum work guys kep it up
wow guys... stepping up your audio game wit this video - great continuity and general awesomeness!
This was the perfect love letter to the Holden V8. To my mind, you showed the engine and what it represented just as much love as it deserved - and not an ounce more 😂
Something soothing about an engine rebuild
And the best history lesson I’ve had in 40 years.
So good to see old school and all the good info. Can't wait to see the turbo on this.
This video is more Australian than a Maccas run in a VH Commodore with Acca Dacca on the radio and a pack of durries tucked up ya sleeve.
Brocky... What a legend. I had the pleasure of seeing him take place in his last ever Bathurst. Such a shame he died in that Cobra. Also as a POME...im crying here. We missed out so much in the UK with our high fuel costs and lack of V8s
What a complete fountain of knowledge you are Al...bloody amazing
Always love the history lessons included in a teardown
Love hearing Australians talk about programming ecus they make the best ecus and programmers
By what metric do you judge such a topic?
Right. Like how Haltech does very well on a 2000hp rb26 but doesn't really like running a 4500hp methanol hemi. Two of the "Street Outlaw" guys run Haltech and do alright.
I'm glad you mentioned the main bearing side clearances, everyone else seems to overlook it. My vertical clearances check out, but the sides of the bearings are 3 thousandths more narrow, which is smaller than the crank! I hope it seats better when I put the crank in, otherwise I guess I need to swap bearings until they check out.
So keen for this build!
Those pistons, rods and crank are all stock and genuine, and the VR series 2 (if I remember correctly) to VT engines came standard with a double row chain. A fairly easy way to get some low cost power is to slap in some flat top pistons, zero the deck height and shave the heads with a bit of head work. The VT heads have heart shaped chambers to give them the extra compression over the previous gen 5 litres (pre VSIII). These simple things will bump the comp up to nearly 11:1 and the headwork will allow the engine to make upwards of 400hp at the crank.
If you're going to stay with a roller cam, you're better off going with hydraulic roller tie bar lifters, as the spider plate is prone to cracking over any more than stock pressure/lift. It's definitely easier on the wallet to go solid or solid roller, but as you'd know, hydraulic roller cams have a better power band. Another great thing about the VT block is that the lifter castings are taller than previous blocks, which means you can pretty much run whatever you want without running into lifter void issues.
Some advice that I'd give you (which I'm sure you're already aware of) is to de-burr the long oil "channels" in the valley. It helps with getting oil back down to the sump, which is a big issue with performance 5L engines. They tend to starve the bearings of oil because it all gets pumped to the top of the heads and gets stuck there. There is also a section of the oil pump that doesn't match up with the block surface that can be shaved down to match, and will improve flow.
Yes! Finally back on a motor I know, stoked to see some GM stuff from you guys
I bought a VN ex police car when I was 19, so that woulda been 1991 or so. 5 speed, 304. everyone told me i was crazy to buy an ex cop car but that engine never let me down, apart from when people tried to steal it (3 times). I had it for 7 years, paid $12,000 for it at govt auction and sold it for $7,000 i think. it had something like 210,000 km on it when i sold it but it didn't use oil. The car itself was falling apart around the engine cuz i never had enough money to fix things but the engine was always strong. like Al says, didn't blow your head off with power but it was torquey, great fun pushing it through the gears. Except when it was wet, then i'd get beaten at the lights by 200Bs and Geminis and stuff because I couldn't get any traction. Only traction control back then was your right foot... like someone else said here it sounded great, mine had stainless headers which i'm not sure were standard or a cop thing but anyway it was a sweet note. great car.
i knew nothing about Holden 304's before this. Thanks!
Jared Farney aaaand if you believe this guys dribble you still won’t sir😉
Hey lads love the show killa as legends wat dreams are made of
How does Larry Perkins not come into this discussion? He and his team had all the right things to make 590hp at the crank and surely they have made some info available on these questions that need answers. I’m 100% positive some of his parts or at least copies of them are still floating around.
as a yank i find this engine series fascinating. i was scratching my head and glad turbo yoda gave a history lesson. would be cool to see one in a hot rod here in the 'states.
Would be easy to do all later motors had Chevy bell housing pattern , there is a lot of Oldsmobile in it.
Love the history lessons, you're real good at explaining things
I could listen to this bloke all day>
Aww HELL yea - an old school[based] pushrod V8!!! Gettin' that modern Haltech treatment!
I'm looking forward to this!
New build, instant like. Nice lump of engine those 304s. My cousin had a freak stock 253 4-door Torana that was always kept immaculate. We were coming back from the Surfers Drags one afternoon back in about 1977/78 (I think). There were 5 of us in it and an SL/R 5000 motored up beside us on the highway (with a car-full as well) and challenged us (best way to describe it back then). My cousin's car ate the slur. One might argue the SLR was neglected engine-wise, but then, that 253 was a good engine.
A hard day at work is rewarded with a lemon squash and Skid Factory. Aw yiss.
Currently working on my VR statesman and you sir are a god send
Excellent info with the story of these engines, one of my favourite V8's
Very informative! Now I'm thinking in hindsight, I probably shouldn't have brought it, but I've owned my VN 304 commadore 20 years and have had nothing replaced in the engine. 57.000 km later & apart from the typical mods in the beginning, torque convertor upgrade, pacemaker headers, blah blah and some other upgrades over the years, it owes me nothing. Who wants a VN these days anyway? So I'll just cruise in it till the motor dies! Cheers mate!
BRILLIANT!!! I'm about to build a 304, first ever attempt at building an engine! A box of lemon squash comin to ya after i finish 💪😎
Dowerin, WA, August 2003. Had to start my VC/SLE 253 in 0 (zero) Celsius. It actually started. Thumped like anything, but it ran.
You're the man, Turbo Yoda.
I'm very confused by this engine but learned alot gonna have to research these further.
Hi gents, I watch most of your stuff because you’re good and I like your humour. But I will be following this series with anticipation as I too am doing a 355 VN style build with a 4l60e. It’s going into a VS with a haltec 2500 so I can do Drive By Wire. I will be using a transmission controller from Compushift.
I am a Cabinet Maker with a little bit of mechanical knowledge, so you two will be able to help me heaps mates. Thank you for what you have shown us so far, I appreciate your efforts.
I'm building one too. It's going to be a 355 with an RPM airgap and Holley Sniper. With a 4l60e (MSD atomic controller). The sniper works well IMO.
love how the 🎱 keeps making an appearance!
Very educational thanks for the info I didn't know anything about those engines as an American . Please keep up the great work
That yellow 1996 batwing commodore you refer to, one recently sold for $335K. Great video!
The venerable Holden V8! I actually miss mine after watching this.
Cool episode lads. Look forward to the next one. Just had to pull the 304 from my vt to fix an oil leak after nambour sprints the other week. Keep up the good work
@Puppet lover yeah wow. That certainly was a sad day
Very cool as always, had a VR with 304 , first engine didnt get real tired til it had over 500000 ks on it. Good old things!
Love the commentary Turbo Yoda! Very knowledgeable and just pleasant to listen too
Finally a good sounding v8 on the channel
One of the best channels on RUclips
😂😂😂😂😂😂 The can and the 8 ball :D Amazing the engine ever ran at all. Ahhhh I found that too funny.
'Probably end up in the bushe's' The man is a god.
Thanks for sharing your passion and knowledge about this engine Al. I own a 94VR CLUBSPORT 5Ltr my pride and joy for 5year's now and planning to keep it for ever, it sounds awesome and man she's pretty quick. Great video Al, it inspiring me how to look after my baby lol. Cheers bro. From Aotearoa NZ
I'm old enough to have worked on stuff of this vintage when it was a little old!!! 😳
I've seen a LOT of GM Engines - but never ANYTHING resembling that!
But then, I'm a Yank...
Fascinating.
That is definitely a Buick Oil Pump. I remember Buick V8s sometimes losing Oil prime during OIL CHANGES!!!
The early 253 ci and 308 ci engines from around 1969 onwards were designed around other GM engines , the early intake port location is Oldsmobile and so it Exhaust port location , valve angles of 8 deg also Oldsmobile, intake manifold also Oldsmobile , the only other GM input was small block Chev bore spacing , they had a unique Bell housing pattern that was very close to Oldsmobile , in fact I'm in Australia I got a 403 Olds small block , I needed a ring gear and starter I was having trouble finding in Australia, I looked at the Olds crank and pulled out a 308 ci Holden ring gear , lined up and bolted on , same amount of starter teeth and the Holden starter bolted to the Olds block ! They share a lot of parts , pop off the valve covers on both motors , same linked alloy rocker mounts ! Later in 1988 GM Holden revised the 308 to 304 ci for or so it could compete in or road racing events as 308 ci comes under 5.1 litre rules and has a massive weight penalty, they took 1/32 off the stroke to make an even 3 inch stroke and 4 inch bore , the road cars got new fuel injection , the " bunch of bananas" intake as it got called looks exactly like a LS1 intake but we got it in 1988, port locations were moved to be even , just like the LS ended up, it got a roller cam , in its final incantation it was enlarged to 355 ci . In 1997 then the next year we lost our V8 and Holdens got 5.7 LS1 motors . There was a small side note , in 1987 when redesigning the Holden V8 the engineers built and tested in car a single over head cam version , it looked like a Ford 427 Cammer from the 1960s it came so close to production it had a build code .
Al’s absolutely correct about the race block manufacturers. Splayed mains are the preferred method of fastening the main caps on 1500+hp rated blocks.
A truck load of technical info, thanks for everything you do :)
Nice subtle shout out to Nugget Garage!
Ilove those steely w/ beauty rings and stock center caps 💪 GREAT LOOK 🙌much love
I love the 8 ball running gag
Holden did plan to keep using the 5ltr. They even built a OHC prototype.
Yep they sure did, engineers Leigh Maguire and Mick Webb made it. They were trying to give it an overseas appeal. They put it in a Calais mule and did everything it was asked for but GM decided to shelf the idea.
Yes Holden had a camner ohc Holden modelled on the Ford 427 camner that almost went into production in 1987 ?