Well, the sound of this engine cranking takes me back to when I had an ol' Kingswood HZ sedan with a 202 in it (and later a HQ ute with also a 202, later swapped out for a 253). I know it's a different donk, but the sound is pretty much the same. It genuinely took me back to my early 20s when I was living in Cooktown. I remember the car, the girl I was dating, the job I had, the house I lived in...everything! Thanks for the trip down memory lane!! Also, It sounds sweet!!
Thanks for watching mate. You sound like you had the bug like I did as a younger bloke. I used to like playing with them. Not very reliable my ones but still good times
A beautiful piece of mechanical memorabilia. Takes me back to younger times when I used to steal my mum's finger Emory board to file the file the points on the 186 and the striker edge of a beehive matchbox to set the gap. The eyeometer and a flatblade screw driver set the plugs and timing by trial and error. Nearly forgot ... bench seats 😍. Life was great! Quality viewing: Thanks Steve 👍
Gday Steve. That’s an old ripper of a motor. I’ve dragged a few of them back to life in the day. All the sounds, starter, open exhaust etc bring some good and not so good memories. Thanks for sharing it with us mate.
Perfect motor no smoke out the exhaust sounds clean and tidy I love the old Holden reds I have several myself and I have one that's got very special upgrades in it
@@stevesplacedownunder You are definately very much appreciated and I always look forward to new content from you - whether it be trucks, tractors or engines. It's all enjoyable and very informative. If there was some way I could contribute more, I certainly would. However, I hope my small contribution helps. I would love to see that Nissan UD 2 stroke revived and put in something road registerable. It has the most amazing sound and is the best sounding 2 stroke diesel in my opinion.
The old Red motors were good hardy engines, simple to work on, even better when we tricked them up to do what ever they needed for. Sounds good for something that's sat around for so long,
@ but far to drive up there to grab it mate. It’s weird I’ve seen them locally on marketplace. One painted up looking new for $400, and another obviously left out behind the shed under a tarp like yours and they want $1200. Insane prices for old gear
Glad to see you’re still making content Steve from down under, your old man Steve from Chicago checking in keep up the gold guys in other words beer here
Awesome afternoon brother from another country down under I enjoy watching you work on those Ole motors !!!!!! Awesome adventure as always brother say hi to everyone for me and have an awesome day !!!!!!!!
Nice video. I’ve rebuilt quite a few red motors back in the day. It is what you say it is but you don’t need me to confirm that. It sounds like a red motor should. That takes me back. Thanks.
Gday Steve, congratulations to Tassie Devil, the sound of the 173 starting brought back a shit load of memories, there simple basic and go for ever even handle a decent floggin to, awesome job mate, cheers
Funny how somebody swears this is a 250 Chevy HaHa ! It is obviously very closely related, even the rocker cover stamping details look the same, and the block casting looks very similar, as do the manifolds, indeed. Nice work horses, both of them!
Can’t wait to see the follow up video on it mate. Would be a pretty awesome shed piece. A quick rattle can paint job and some el cheapo stickers and she’ll be awesome. Nice work 👌🏼
Steve, engine stand looks good. Great engines. I had a 59 Chevrolet wagon. A 60 Bellaire 4 door and a 62 all with similar engines. You could not kill them. I bought a new project, I'll send you some pics we had our first snow on December 5th. Have a great Christmas. Jim
Completely different to the Chevrolet six but same paint after the 161/186 engines prior to the 173/202 the Holden six was red not orange, note the external oil pimp Chevy didnt do
Runs like a champion. I think Holden ran the 173 in the LC and LJ toranas as well and they offered a 138 in those models as well from memory. It is an awesome platform of power plants. Well made for longevity. Such a shame we don't have industry like that in our country anymore. I grew up with red engines and old Holden's cause they were affordable, easy to work on and just kept running. They were all responsive to the first fuel injection that came out in the VK calais by just updating to a mild performance cam.....but not there's all sorts of awesome modern stuff you can throw at them for relatively cheap including electronic ignition as well to produce decent street able power for your nice old done up survivor if you have one and that's your go.
@jamesburke9101 True it was. I've done a conversion on a 4sp VB commodore I had as well as a UC Torana as well. I always felt you needed a slightly lumpier cam to get the best from it. I did it to my VB running a 173 first without changing the cam and I did the UC as a total rebuild which was also a 173 but I chucked in a lumpier cam. I ran the UC cared for a bit after the rebuild while I was saving for an injection manifold, valve train, and other parts (they were quite a few bucks back then) , but when I changed her over, it was a different beast. They were pretty much of a bolt on to the red platform. Yes there were a few mods to be made, mostly, valve train related but they were minor and that little 2.8 produced so much more power.
I may be incorrect here, but if memory serves me correct, the VB commodore was the last model to have a 173 option. I think the VC and beyond all had 202's. Albeit in variations that contained different mechanical tolerances and measurements on some components, pollution stuff etc. They were still basically the same block casting though and you could interchange a blue or black block without much difficulty. From memory, maybe drilling and tapping a few points here and there, but it was still basically the same reliable platform.
Congratulations TassieDevil.🍻 Steve, one way you could stop the smooth brains from arguing over the motor type is show them the serial number markings. Although it's not a guarantee cos I've a Land Rover 2.25 diesel engine with the block prefix S236.....🤔 236 means it's from a S2A lightweight 2.25 petrol engine but the S apparently means it was a service exchange engine. The Landy 2.25 blocks can be built as either petrol or diesels.
Wow how super cool is that,I had a blue eh station wagon with a blue motor, it was the best car I ever owned until I got caught on a bend at annerly in Brisbane done a foll over due to oil on road so sad😢😢
Hi steve guys making boat anchor comments is obv a LS fanboy these days every one has a LS in every make n model. They have no clue or respect for one of our best aussie car companies and the history and having original old school genuine cars, parts or engines if it aint an LS or BARRA ITS JUNK. These gronk have no idea or respect and common courtesy with dumb comment's i bet he drives a toyota camry and dreams about LS Swapping it. Great aussie content cheers steve💪👊😉🙏🙏🙏🇦🇺
Thank you mate yes I think similar things. I don’t look at anything LS swapped now. It seems to easy and no thought put into it. I know what you mean exactly
G'day Steve, Look like we all got a trip down memory lane listening to this ol red engine . Ya just cant beat the smell of leaded petrol, a keen woman n a stash of coldies. Arrr those were the days . I've still got a shit grin on my face. On ya cob. Respect....!
Pretty sure the Aussie CF van got a 202 as an option from the factory. The Poms got the 2.3 OHC slant-4 as their biggest engine option. I believe that a decent 350 in a CF actually uses less gas than the 4-cylinder, if driven without a boot in the gas pedal 24/7. The ones I've seen were all low geared as hell and screamed their guts out at motorway speed. I kinda think that someone just replaced the already fairly useless 202 after it expired, with whatever would bolt in. Sounds great, though. Lovely old engine. It'd be nice to see it in something like an LC Torana with a Trimatic. I had that, after the original 161 died of whatever killed it, (probably the CNG conversion), and it was a good old beast. I miss it now, but it was scrap back in the end of the time I owned it.
Thanks for watching Andy. Yes they were factory fitted with a red motor. Fairly sure there were a few sizes available. As for the torana, I’d love one to put it in but very expensive now for a decent one
Morning Great to see this old red motor come back to life ! Many years ago me and a couple of mates were travelling to Melbourne from the Gold Coast in fc Holden with a 161 I think & we blew a con rod out the side of the block and to drive for another 20 Ks until she finally died ! Very hard to kill!
Go the Mighty Holden, LOL! That's a great sounding engine! Hey Steve, can I just make a comment about this video? It's just a comment mate, not a criticism, I would NEVER criticise your videos, I love them! It's just a comment about the placement of your 'Lapel Mic'. Would you mind clipping it on your shirts a little higher, please? With the mic clipped so low on your shirt, it's kinda hard to hear what you are saying, even with all my volumes up on full, especially hard with a little background noise. Thank you, mate, and keep up the good work and content!
Hi mate. Don’t feel bad about constructive criticism. The actual problem was it’s a bodgy cord from the phone to the receiver and the only way I realise it wasn’t working is when it’s being edited. It’s happened a lot of times now. It then goes back to the inbuilt mic which isn’t very good.
Hi Steve, I was surprised it didn't blow heaps of oil smoke from stuck rings. I think the deal you made for those engines was worth while with just that one. Will we see a classic Aussie repower in the future if you find something to put it in?
The usual setup for the alternator, is that it is fed via a light bulb. This limits the current into the alternator during startup, and also during shutdown. That would stop the run on problem.
Can’t blame the yanks thinking it’s a chev as they are very similar looking, even in colour but they have bigger cubes. I recently picked up a 173 because the rockers and cradles are the same as the 202. I needed most of the rockers so it was cheaper to buy a whole engine for $200 and strip it for parts. Only difference is the bore and stroke, even the cam fits the 202. Grab an electronic ignition dizzie and that thing will start in one click, stuff the points, belong in the bin.
All the Red Motors Holden built for their beast were 149, 161, 186, and 202 and I did not know they made the 2.8! Anyway, Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year to you and your Family. Hey Steve your Volume is not very loud so can you turn up your microphone a bit mate as I have my Speakers turned right up as have barely have auditable sound.
I would love to see you give us a run down on an original Holden Industrial engine. I have been playing around with an old chain driven concrete agitator, which came fitted with a 3.3L. I didn’t realise when I bought it, how much difference there is between a car engine and an engine for powering equipment such a forklift or concrete mixer. I suspect that the radiator core would be much bigger on a stationary engine.
Hi mate. Would have a different camshaft and governor to I’d say. I haven’t got one here, only automotive engines. Certainly would be interested in playing with one
@stevesplacedownunder I had the camshaft reground to an industrial profile so it now idles at about 400rpm, smooth as, I added a second radiator off a Volvo XC90, huge! The 14" cooling fan theoretically should be equal to the original, but not there yet. I also had to put a smaller pulley on the alternator to keep the charge up to the battery at low revs. The original motor would have had the letter "I" for industrial stamped as part of the engine number. They were only red motors. They would have also had a different thermostat and a hotter rated spark plug as the maximum rpm is about 2700rpm.
Some 173s did not like unleaded fuel at all and could be a dog to start. As for ease of repair, I miss being able to climb in the bay with the engine to work on it. Try that with a modern car and they will fish your bleached bones out after you are trapped by the wrists if you are unwise enough to tackle it on your own and not have somebody do a welfare check on you. There was a red motor in a HQ taxi in Kuta Bali way back in 1994. The driver was exceptionally proud of it. The figure of most of the panels was no longer correct as it had been dented and refinished so many times. When he drove it, he went to the taller gears very early. The motor was very worn and he was keeping the rod bearing noise to a minimum. There was no oil smoke so one wonders how many times that engine had been rebuilt as in new bearings on an old crankshaft. When he was not driving, he sat on the bonnet and polished the blemishes of the windscreen with cerium oxide and a white styrofoam block. Despite my suspicions to the contrary it worked. The area he was dressing was like new glass. Back the day, Australia could make nearly everything it needed. In the event of another war and a blockade, we will be running around in cockrags, rooskin cloaks and hocheemin sandals for the four years or so it will take to get the manufacturing base up again and people trained. The lessons of WW2 were so quickly forgotten by our gallant political leaders.
Hi mate thanks for sharing this. Very interesting about the taxi. He would have made a lot of money out of it. Yes our government have wrecked the place. We had some great products made here, and now, nothing. Just madness
Mate, fantastic video. Problem was, the volume was at 100%, and I could still barely hear you. Other clips sound fine, so couldya, if you don't mind, look at your recording levels? Love your work and would enjoy not having to struggle to hear everything. Have been using captions to see what you're saying, but those are some AI-generated joke. Effing gibberish. Cheers, Steve.
keep the blue short motor, better crank and rods(and probably pistons if they're still in good nic). You simply drill the water passages for the red head in the blue block, and all the 'red' gear you've got can be used. Just put the read head gasket on the blue block, and drill the missing passages. Simples.
I had a CF van way back in the 80's. Mine had a 2.3ltr 4 cylinder petrol, same engine that was fitted to the Vauxhall VX4/90 car (I think). Great van but not as good as a Ford Transit.
To me the quickest give away that it’s a Holden and not Chevrolet is the oil filter location. If they are as durable as the Chevrolet you can’t get a tougher six.
GMH screwed their CF van up royally the slow revving low compression 173 they fitted was awful because they left the 4 banger diff head in, Ford did the same with their transit instead of fitting a lower ratio diff head for highway use highway suitable diff heads were in every 6 cylinder Vauxhall as were better 6 cylinder engines, I drove a stock CF from Mareeba FNQ to Newcastle slow and incredibly noisy, 173/202 can handle running hot it was the 179 that liked cracking engine blocks
I don’t know why I clicked on this video. Early Holden and ford motors just run no matter what despite 40 years of sitting and not running. Change oil, filter, plugs, fuel pump and carby , they will Just run with the exception of a leg outa bed!
Hi everyone, hopefully you can all enjoy this episode of another relic breathing life again. Congratulations to the winner of the welding machine also
Awesome morning brother great to see yall again
Thank you very much Steve... Best Christmas present ever...
It’s our pleasure mate. Thanks for your support
Happy Days, Steve’s back playing with more toys.
From kiwi land.
Keep up the good work love watching the video's
That's so sweet a sound 153624.
These were and still are a great engine.
Well, the sound of this engine cranking takes me back to when I had an ol' Kingswood HZ sedan with a 202 in it (and later a HQ ute with also a 202, later swapped out for a 253). I know it's a different donk, but the sound is pretty much the same. It genuinely took me back to my early 20s when I was living in Cooktown. I remember the car, the girl I was dating, the job I had, the house I lived in...everything! Thanks for the trip down memory lane!! Also, It sounds sweet!!
Thanks for watching mate. You sound like you had the bug like I did as a younger bloke. I used to like playing with them. Not very reliable my ones but still good times
Most reliable old motor ever built and there so simple anyone can work on the and with the rite mods can put some good power out
Absolutely right mate. Some good parts available for them now
Love the sound of a red or a blue turning over, fond memories
Fantastic mate thanks for watching
A beautiful piece of mechanical memorabilia. Takes me back to younger times when I used to steal my mum's finger Emory board to file the file the points on the 186 and the striker edge of a beehive matchbox to set the gap. The eyeometer and a flatblade screw driver set the plugs and timing by trial and error. Nearly forgot ... bench seats 😍. Life was great! Quality viewing: Thanks Steve 👍
Thank you Jimmy. It’s amazing how many are commenting with similar things about the sound and the memories. Great stuff mate
G'day Steve. Screw the keyboard worries. You do it your way which took me back to a time a long time ago and some good times and memories cobber.🤠
Thank you Daryl. They certainly sound like those days mate
Gday Steve. That’s an old ripper of a motor. I’ve dragged a few of them back to life in the day. All the sounds, starter, open exhaust etc bring some good and not so good memories. Thanks for sharing it with us mate.
Hi Mick sorry for late reply. I’m glad you like it mate and it’s my pleasure
Perfect motor no smoke out the exhaust sounds clean and tidy I love the old Holden reds I have several myself and I have one that's got very special upgrades in it
It’s a great motor mate yes. Glad you are still keeping a few alive too
Another awesome video Steve.
As always mate thank you🙏. This is very much appreciated. It goes a long way in showing us we are appreciated also
@@stevesplacedownunder You are definately very much appreciated and I always look forward to new content from you - whether it be trucks, tractors or engines. It's all enjoyable and very informative. If there was some way I could contribute more, I certainly would. However, I hope my small contribution helps. I would love to see that Nissan UD 2 stroke revived and put in something road registerable. It has the most amazing sound and is the best sounding 2 stroke diesel in my opinion.
You make it work with what you've got ,that's old school the way it used to be super job Steve.
Thank you Mike. Exactly right mate
They really do have their own unique sound. Awesome job Steve
Thank you Alan
Kool old Holden engine Steve
Thank you mate🙏
Great video Steve. I was an Engine Reconditioner for a number of years and worked on many of these. Have a good week and a good Christmas. Marc
Hi Marc sorry for late reply. Thank you mate. Very common in those days
That sound brought back some memories. Not a bad little runner too.
Yeah mate a lot are saying the same thing. Certainly is a good one
Great episode, Steve.
If you didn't know, the red motors had a 9 port head, and the blue and black motors were 12 port heads
Thank you mate. Know I don’t think I knew that. I was certainly aware of different ports but for how many I didn’t know
The old Red motors were good hardy engines, simple to work on, even better when we tricked them up to do what ever they needed for. Sounds good for something that's sat around for so long,
Hi mate yes I’m very happy with how it runs
Nice, I’m almost in tears hearing that thing purr. Soo many memories. Now I need to buy one and do the same
Thank you mate. I have a spare one you can have
@ but far to drive up there to grab it mate. It’s weird I’ve seen them locally on marketplace. One painted up looking new for $400, and another obviously left out behind the shed under a tarp like yours and they want $1200. Insane prices for old gear
Yeah that’s what I’ve found with them also. Some people know the value and some think they worth a lot more
Good to hear the old red motor running and kept away from the scrap yard.👍👍
Thank you mate. Yes most certainly is
Sounds great my friend.
Thank you Kevin
Glad to see you’re still making content Steve from down under, your old man Steve from Chicago checking in keep up the gold guys in other words beer here
Hi Steve. Yes mate I’m still going. Hopefully plenty more to come yet. All the best in Chicago mate from Sydney
Best digiredoo I’ve heard 😅
Awesome afternoon brother from another country down under I enjoy watching you work on those Ole motors !!!!!! Awesome adventure as always brother say hi to everyone for me and have an awesome day !!!!!!!!
Hey Steve nice to a red coming back to life also good to see you're back drinking petrol whilst starting the engine on beer
Hi John. Yes mate I have been guilty of picking up the wrong one. Certainly wasn’t that lovely cold taste I’m used to
Thanks for the vid Steve
Nice video. I’ve rebuilt quite a few red motors back in the day. It is what you say it is but you don’t need me to confirm that. It sounds like a red motor should. That takes me back. Thanks.
Thanks for watching mate and glad you liked it. Yes it certainly is. Sounds like it should indeed be
Gday Steve, congratulations to Tassie Devil, the sound of the 173 starting brought back a shit load of memories, there simple basic and go for ever even handle a decent floggin to, awesome job mate, cheers
Thanks as always mate. A lot of blokes are saying the same thing about the memories
Awesome purring brother !!!! Sounds awesome
Excellent
Funny how somebody swears this is a 250 Chevy HaHa ! It is obviously very closely related, even the rocker cover stamping details look the same, and the block casting looks very similar, as do the manifolds, indeed. Nice work horses, both of them!
Thanks for watching
Can’t wait to see the follow up video on it mate. Would be a pretty awesome shed piece. A quick rattle can paint job and some el cheapo stickers and she’ll be awesome. Nice work 👌🏼
Yes mate it’s good to have in the shed and play with it. Not many leaks either
@ to bad the front of a Holden is wide. Could put a Holden front of the engine with working lights👌🏼
Nice one!. Love seeing old bits of kit bought back to life!.
You’ve come to the right place mate
Thanks for the video mate ! Sounded good once you got it running. It didnt start on all six, but came right pretty quickly . Thanks again 🌵
Thank you Scott 🙏. I new it would get better
Steve, engine stand looks good. Great engines. I had a 59 Chevrolet wagon. A 60 Bellaire 4 door and a 62 all with similar engines. You could not kill them. I bought a new project, I'll send you some pics we had our first snow on December 5th. Have a great Christmas. Jim
Completely different to the Chevrolet six but same paint after the 161/186 engines prior to the 173/202 the Holden six was red not orange, note the external oil pimp Chevy didnt do
Thanks for sharing Jim. Will have to talk on the phone for Christmas
That little 173 sounds great, well done 😊
Thank you Kerry
That sounds great, no nastiness, and could go back to work something.
It certainly could Neil
All good stuff, get all your engines running👍
Thank you Jim
What a sound.
She's happy to be running again.
Runs like a champion. I think Holden ran the 173 in the LC and LJ toranas as well and they offered a 138 in those models as well from memory. It is an awesome platform of power plants. Well made for longevity. Such a shame we don't have industry like that in our country anymore. I grew up with red engines and old Holden's cause they were affordable, easy to work on and just kept running. They were all responsive to the first fuel injection that came out in the VK calais by just updating to a mild performance cam.....but not there's all sorts of awesome modern stuff you can throw at them for relatively cheap including electronic ignition as well to produce decent street able power for your nice old done up survivor if you have one and that's your go.
Efi 3.3 considered the best version of the Holden six although technically it was a 'black motor'
@jamesburke9101 True it was. I've done a conversion on a 4sp VB commodore I had as well as a UC Torana as well. I always felt you needed a slightly lumpier cam to get the best from it. I did it to my VB running a 173 first without changing the cam and I did the UC as a total rebuild which was also a 173 but I chucked in a lumpier cam. I ran the UC cared for a bit after the rebuild while I was saving for an injection manifold, valve train, and other parts (they were quite a few bucks back then) , but when I changed her over, it was a different beast. They were pretty much of a bolt on to the red platform. Yes there were a few mods to be made, mostly, valve train related but they were minor and that little 2.8 produced so much more power.
I may be incorrect here, but if memory serves me correct, the VB commodore was the last model to have a 173 option. I think the VC and beyond all had 202's. Albeit in variations that contained different mechanical tolerances and measurements on some components, pollution stuff etc. They were still basically the same block casting though and you could interchange a blue or black block without much difficulty. From memory, maybe drilling and tapping a few points here and there, but it was still basically the same reliable platform.
Hi Mate thanks for sharing. Great engines. Very easy to work on like you say and go forever
Hi Steve. Have just started watching your videos and brings back old memories of my 149, 186 and 3 202s. Great videos and very interesting.😊kerry.N.Z
Hi mate thanks for watching and glad you like it. They are great old cars. Still a few getting around here in Sydney. Thanks Kerry
Congratulations TassieDevil.🍻
Steve, one way you could stop the smooth brains from arguing over the motor type is show them the serial number markings.
Although it's not a guarantee cos I've a Land Rover 2.25 diesel engine with the block prefix S236.....🤔
236 means it's from a S2A lightweight 2.25 petrol engine but the S apparently means it was a service exchange engine.
The Landy 2.25 blocks can be built as either petrol or diesels.
Thanks for sharing mate. I’m not up on all the car numbers and stuff. Certainly interested though
Sounds great mate, always handy for a transplant into a machine with bad breath. Best wishes to you all for Christmas from the UK.
Thank you Stuart. Yes it’s. Good one to have in stock
Wow how super cool is that,I had a blue eh station wagon with a blue motor, it was the best car I ever owned until I got caught on a bend at annerly in Brisbane done a foll over due to oil on road so sad😢😢
Hi mate. Geez that’s a shame about the car. As long as you were okay
Wow Steve the old six really purred after clearing it's throat a bit. Good to get another one running.
Hi Mary hope all is well over there mate. Yes it still excites me to get another one going again
Used to have an old EJ sedan ( miss it terribly) with a 179. Boat anchor my arse! Thing never stopped probably go real well in your forklift.
Hi Chris. Yes mate they are great cars. It may be a bit long for the forklift. I want to get it going though
Mixing batteries is not a problem and deep cycle are perfect for cranking engines
Man, watch your clip with Closed Captions enabled.
It's hilarious!
Connect a pair of heater hoses to the stubs on the inlet manifold and run hot coolant though it. Will help it to run a bit nicer still.
Thank you 🙏
You little ripper! Solid as!
Thanks for watching mate
Hi steve guys making boat anchor comments is obv a LS fanboy these days every one has a LS in every make n model. They have no clue or respect for one of our best aussie car companies and the history and having original old school genuine cars, parts or engines if it aint an LS or BARRA ITS JUNK. These gronk have no idea or respect and common courtesy with dumb comment's i bet he drives a toyota camry and dreams about LS Swapping it. Great aussie content cheers steve💪👊😉🙏🙏🙏🇦🇺
Thank you mate yes I think similar things. I don’t look at anything LS swapped now. It seems to easy and no thought put into it. I know what you mean exactly
@stevesplacedownunder exactly its so overused. There boring now its actually cringe worthy. Cheers for the reply 🙏
I’m keen for the follow up
G'day Steve,
Look like we all got a trip down memory lane listening to this ol red engine .
Ya just cant beat the smell of leaded petrol, a keen woman n a stash of coldies.
Arrr those were the days .
I've still got a shit grin on my face.
On ya cob.
Respect....!
Thanks as always Craig
You can fit an oil pressure switch, and connect the alternator field circuit to it, easy way to keep it separate from the coil circuit and switch
Thank you mate
Pretty sure the Aussie CF van got a 202 as an option from the factory. The Poms got the 2.3 OHC slant-4 as their biggest engine option.
I believe that a decent 350 in a CF actually uses less gas than the 4-cylinder, if driven without a boot in the gas pedal 24/7.
The ones I've seen were all low geared as hell and screamed their guts out at motorway speed.
I kinda think that someone just replaced the already fairly useless 202 after it expired, with whatever would bolt in.
Sounds great, though.
Lovely old engine.
It'd be nice to see it in something like an LC Torana with a Trimatic.
I had that, after the original 161 died of whatever killed it, (probably the CNG conversion), and it was a good old beast. I miss it now, but it was scrap back in the end of the time I owned it.
Thanks for watching Andy. Yes they were factory fitted with a red motor. Fairly sure there were a few sizes available.
As for the torana, I’d love one to put it in but very expensive now for a decent one
Morning
Great to see this old red motor come back to life !
Many years ago me and a couple of mates were travelling to Melbourne from the Gold Coast in fc Holden with a 161 I think & we blew a con rod out the side of the block and to drive for another 20 Ks until she finally died !
Very hard to kill!
Hi John. Thanks for sharing this mate. Magnificent stuff
Well done Steve good job mate
Go the Mighty Holden, LOL! That's a great sounding engine! Hey Steve, can I just make a comment about this video? It's just a comment mate, not a criticism, I would NEVER criticise your videos, I love them! It's just a comment about the placement of your 'Lapel Mic'. Would you mind clipping it on your shirts a little higher, please? With the mic clipped so low on your shirt, it's kinda hard to hear what you are saying, even with all my volumes up on full, especially hard with a little background noise. Thank you, mate, and keep up the good work and content!
Hi mate. Don’t feel bad about constructive criticism. The actual problem was it’s a bodgy cord from the phone to the receiver and the only way I realise it wasn’t working is when it’s being edited. It’s happened a lot of times now. It then goes back to the inbuilt mic which isn’t very good.
@stevesplacedownunder ah, gotcha. All good.
@LordGrievous1970 I hope that’s all it is because something I’ve certainly noticed.
Hi Steve, I was surprised it didn't blow heaps of oil smoke from stuck rings. I think the deal you made for those engines was worth while with just that one. Will we see a classic Aussie repower in the future if you find something to put it in?
Hi mate yes I thought there would be more dramas with it. You may see an adaptation video mate if I work out what to put it in.
The usual setup for the alternator, is that it is fed via a light bulb. This limits the current into the alternator during startup, and also during shutdown. That would stop the run on problem.
Hi mate yes that’s right. I guess I should of put a light up on the dashboard
Can’t blame the yanks thinking it’s a chev as they are very similar looking, even in colour but they have bigger cubes. I recently picked up a 173 because the rockers and cradles are the same as the 202. I needed most of the rockers so it was cheaper to buy a whole engine for $200 and strip it for parts. Only difference is the bore and stroke, even the cam fits the 202.
Grab an electronic ignition dizzie and that thing will start in one click, stuff the points, belong in the bin.
All the Red Motors Holden built for their beast were 149, 161, 186, and 202 and I did not know they made the 2.8!
Anyway, Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year to you and your Family.
Hey Steve your Volume is not very loud so can you turn up your microphone a bit mate as I have my Speakers turned right up as have barely have auditable sound.
Steve you should build a drag race lawn tractor with that motor or a fun off road lawn tractor
I want to put a rat rod or something together to drive around here maybe
Hi the red chev 6 was bigger and the distributor is nere the front of the engine
I would love to see you give us a run down on an original Holden Industrial engine. I have been playing around with an old chain driven concrete agitator, which came fitted with a 3.3L.
I didn’t realise when I bought it, how much difference there is between a car engine and an engine for powering equipment such a forklift or concrete mixer. I suspect that the radiator core would be much bigger on a stationary engine.
Holden supplied crate engines for industrial purposes which reached its zenith in the 70's.
Hi mate. Would have a different camshaft and governor to I’d say. I haven’t got one here, only automotive engines. Certainly would be interested in playing with one
@stevesplacedownunder I had the camshaft reground to an industrial profile so it now idles at about 400rpm, smooth as, I added a second radiator off a Volvo XC90, huge! The 14" cooling fan theoretically should be equal to the original, but not there yet. I also had to put a smaller pulley on the alternator to keep the charge up to the battery at low revs. The original motor would have had the letter "I" for industrial stamped as part of the engine number. They were only red motors. They would have also had a different thermostat and a hotter rated spark plug as the maximum rpm is about 2700rpm.
Well done
Some 173s did not like unleaded fuel at all and could be a dog to start. As for ease of repair, I miss being able to climb in the bay with the engine to work on it. Try that with a modern car and they will fish your bleached bones out after you are trapped by the wrists if you are unwise enough to tackle it on your own and not have somebody do a welfare check on you.
There was a red motor in a HQ taxi in Kuta Bali way back in 1994. The driver was exceptionally proud of it. The figure of most of the panels was no longer correct as it had been dented and refinished so many times. When he drove it, he went to the taller gears very early. The motor was very worn and he was keeping the rod bearing noise to a minimum. There was no oil smoke so one wonders how many times that engine had been rebuilt as in new bearings on an old crankshaft. When he was not driving, he sat on the bonnet and polished the blemishes of the windscreen with cerium oxide and a white styrofoam block. Despite my suspicions to the contrary it worked. The area he was dressing was like new glass.
Back the day, Australia could make nearly everything it needed. In the event of another war and a blockade, we will be running around in cockrags, rooskin cloaks and hocheemin sandals for the four years or so it will take to get the manufacturing base up again and people trained. The lessons of WW2 were so quickly forgotten by our gallant political leaders.
Hi mate thanks for sharing this. Very interesting about the taxi. He would have made a lot of money out of it.
Yes our government have wrecked the place. We had some great products made here, and now, nothing. Just madness
Volume improved at the results of the welder competition.
Then it went bad again.
Bugger.
Holden was the australian GM division most parts interchanged with US engines
The Holden red six had no interchangeable parts with the US parent, likewise 253/308 V8's.
These engines came in the 1ton uses in New Zealand.
They did mate yes
I always felt that the 173 was very smooth compared to the other Red motors - is that just me?
161 was the quietest running of the red sixes, so 173 was pretty close.
Just needs a Yella Terra head
I think your mic stopped working friend.
They put the 173s in Toranas as well didn't they?
Most probably did. I know they were in the HQ
Mate, fantastic video.
Problem was, the volume was at 100%, and I could still barely hear you.
Other clips sound fine, so couldya, if you don't mind, look at your recording levels?
Love your work and would enjoy not having to struggle to hear everything.
Have been using captions to see what you're saying, but those are some AI-generated joke. Effing gibberish.
Cheers, Steve.
Thank you Andy🙏
keep the blue short motor, better crank and rods(and probably pistons if they're still in good nic). You simply drill the water passages for the red head in the blue block, and all the 'red' gear you've got can be used. Just put the read head gasket on the blue block, and drill the missing passages. Simples.
Thank you mate. I probably will keep it
I had a CF van way back in the 80's. Mine had a 2.3ltr 4 cylinder petrol, same engine that was fitted to the Vauxhall VX4/90 car (I think). Great van but not as good as a Ford Transit.
Thanks for sharing mate
I grew up on these motors
They’re great old things
Hardly ever see them anymore ❤❤❤❤❤
Great motors mate. Plenty laying around still but not a lot being used
sounds great steve, whatcha going to put the motor in? sometimes u can't beat the devil out of those motors. have a beer on me Mate..
Hi mate. I’m not sure what I will do with it yet. It’s a good donor for something. I’ve had plenty of beer since🤣🤣
👍
🙏
Maybe you might have an old Holden somewhere on your property and then chuck that in there
I don’t mate no but something may come along
To me the quickest give away that it’s a Holden and not Chevrolet is the oil filter location. If they are as durable as the Chevrolet you can’t get a tougher six.
Yes they are different but simple. These were everywhere in those days. Very reliable
Runs like a clock!
just add a relay to stop the feed back
Good strong donk still
Yeah mate it is
GMH screwed their CF van up royally the slow revving low compression 173 they fitted was awful because they left the 4 banger diff head in, Ford did the same with their transit instead of fitting a lower ratio diff head for highway use highway suitable diff heads were in every 6 cylinder Vauxhall as were better 6 cylinder engines, I drove a stock CF from Mareeba FNQ to Newcastle slow and incredibly noisy, 173/202 can handle running hot it was the 179 that liked cracking engine blocks
Thank you for sharing Bryce. I couldn’t imagine they were ever a fast van.
I don’t know why I clicked on this video. Early Holden and ford motors just run no matter what despite 40 years of sitting and not running.
Change oil, filter, plugs, fuel pump and carby , they will
Just run with the exception of a leg outa bed!
Awww memories right there, feeling sorry for today's generation who want to save the planet with a battery....lol.
Yes mate that’s right