Dave wrote: There is little or no interchangeability of parts with the SBC (maybe some pistons?).
There are not too many parts that will directly interchange apart from the valve springs , however there are quite a few chev bits that CAN be used as hot-up gear.
An example is off-set grinding the holden crank and use the 327 chev small journal conrods to achieve about 331 cubes.
Bore size in 308 is the same as 350, so pistons are sometimes used, depending upon application, compression etc required due to different pin height.
Regards
Chris Stork.
Founding Member of Oz E Rodders Rod and Kustom Club.
GBS wrote:By the way Dave there was more than one "new head" designed for the Grey engine. I can remember the Repco cross flow, the Dunstan rotary valve and the Waggot twin cam. Who knows, there could have even been more.
A good friend had one of those Repco Xflow HEMI heads on a grey in his EK ute, weird looking things with the intake valve pushrods angled at about 15deg. Went like stink too with triples on it.
Also Im sure there was a Duggan head for the grey, not sure if McGee had one too.
I do have a crank cradle for a grey in the shed up at mums place, complete with winged sump to suit. Its basically a one-piece cradle that replaces ALL the mains caps for strength and high revs. A popular item in early speedway days.
Regards
Chris Stork.
Founding Member of Oz E Rodders Rod and Kustom Club.
jalopy45 wrote:It looks like the grey engine is similar to our 235 6cyl. Then there are red,blue and black engines.
One thing that no-one has replied to is why they are called Grey, red etc engines.
Its simply the color that the engine blocks were painted from the factory. All the aussies here should know this, but our merrican friends may not be aware of it.
Regards
Chris Stork.
Founding Member of Oz E Rodders Rod and Kustom Club.
Mr Cool wrote:A good friend had one of those Repco Xflow HEMI heads on a grey in his EK ute
The last one I saw was on a FJ panel van in Wagga about 25 years a go. I can't remember the Duggan head or a McGee but I have seen McGee fuel injection systems.
I am not surprised the speedway boys had cradles to support the crank. I don't think any form of motor sport modified the greys to the extent that speedway did. I think that is where most of the Repco heads went. Those engines were absolute screamers.
One of the highlights of my teenage years was watching Johnny Stewart in the grey powered injected McGee Shell Trackburner taking on Bob Tattersall from the US in his Offenhauser year after year at the Sydney Showground on Saturday nights during summer.
A couple of dozen midgets sideways at about 80 mph, the smell of the fuel, the noise of the greys and the Offys and about thirty thousand people screaming their heads off. What more could you want? And to think some people needed drugs to get high in those days. I think they were going to the wrong place.
Pep wrote:If you want to see the heritage of the 308...look at the Oldsmobile 330 engine. The manifolds will just about bolt up to each other.
That may well be where I heard the Oldsmobile reference but I am sure I heard it was based on an Olds engine, maybe still designed here but rather than starting with a blank sheet, start with an existing design and make it suit. That is exactly how they did the grey motor.
just a bit on the holden V8s, I seem to remember that holden wanted to compete against the big ford sixes, being the 250 (and probably the chrysler 265 as well or maybe still 225) but due to the cylinder spacing, the old red motor couldnt be bored/stroked out big enough.
so they used (going from memory) the 173 piston size in a V8 configuration.
I think the main bearing spacing is the same as SBC (some 355 stroker kits use a ground 350 or 400 SBC crank I think) and also the camshaft bearings and lobes make them also possibly interchangeable.
and I reckon all the VN onwards 5 litres are a 'turbo' pattern block, havent compared them back to back, but the foremans 350 comaro and a customers 5 litre VS statesman appeared to have very similar shaped bellhousing pattern on the back of the blocks.
If anyone out there has any performance gear that is surplus for a 308 (especially heads) I'm sort on a long term hunt for some.
The darling wifey is getting bored with the engine in her wagon and wants some more punch for the family truckster but she can wait till my Pontiac is finished first.
