1965 HD Holden 355 stroker

[355HD]

hey guys just thought i through up some pics of my current project. i bought this from a paddock out in beaudesert for $600 and have had the car for only five months and its come a fair way since then some of the add on are:

. 308 black motor from a vk now with a stoker kit put through it, solid cams, titanium valve springs, crow cam rockers, custom rocker covers, gear reduction starter, demon carby custom high enery sump and H/V oil pump, gilmers, electric water pump chrome plated alternator, electronic ignition coil, electric dizzy and a 3 speed trimatic box with 2 stage shift kit and 3500 stally and a holley blue electric fuel pump

. 4 wheel disc brake conversion
. vn ss rear diff with lsd
. bare metal strip back
. new doors and bootlid

and that's it so far (if im not forgetting something)

im hoping to get between 4 - 500 hp out of this car but i can only hope still contemplating wheather to blow it or not (will more than likely)

hope you guys like it

[Panama]

nice mate, you don't see many HD's getting done up. nice to see something a bit unusual too.

looking good anyway mate, keep up the good work and keep us posted with plenty more pics!

[355HD]

thanks man its been alot of fun doing her up and has alot of potential but its been a new experience considering i used to build 4wd's for a hobby (never again as i always kept killing em) but yeah not alot of the old HD holdens around which makes finding parts abit of fun and espicially panels without rust is a rarity but you just need to know where to look but i'll keep updating it as i go along

cheers

[180sc]

nice project! Will you be going to rack and pinion? adding chassis strenghtening?

[355HD]

yeah man gotta get the rack and steering column from lh torana and the kit for the chassis strenghtning is sitting under the car atm lol its going to put put in when it goes away for paint and panel, gotta do it legally lol plus i dont need a twisted chassis

[Blown V6 Hatch]

Nice project. Are you going out through the guards with the extractors? Fit the chassis kit yourself mate, it's a piece of piss. I've done quiet a few V8 early Holdens and I'm in the process of putting an EFI 5 litre in an HR for a customer at the moment, so if you need any pointers just ask.

[355HD]

Thanks mate no im having block hugger extractors made to avoid doing that because it looks abit dodgy and i want it as neat as possible. but i havent fitted the chassis kit because the egine bay and undercarridge has gotta be painted so i could either do it when it come back or he's offered to do it while he's got it there so either or i say lol but the hr 5 litre sounds pretty wild have you got any pics of that up on here. but yeah mate i will definetly hit you up if i need some guidence but its been pretty smooth sailing atm but thanks for that.

[Blown V6 Hatch]

I havn't got any pics of it yet, i'll get some pics tomorrow when i go back to work and post a couple tomorrow night. All the ones I've done apart from one have had the extractors out through the guards, you can make it look pretty neat if you keep the hole small and not cut a massive hole like most idiots do. I found with the one we ran the extractors down through the rails was VERY tight and the engine ran noticeably hotter than out through the guards (this was only a very mild EFI 5 litre in an HR, not a hottie). Reason being they run pretty close to the block & sump and keep the heat in both the coolant & oil, not to mention the starter motor.

Also, for the power you're looking for, you're going to need decent size pipes which will make it even tighter.

For me, in a V8 early Holden, out through the guards is the way to go.

P.S. Who's doing the diff conversion?

What are you doing for a booster/master for the disc brakes? What brakes are you using?

So many questions....

[355HD]

yeah i might have to consider the countabilty of the heat factor when doing the headers (didnt really think of that aye lol). Diff conversion was done by me and a bloke i work with. the diff came with the car as he intended to put it in but never got to it. so i thought why not im gunna have to get a disc brake conversion under it anyway , that being said it was a bit of a grueling task get the spring mounts right because im still using hd leaf springs and i wanted it spot on and got the bloke i work with to weld em all up because i trust his welding abilities alot than i do my own lol. but for the booster im using a HQ V8 brake booster / master and some of the brake lines had to modified to suit (screw fittings and lenghts) but really wasnt that bad to fit up. but atm brake wise it has vn front and rear disc rotors and calipers but i want to look at fitting VX clubsport brakes front and rear with the 4 spot calipers. its had a bit of work done to it and the list is a mile long to make an awsome ride.

[Blown V6 Hatch]

Sounds like you have most of it sorted, only difference is I normally use a small Gemini double diaphragm booster with an XB falcon master on the firewall. Works really well with Commodore 4W discs and nice and small (you will see it in the pics of the HR).

[ari666]

For me, in a V8 early Holden, out through the guards is the way to go.

yeah +1, that was the first question when i saw the v8 in there. out through your inner guards is cool.

nice work man!

[355HD]

thanks man yeah i sort of went off the idea about the inner guards for the fact the only ones ive seen they cut dirt big hole but i guess if you do it right anything can look good i've gotta go and see fatpipes at lawnton (the ones making my headers) and see what they can come up but i will be sure to ask them about the heat issue thanks for that guys!

[dk4400]

Very nice good to see these old girls comeing back to life, I was going to put an 8 in my HR, but on a tight budget with it, for now .
As with the exhaust, personally I would go the block huggers, and just cover them with that heat proof wrap stuff.
Looks great so far.

[Blown V6 Hatch]

cover them with that heat proof wrap stuff.

NO,NO,NO.....Worst idea ever!

[ari666]

i wasnt really commenting on heat, its just i saw an EH once, (which share similar inner guards i think) and the owner had cut out holes 1/2" larger than the individual extractor pipes, so each pipe had its own little hole and it looked amazing. be a bitch to take off later though

dunno anything about the heat thingo.

[dk4400]

NO,NO,NO.....Worst idea ever!

Why is it so? many people use this technique to cover turbo exhausts etc, if its done neatly it looks ok IMO that is of course, I have never seen a decent job of cutting out the inner guards
as it always look bodgy and doesnt keep in with trying to keep the original look and integrity of the engine bay, the only cars that look good with extractors coming straight off the block are Model T Fords and the like, well thats just me anyway.

[Blown V6 Hatch]

Why is it so? many people use this technique to cover turbo exhausts etc, if its done neatly it looks ok IMO that is of course, I have never seen a decent job of cutting out the inner guards
as it always look bodgy and doesnt keep in with trying to keep the original look and integrity of the engine bay, the only cars that look good with extractors coming straight off the block are Model T Fords and the like, well thats just me anyway.

That heat wrap is shit, i've seen cracked extractors a few times from people using that rubbish. If you are going to try and keep heat in the pipes, then do it properly and get them properly coated. You reckon holes in the inner guards looks bodgy, but header wrap is acceptable? LOL.

There is good reason why most early Holdens are out through that guards, that's because it's the best way to do it both in terms of fitting the engine/accessories and getting heat out of the engine/bay. Also, like i said, it can be kept neat if you're not a hack...

[Blown V6 Hatch]

Here are the photos of the HR i'm in the process of building for a customer at the moment....

[calais24/7]

Nice project mate, keep the pics coming

[dk4400]

Very nice, like your work Blown V6 Hatch, thats a very neat engine bay, do you do the stearing conversion as well? with the exhaust like this, does it give better clearance as aposed to the block hugger type? do you run the rack in front or a rear type? is there much difference between them both? also what type of brake set up do you run? so many questions, sorry but am also in the middle of building my HR and not sure which way to go with it ( V8 or leave it a 6 ).
Looks great do you have anymore pics of this and other HR builds?
Cheers.

[Blown V6 Hatch]

Hi mate, thanks for the compliments.

Yes, i did the steering conversion with the CRS front mount rack kit. I have only tried to use the rear mount rack once and there wasn't enough room for a standard HQ sump, you would need to cut heaps out of the sump to get the rack in. So, from then on i've stuck with the front mount rack which works quiet fine but you lose a bit of steering lock over the steering box, but it's hardly noticeable. Also has a 3/4 chassis kit, which really strengthens the car up no end.

With the exhaust, yes you get heaps better clearance with the pipes out the guards. The problems with going down through the rails is that the pipes really hug the starter motor and the block & sump, the starter is a bastard to get in and out that way, but out through the guards it just bolts straight in. IMO, out through the guards is definately the way to go on an early Holden.

For brakes, it's running VN V8 front calipers and rotors (CRS conversion kit) and VN rear discs & calipers on a shortened VN Borg Warner diff (cut & shortened by me) with a modified Gemini booster and XB Falcon master on the firewall. I've used this set up quiet a few times on early Holdens and it works very well. The booster & master is a bit of messing around to fit but it's definately worth the effort.

Make no mistake, it's a lot of work in an early Holden to fit a V8 properly, it's not a 5 minute job.

I've got some pics of a few other early Holdens with various engines in them but i don't have them here, but i can get them if you're interested. (i won't post them in this thread though, i think I've clogged it up enough as it is).

[dk4400]

Yes more pics would be great I have my HR on here as well you can post them on there if you like, the diff is the next thing on my list of things to do, is shortening a VN diff something someone like myself who is ok with the spanners and mig welder, might be capable of doing? or does it need the axles to be balanced etc, I can get a diff from up here at one of the wreckers no worries, and wouldnt mind doing it myself, or at least do what I can, with things like the booster etc, do you sell them like as a kit to bolt in? Do you have much in the way of spare parts for the HRs?
Cheers.

[dk4400]

Hows the HD going? any updates and pics of it so far?
Cheers.

[355HD]

hey man no more updates so far unfortunetly been flat out working but trying to get my hand on a set of front guards, a bonnet and going to see fat pipes at lawnton about the headers so once there all taken care of she'l be up and running and off to get painted so i post some more pics up once we get there

[Calaber]

hey man no more updates so far unfortunetly been flat out working but trying to get my hand on a set of front guards, a bonnet and going to see fat pipes at lawnton about the headers so once there all taken care of she'l be up and running and off to get painted so i post some more pics up once we get there

Good luck with that one. We had probs getting HD guards nearly 20 years ago because they were as rare as rocking horse shit then.....