202 and 173

[jake87]

Can anyone tell me the advantages and dis advantages with a 3.3 and a 2.85.

 

[Clinster]

173 has a shorter stroke and i think smaller bore.
I remember it as being a stronger and more effcient motor than the 202.
Can anyone elaborate?

 

[Goon]

Best choice would be 202 :thumbsup:

Part wise i think you would have a way better chance of finding parts for a 202.

 

[Pretender]

202 had a sizeable amount of extra torque.
173 was ridiculously better on fuel, up to 20% better in the same car (Torana/Commodore).
Both respond incredibly well to better breathing with larger gains in power, torque and especially economy with the 202.
Parts for either are easily obtainable as most are the same.
Both are hard to kill.

 

[jake87]

thanks dude, i have a blue 173 in my vh its pretty good on fuel compared to my old red 202 in the torana but still doesnt seem to have much power, could be the carb. thinkin about changin to fuel injection from a black 202 from a vk

 

[yobbo88]

ok seein as this is the modification section and this thread involves 173's ill ask here and other people will be able to find answers easily enough...

right now have a 83' VH 173 blue top (2.85L for those playing at home) wagon and have already whacked on a set of "advance" extractors and a 2.5" exhaust but thats it... im not scared to do any work myself and have a lot of people around to help me along... what else can i do to make it a better car all round? name it and ill consider it most probably do it

 

[Pretender]

Install a better cam and perhaps a new carby (not a Holley but that's only my opinion).
I don't know the ideal specs for a cam but somebody on here will or you can enquire at any auto parts shop.
I'm old and in my younger days you could buy cams ranging from Stage 1 (mild) to Stage 5 (Racing or wild) nobody paid attention to the actual specs.
The 173 does respond very well to a cam and extractors.

 

[1vngal]

Can anyone tell me the advantages and dis advantages with a 3.3 and a 2.85.

If it came down to a choice for me, I'd choose the 202. Mainly for the reputation the 202 holds. I have previously owned a 202, and it was more relaible than my VN!! It had plenty of power, plus it wasn't too bad on fuel. I can't really ellaborate on the 173 though, although I have heard they are a strong and reliable motor.

But one of the best things about the Holden straight 6, is the simplicity! And it doesn't take much modification to make it a damn good and responsive engine.

 

[yobbo88]

Install a better cam and perhaps a new carby.

straight off im really happy with the economy im getting from my car so with these 2 options in mind would a mild cam upgrade (i dont wanna go crazy here) be a noticable difference? i would love my car to have that rough lumpy sound of a bigger cam upgrade but dont wanna be able to see my fuel needle go down by the second just sitting at the lights...

with the carby upgrade do some carbies have better mixing capabilities? as in will a higher quality carby filter more air in so a leaner or better burning mixture is offered to the engine?

im slowly learning so correct me anywhere im wrong.

 

[Pretender]

I'm also still learning.

I had what was called a 1/4 cam in in my 173 VH 5spd. This was supposedly 1/4 way to being a race cam (or so everyone used to say), in other words a mild cam. I had the standard Varijet carby rebuilt and Perry Headers/extractors.

The idle was lumpy enough for me to be asked quite a few times if it was an eight, at least until I gave it some revs and then there was no mistaking that it was a six.
The economy improved quite a bit and even driven with a bit more gusto I got 28mpg (10L/100km) in the city and could easily get 35+mpg on a country run.
Just with those mods my 0 - 100km/h dropped by nearly two seconds to a supercar like 9.8 seconds (that was considered good back then).

So I was happy with the standard carby and the car remained very reliable.
There are a few different carbies you can fit like Webbers, Twin or triple SUs and twin or triple Strombergs that may provide a bit more go but the strombergs and SUs will use a fair amount of fuel and need tuning every weekend.
Everyone used to fit a 350 Holley. In my opinion and from experience unless the motor is fully worked they are too big for a Holden six. People who had them fitted would get them rejetted when once they realised they got only 10mpg and had no guts. The end result was an expensive carby that offered less performance and efficiency than the standard carby. The Holley 180 was much better suited but were hard to find.
The Holley was the thing to have though so everybody got one.
The noise they made convinced many that their cars were going quicker.

Sorry for the waffleand not much help. Because I haven't looked into it for so long there may be many other good choices these days.
There will be someone here who knows.