Converting Starfire 4 to 308

[Immortality]

Basically you need the entire drive train/suspension from a V8 car. 6 cylinder K frame is the same as the V8. Brakes were basically the same for all models in those days i.e pathetic so an upgrade would be a great idea.

The starfire had the smaller wheel stud pattern and smaller weaker diff. VN diff will be to wide, ideally a VK borgwarner diff is ideal for width or a VL BW diff, you will most likely need to upgrade with 4 spider centre and 28 spline axles.

Otherwise the list above covers most of it.

 

[gtrboyy]

k swap or big cam/twin webbered starfire

 

[Pollushon]

If I were you I'd keep it as is. Over a few decades there is likely to be a crazy monkey that gives you a lump of coin for it. As a child of this generation I remember the starfire all too well. It was an absolute turd that most diehards would rather forget. When HQ 5.0L traumatics were a dime a dozen and fuel was 20c a litre the only question was..... why Holden?

 

[vr304]

Totally IMPOSSIBLE.

Definitely isn’t mate why would you say that?

 

[Immortality]

If I were you I'd keep it as is. Over a few decades there is likely to be a crazy monkey that gives you a lump of coin for it. As a child of this generation I remember the starfire all too well. It was an absolute turd that most diehards would rather forget. When HQ 5.0L traumatics were a dime a dozen and fuel was 20c a litre the only question was..... why Holden?

I had a VH starfire with four on the floor as my first car. A tough little thing, took a lot to kill it.

 

[VS 5.0]

Definitely isn’t mate why would you say that?

Coz it isn't mentioned in the owner's manual.

 

[vc commodore]

You will need the 6 cyl k-frame...V8 k-frames are identical to the 6's...When getting the k-frame I would suggest getting one from a VB or VC (Unsure about VH), so you can use your original steering rack

The diff...If you are running a stock motor, or a mild motor, a disc braked rear from a VB to a VK will suffice....Start getting into stomper motors, then start looking at better diffs that what I have suggested

Get the tailshaft to suit the diff you are using. Some disc braked diffs have small unis, some have the larger unis....The Vk they had a flat plate on the diff instead of 2 u-bolts holding the tailshaft in place.

Accelerator cable is different length 4 to 8....Easily obtained.

M/C and booster...Not sure about

Front loom...Easy to swap out...Unclips from the fire wall...Just a matter of unclipping/bolting/screwing the rest from the engine bay..Take yu an hour to swap over, taking your time...

Alternatively, modify the loom to suit the engine, if going carbed or injected

Front rotors must be changed with the diff....4cyl commodores ran Torana wheels....6cyl and V8 ones ran a different stud pattern and are so common...

Springs will need to be changed to get the correct height...A bodgy way is leave the standard 4 cyl springs in, which is a cheats way to lower it, but I don't recommend it.

Front brake calipers need changing.....The most common conversion, which improves the braking is the VT brakes....But choice is yours.

Radiator needs changing

That just about covers it

I do know a wreckers in S.A that has a few early girls being wrecked, so you need the details, holla....Was there just over 2 weeks ago and know they are still there...Even saw a complete 6cyl 4 speed gearbox conversion for $350

 

[Vin999]

Thanks mate. Im thinking VN diff housing so I can put wider wheels on the back as wheel. Any info on K Frames. It looks to me like it already has a V8 K Frame. Just the location of the mounts an all. Correct angle and everything!

Ahh the good old Sheetfire nickname, errr I meant Starfire... would you believe they had fitted same beefier rods from the old 6cyl XU1 motor and was probably the very high ratio salsbury diff that made them go faster than a slow snail running.

If your wanting to do a conversion, easier to get a whole donor front end VB/Vk with complete struts, springs, knuckle units/kframe/ps steering/5x120 hubs and sway bar etc and just drop yours out (14bolts) complete and replace with the complete donor in 1 go. There's still a few cheep 6cyl cars left around being wrecked. Anything not worn V8 is harder to source in these crazy high $$$ covid times, especially in Tassie.

From memory your rear sals diff is 1390mm wide. For V8 you can use the VL Turbo BW 3.45 28 spline 4 bolt flange or the VN V8 diff, same thing, though it's wider, making your rear track bigger by about 11mm on each side limiting tyre/rim size. You can use the V8 VB/VK 10 bolt Sals 3.08/3.55 LSD Ubolt uni diff which is the same track as your 8 Bolt Sals one, but these are very rare/hard to find from a V8 car.

You can also use the more available single pegger 6cyl 25 spline VK/VL BW but will struggle with a 308/304 motor.

 

[vc commodore]

Ahh the good old Sheetfire nickname, errr I meant Starfire... would you believe they had fitted same beefier rods from the old 6cyl XU1 motor and was probably the very high ratio salsbury diff that made them go faster than a slow snail running.

If your wanting to do a conversion, easier to get a whole donor front end VB/Vk with complete struts, springs, knuckle units/kframe/ps steering/5x120 hubs and sway bar etc and just drop yours out (14bolts) complete and replace with the complete donor in 1 go. There's still a few cheep 6cyl cars left around being wrecked. Anything not worn V8 is harder to source in these crazy high $$$ covid times, especially in Tassie.

From memory your rear sals diff is 1390mm wide. For V8 you can use the VL Turbo BW 3.45 28 spline 4 bolt flange or the VN V8 diff, same thing, though it's wider, making your rear track bigger by about 11mm on each side limiting tyre/rim size. You can use the V8 VB/VK 10 bolt Sals 3.08/3.55 LSD Ubolt uni diff which is the same track as your 8 Bolt Sals one, but these are very rare/hard to find from a V8 car.

You can also use the more available single pegger 6cyl 25 spline VK/VL BW but will struggle with a 308/304 motor.

The v8 disc brake diffs also came with a 2.60 ratio, which also had the smaller universals (commonly called 6cyl unis).....

Strut wise...You can use upto and including VP.....It is actually better to use VN/VP bearing plates, as it allows more scope with camber/caster changes, when compared to pre-VN.

 

[Immortality]

I've got 2 of those large salisbury diffs. The 2.6 was a great cruising diff ratio with a traumatic but didn't do much for acceleration.