20 replies to this topic

[TerrA LX]

Sounds like an early neo seal block.

Block and carnk are different.

What is the date code on the block?

[yel327]

Yes, rear main seal is neoprene until around 1974. When the HJ style engines started they had rope seals and block strengthening added plus casting where the gearbox bolts up made wider so they could be drilled for 4spd or TH auto pattern.

 

Red engines changed again at the introduction of the blue motor style blocks mid 1978 (essentially at the start of VB Commodore engines).

 

308H prefix and HP on the side will 98% of the time be a HT Brougham engine.

[Shiney005]

You won't have any trouble fitting later heads to it.

[yel327]

Will be at least 4 digits after 308H.

[A9X34]

Early 308 blocks don't have the extra web casting around the rear main behind the fly wheel like L34 and later. Still ok for street car but if building for big hp/ torque or race engine the later blocks (74 on) are the preferred choice.

Edited by A9X34, 20 October 2014 - 09:42 PM.

[yel327]

308Hxxxx with HP on the side is very unlikely to be out of a HT Monaro, definitely not HG. Most likely from a Brougham. At the outside it is possible to be from a HT GTS but not very common as by the time you could get a 308 in a HT Holden outside of Brougham it wasn't far from 308 replacing HP on the side.

[Kevrev]

A friend of mine has 308H35XX, block is date coded

F4 9 (June 4 1969)

It has the HP cast in the side.

Would this be too early for a HT Monaro, I'm thinking about November 69 for the first 308 in a GTS and probably about September/October for the engine cast date?

Attached Files

•  HP 308.JPG   34.21K   5 downloads

[Kevrev]

The date code is on the front of the block where the timing cover bolts on. 

This one is B17 3 (Feb 17 1973)

 

Cheers Kev

Attached Files

•  engine date code.JPG   92.05K   0 downloads

[yel327]

A friend of mine has 308H35XX, block is date coded F4 9 (June 4 1969)
It has the HP cast in the side.
Would this be too early for a HT Monaro, I'm thinking about November 69 for the first 308 in a GTS and probably about September/October for the engine cast date?

I'll ask but i'd be almost 100% confident that is a Brougham engine. I think the first 308's appeared in Holdens other than Brougham around October, and it probably wasn't an instand changeover across all assembly plants either.

[yel327]

I just asked, the earliest known 308 number in a GTS is after 308H7500, probably into the 8000's. Cast dates can still be all over the place although.

Edited by yel327, 24 October 2014 - 03:36 PM.

[Kevrev]

Thats a large number of 308's in Broughams built then from July to October to go from 3500 to 7500. Or were the engine numbers not consecutive?

Not many Broughams around these days!

[yel327]

There are large numbers of 253's in there too, there were many 1000's of whie hot specials made at HT release which is partly how the count got up to around 8000 before 308 was released HT wide. As a guess i'd say by that time maybe 7000 of the 8000 were 253.

[Kevrev]

Great thanks that explains a lot. I didn't realise the 253 numbers were in with the 308's. Is this the same with the sixes as well?

Would the first 202 have been QL1001 and then either a 173 or 202 could have been 1002?

Cheers Kev

[yel327]

Not in HT-HG, 6cyl were in a separate sequence that started with the first HK 6cyl engine. So there would have been a 161H1001 (or 161L or 186P or 186S prefix) and a 253H1001 (or 308H or 253L prefix) which started with the first GMH V8 engines. SBC engines were separate again.

 

With the start of HQ engines the GMH engines (130/138/173/202/253/308) were all in the same sequence, with the SBC's having a different sequence. So the first HQ GMH engine could have been QD1001, or QT1001, or QA1001. Or for that matter 11QL1001. The next would be QR1002 or QD1002 or whatever. Because HG and LC/J were also amongst these numbers there will be CD, JL, GD, GL etc as well but not really early on.

 

HQ SBC first numbers were QU00001, QU10000, QU40000 and QU74000 (with an 11 prefix if in a Statesman).

[Shiney005]

With the start of HQ engines the GMH engines (130/138/173/202/253/308) were all in the same sequence,

I have a 138 red here (and a 138 grey) but never heard of the 130. There couldn't be too many of those around.

[yel327]

130 was prefixed one of the following:

 

130E for HT-HG

130T for LC up until HQ engines started.

CA for later LC and LJ

QA for HQ and HJ.

 

This was the export 6cyl to fit under the Asian Countries engine size limit for cheaper rego. I think it was 2.2L. It must have changed to 2.3L during HJ as the 130 was replaced with the 138. I think it is now 2.5L, as every D4D Hilux I saw in Malaysia and nearby Countries were 2.5L.

Edited by yel327, 25 October 2014 - 02:19 PM.

[Shiney005]

Learn something new every day.  Cheers.