308 HP prefix id help!?

[Dtwiz]

Looking to work out what this engine is out of.
Engine number- 308H39**
Date code- E249
HP on one side
Also if anyone knows anything about the heads one side reads - 10M1 and 9947423
And the other -92027335 and 5F7

Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[Bigfella237]

The block is a high compression 308 block cast 24th May 1969, very early production, in fact one of the earliest I've seen. The Holden 308 was first released in the HT Brougham while existing stocks of the Chev 307 were still being used in other model variants, and the Brougham wasn't released until June '69 so this block would've been among the first Holden V8's ever!

It should be a Trimatic bolt pattern, neoprene rear main, with no webbing around the rear main journal casting and the two extra head bolts. If it still has the original bolt-ons it will have no oil filler in the rocker covers but instead the long tube coming out of the timing cover with the vented cap.

The cylinder heads are all over the place:

The 9947423 part number with a cast date of 10th December 1981 is off an early blue motor (excl HDT) that came from either a VC Commodore or a WB Holden, could be either 253 or 308.

The 92027335 part number with a cast date of 5th June 1987 is off a black 304 (LV2 option) V8 from a VL Commodore.

Both heads should have the square EGR ports and the two extra inlet manifold bolts. Also note that if both heads still have the factory valves and seats then only the VL head is suitable for unleaded petrol.

Andrew

 

[Dtwiz]

Cheers buddy, wow one of the first EVER made thats pretty awsome. So its more then likely out of one of the first broughams released. Iv heard the 3 after 308H stands for brisbane cast?

 

[Bigfella237]

Yeah almost certainly from a HT Brougham, I'm not sure how long it took for the Holden V8 to filter through to the other HT variants but with yours being so early it almost had to be.

As far as I know, the number after the 308H is purely a serial number, but the sequence started at 1001 not zero, and I believe all Holden red motors (six cylinders and V8s) were lumped in together (the Chev motors had a different numbering scheme), although I could be wrong?

 

[Dtwiz]

Good stuff! Ah yeah apparently its common for the numbers to be changed when rebuilt as well? So they may not even be original, they do look a little unevenly printed. Also what would f44 stand for upside-down under the crank?

 

[Bigfella237]

I would think it's actually illegal to *change* the numbers, I think what you mean is that the numbers are often restamped?

That's been a design flaw with Holden V8's all along, having the factory number stamped on the same surface that gets machined to true-up the block was a bad idea. All they had to do was machine that pad on an angle or with a slight step-down and it would have saved so many problems over the years.

Not sure what the "f44" might be, machinists commonly mark various codes on the bottom of the block to indicate journal sizes etc. so it may well be something like that?

Andrew

 

[Smitty]

Cheers buddy, wow one of the first EVER made thats pretty awsome. So its more then likely out of one of the first broughams released. Iv heard the 3 after 308H stands for brisbane cast?

.. not possible

GMH only ever had a grey iron (and nodular iron) foundry in Melbourne (....along with the associated fettling plant and machine shops)
no Holden engine was ever cast in Brisbane

 

[Calaber]

Dtwizzz

It would be interesting if you could provide the complete engine number. That might confirm just how early it was.

Bigfella thinks that all red engine numbers were lumped together but I have a feeling each engine size had its own numerical production sequence. I could be wrong but can you provide the full number? (If nothing else it would show who's right here).

On the subject of the Chev blocks in HT's, I owned a 307 HT Premier. The engine number was 30717932K0530 so as Bigfella said, the numbering system was a bit different to Holden blocks.