I had an LC - loved it to bits. Didn't handle extra-well, but it was probably my favorite of all the cars I've had over the years. Sold it for bugger-all. I regret that, trust me.
Aaaa the 70's , good times GT's and monaros , and toranas and pacers and chargers hooning around the burbs , i remember on particular occasion when we lived on a corrner a young bloke hooning down the road in a gtr lost it and speared through our brick fence into the wall of our house , he was quick though, it was still running and he reversed out and pissed off as fast as his little torana could take him 😂. I was never really a fan of the offset steering wheel and weird pedals on those little toranas , even the LH had tiny pedals . I remember back in the day coming home from a night out early hours of the morning sitting all alone at the traffic lights in my 1967 289 falcon stocker , and a car load of hoods pulled up along side me in a very lumpy xu1 , and they where all giving me the stare treatment , it was beautiful cold night and my old falcon was enjoying the cold air running like a beauty, and i thought twice about doing anything foolish because my dear old falcon was battle scarred from lets just say the previous weekends foolishness . Anyway the lights turned green, and I better not continue because i may incriminate myself😂. Let me just say it was a good campfire story ill remember for the rest of my life. Ahh fun times in the youthful foolish days.. Those little Toranas did go well , especially with some tweaks .
@@mikldude9376 they certainly don't build them that tough these days!! That is an awesome story!! I wonder what became of that old torana that ran through your fence?
I grew up with these motors. The 161S was basically analogous to the 179 X2 motor based on the HP with the steel crank and high compression, but where the X2 used twin single throat carbs the S motor used a single dual throat carb and had an iron crank. It's a sort of strange capacity pheneomenon across the red motors, which is basically halfway between a 7 port grey motor and 12 port blue motor having 10 ports, the central four cylinders fed by two wide, split intake ports. Grey motor did the same treatment on the exhaust for four header pipes on the six cylinders and three split ports for intake, whilst the red motor got 6 proper exhaust ports at least, but only 2 individual intake ports and the 2 split ports. So this was basically a 40s-50s design GMC derivative based off a 1930s Buick. Didn't really look at a European export market because they'd laugh at you and ask why you're driving around with a 1920s tractor motor, so yeah a 70s red motor is a time machine all right. Yella Terra did a lot to help these engines by a ton of machining to remove material from those two central ports so they could properly feed the central four cylinders, which were otherwise the big performance restriction on these motors and making the 200hp mark the golden number few could achieve without gutting the head like Yella Terra did in a street mod slightly ahead of the time the XU-1 was introduced, which essentially borrowed from their toolshop in the head department to cope with triple carbs for 160hp. The other big thing the XU1 did was use the small chamber 161/173 head as a base instead of the 186/202 head, which gave about 11:1 compression with the bigger bores and meant strictly 100 octane minimum, cam lobe overlap a must and an ignition recurve to make it run. But you know with all the removed head material and a big cam that all meant you could feed it with some real caburetion, multiples off a Euro motor or a four barrel off a small V8 with some custom manifolding work. The XU1 of course went with triple stromberg sidedraughts, Euro style. Streeters immediately swapped those out for bigger SU types that love performance driving. So basically what a lot of people were doing with red motors in the street mod scene, just ahead of the XU-1 was hunting down HP 179s for the steel crank with big bores, sending the head to Yella Terra, putting a camshaft in, set of extractors and a holley for around 150hp and you had a pretty quick late model EH or HR for 1969-70 Aussie roads without the significantly greater expense of a V8 in those days, and I mean it was almost just as quick in the lighter Holden sedans. Noteworthy that without counterweights and purely workmanlike manufacturing one of the greatest improvements to existential performance on any red motor was tearing it down just to be machined and balanced. It just wouldn't rev very cleanly without doing that, certainly not like any European contemporaries. In fact without doing it these ancient, shared port OHV designs really are a 50s motor. As mentioned there was a strange capacity phenomenon between 3 generations of red motor, from the EH/HD/HR days with the 149/179 options to the HK/T/G/LC days 138/161/186 options and the HQ/LJ days with the 138/173/202 options. The 149 was of course the original base red motor engine with 179 "special" upgrade in low or high compression form with the high compression ones marked HP and fitted with a steel crank. All 149s are high compression and have a steel crank FYI, so only the LC 179 had an iron crank. This is how I learned it but it does conflict with Wikipedia which says all red motors had a steel crank before 67 regardless of capacity, including 161/186 so maybe that's true. But then Holden introduced two domestic chassis sizes with the HK through HG and the Torana using a common engine base to cut cost, so keeping a dual capacity engine option theme but sized for two different chassis they needed three engine sizes, and also had discovered the steel crank was unnecessary and so was a low compression engine which was specifically for rural areas and questionable fuel quality that wasn't really an issue like it was ten years earlier. So simplifying the story they rebored the 149/179 for 3 sizes for the Torana to offer a 138/161 i6 options and the HG 161/186 i6 options, with some fours also available in a short nosed Torana and the new 253 V8 also available for the HG. But then later for the HQ which was heavier than the HG they wanted more torque from the base and special i6 engine options, so increased the stroke on both the HQ i6 red sixes, turning the 161 into a 173 and the 186 into a 202, dropping the 161 from production so the LJ Torana facelift also had to use the 173 in place of the 161 on the luxury engine option and the GTR. However due to the 173 benefitting with more power from the stroke increase from 161, the GTR no longer had a modified S motor but was just a stock 173 but kept the sport exhaust system and had an Aussie four speed which was introduced in the LJ. So, the big street mod insights were: the original red motors made for 100 octane fuel for a 30% power increase over the grey motor layout which ran on 85 octane just fine, but were expensive because they all had a common steel crank expecting a cast one to break and differed in bore size. Since remote areas often didn't have 100 octane available a special low compression 179 was also produced, didn't need a steel crank so had a cast one and was stamped LC on the block, whilst the high octane one had HP stamped. All the 149s are high compression so don't need that. This is important, because there are a lot more LC 179s than there are HP 179s but there are a lot more 149s than both of them and all those have steel cranks that go right into any 161 or 186, which are all high compression also but have cast iron cranks. As red motors don't have counterweights this is big. Again this conflicts with Wikipedia but that's how I grew up learning it from the modders, though I only had two vanilla 186 sedans and a 202 XU1 homage mod myself. The vanilla 173/202 has bolt down non-adjustable tappets, but the 161/186 has fully adjustable, and if you don't adjust them very regularly they break and snap your valve stem off. Happened on mine as I used to spin it to 7200 on 36/72 valve timing and big lift. So that's why the later bolts down braces, but the issue there is they don't like big cams those braces, tappets don't generally but you need adjustable ones. This is important for the next part. To bump your compression to 11:1 on a stock bottom end you put a 161 head on a 186 or a 202, but don't use a 173 head because of the tappets. Then you send that head to Yella Terra for the full workover. It's still not quite as good as a machined blue motor 12 port head, but it's a far cry better than the vanilla red motor head which limits power to about 135hp and a twin carb it's so bad. With a carefully balanced but basically stock bottom end, Yella Terra head, cam and big holley or triples treatment, some exhaust manifolding, a 179 should do 150-180hp, a 186 about 160-200 and a 202 no problem for 200-230, that's a good engine dimension. Mine had about that in an LC. They're still not oversquare like the high revving Euro motors, so a lot of streeters do prefer the 179/186 to the 202 since two things, the same cam grind acts rougher so it's got more atmosphere to it and it spins a little nicer up top but the 202 has more power potential, sucks up more carburetion easier and is more drivable on the really big cams, so you'll see a modded 186 and a 202 act and sound identical but the 202 will have bigger carbs and about 30 more horsepower and one with the same power as a very lumpy 186 will act a lot milder, they definitely act differently. It's the same deal between the 161S and the vanilla 173, which actually has the same performance from a stock engine without the mild cam and twin throat carb. A 173 is better than a 179, but for the HP crankshaft, although it takes a 202 to beat a 186 which is both better and revvier than a 173. If anyone read all that, now you're a red motor expert. 😂
@@jasonmorahan7450 WOW Jason!! That was a really comprehensive and educational read 😊 Thank you so much for your input, I certainly learned lots I didn't know before. So I must ask what your personal choice ultimate red motor build would look like? I've personally always preferred the 186 compared to the 202 and from what you've explained technically it makes sense as to why now.
@@TorqueAndTakeoff Well back in 91 on a budget I had an LC with a 202 and the Yella Terra style 161 head (same work by a different mob), 36/72 camshaft and off the shelf tubular headers, balanced bottom end recondition with the trimetal bearings, couldn't afford roller rockers so adjusted the tappets every 2 weeks until one snapped in half, put a twin point dizzy in and at the time a top shelf competition coil, and my favourite carbs the triple 1 3/4" British SU and a sewing machine oiler rather than the sidedraught stromberg 175CD on the XU1, without about 115 different sized needles to build a fuel map with, front one always runs lean and rear one rich under acceleration, you're always under acceleration when delivering fuel with a cam like that, you can't cruise they just spit and the car starts jerking, you do light throttle, let off, light on, let off, constant up and down about 5mph to keep a speed if cruising highways responsibly. When idling with the bonnet open you could watch the motor jump side to side with the lopey idle. Oh had strengthened engine mounts and guide plates for obvious reasons. And all the dress up chrome. Cut a hole in the bonnet to feed them with an XW GTHO bonnet scoop, that was a real help with the aluminium heat plate I put to separate them from the exhaust. A mate had an almost identical motor that I actually modelled this one off but his was an overbored 186/192 rated at 210hp, had an even worse idle and was rougher to drive and loved to rev a little more, but all agreed mine was more powerful and definitely quicker, keeping with a 4cyl roadbike at Dandy drags from standing to 100mph although he was pulling away when he let off, so mates in the car behind me actually thought I beat it. Um, nah, it was quicker but I kept at a few lengths from him most of it so it looked impressive and either way in those days that was a bloody fast car for just a few grand in, no ten grand Cleveland motor build. And it did beat the Brockies, the Group A ones they throttle the street outputs on. The older Group 3 ones were quicker. And those were all expensive cars. My Torana looked like just a cheap old car with wide chromies. I did get creamed by a Tate/Phillip Bathurst spec XU-1 streeter in Heidelberg one time. Those things were putting out 290hp with triple webers but those are ten grand engines. If I was to build one today I'd use a blue motor for the 12 port head and counterweighted crank. Basically same rule though, use the 173 small chamber head and swap the tappets for adjustable roller rockers, which I always wanted to do on the Torana but back then couldn't afford it. Definitely want upgraded pistons and rods and a lot of fine machining and balancing throughout. The big limiter on those 'old fashioned motors' is mainly their blockhead construction and thankfully because capacities and targets were conservative and the theme just make it thick there's tons of useless material you can just machine away without hitting jackets and galleries, but things like stock rods are basically coathanger thin and need forged replacements. Oh and those SUs, if you tune them right and can balance them yourself, it's not that hard but a bit like being an animal whisperer, they're about as good as EFI...so long as you pull over to the side of the road to retune them and rotate the distributor a bit every time you change elevation 😂
Back in 1984 I had a 1973 model LJ 2850 (173 CI). It was gold with cheviot turbo mag wheels, rear window louvres, houndstooth seat fabric and a pair of yellow fluffy dice hanging from the rear view mirror. 😜 I built a custom central console for it, complete with gauges. I had a tach mounted on the top of the dash. All the classic boy racer stuff! 😄 Those torana's are built like the proverbial brick outhouse. Rest assured, if you hit any modern car, you will definitely come off best. 😉
@@user-rg8hs5in3z that's a very accurate description 🤣 I can't imagine how it would've been at higher speeds especially with a bit of a cross wind or rough roads!!
Been decades since I had to do this, but from memory, unscrew the speedo cable at the transmission and put some grease on the cable driver. That'll stop the flickering of the needle. Preferably lube the entire cable.
@@johnhutchinson9714 thanks John. I had tightened then up before driving off but being so tall they didn't like staying on my shoulders properly. I've got some retractable ones to put into my Torana to fix that 😊
@@TorqueAndTakeoff Yeah , I noticed that you're tall and to me seemed a little close to the wheel. I'd be interested to see if retractables fit the top mounting in a two door LC/LJ. Interesting also a 179 in a Torana. The standard 161 S in the LC GTR was 125 hp, I dare say a 179 with extractors and a a 350 Holley would be 140+ hp. Is it an Aussie 4 speed?hey were originally fitted with the Opel 4 speed, not the best box, I changed mine to an Aussie box way back in the 70s, wish I still had that car.
@@johnhutchinson9714 yes I was really close to the wheel and it was also really challenging to change gears as my leg would hit the steering wheel and gearshifter when I had to clutch 😅 Will have to keep you updated and see if they do fit properly 😉 Someone has changed it to a 179 previously, although not the original combo it did go really well, I can only imagine how a 186 or 202 with triple cards would go 🤪
@@TorqueAndTakeoff Really well let me tell you, although keeping the triples tuned for road use was a pain, I ended up reverting to a 350 Holley to save the hassle. I'd appreciate the occasional update, thanks.
@@johnhutchinson9714 yes, keeping the triples tuned, all the extra work. We've gone for a WW twin throat Stromberg on Dads EK 186 to keep it nice and simple for cruising. Stay tuned and I'll keep you updated 😉
Brocky and his son did a project GTR like this same color years ago...wonder where it is now ! they lived not far from me and used to see it in the shed.
My LC GTR felt like a Vauxhall viva with a red motor in it , that car should have had the Opel gearbox that m20 is not stock , however nice example of a survivor
@@themacgyverinstitute5340 the Viva's are an interesting looking car and super rare these days. Yes one of the previous owners has changed the engine and gearbox.
@@Hapkido82AUS yes I did that but being so tall it didn't want to stay up on my shoulder even with it tight. I have some retractables to fit so that it makes it much safe on my build.
Nice little cars, fun, quick, handle for what they were. Nice to look at but couldn't own one now. Not any real fun these days, just falling apart and have to be fixed every time they are drven if you even drive then. Had 3 toranas.
HP does not equal 179. It is 2600cc, a 161 Cubic inch engine. I believe 161S = Steel crank, like the 186S The LC GTR-XU1 had the 186 engine with triple Carbs. The LJ GTR had the 202 engine with a 2 barrel carb while the XU1 variant had the 202 plus triples.
There is so much misinformation about today concerning early Holden motor cars. I can understand this as many of today's fans were not alive then. Even their parents may not have been alive then. But it's still hilarious to hear what some people say and incorrectly believe. I've looked at sites supposedly posted by Holden "this" and Holden "that" car clubs and I can not understand how they could get some of the info wrong. It's not like it was the Middle Ages, it's not really that long ago. Stuff like "the EH Holden was the first Holden to have disc brakes" No! not unless you fitted them like I did including the HR front end. Which Torana had the 179 motor?? None, unless you fitted one yourself. The first Monaros came with the 202 motor, I don't think so.but you can believe whatever you like. I have a bit of a laugh about it all. Everyone from that era has a story to tell, my father had this or that. The bloke down the road had the very first whatever Holden etc etc. Sadly fellas' it's all gone bye bye.
@@NoelHaverly yep, totally agree. Unfortunately someone had put this 179 in many years ago. I'm not sure why there is so much inaccurate info out there about these, particularly the Holden's
The seatbelt dropping into your right elbow about 20 times? How about tightening it up like would make some sense? Do you really think cars were sold with seatbelts that fall off your shoulder? Where is the owner in all this??? Does he not adjust it when he drives it??? This does my head in. Absolutely nuts.
@@rosskelly8268 I tightened it really tight before driving but because I'm so tall it just didn't stay on my shoulder no matter how tight I did it. This annoyed me so much that I went and bought auto retracting seatbelts for my LJ project just so I feel safer. Paul the owner was holding the camera which he preferred.
@@rockbiterhd yeah I can imagine how much of a pain that would be with the mighty complicated "Rat Trap"... I wonder why they didn't use a hydraulic or cable set up? 🤔
@@TorqueAndTakeoff they were....all my mates wrote theirs off in the wet....this was in the late 80s early 90s....they were all fully worked with triple carbs
@@nickf6062 I did before we started driving but being so tall it wouldn't stay in place. Thankfully I have some automatic retractable ones for my LJ build 😊
@@truesouth4784 thanks for the input, if you search on my chanel you'll see there is some another Torana video with more action 🎬 😉 Thanks for your support 🙏🏼
I had an LC - loved it to bits.
Didn't handle extra-well, but it was probably my favorite of all the cars I've had over the years.
Sold it for bugger-all.
I regret that, trust me.
Aaaa the 70's , good times GT's and monaros , and toranas and pacers and chargers hooning around the burbs , i remember on particular occasion when we lived on a corrner a young bloke hooning down the road in a gtr lost it and speared through our brick fence into the wall of our house , he was quick though, it was still running and he reversed out and pissed off as fast as his little torana could take him 😂.
I was never really a fan of the offset steering wheel and weird pedals on those little toranas , even the LH had tiny pedals .
I remember back in the day coming home from a night out early hours of the morning sitting all alone at the traffic lights in my 1967 289 falcon stocker , and a car load of hoods pulled up along side me in a very lumpy xu1 , and they where all giving me the stare treatment , it was beautiful cold night and my old falcon was enjoying the cold air running like a beauty, and i thought twice about doing anything foolish because my dear old falcon was battle scarred from lets just say the previous weekends foolishness .
Anyway the lights turned green, and I better not continue because i may incriminate myself😂.
Let me just say it was a good campfire story ill remember for the rest of my life.
Ahh fun times in the youthful foolish days..
Those little Toranas did go well , especially with some tweaks .
@@mikldude9376 they certainly don't build them that tough these days!! That is an awesome story!!
I wonder what became of that old torana that ran through your fence?
I grew up with these motors.
The 161S was basically analogous to the 179 X2 motor based on the HP with the steel crank and high compression, but where the X2 used twin single throat carbs the S motor used a single dual throat carb and had an iron crank. It's a sort of strange capacity pheneomenon across the red motors, which is basically halfway between a 7 port grey motor and 12 port blue motor having 10 ports, the central four cylinders fed by two wide, split intake ports. Grey motor did the same treatment on the exhaust for four header pipes on the six cylinders and three split ports for intake, whilst the red motor got 6 proper exhaust ports at least, but only 2 individual intake ports and the 2 split ports.
So this was basically a 40s-50s design GMC derivative based off a 1930s Buick. Didn't really look at a European export market because they'd laugh at you and ask why you're driving around with a 1920s tractor motor, so yeah a 70s red motor is a time machine all right. Yella Terra did a lot to help these engines by a ton of machining to remove material from those two central ports so they could properly feed the central four cylinders, which were otherwise the big performance restriction on these motors and making the 200hp mark the golden number few could achieve without gutting the head like Yella Terra did in a street mod slightly ahead of the time the XU-1 was introduced, which essentially borrowed from their toolshop in the head department to cope with triple carbs for 160hp. The other big thing the XU1 did was use the small chamber 161/173 head as a base instead of the 186/202 head, which gave about 11:1 compression with the bigger bores and meant strictly 100 octane minimum, cam lobe overlap a must and an ignition recurve to make it run. But you know with all the removed head material and a big cam that all meant you could feed it with some real caburetion, multiples off a Euro motor or a four barrel off a small V8 with some custom manifolding work. The XU1 of course went with triple stromberg sidedraughts, Euro style. Streeters immediately swapped those out for bigger SU types that love performance driving.
So basically what a lot of people were doing with red motors in the street mod scene, just ahead of the XU-1 was hunting down HP 179s for the steel crank with big bores, sending the head to Yella Terra, putting a camshaft in, set of extractors and a holley for around 150hp and you had a pretty quick late model EH or HR for 1969-70 Aussie roads without the significantly greater expense of a V8 in those days, and I mean it was almost just as quick in the lighter Holden sedans.
Noteworthy that without counterweights and purely workmanlike manufacturing one of the greatest improvements to existential performance on any red motor was tearing it down just to be machined and balanced. It just wouldn't rev very cleanly without doing that, certainly not like any European contemporaries. In fact without doing it these ancient, shared port OHV designs really are a 50s motor.
As mentioned there was a strange capacity phenomenon between 3 generations of red motor, from the EH/HD/HR days with the 149/179 options to the HK/T/G/LC days 138/161/186 options and the HQ/LJ days with the 138/173/202 options. The 149 was of course the original base red motor engine with 179 "special" upgrade in low or high compression form with the high compression ones marked HP and fitted with a steel crank. All 149s are high compression and have a steel crank FYI, so only the LC 179 had an iron crank. This is how I learned it but it does conflict with Wikipedia which says all red motors had a steel crank before 67 regardless of capacity, including 161/186 so maybe that's true. But then Holden introduced two domestic chassis sizes with the HK through HG and the Torana using a common engine base to cut cost, so keeping a dual capacity engine option theme but sized for two different chassis they needed three engine sizes, and also had discovered the steel crank was unnecessary and so was a low compression engine which was specifically for rural areas and questionable fuel quality that wasn't really an issue like it was ten years earlier.
So simplifying the story they rebored the 149/179 for 3 sizes for the Torana to offer a 138/161 i6 options and the HG 161/186 i6 options, with some fours also available in a short nosed Torana and the new 253 V8 also available for the HG. But then later for the HQ which was heavier than the HG they wanted more torque from the base and special i6 engine options, so increased the stroke on both the HQ i6 red sixes, turning the 161 into a 173 and the 186 into a 202, dropping the 161 from production so the LJ Torana facelift also had to use the 173 in place of the 161 on the luxury engine option and the GTR. However due to the 173 benefitting with more power from the stroke increase from 161, the GTR no longer had a modified S motor but was just a stock 173 but kept the sport exhaust system and had an Aussie four speed which was introduced in the LJ.
So, the big street mod insights were: the original red motors made for 100 octane fuel for a 30% power increase over the grey motor layout which ran on 85 octane just fine, but were expensive because they all had a common steel crank expecting a cast one to break and differed in bore size. Since remote areas often didn't have 100 octane available a special low compression 179 was also produced, didn't need a steel crank so had a cast one and was stamped LC on the block, whilst the high octane one had HP stamped. All the 149s are high compression so don't need that. This is important, because there are a lot more LC 179s than there are HP 179s but there are a lot more 149s than both of them and all those have steel cranks that go right into any 161 or 186, which are all high compression also but have cast iron cranks. As red motors don't have counterweights this is big. Again this conflicts with Wikipedia but that's how I grew up learning it from the modders, though I only had two vanilla 186 sedans and a 202 XU1 homage mod myself.
The vanilla 173/202 has bolt down non-adjustable tappets, but the 161/186 has fully adjustable, and if you don't adjust them very regularly they break and snap your valve stem off. Happened on mine as I used to spin it to 7200 on 36/72 valve timing and big lift. So that's why the later bolts down braces, but the issue there is they don't like big cams those braces, tappets don't generally but you need adjustable ones. This is important for the next part.
To bump your compression to 11:1 on a stock bottom end you put a 161 head on a 186 or a 202, but don't use a 173 head because of the tappets. Then you send that head to Yella Terra for the full workover. It's still not quite as good as a machined blue motor 12 port head, but it's a far cry better than the vanilla red motor head which limits power to about 135hp and a twin carb it's so bad.
With a carefully balanced but basically stock bottom end, Yella Terra head, cam and big holley or triples treatment, some exhaust manifolding, a 179 should do 150-180hp, a 186 about 160-200 and a 202 no problem for 200-230, that's a good engine dimension. Mine had about that in an LC. They're still not oversquare like the high revving Euro motors, so a lot of streeters do prefer the 179/186 to the 202 since two things, the same cam grind acts rougher so it's got more atmosphere to it and it spins a little nicer up top but the 202 has more power potential, sucks up more carburetion easier and is more drivable on the really big cams, so you'll see a modded 186 and a 202 act and sound identical but the 202 will have bigger carbs and about 30 more horsepower and one with the same power as a very lumpy 186 will act a lot milder, they definitely act differently.
It's the same deal between the 161S and the vanilla 173, which actually has the same performance from a stock engine without the mild cam and twin throat carb. A 173 is better than a 179, but for the HP crankshaft, although it takes a 202 to beat a 186 which is both better and revvier than a 173.
If anyone read all that, now you're a red motor expert. 😂
@@jasonmorahan7450 WOW Jason!! That was a really comprehensive and educational read 😊
Thank you so much for your input, I certainly learned lots I didn't know before.
So I must ask what your personal choice ultimate red motor build would look like?
I've personally always preferred the 186 compared to the 202 and from what you've explained technically it makes sense as to why now.
HD or HR...Twin carbs ???
@@romemancer7905 HD X2 179 HP, two (downdraught) strombergs on a linkage, mild cam, twin collector split exhaust manifold, (130hp?)
@@TorqueAndTakeoff Well back in 91 on a budget I had an LC with a 202 and the Yella Terra style 161 head (same work by a different mob), 36/72 camshaft and off the shelf tubular headers, balanced bottom end recondition with the trimetal bearings, couldn't afford roller rockers so adjusted the tappets every 2 weeks until one snapped in half, put a twin point dizzy in and at the time a top shelf competition coil, and my favourite carbs the triple 1 3/4" British SU and a sewing machine oiler rather than the sidedraught stromberg 175CD on the XU1, without about 115 different sized needles to build a fuel map with, front one always runs lean and rear one rich under acceleration, you're always under acceleration when delivering fuel with a cam like that, you can't cruise they just spit and the car starts jerking, you do light throttle, let off, light on, let off, constant up and down about 5mph to keep a speed if cruising highways responsibly. When idling with the bonnet open you could watch the motor jump side to side with the lopey idle. Oh had strengthened engine mounts and guide plates for obvious reasons. And all the dress up chrome. Cut a hole in the bonnet to feed them with an XW GTHO bonnet scoop, that was a real help with the aluminium heat plate I put to separate them from the exhaust.
A mate had an almost identical motor that I actually modelled this one off but his was an overbored 186/192 rated at 210hp, had an even worse idle and was rougher to drive and loved to rev a little more, but all agreed mine was more powerful and definitely quicker, keeping with a 4cyl roadbike at Dandy drags from standing to 100mph although he was pulling away when he let off, so mates in the car behind me actually thought I beat it. Um, nah, it was quicker but I kept at a few lengths from him most of it so it looked impressive and either way in those days that was a bloody fast car for just a few grand in, no ten grand Cleveland motor build. And it did beat the Brockies, the Group A ones they throttle the street outputs on. The older Group 3 ones were quicker. And those were all expensive cars. My Torana looked like just a cheap old car with wide chromies. I did get creamed by a Tate/Phillip Bathurst spec XU-1 streeter in Heidelberg one time. Those things were putting out 290hp with triple webers but those are ten grand engines.
If I was to build one today I'd use a blue motor for the 12 port head and counterweighted crank. Basically same rule though, use the 173 small chamber head and swap the tappets for adjustable roller rockers, which I always wanted to do on the Torana but back then couldn't afford it. Definitely want upgraded pistons and rods and a lot of fine machining and balancing throughout. The big limiter on those 'old fashioned motors' is mainly their blockhead construction and thankfully because capacities and targets were conservative and the theme just make it thick there's tons of useless material you can just machine away without hitting jackets and galleries, but things like stock rods are basically coathanger thin and need forged replacements.
Oh and those SUs, if you tune them right and can balance them yourself, it's not that hard but a bit like being an animal whisperer, they're about as good as EFI...so long as you pull over to the side of the road to retune them and rotate the distributor a bit every time you change elevation 😂
That Bloody Goggle, and a few Old Wheels Mag's, have alot to Answer For.hahaha
Back in 1984 I had a 1973 model LJ 2850 (173 CI). It was gold with cheviot turbo mag wheels, rear window louvres, houndstooth seat fabric and a pair of yellow fluffy dice hanging from the rear view mirror. 😜
I built a custom central console for it, complete with gauges. I had a tach mounted on the top of the dash. All the classic boy racer stuff! 😄
Those torana's are built like the proverbial brick outhouse. Rest assured, if you hit any modern car, you will definitely come off best. 😉
@@user-kl9vq9os4w would love to see some pictures of it!!
I think we need to bring back the fluffy dice 🎲 😅
Have had a couple of XU1 toranas over the years top little car
@@user-gn2ke5gc1m that's so good! Bet you wish you still had them now?
What a fantastic example. It takes me back.
So glad it brought back some great memories for you 😊
It is very clean indeed
I had one 115 mph no problem
@@user-rg8hs5in3zthat is quiet impressive!! How did it handle at that speed?
@TorqueAndTakeoff pretty light whole time ya thinking this is a little tin can
I had this exact one. And yes 115 mph no worrries out of the 161( with Yella Terra head).
@@user-rg8hs5in3z that's a very accurate description 🤣
I can't imagine how it would've been at higher speeds especially with a bit of a cross wind or rough roads!!
@@SLB4523 The yella Terra head would've made a huge difference!
Been decades since I had to do this, but from memory, unscrew the speedo cable at the transmission and put some grease on the cable driver. That'll stop the flickering of the needle. Preferably lube the entire cable.
@@user-kl9vq9os4w that's an awesome tip! Thank you, will definitely try that on my LJ as the build progresses
Nice car. Seat belts work much better if they're tightened.
@@johnhutchinson9714 thanks John. I had tightened then up before driving off but being so tall they didn't like staying on my shoulders properly.
I've got some retractable ones to put into my Torana to fix that 😊
@@TorqueAndTakeoff Yeah , I noticed that you're tall and to me seemed a little close to the wheel. I'd be interested to see if retractables fit the top mounting in a two door LC/LJ. Interesting also a 179 in a Torana. The standard 161 S in the LC GTR was 125 hp, I dare say a 179 with extractors and a a 350 Holley would be 140+ hp. Is it an Aussie 4 speed?hey were originally fitted with the Opel 4 speed, not the best box, I changed mine to an Aussie box way back in the 70s, wish I still had that car.
@@johnhutchinson9714 yes I was really close to the wheel and it was also really challenging to change gears as my leg would hit the steering wheel and gearshifter when I had to clutch 😅
Will have to keep you updated and see if they do fit properly 😉
Someone has changed it to a 179 previously, although not the original combo it did go really well, I can only imagine how a 186 or 202 with triple cards would go 🤪
@@TorqueAndTakeoff Really well let me tell you, although keeping the triples tuned for road use was a pain, I ended up reverting to a 350 Holley to save the hassle. I'd appreciate the occasional update, thanks.
@@johnhutchinson9714 yes, keeping the triples tuned, all the extra work.
We've gone for a WW twin throat Stromberg on Dads EK 186 to keep it nice and simple for cruising.
Stay tuned and I'll keep you updated 😉
Holden man thru and thru but those GTR,s were to me the biggest bucket to drive, JMHO
@@Hitman-ds1ei they certainly do have an interesting feel on the road, the vague feeling steering at speed takes some getting used to.
Brocky and his son did a project GTR like this same color years ago...wonder where it is now ! they lived not far from me and used to see it in the shed.
@@romemancer7905 that's awesome!! I had no idea about that!! Maybe someone on here knows more about it?
Fantastic. Great cars. No leather though lol ;)
Yeah it did feel a bit like faux. Will have to keep this in mind when I rebuild my LJ interior 😊
HP on the block means it has forged crankshaft, 2600 is 161 cui. 2850 is 173cui..
My LC GTR felt like a Vauxhall viva with a red motor in it , that car should have had the Opel gearbox that m20 is not stock , however nice example of a survivor
@@themacgyverinstitute5340 the Viva's are an interesting looking car and super rare these days.
Yes one of the previous owners has changed the engine and gearbox.
he said the gear selector is like a stick in a bucket of stones so it must be an Opel box.
You adjust the seat belts after you put them on..
@@Hapkido82AUS yes I did that but being so tall it didn't want to stay up on my shoulder even with it tight. I have some retractables to fit so that it makes it much safe on my build.
Nice little cars, fun, quick, handle for what they were. Nice to look at but couldn't own one now. Not any real fun these days, just falling apart and have to be fixed every time they are drven if you even drive then. Had 3 toranas.
Listen to that!
@@unTLDR it's sounds amazing!! This is the next best thing to being live in person I reckon. So glad you liked it 😊
HP does not equal 179.
It is 2600cc, a 161 Cubic inch engine.
I believe 161S = Steel crank, like the 186S
The LC GTR-XU1 had the 186 engine with triple Carbs.
The LJ GTR had the 202 engine with a 2 barrel carb
while the XU1 variant had the 202 plus triples.
If it was my car, I would rather you watched the road rather than look at the camera to talk.
We can hear you.
There is so much misinformation about today concerning early Holden motor cars. I can understand this as many of today's fans were not alive then. Even their parents may not have been alive then. But it's still hilarious to hear what some people say and incorrectly believe. I've looked at sites supposedly posted by Holden "this" and Holden "that" car clubs and I can not understand how they could get some of the info wrong. It's not like it was the Middle Ages, it's not really that long ago. Stuff like "the EH Holden was the first Holden to have disc brakes" No! not unless you fitted them like I did including the HR front end. Which Torana had the 179 motor?? None, unless you fitted one yourself. The first Monaros came with the 202 motor, I don't think so.but you can believe whatever you like. I have a bit of a laugh about it all. Everyone from that era has a story to tell, my father had this or that. The bloke down the road had the very first whatever Holden etc etc. Sadly fellas' it's all gone bye bye.
@@NoelHaverly yep, totally agree. Unfortunately someone had put this 179 in many years ago.
I'm not sure why there is so much inaccurate info out there about these, particularly the Holden's
The seatbelt dropping into your right elbow about 20 times? How about tightening it up like would make some sense? Do you really think cars were sold with seatbelts that fall off your shoulder? Where is the owner in all this??? Does he not adjust it when he drives it??? This does my head in. Absolutely nuts.
@@rosskelly8268 I tightened it really tight before driving but because I'm so tall it just didn't stay on my shoulder no matter how tight I did it.
This annoyed me so much that I went and bought auto retracting seatbelts for my LJ project just so I feel safer.
Paul the owner was holding the camera which he preferred.
Wait until that clutch rod breaks
@@rockbiterhd yeah I can imagine how much of a pain that would be with the mighty complicated "Rat Trap"...
I wonder why they didn't use a hydraulic or cable set up? 🤔
Lethal in the wet
@@chopperking007 yeah they would've been, at least we have better tyres there days to help just a little bit more
@@TorqueAndTakeoff they were....all my mates wrote theirs off in the wet....this was in the late 80s early 90s....they were all fully worked with triple carbs
Adjust the seatbelt properly, you might die
@@nickf6062 I did before we started driving but being so tall it wouldn't stay in place. Thankfully I have some automatic retractable ones for my LJ build 😊
Lets see more of the car and less of the talk fest.
@@truesouth4784 thanks for the input, if you search on my chanel you'll see there is some another Torana video with more action 🎬 😉
Thanks for your support 🙏🏼
Have had a couple of XU1 toranas over the years top little car
@@user-gn2ke5gc1m they really are 😊