Which 5L would best suit?

[GunnVK]

Thanks for the help guys! My old mans a mechanic with a drag racing background so he would know how to get decent power out of a 308. Haha yeah that's what my 202 was like I was the only one that could start it and knew what to do when it conked out.
Razza- simple and cheap is what I think I want, just so I can do it myself. But then again I'm not sure if I'll regret not going an EFI. hmmm I think I need more time to think

 

[justbad4you]

a daily???? efi 304 for the cold parts of the year and better uel eccon

Hi guys,
New to the forum! Looking forward to the helpful info. Now if this has been covered please point me in the right direction or if its been asked a million times feel free to ignore this thread.

Anyway looking at turning my old daily a VK Berlina 6cyl carb into a 5L. Now not sure whether to go a carbie 308 or EFI 304. This is my situation.

Which is easier to convert the 308 or 304? Both the mechanical side and registering side. Im not that experienced with cars but have some knowledge, my old man is a mechanic so he can help me out.

If i choose a 308 will i be wasting my time and money in the long run on trying to get similar power a 304 can produce? Im not looking at having insane power but just a tough streeter. Can i still get good power out of a 308? Seems like VN heads are the way to go.

Im sure ill have a few more questions later on.

Thanks!

 

[GunnVK]

Yeah the EFIs seem better alround. If I can find a doner car at a good price I'll jump on it. But the ease of a 308 conversion still has me undecided lol.

 

[ari666]

i think you will regret not going VN heads from the very start. otherwise you are buying extractors/cam/intake twice.

get a 308, stick vn heads on and fit a carby. im spewing i didnt go vn heads from day one. now i cbf buying everything again.

 

[GunnVK]

Ari, You mention before that vn heads arent legal? Is their anyway to get them legal by getting it engineered etc?

 

[ari666]

nah cos there is no EGR crossover on them. im told VN on didnt need EGR, so without that your emission system isnt complete. a simple fix (i have been told) is to fit a couple of cats and get it certified. but the thing is, vicroads only want to know if you changed the engine number, which you would have, to VT***, i.e. VK black which is legal. you dont need a rwc cert to change it. just call them up with the new engine number.

but the reg process is also debatable, because its all hearsay, i have never done it.

edit* that didnt really make sense.

if your car is already reg'd, then all you have to do is ring vicroads with the new number, which will be a VK 308, which is legal. the fact that your heads dont have EGR doesnt make a difference to the engine number. itll just suck if you get a canary and have to rwc it somehow.

 

[Darren_L]

if you want to go with a carbed 5L, might be easier just to grab a set of big valve heads off a VL or Yella Terra.
whilst they aren't as good as VN heads, they still have good potential. Depends what sort of power levels you are seeking in the future I guess.

 

[GunnVK]

What if i was to get an 304 EFI and carby it? So i get the advantage of the bigger heads? But hoping it will be an easier conversion. Would i need to still run all the wiring looms etc or will it be just as easy as a 308 conversion? As you said darren it depends on the power i want in the future but eventually we all want to go faster so i think if i dont go the VN Heads now ill regret it in the future

 

[ari666]

the only prob i would have with doing that is that you will have a different engine prefix which may ring alarm bells when you try and change the engine number at vic roads.

VN (onwards) blocks are generally better than 308 blocks too. spiked rods and a few extra webs here and there for strength. if you can land a roller block from a VT then by all means GET IT. lol.

to use a 304 with carby, you will just need to change the dizzy, fuel pump and inlet manifold. (i think thats all) im not sure if there will be issues with the transmission though.

 

[GunnVK]

Thanks again for clearing that up Ari. I would love to go a 308 cause it's cheaper and easier but I think I'll go the efi if I can find a doner car in the near future. Thanks for all the help guys appreciate it! I'm sure I'll have a few more questions. Will I run into any problems with converting the car to carby after iv done the efi conversion and registered it as an efi? With insurance and Vic roads?