s1 to s2

[marty20]

just wanting to know if i can convert my s1 valley cover to a s2 cover or isnt the water jackets etc in the same spot? is the s2 cover the same as the s1 except the thermo housing?

[wortus]

I used to have a S1 VN and my understanding is that you can't swap the inlet manifolds over because the water jackets are different and don't line up.

[STEALTHY™]

No such thing as a series 1 or 2 VN.....

they just had running updates

[wortus]

yes its just an easy way to differentiate between the 2 versions of the V6 engine. Incidently my VN was late Oct 1990 and it still had the S1 or older engine with a surge tank and no over flow bottle.

[Calaber]

I think there were actually three versions of the V6 in the VN. I had one a few years back and the Gregory's manual had 3 separate engine sections, for the first version, a second revised version from October 1989 and the third version which flowed on to the VP, with the thermo moved to the front of the engine.

From what I can recall, there were quite a few bits changed in the bottom end between versions 1 and 2, though the thermo remained at the back.

[STEALTHY™]

As caliber said, there are 3 different types. So you should be referring to them as 1, 1.5, and 2. Although, HOLDEN (you know, the people who made the car) didn't use series 1 and 2 etc on a commodore until VP (unless you count VQ as a commodore). Likewise VL, but there were 'more' updates than just 3.....but people still call them series 1 and 2...

[wortus]

I also think the valve gear was changed along the way before the motor with the thermostat in the front came out. There were a lot of other improvements as well. I remember my cousin had a 1988 VN when it was only a few years old and it was noisy and harsh compared to my VN which was a late 1990 model Vacationer Sedan.

[marty20]

mine is noisy and harsh in a good way

[NEDWOB]

No such thing as a series 1 or 2 VN.....

they just had running updates

then why do holen still say do you have a vn series 1 or 2 when you order parts?

[STEALTHY™]

then why do holen still say do you have a vn series 1 or 2 when you order parts?

They shouldn't, because thats not how they refer to them. Guess the myth has caught on. Probably get people asking if you have the chev motor in your VX SS too....

[88GreenVN]

VN VQ VG VP History Thread

^^ Some running changes to the VN.

[NEDWOB]

taken from WIKI

In September 1989 the Series II of the VN Commodore was released with the EV6 motor. Some of the changes included a new cast exhaust manifold, new camshaft sprocket profile and timing chain, improved air and fuel distribution to combustion chamber, recalibrated ignition and injector firing within the engine management computer, wider conrod bearings and revised throttle uptake. The automatic transmission was also recalibrated to match the new engines torque characteristics. These revisions helped reduce initial torque levels whilst also improving the noise and vibration levels of the V6 engine.

[STEALTHY™]

Stopped reading at

taken from WIKI

HOLDEN don't designate them as series, of course common myths will be the same on wiki. Just for intrests sake, does it say anything about the 350 chev motor in VT onwards?

[NEDWOB]

This 1999 update replaced the venerable Holden 5.0 litre V8 engine with a new 5.7 litre Gen III V8 sourced from the United States.[11] The VT II in Gen III V8 guise was claimed by Wheels magazine in 1999 to be the fastest Australian car ever.[15] The V8 was detuned to 220 kilowatts (300 hp) from the original version, but would receive incremental power upgrades to 250 kilowatts (340 hp) throughout its time in the Commodore[5] Cosmetically, the Series II VT replaced amber indicator lenses with clear lenses for both the side and rear turn signals. This was previously only available on the pre-Series II Calais. The updated Calais also introduced a chrome strip on the boot garnish.[16]


i can see the confusion.but holden do still class s1 and s2 with the vns but not the vl calais

[STEALTHY™]

No confusion. I'm just talking about how holden designated their cars. VQ or VP were the first commodore to use the series 1 and 2 tags. Funnily enough, the info on squared arches doesn't mention series, but they do say that the 5L was the motor of choice until the LS1 chev motor was put into series 2 VTs lol

Don't want to derail the thread anymore, the point is out there for those who choose to designate them correctly

[Blown V6 Hatch]

So, the thread title should be changed to "can i fit a running update 2 manifold to my original version of the VN engine?" 99.9% (you being the .1% Stealthy) of People refer to them as Series 1 & 2 because it's simple. Makes it easy to order parts if the person on the other end of the phone knows what you're talking about...

[STEALTHY™]

So, the thread title should be changed to "can i fit a running update 2 manifold to my original version of the VN engine?" 99.9% (you being the .1% Stealthy) of People refer to them as Series 1 & 2 because it's simple. Makes it easy to order parts if the person on the other end of the phone knows what you're talking about...

But what if its from a 1.5 update? Would they give you series 1 parts, or series 2 parts?
1% of people designate them correctly

[Blown V6 Hatch]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the only difference between 1 & 1.5 that the 1.5 has the header tank aswell as the overflow bottle? Where as the 1 only has the header tank? Never got a wrong part referring to them as series 1 & series 2 (bear in mind i order parts on a daily basis).

[STEALTHY™]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the only difference between 1 & 1.5 that the 1.5 has the header tank aswell as the overflow bottle? Where as the 1 only has the header tank? Never got a wrong part referring to them as series 1 & series 2 (bear in mind i order parts on a daily basis).

I never once said thats not what people refer to them as, i said its not the correct way Holden designated their models.
Keep in mind alot (although not 99%) of people refer to the LS1 as a 350

[Blown V6 Hatch]

Get it right mate, they refer to them as a 350 CHEV...

[STEALTHY™]

Get it right mate, they refer to them as a 350 CHEV...

My bad man.
Chances are you could order parts through holden calling them that too

[NEDWOB]

ok i will appologies to stealthy and others about this. but here goes


There are no series 1 & 2 in VNs.

There is a common practice to call the early motor a series 1, and the later motor a series 2, but there were actually 2 major upgrades during the the VN, and 3 distinctly different V6s, so does that mean they have a series 3 as well?

The V6 saw changes almost immediately, with many owners complaining of the harsh nature of this very rushed engine fitment (it should have been held off until VP).

The V8 never saw any decent changes - unless you class climate control and the rear 3rd brake light as an upgrade - March'89 to Oct'89 V8 Calais had regular non-climate A/C until it intro'd in October 1989.

The VN had literally over a hundred running changes during it's life, from things as little as the redesign of the glovebox pivot pin location, to the tail light loom re-configurations (seperate to the 3rd brake light changes), to the wiper arms, the front bumper mould, the headlight glass, badge location changes, colour scheme changes, interior trim colour changes, deadlocking, 2 different alarm systems for the Calais - all of these things are nothing to do with the engine at all!

Whilst these changes were all introduced at different times, holden grouped them into 2 different upgrades, and issued literature, and service manuals to accompany them.

So you have:
July 1988 - VN released.
March 1989 - V8 released - no real changes to the V6
Feb 1990 - the VN "Mark 2 1990 update" coded XX8 by Holden - this covered many running changes from late 89 to feb 1990 under the one umbrella.
Nov 1990 - "1991 V6 Upgrade" (this is the VP motor, with a LOT more changes than the first upgrade to the V6, although it is commonly confused with the 2/90 XX8 upgrade where the thermostat moved to the front).

To tell them apart, the first V6 has a single pressurised overflow bottle on the driver's side.
The XX8 V6 has 2 overflows - the pressurised one, and a non-pressurised one on the passenger side.
The V7X V6 reverts back to just 1 overflow on the driver's side, but it is non-pressurised, and the same bottle was fitted to V8s.


Now for some serious "series" facts for all those who like to perpetuate erroneous assumptions:
The very first Holden to have a series 2 was the WB stato.
The 2nd Holden to have a series 2 was the VQ stato.
The 3rd Holden to have a series 2 was the VP Commodore.

No VB, VC, VH, VK, VL OR VN ever had a series 2.

[wortus]

Thanks MeanVN. I'm a little confused, the VN I owned until a bit over a year ago was made in October 1990, 31st I think was the actual date. It had the motor in it with the thermostat at the back and it only had the pressurised surge tank, no overflow bottle on the passengers side although the holes were there but looked like they had never been used. The pressure cap on the surge tank was round, no lumps for grip like some I have seen and the writing on it was in German.

[sik vt]

this told me ### all just to dumb #### talken shit that know 1 cares about

[Andrew426]

this told me ### all just to dumb #### talken shit that know 1 cares about

I agree, its just become ########s arguing about shit that doesnt matter.

Yes the water jackets are different, but only where the head meets the block. The intake manifold matches up with the heads the same on both engines.

The s2 runs a different crankcase breather, it has a port through the side of each head (il try and find pics) but that gets sealed up by the intake manifold gasket anyway. You may need to make your own breather if your combination of heads and intake manifold leaves you without one, but thats easy enough.

So yes, you can run S2 intake manifold on an an S1 engine.