need help doing some homework... 83 vh sl fitting 307 sb ?????

[LIAMJ VH MISSION]

hey all,,, names liam new to this whole thing but figured reading bout it no point when can ask all you knowledgable peoples.. i have a 83 vh sl commodore sitting in my garage i picked up from a panel beaters college they were going to use it as a project car but they got as far as making it straight as a die and spraying it in primer... now shes in my garage with stock 202 was on gas.. pffft no more... auz 4 speed box and blown diff... i have picked up really really cheap a 307 small block cheap due to it was my dads engine from a tonner ute.. long time ago it breathed but i have pulled the engine right down to bare block and she looks like was made yesterday... before i getting carried away any more i wanna do bit of research into how much drama and headaches am i going to cause myself to fit the 307 into my vh when ive worked that out wanna work on building up the engine to be a absolute torque pig thats later.. anyone here ever fitted a chev sb into a vh or similar and anything u can advise me of would be much appreciated

[Hangman]

The only advice I can give is go a 308. Easier, cheaper to get parts for etc.

Or if it's gotta be a chev, go for a 350. Same work to put in, 43 extra cubes...

[ari666]

castlemaine rod shop sell kits to put SBC in in early commos. lots of off the shelf bits to pretty much bolt it straight in.

but advice: 307's are boat anchors. the worst of the SBC. bore and stroke are all retarded and dont work together. dont waste your money on it, as hangman said go 350, parts will end up costing you less to rebuild the 350 than the 307 (cos they are cheaper/more common) and the bore and stroke match really nicely to make tonnes of HP.

also the fact that there are a bazillion different threads online about making power out of a 350, which means you have heaps more tech support should you need it.

[Darren_L]

SBC into early Commodore is a terrible conversion.

[Blown V6 Hatch]

SBC into early Commodore is a terrible conversion.

Yep, agreed. Holden V8's belong in Commodores not Chevs.

[LIAMJ VH MISSION]

i have been told over and over about my little 307 and how it is not worth building up thats what was driving me to do it but i can see that im not going to get anywhere with it and is only going to cause me headaches... i only wanted it for that deep purr of the chev sb i remember my dads ute sitting in shaking at the lights everyone looking at us while it roared everywhere but im not keen on the massive muck around with the engine.. ok so next angle of attack im not that up on holden info as my dad was only a chev freak spent time as a kid playing with chevs as u guys have mentioned 308 parts i can virtually pick up from the local milk bar... im going to hunt for a 308.. whats the deal with dropping a v8 into my vh set up with the 6 ???? anything major i have to look out for ??? any issues in fitting it or will it just drop in and bolt up with the right bits n peices ??? i am getting my baby sprayed real soon gun metal grey.. boring colour yes but theres no plastic crap on my vh and i love the whole solid metal look of her whant it look like solid beast... hope yall can offer a few words of advice on the swap... and hey 307 small block chev for sale in really good nic but let me guess no one will wanna buy it lol..

[Hangman]

308 should bolt straight in mate.

[DerekP]

You will need to do a few other things like suspension and brake upgrades, radiator and power steering rack etc

[RazzaCaine]

need a v8 k-frame if am correct?

[ari666]

no dont need a K frame, but if you can find a complete k frame then bolting all the V8 parts is as simple as lowering the car onto the frame, tightening the intermediary shaft, doing up 6 bolts on the k frame and 3 bolts per strut top.

steering rack, brakes and springs are different, but they are all on the K frame. if that makes sense.

[SL/ENUT]

K frames same between 6 and V8.

[LIAMJ VH MISSION]

alrite now im gettin somewhere... im gonna do a bit of hunting around for a 308 donk see what i can come up with and probly get back here to work some more things out.. thanks all of you are gettin some serious drive behind me to stuck into this build.. id like to be able to go for a cruise by next chrissy with it looking and running neat.....

[Darren_L]

a healthy 308 will sound at least as good as a Chev, if not better. The Holden V8 is well known for having a great note.

Easy conversion, I did it on my previous VH.
Engine literally drops straight in, using V8 mounts. Unplug your 6 cyl harness from the firewall plugs and plug the V8 harness straight in.
You'll need a V8 radiator
If you haven't got a set of aftermarket front springs already, then you'll need a set of V8 front springs.
You can keep your original steering rack if you like. Generally speaking all V8's were standard with power steering, but if you want to work on the biceps, a non-pwr rack will suffice (I kept my non-pwr rack). Will need the right gearbox mount for whatever gearbox you use. May need a V8 tailshaft to fit.

Front discs are the same on 6 & 8 cyl VB-VK. V8 Commodores were standard with rear disc brakes, so you'll really need to upgrade to do things right if you have rear drums.
You could easily knock the conversion over in a day

[LIAMJ VH MISSION]

darren awesome as... thats straight forward as.. and my whole hunting mission is over my mate here at work has a red block 308 from a old hz statesman i think he said with an auto tranny bolted up maybe turbo 400 to it was from his grandpas old toy hes grandma told him the last time it was running was running sweet but ran out of fuel has not been ran since... whats the best thing i could do to this engine has been sitting for around 8 9 years i dont want this engine as my pride and joy i want to buy another 308 to build up properly as i im not going to bother with my chev.. as ma car is registered still id like to get the v6 out go have it sprayed out inside and out when i get back have my mates 308 and auto ready to drop in and use as ma work pig for a little bit... vicroads gave me a christmas present of my full vic licence just before christmas after not having one for 3 years was a nice surprise in the mail... but yeah whats the minimal i can do to this engine besides oil change and change all the cling on parts alternator, starter, dizzy, anything important i should look into ????

[DerekP]

You may want to check with Vic Raods whether you can fit a red motor to a VH.

[ari666]

I dont think HZ is red. pretty sure they are blue (u shaped egr crossover port) so you can get away with it. just make it look like the egr is working. other than that im pretty sure its just a case of informing vicroads of the change of engine number and your done.

[SL/ENUT]

Its red. The blue engines came out in the mid 1980s during the VC/WB/VH run.

[ari666]

when i say 'blue' am more referring to the U shaped port. i think Hz had a U-shaped port, so can hook up egr.

[Blown V6 Hatch]

when i say 'blue' am more referring to the U shaped port. i think Hz had a U-shaped port, so can hook up egr.

That doesn't make it legal though Ari...

HZ had the red motor, regardless of the EGR it's a red motor. Which means, no go in a VH.

[ari666]

ok, got my book out. it says "HZ onwards had a square shaped EGR port" which is the same as VK black

HZ was released in 1977 and had:

retarded camshaft timing
EGR
carbon cannister

all to meet ADR 27, which is the same as the VH 5.0 liter blue - option L31. the only real differences i can spot is that the HZ has a comp ratio of 9.7:1 and the vh 9.2:1 the HZ had 170kw@5000rpm and the VH 126@4400

i cant see any problem with fitting that partiular red engine into the VH. paint it blue if it makes you feel better. but it meets ADR 27 and thats all they care about.

[LIAMJ VH MISSION]

lol i might sound like a twit but most of that went over my head i think the best thing i can do is pick up the donk take a few photos of it a put them up on here... im glad i joined on this as u guys are seriously helping so so much.. but reading through what u guys said this 308 sounds way more fun to play with than the 307... and i thank u guys for saving me the head f#@k of trying to get that thing in my baby... i really cant ask much more until i get this motor and see its condition its less a carby and less a few hanger parts but otherwise complete so i will attempt to get this beast asap and post up sum pics see what the go is.. till then seriously most appreciated for all ur help u guys ur makin my first build up a hell of alot easier and im learning from just this forum so much cant wait to get stuck into it...

[Hangman]

Check you're gonna be able to legally put in a motor that predates the car first. I'm pretty sure they frown upon it...

[commycraz]

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