17 replies to this topic

[Rockoz]

will swap you for a motor out of a WB Statesman

[GML-31]

there would be lots of people who may be chasing a HT block, so if he doesnt mind I am sure someone will do a deal in your favour

[Collo]

i had a HT is most likey out of a lh or lx SLR5000 ( date code on the size can verify which model/year) you can get a pretty penny for them as they are sought after if the date match's with in a few months of a SLR5000 i also beleive they came in SL tagged 308 toranas as well.

Did 308's come out in sl's?

[yel327]

The R on the end can mean two things. If the whole number is in factory stamps it means the number has been accidently stamped twice in the factory so the R is tacked onto one of the engines to mean REPEAT eg HL68685 might have been stamped and someone hung over stuffed up and stamped HT68585 so the R is added. This means it's an original LH/LX 308 block and to the owner of the original car it came from it's worth substantial money.
If the stamps don't look factory it means the block has been decked and an engine shop has stamped the R there to mean the number has been restamped. If this is the case the block is worth no more than any other 308.
There has also been some XU-1 and L34 engines turn up with an R on the engine pad too, but the meaning for these is unclear at this stage. However for all other Holden engines the R means as above.

[V-SLR5000-P]

Engine number HT68585 is an early/mid1977 range engine number, so from an LX. The cast date will give some idea if the number is original or a restamp.

[arrimar]

just below the thermostat outlet on the right hand side there'll be a clock and a few digits cast.

[yel327]

Engine number HT68585 is an early/mid1977 range engine number, so from an LX. The cast date will give some idea if the number is original or a restamp.

True, but usually the original number has been restamped if an R is placed on the end so the casting date won't help. If this is the case and the engine belonged to your car I suppose you'd live with it. But if it doesn't you might as well have a QT block. I've got a similar problem with a Bathurst HK engine here. It's an original 327 from an early Dandenong GTS327, but it's been decked during a rebuild and the original engine number restamped. It's of no use as it is so I'm going to deck it again and use it as a spare engine for one of my early GTS327's, basically build it up as a 400hp 377 so if I bust it I haven't busted the original motor. It'll probably be on club rego anyway so I won't even bother with a number. If I have to i'll get a NxxxxP number for it.

[V-SLR5000-P]

Typically the cast date on the block preceeds the vehicle build date by one or maybe two months, but they are very (most) often dated the same month. Engine numbers for cars built in during the Oct-Nov 1976 period we in the HT65### range. So your cast date seems to be too early for the engine number. I think Yel327's suggestion that its a restamp is on the money.

[yel327]

They can be out by a lot more but it's not all that common. If a block has problems during maching eg a tap breaks off they were sometimes put aside and worked on later. This most often shows up in Chevs where the engine number has a date code in it. I've seen cast dates a day or two before engine number dates. I also have a few with 4 months between them. So it might be the right number for the block, but probably not. 3000 or so Torana engine numbers out....Remember auto 6cyl Toranas were using HQ engine numbers at that time so do the maths. Where does Hx68xxx place it compared to other Torana build dates?
If you put a phot here of the engine number it should be obvious it it's a restamp or not.

[yel327]

Now you guy's have me thinking , I was always going to try and get a block that matched my genuine 76 model slr5000 , due to when I bought it it had no engine # so obviously had to put one on when it went over the pits( motor had been decked when it was rebuilt by previous owner/s ). But now checking the cast date , which is 27j6, it may very well be the original motor due to the car build date being 10/76 , not sure what to do to check , but I have put a # on it from a broken 308 I had in the shed ,a few years ago now , was'nt aware of cast dates etc back then. May have to do more research I guess , cheers.

27J6 (27/9/76) is a spot on cast date for a 10/76 Holden. If it was too much later it'd be getting awful close, although Toranas are probably a bit closer in build vs cast date since the Engine plant and Dandenong assembly plant are in the same area. It'd take a little while for engines to get to Elizabeth, Mosman Park, Acacia and Elizabeth. It is also possible that a 10/76 build was completed a few weeks into 11/76.