VC - replace stock 253 with rebuilt 308 or do LS conversion?

[Marco308]

Hey guys.
Doing my first car restoration and was going to find a decent VC / VH 308 to start with but all I have found so far is a pretty straight VH wagon with the original 253 still in it and running well.

In terms of motor upgrades, bang for the buck should I find a decent 308, get it professionally rebuilt and replace the 253?? Or just rebuild the 253?

Thanks for any advice.
My budget in total for new motor / rebuild is under $10k
Cheers

 

[gtrboyy]

Find one in best condition you can particularly body & interior...will save you heaps of time & money.

That will probably chew most of your budget,probably end up with super clean 6cyl model...I like injected 5l/th700,get more power than carby v8 better drivability/manners.

In nsw no engineers required + everything bolts up off later model cars.

10k budget would be tight.

 

[Marco308]

Thanks. I agree that finding one with a good body not too much rust and a decent interior is most important.

I meant to say in my post that my entire budget for the motor purchase / swap / rebuild was 10K.

Cheers.

I'm thinking about finding a clean original 253 and just nicely rebuilding that with a bit of extra work....

 

[Sandman]

Depends on how much you can do yourself really and what you want out of the car. If you just want a cruiser a VH wagon with a small cam will do that just perfectly even with the 253. Whereas a LS conversion can be done for under 10k but you need good contacts and to do all the work yourself too + engineering etc. With my VC for reference I'll be running a carby'd 304/T700/Borgy in mine when I get around to it and should owe me less than 8k including the purchase of the car.

 

[hainzy]

You could also consider a 304 injected motor swap instead of an LS. A lot of people drop these in commys. I have, and it ran beautifully. Prob work out cheaper than an LS. Buy a cheap VN or something and get all the bits out of it you need. If you go auto its less work than modding it for a T5 too. Just need to get a fuel tank from a VS or something, which bolts straight up easily. (Although Im not sure about wagons..) You can also use the VC K frame, but you are better changing to the VN K frame which bolts straight it. Just need an intermediate steering shaft from a VL commy. All easy stuff to source. And you have to change the battery to the other side but that easy too. Prob have to do that for the LS anyway.

 

[Marco308]

Hey guys. Thanks for the advice.

I've decided to stick with carb and old school so no longer considering LS conversion or a 304 injected motor.

I will probably either get the blue original 253 rebuilt and worked a little to get me somewhere around 250-300 HP or maybe try and find a decent 308 somewhere and get that rebuilt and drop that in instead.... leaning toward just working on the original 253 that is already in the vehicle.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

 

[vc commodore]

You can get a carb manifold to suit an injected VN to VS motor for about $700 brand new....The VN style motor bolts straight in....Just need a turbo bolt pattern trans to suit, or re-drill and tap 2 holes at the top of block to use the original trans....

A relly uses a VS V8 motor in his VK, as a burn out car.....Standard bore block, (it'd done 220,000 K, before he put it in) biggest hydraulic cam he could buy (can't remember the specs), 650 D/P quick fuel holley....Spins it to 6,200 RPM (rev limited) every comp.....Threw rings and bearings in it 3 years ago and still torturing tyres to this day and still running strong.

He is using a traumatic trans.....Had this in the car for 4 or so years and last comp he tore the pump up in it.....$1,800 later, he's ready for the next comp.

All up I think he spent about $1,200 on the motor to get it where it is

 

[hainzy]

If its the original 253 for the car, then just pull it out and put it in storage unmolested, then get a decent 308 and do that one up. That way you get the best of both worlds. Unmolested original engine, and go faster, more powerful 308. Which is better anyway....

Popping the 253 out and dropping the 308 in its place, is a very straightforward job.

 

[gtrboyy]

If it's original 253..pull it out wrap in plastic.

Otherwise get 308 block that's trimatic bolt pattern & stick the topend on it.

The extra 55 cubes well worth the effort also swap out diff gears to 3.36 or 3.5

Unless you go crazy on a 253 & spend up big time you'll only be disappointed...308 or bigger!

 

[Marco308]

If it's original 253..pull it out wrap in plastic.....

Unless you go crazy on a 253 & spend up big time you'll only be disappointed...308 or bigger!

Thanks mate.

You're not wrong about spending up big - a really good engine builder here has told me to completely and properly rebuild the 253 to make it go well I'm looking at about $12K!!!!

Now I'm really not sure what to do. Didn't budget that much for motor work alone.