vh commodore 308 HELP

[trixjnr]

hey just joined and having a read through posts i have a couple of questions i have a little bit of an idea on engines (enough to be dangerous)

i have just bought a commodore with FAIRLY stock 308( built 15,000 kms ago) and nine inch with 3 speed auto b&m shifter for $2000
new paint and lowered pedders suspension interior tidy (bargain i thought)

(1)I have a 308 in it dont know if it is blue or black it is black in paint colour?

(2))i have removed the distributor it has two wires coming from it and wondering is it hei (it has no points) the engine still has a coil the distributor has a box sort of thing on side of it with a brown and dark green wire coming of it one was connected to each side of coil.? also it has a vaccum advance but no pipe coming off it does it require one and where does it go to

(3)is it worth while to replace this with one of these hei distributors on ebay (billet ,msd)$ 80 which have coil on top of the cap and what is involved in changing them over?

(4) the fuel guage dosent drop below half (drops below when not ignition not on)but runs out of fuel at half on guage what might the problem be?

(5) does the vh have heater tap in engine bay or in cab hoses cut at firewall and want to replace hoses.

i appreciate any replys as i dont know what to do and would like to slowly fix it up might need some instuctions later how to fit the dizzy(which ever way i go)

thanks alot

[trixjnr]

also how does the tacho work it dosent seem to move

[Tom_1569]

IF its the original engine:
Its a Blue motor, and has a HEI Dizzy.
Those MSD dizzy's on Ebay are apparently fakes, if you have a look on the msd site it has all bout it their somewhere, but apparently from people who have bought them, they are better then the original blue HEI, just make sure you buy the correct shaft as theirs two different lengths.
I'd say your fuel sender gauge is stuffed, theirs a way to test it, someone else will post this up caus iv forgotten how lol.
Dont know bout the heater sorry.

Best of luck with your project.
Cheers Tom

[Matt0]

Hi,

1 Pretty sure it would be a black motor
2 It sounds like the original Bosch electronic distributor. The brown wire you mention is actually pink in colour. It's probably just dirty making it look brown. This wire connects to the positive side of the coil and the green wire goes to the negative side. The vacuum advance hose connects to the manifold vacuum switch at the front of the motor in front of the fan. I will look up later which one as I can't remember.
3 I wouldn't waste any money buying distributor upgrades. The original one is a very good performer. I don't like the idea of distributors with built in coils. I would never buy one in my life.
4 Sounds like a sticky sender unit in the tank. Pull it out and see if you can repair it. If not, get a second hand unit from the wreckers.
5 No heater tap in the VH. Best get GM water hoses as they are moulded and easier to replace.

[Matt0]

also how does the tacho work it dosent seem to move

The tacho works from the pulse coming from the negative side of the coil. If it's connected then the dash guage might be faulty and would involve a speedometer place to repair it unless if you are good with your hands and can fix it yourself.

[trixjnr]

Thanks for your replys i cleaned up the dizzy today and yes it is pink under the wire cover.
so the two replies reckon just to put the original dizzy (bosch back in ) or should i get it regraphed or replace with someother one .does the coils that are on it work with any upgrades?
there is no wore coming off neg of coil for tacho all there is ,is one for dizzy.
are the trimatics alright with the b&m shifters that is fitted.

thanks i buffed it today oh my god it is shiny and polish it tomorrow it has one little scratch 2cm long on whole car .

[Matt0]

You might have to dig around and find the tacho wire. It might have been taken off for a reason.

Gah B&M shifters. Anything will fit if you want it to. There is kits for the trimatics to fit them easier but personally I think they are gay. Especially what makes it even worse is the drive indicator is on the American left hand side.

[immortality]

a coil upgrade can't hurt, especially if you got the original coil on there. the MSD blaster 2 coils aren't bad (you can also get em in a chrome finish if you like the look).

i wouldn't be surprised if the wire for the tacho is missing from the coil, after all, the vacuum advance tube from the dizzy is missing also.

sounds like you've picked up a decent ride there, should post it up in the "my rides" section with some pics

[Matt0]

I had two early Commodore original coils pack up on me recently. One coil took me two days to find it was causing spark problems. It drove me nuts until I found the coil failed. It was leaking oil for some time and the primary and secondary internal windings were shorting with each other causing erratic spark problems and eventual failure. The other coil was leaking oil and ended up being fried. If you don't replace your original coil and you have problems later on, check the coil first as it's a likely source for a problem.

Matt.

[trixjnr]

so pics of car

Vh Commodore Bargin

[trixjnr]

Thanks for the advice it is helping i tell you i just going to source a water pump as its leaking throught the hole in the bottom and a rocker cover gasket.


it has a hi energy sump on it do they use same gaskets.


pics of beast


Vh Commodore Bargin

[Matt0]

The water pump probably just needs a new gasket. Use some loctite #3 on the gasket face when putting on. This helps the gasket make a real good seal. The pump may have corroded away as alloy pumps don't last forever.

If it's the right side rocker cover, you might need to unbolt the EGR valve as there isn't much room. You could use some loctite #3 on this gasket too but I don't bother has the gasket sits in the groove nice and tight.

What's a hi energy sump? Whatever sump you have fitted, it would use the same gasket size. You can buy single piece ones now. If I need to replace my sump gasket, I would probably give the single gasket a go.

[Pub247]

water pump seal sound farked if its leaking froma little hole underneath they are designed to do this tacho wire is built into the loom you need to take the cluster out and look to where it plugs into the back of the cluster.
Is it the original motor ? do you know where it was rebuilt most rebuilders paint them black because it looks better best way to tell is with the engine number