my green vk berlina

[ari666]

i was only going to do the conversion because the 202 isnt really that good with fuel i get further in my statesman with over 2 times the power.

they are not all that bad on fuel. it probably just needs a really thorough tune up.

 

[Darren_L]

yeah my old 202 VH was ok on fuel, not as good as a V6, but not bad. As said tune them right, get the carb setup correctly and they are reasonable on the fuel.
might be worth checking with Vic roads as to whether a 5spd conversion would be acceptable. That way you could whack a Celica 5spd behind the 202, which would improve the economy on the highway

hopefully you don't get hassled over having a blue motor in a VK.....

 

[Hoska91]

mate there is always going to be something that beats you on the road, my dads mate runs a 202 in his speedway car that has 180 hp at the wheels and its only a 2 barrel black motor.
in a light car 200rwhp is plenty enough to beat most cars on the road. in the end its not how much power you make its what car the engine is in.

 

[ari666]

plus your driving an "old girl". your excuses include: winning; HA, bet you didnt expect that! or losing; meh, its an old girl

these cars are more about style and driving in an era when driving was fun. not ABS and TRC and DSC and YAW and all those other gay abreviations, not $1.50 per liter, no hoon laws etc. sticking a V6 in one of these is sacrilege

 

[VK SL 3800]

Fail to see it being sacrilege, the V6 isnt that bad. IMO the biggest let down of the VB-VK was the outdated 202, the rest of the car was so modern for its time but then you have the 202 which is hardly different from the 149 from the 64 EH, its like having the VP engine in the latest VE covered in Air pumps and emissions crap. Dont get me wrong i love my red motors but they should have been replaced or had a bit of effort put into updating them for the commodores. Anything before a commodore i would call sacrilege to repower with anything other then a Holden 6 or V8.

 

[ari666]

, the rest of the car was so modern for its time QUOTE]

oh please!!

you show me ONE modern thing on a VK that a japanese car didnt have 10 years earlier.

 

[VK SL 3800]

This is holden were talking about, they went from the basic HZ/WB series complete with draglink steering, to the up to date rack and pinion and McPherson strut with far superior handling and ride quality then anything previously made, or rather released by GMH. Comparing with the Commodores competitors here, IE mainly the falcon, which sill had the draglinks in 1989 with the XF falcons.
In short the Release of the VB was a huge change in Australian motoring. Any older bloke will remember it well, there was a fair bit of hype. My old man never stops crappin on about his old VB. Still funny the falcon outsold them by the thousand though.

But no, there is nothing i can think of the commodore had before a Japanese car., and there never will be.

OH wait! find a Japanese car fitted with an epic digi dash pre 1974, yehhhhhhhh.

 

[Calaber]

When the VB was released, it was a revelation, not just for Holden, but for the Australian motor industry generally. Dynamically, it was clearly superior to just about any Jap car available here at the time. (think Corona's, Sigma's, for example - very ordinary cars, but typical of what was being served to Australians in 1978). It might not have had the gimmicks and features of the Japs, but it was a better car in the things that mattered, like handling, comfort and primary safety. It had seen a basic German design, which suffered chronic structual weakness when being tested during Commodore developent, strengthened and modified to ensure long term durability in our conditions. As pointed out already, it's greatest weakness was the engines. The sixes were way past their "use-by" date and it was only Holden's poor financial position in the mid to late 70's that prevented them being supplied with more modern engines. The V8's were a bit younger and still had a fair bit of life left in them at that stage. The transmissions were also out of date - by the late 70's, three speed auto's and four speed manuals were becoming obsolete, yet Holden soldiered on with both for another ten years before they were completely dumped. Five speed manuals became optional after only a few years, but that was the issue - they remained an option, not standard, until the VN.

I'm with the OP regarding his proposed upgrade. If it was legal for him to do it, I would have turfed the old L6 and standard trans for a V6 as well.

I can clearly remember the release of the VB. It was the biggest news from Holden since the HQ, but probably much more significant, because it showed a whole new direction for the Company with future models.

 

[matty94]

yep the straight six was the biggest let down of the vb-vk they draged that motor on for to long it might have been alright back in 1948 but even then it was based on a pre world war 2 design at the end off the day the engine wasnt the best. it looked like it was on some kind of life support in the vk. gearboxs really werent the best ether im sitting on 3500rpm at 100kph on the freeway same with my old vk i was sitting high on revs on the freeway. i just wanted an engine that was alright on fuel and had the power to tow and i no the v6s can tow with out a problem. i wish there wasnt p plate restrictions ide already have a 308 in it.

 

[Calaber]

yep the straight six was the biggest let down of the vb-vk they draged that motor on for to long it might have been alright back in 1948 but even then it was based on a pre world war 2 design at the end off the day the engine wasnt the best. it looked like it was on some kind of life support in the vk. gearboxs really werent the best ether im sitting on 3500rpm at 100kph on the freeway same with my old vk i was sitting high on revs on the freeway. i just wanted an engine that was alright on fuel and had the power to tow and i no the v6s can tow with out a problem. i wish there wasnt p plate restrictions ide already have a 308 in it.

Matty

The original six cylinder Holden engine also called the "grey motor" or "sideplater" because of its colour or the large cover plate on the driver's side of the block, was marketed from 1948 until August 1963, when the EH was introduced with the "Red Motor". The red six was not derived from the early Holden "grey" motor - it was a totally new design, based heavily on the existing Chevrolet six cylinder engines, but made to smaller capacities for the Australian market. Whichever way you look at it, the red motor was 21 years old by the time the VK was released and was unable to be updated without enormous expenditure by the factory, which it clearly didn't warrant. Some here will disagree but I believe the Commodore should have received a new and more modern motor from day 1.