efi v8 conversion

[mr j-man]

Hey guys!

im looking at getting an efi v8 motor from out of a VR 5ltr calais and converting it to carby
and droppin it into my vh sle.....im not sure what type of g/box sits behind these motors???(vr 5ltr)
now how much work is needed/required to convert to carby and is it worth it as my red 308 is getn clapped out. and do the engine mounts line up ok.... Just hit me with all possibe info needed to do the conversion?
Cheers

[nemesis_adrasteia]

Hey guys!

im looking at getting an efi v8 motor from out of a VR 5ltr calais and converting it to carby
and droppin it into my vh sle.....im not sure what type of g/box sits behind these motors???(vr 5ltr)
now how much work is needed/required to convert to carby and is it worth it as my red 308 is getn clapped out. and do the engine mounts line up ok.... Just hit me with all possibe info needed to do the conversion?
Cheers

not 100% on this but im pretty sure the bolt patterns are different in the 304 block to the 308 block so your gearbox may not bolt up, also you may need an engineers certificate as it is not an engine that was ever used in that car.

[Darren_L]

just need a mod plate in Qld for the engine conversion - will get it easy if the conversion is done right
and yeah the EFI blocks use a 'turbo' gearbox pattern. The VH came out with a blue motor which use an 'aussie' or trimatic bolt pattern, but some of the early red motors used a turbo pattern. VR 5L was either backed by a Borg Warner T5 manual, or T700E auto.

there's lots of threads at this forum regarding the conversion. But in short, VR 5L uses the same engine mounts as your VH, so it will drop straight in.
You'll need a gearbox mount and a tailshaft (or at least the front half) VH radiator works fine (I just got the radiator place to swap the VH top outlet to the straight VN-VS type, so the hose fits properly). Need some sort of adaptor/t-piece to go on your speedo cable if you want to run the speed sensor (which I highly recommend). They are available from the likes of the castlemaine rod shop. Grab yourself a VL 6cyl fuel tank & use a VN V8 pump. You'll also need to run a catalytic converter if you want to do it legal. Keep in mind if you use the VR ECU, you will need to get the VATS (vehicle anti-theft) disabled on the memcal or use a BCM bypass box or the engine won't start.

it's a fairly easy conversion, especially if you are half handy with a soldering iron and reading basic wiring diagrams. If you plan on wiring it yourself, I'd recommend getting your hands on a VN V8 workshop manual. Makes things real easy.

[mr j-man]

cheers! im actually looking at eliminating the efi and running it as a carbed motor! is this posiible?

[Darren_L]

cheers! im actually looking at eliminating the efi and running it as a carbed motor! is this posiible?

yep sure is. Just need to buy another intake manifold to suit a carby and use an electronic distributor out of a blue or black 308
remember you'll also need different extractors as the exhaust port layout is different to the carbed engines