Engine Modifications, Carbies, Exhaust, Heads etc.

Okay folks, straight into it. Have you ever wanted to do some mods to your six cylinder (those of you with V8 motors, please proceed to the last line) to get a bit of performance without outlaying a whole lot of bills?

Here is some more info at this site

www.oldholden.com/possible/index.php/Improving_performance_on_6cyl_motors
Well first of all if your motor is in sound condition, we will start from there. If not, then you will have a multitude of six's to choose from. Starting with the original 149 red motor all the way to a 3.3 (202) fuel injected black motor from a VK Commodore. The politics of each motor and its attributes or failings will not be mentioned here.

You'd be surprised what you can pick up for around 500 bucks. A good start is a good top end package. For example Holley 350 carbie, inlet manifold, accelerator cable and air cleaner. The difference will be remarkable. Throw another couple of hundred bucks on the counter and you'll get a set of extractors. A set of HR X2 headers or Torana XU-1 headers is another budget option to consider, especially if you can get the front engine pipes as well, they can set you back as much as $150, but hard to find.

Now if you're game, we can regrind your camshaft at around $70 and okay for a budget. Or fit a new cam and a set of lifters for around $180. Alloy timing gear is a must and good insurance at around $50. Or a straight cut timing set if you must have a noise. With a few more dollars you get yourself a Hmmm lets see a stage III head for around $400 that is ported, bigger valves, heavier springs. That's the basic bolt ons for the six. Other options that l can suggest are, regraphing the distributor at around $45 and replacing the points. With this outlay or a similar amount you can go from having about 50-65hp at the rear wheels to maybe 10-20% more, depending on which on which motor you started with, so its a substantial increase in horsepower without to much outlay.

The things to remember are that the blue motor has a 12 port head that flows really well, but you must have twelve port manifolds to suit, and the black motors have computer ignition that can be fitted to your red motor, and fuel injection on some models, but it is virtually impossible to do anything with yourself. Once fitted with fuel injection set up well, some real good economy and horsepower gains are possible. There are quite a few guys getting around now with very well set up injected sixes running on aftermarket Wolf 2D computers that really get things happening.

However, getting back to the mods outlined, they're budget-costed and effective . Sure, some guys have spent eight grand on a Holden six, but why bother? For that you can change over to a V8 and get more power.....

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  Drivetrain Options, Gearbox, Clutch, Diff etc.

The EJ Holden, and the EH were fitted with a three speed partial synchro gearbox. This box was carried on until the early HK. These boxes have produced some classic, some legendary, and some sad stories. They do suffer from a lack of parts availability these days, with gear synchro drums being very hard to get in good condition. These boxes are also known as crash boxes, due to the exact sound they make when you try to force them into first gear (has no synchro) at the wrong time! They are rebuildable with a kit, and a bit of time, but if you are after something a little different then...

You can put in a multitude of other boxes. The conversions are too numerous and detailed to mention, so I'll go over a few common ones here. A three speed all synchro box is a pretty easy conversion to do as it bolts up to your original motor, as long as you have the clutch, bellhousing and everything together. You will need some other things, including a different length tailshaft (depending on which vehicle you are modifying), a speedo cable, modify your crossmember (will fit straight into an EH auto floorpan), a perhaps a floor shift would look nice. Putting an aussie four speed in is just about the same, but you have to make sure you have or put a six cylinder front shaft on your box which must be shorter. Similar conversions, include Saginaw four speeds, and Muncie four speed (but parts are not easy to get for this one)

So if you're stuck, and can't get parts or want to make a total change. What are the alternatives? The Japanese gearboxes are very popular, so why not try one of them. We have had millions of them sent over here, so parts are easier to get. One of the most popular is to convert to a Toyota Celica four or five speed. This is a particularly tough little box and will comfortably handle the power from a hot six.

There are many versions. The steel case is one of the easier to get and fit, so go for one of them. If you want a bit more of a safety margin, you may consider having the front cluster bearing replaced for a needle roller type. Tougher and more expensive is the Supra five speed. There is some very good and factual Toyota box info at this website

http://users.tpg.com.au/users/loats/technical/ma61/gearboxes.html

Fitting kits are available for these and some other Japanese boxes from The Castlemaine Rod Shop, but you may even find one in the trading post.

To do the conversion you will need a bellhousing conversion, a clutch, crankshaft end spigot bush, speedo cable, clutch slave cylinder (not for cable operated clutches of course), modified cross member, special tailshaft yoke, tailshaft and a shifter boot.

Now travelling further back in the car, make sure your tailshaft is the correct length, balanced, and you have good uni's fitted.

The diff however is another story. The banjo diff that the EJ/EH came out with has ratios varying from 3.89 to 2.78, and each ratio has its purpose, and you will have to find out which one suits your needs. There are limited slip versions available, but parts are very very scarce for these.

The other alternatives that you have is to fit a salisbury type diff from a later holden, which you can get in LSD a bit easier. You can get a Borg warner diff from a VN-VS Commodore, cheap to buy, gives you disc brakes, but the cost of the conversion is the same as a NINE INCH!!! GRRR, BEEFY. Very expensive to buy, this is one chunk of a diff with about a thousand different ratios, and is about as strong as Hercules in the morning. But if you are not into doing a hundred wheelies a day, you can get by on a banjo, and while we are one the subject, think about upgrading to rear wheel discs. But that's another story, perhaps one that someone else could fill us in on....

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  How to fit a Toyota gearbox in a day These simple steps explain how to fit a Toyota gearbox and conversion kit to your car in a day. Please aslo take the time to look at this article also.

www.oldholden.com/possible/index.php/Celica_5_Speed_into_old_Holden.

To do so successfully you will have to have some basic knowledge of car mechanics, especially clutch hydraulics, and the assistance of someone who is strong and doesn't mind getting dirty to help you lift the Toyota box into place.

These steps are not meant to take the place of the instructions supplied with your conversion kit. If you are working from scratch, get the help of a trained mechanic or gifted amateur. It's amazing how simple it all becomes once someone with a little knowledge is on the scene. You will also need the normal tools that any amateur mechanic should already have, plus a special tool to help you realign the clutch assembly. In all cases some minor welding will have to be carried out, so the appropriate tools will be needed.

The first job is to prepare the car for it's new gearbox. Remove the old gearbox, the crossmember and any parts that are in the way. Clean the underfloor and the transmission tunnel of all dirt and grease so you can see where you are working. For an EJ or EH you will also find it easier if you remove the front seat. In any case you will have to remove any floor covering and console that will be in the way when it comes to making the hole for the shifter.

Unbolt the clutch and pressure plate and extract the bronze bushing out of the back of the crank. Inspect the flywheel and the pressure plate for damage. Our experience tells us to always fit a new or reconditioned pressure plate and to machine the flywheel, as there is nothing worse than having to do the whole job again because of clutch shudder which you will only find when you've finished the conversion. Also, most clutch plate suppliers will not honour any guarantee unless the flywheel and the pressure plate have been machined.

Fit the new spigot bush supplied with the kit, making sure to drive it right in without damaging it and reassemble the clutch using the plate and bearing supplied and your reconditioned pressure plate. Do this carefully making sure to install the spacer ring correctly. Tighten all bolts and for all FE to HK non synchro applications fit the supplied clutch bracket and slave cylinder on the driver side of the bellhousing. You will also have to check that the clutch pivot ball is in place.

You are now ready to bring on the muscle power and move the Toyota box into position. It's now that you really learn how big and strong these boxes are. Locate the box correctly, using only a couple of the bolts to attach it to the motor. Remember to remove the shifter lever from the back of the box, and cover the opening with a rag to stop underbody dirt from entering the shift mechanism. Check out what modifications you will have to do to the floor and tunnel to ensure adequate clearance, mark those areas and the position of the shifter lever, and remove the gearbox again.

By now you probably have realised that some minor floor modifications will be necessary to fit the Toyota box successfully. If you have a factory manual body shell, these will include the removal of the tunnel section of the front floor crossmember. Make these modifications neatly, and reinforce the edges of the shifter hole with some steel plate 3mm thick and 30mm wide welded to the underfloor. Also weld plates over the cut crossmember ends to prevent water from entering the crossmember. From our experience, doing these things neatly, and well, will ensure you an easy passage through any engineers inspection.

If you decide to buy a kit, it will come with. Toyota 4 or 5 speed steel case gearbox, adapting bellhousing, clutch plate, spigot bush, clutch bearing, clutch fork, clutch slave cylinder, adapted speedo cable, Toyota tailshaft yoke from Holden Starfire four engined Toyota Corona (same uni's as an early Holden), shortened tailshaft, universal joints, gearstick and floor boot, rear gearbox mount, and modified rear gearbox crossmember. There are some items you may wish to get yourself, but Dellow in Sydney, or Castlemaine Rod Shop have the other items as required.

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  Fitting a Trimatic three speed automatic

Conversion from Hydramatic to Trimatic is relatively straight forward if ALL the details are known.

Whilst some details were sourced via the web it is important to note the job was made easier due to several discussions with, "Alby". Without his input the changeover would have been far more traumatic and expensive so "thanks Alby"!

It is also important to note that the conversion was done to a factory original EH Premier with a Hydramatic so it had the larger tunnel and extras to make the conversion so much easier.

There were a few second hand parts that I needed to source before the job was started so a trip to the wreckers assisted me to see from the outside what the Trimatic needed and then gather the parts in readiness to complete the job. Some new parts are also required and you will see further in the text what is new and second hand.

My requirement was to keep the gear change selector linkage on the steering column and this was made a little easier by firstly selecting a Trimatic with the selector linkage on the Drivers Side (DS) of the transmission. The Trimatic in earlier Holdens came out with the linkage on the DS where-as the Commodore series has the linkage on the Passenger side (PS). (Now, just to confuse the issue, the transmission I installed was a reconditioned Commodore unit BUT the housing was from an earlier Trimatic. This enabled the linkages to come out on the DS. The transmission company reconditioning the Trimatic assisted with this).

The trip to the wreckers assisted me to locate a lever with the two flats to fit over the selector shaft and this was sourced from a LX Torana with a Trimatic and the linkage rod was sourced from any vehicle that has an adjustable slide and tighten linkage connection. In my case I also wanted to reuse the existing intermediate linkage connected to the transmission and the EH Y frame. Alternatively, I have seen it possible to connect direct from the Steering Column lever to the Transmission. This was due mainly because that vehicle was originally a manual and did not have the intermediate linkage. Now, there is another method to do this and Alby suggests using cable. I have no experience with this but it would also accommodate using a Transmission that has the linkage on the PS.

The next important point is to consider is the differences between the Hydramatic drive requirement and the Trimatic. The Torque Converter on the Trimatic is attached to the "Drive Plate" which is attached to the Crankshaft, (The Hydramatic has a Damper plate which is attached to the "Flywheel" via six bolts on the perimeter. (The ring gear is on the flywheel in the case of the Hydramatic) The damper plate has a splined centre and this conducts the drive forces through to the Hydramatic Transmission. The "Flywheel" with ring gear must be removed from the Crankshaft and the Drive plate is attached to the Crankshaft. (In my case I decided to source a new Drive Plate with Ring Gear Pt # 7420311 from Motor Traders. I wanted this job to be done once and be a long-term fix so new stuff was purchased where needed). You can not use the same bolts (6) to hold the Drive Plate as it is thinner therefore shorter ones must be purchased. Pt # 7420312 (Don't skimp here. Get some good quality ones like ARP) You will need to get three new bolts for the Torque Converter as well. Pt # SP2563 It is important to use locktite on the 6 Crankshaft bolts AND TENSION THEM TO THE BOOK SPECS ie 45 foot pounds.

You will also need a Tapered Spigot Bush Pt # 7420738 as it is needed to be gently knocked into the Crankshaft and enable the Drive Plate to be centred.

Before the transmission is offered to the engine. Make sure the Torque Converter is fitted to the front of the transmission properly. If the Torque Converter is not all the way on damage will occur to the Torque Converter & Pump when transmission is tightened to the engine.

All three splines should be picked up ie Input Shaft, Stator & Pump.The easiest way to do this is to stand the transmission up on the extension housing (output end), & gently rotate the Torque Converter until three audible clicks are heard. (Check that the gap between the back of the Torque Converter & Bell Housing is too narrow to fit your fingers in).

Another point to note here is the bolts to attach the Trimatic to the engine need to be longer! There are 4 of them and they are originally 2" and need to be 2.5" UNC x 7/16. If you try to use the existing bolts you will find that they will attach by a few threads only and that's about all!!!!

Another change I did was to the Differential. The Trimatic has different gear ratios than the Hydramatic and it is advisable to alter the Diff centre which in my case was a 3.55:1 I installed a centre with 3.36:1. You should be armed with a new Diff centre gasket Pt # 7435153 plus oil also. The Trimatic has a different speedo cable connection therefore you can source a cable from a HG. (This will save you $60 bucks from having to get one specially manufactured)! The issue you need to address is with the length of the cable. It is really too short to go via the firewall so it is best to drill a 1" hole in the floor pan and run the speedo cable through a grummet and under the carpet inside the vehicle. It really does fit quite well so do not be too concerned about doing this. To get the speedo accurate you need to get the correct gear ratios.

The EH I have still has original 13" wheels so the transmission re-conditioners installed a drive gear (White in colour) from a Gemini Trimatic in the rear bell housing as the Gemi's have 13" wheels. The outer cog (which slides on the end of the speedo cable) was coloured Green (Pt # 7430969) and it has 21 teeth. This enabled my speed to be 60 kph when the needle was on 40mph and 80 kph when the needle was on 53 mph. (ie approximately 3 kph error according to a GPS).

The Hydramatic and Trimatic rear mounting bolt holes are the same distance from the engine therefore they line up with the existing bracket BUT the Trimatic transmission mounting needs to be lower as the output shaft is higher. (this puzzles me a bit) From the measurements taken before the job was started it looked like they were identical but there must be some angle difference hence the rear mounting bracket needs to be modified. To do this I took to the cross bracket (which is curved and shaped like a U section) with a friction cut off saw and cut a section out large enough to accommodate the rubber mounting bracket. I added two 5 mm thick x 50mm wide x 170mm long plates into the box section and welded it all together to make a boxed, stepped bracket. In effect, this lowered the mounting position by about 30mm and meant the tail shaft was nearly in line and the transmission housing cleared the tunnel. It is not a good idea to space the bracket away from the floor but better to cut and weld the bracket. Besides, there are 6 bolts that hold the bracket up to the floor and two of them are on an angle therefore as soon as you try to move the bracket down these two bolts do not line up as they have moved from the correct angle.

The Tail shaft in my case was the same length but the yoke needed to be changed to suit the different spline.The lower cover plate on the transmission bellhousing needs to be replaced with one to suit the Trimatic. The Hydramatic has "wings " extending out from the bellhousing and this is why the plates are different. The top cover is the same on both transmissions so does not need to be changed.

The transmission pipes need to be longer as they enter the Trimatic in different places. (you could use rubber hose to join the pipes but then they can suffer from fatigue or leaks so I put the effort in to have fixed connections). I sourced two pipes from a LX Torana and straightened one front bend to fit the requirements at the front of the car and join to the hose going to the coolers. I ran the transmission oil via 2 coolers rather than via the Radiator as I have a concern that water may enter the transmission if the cooling pipes in the radiator fail. I also have overheating problems at Idle so I figured that the heat load would be best kept out of the radiator and released via efficient transmission coolers. (There are two schools of thought on what is best here and certainly it is known that water helps conduct heat AWAY or even TO the medium passing through it so this is a debate that I can not enter as I do not have temperature facts to argue either way which is best).

The transmission oil filler tube/dipstick also needs to be sourced from a HG or perhaps even a LX Torana. Some not so significant mods were done to make it fit better and if you are not careful you can move the alignment angle where the tube fits into the Trimatic. The tube has little tolerance to alignment and the "O" Ring and pipe WILL NOT go into the casing if any alignment error is created.

You will also need to source a vacuum pipe to go from the rear of the transmission (Vacuum Modulator) to pick up manifold vacuum so you may also need a multi way manifold connector to facilitate (in my case) Brake Booster, Vacuum Gauge and kick down requirements. Note the fitting to the modulator must have a 0:020" hole to allow the modulator to operate properly. Alternatively a restrictor with a 0:020" hole can be fitted into the vacuum hose at the manifold end. This is important because the modulator reads engine load & changes gears appropriately. Alby suggests fitting an adjustable modulator, so the desired gear changes can be achieved no matter what engine spark timing is required. Note engine spark timing adjusts manifold vacuum.

The Trimatic also has an electric kick down solenoid which you may like to connect with a switch connected to the accelerator linkage some where and feed 12 volt + to the solenoid when the pedal is put to the floor. I found an ideal spot to attach a bracket I manufactured and it fits neatly to the chassis frame/firewall connection bolt. I used a kick down switch from a Commodore which has a variable adjuster on it and the mechanical accelerator pedal came into contact with it as required.

The gear selector indicator on the steering column will also need to be changed and I am adapting one from a HR as it uses the same perspex type curved display for L, D, N, R, and PARK selection in the correct order. The mechanical lock bar on the steering column also needs modifying to accommodate the differences between the transmissions.

The Reverse/Neutral switch on the steering column also needs replacing to get the reverse lights to function in the correct position and the switch from the HR model is suitable for this job.

Author: Peter Lenthall EH Holden Club of SA

  Fitting a HR balljoint front end crossmember

All HR Holdens had a far superior front crossmember than the EJ-EH in a number of areas. It is stronger, it has ball joints instead of kingpins, and it has the option of disc brakes to aid stopping performance. Add to this that it is dimensionally similar to the EJ-EH crossmember and it becomes apparent why it has always been popular as a good update for this model.

It is important to understand that the HR uses a different size rear wheel cylinder to the EJ-EH regardless of whether you will be installing drum or disc brakes with the HR front crossmember unit. As such, thought must be given to either installing a proportioning valve to adjust brake balance, installing HR rear wheel cylinders or a complete HR rear end assembly to ensure brake performance is as it should be. Note that the rear wheel cylinder size for the HR drum brake front is different to the rear wheel cylinder size for the HR disc brake front, and the two should not be interchanged.

Before fitting any second hand component to your vehicle, ensure that any worn parts are replaced. In this case look at ball joints, springs, inner wishbone bushes, brake linings and wheel cylinders. Also carefully inspect the crossmember for cracks or other defects which may make the installation unsafe.It is assumed in this article that the EJ will be running an engine other than the original "grey" motor, and as such, it will be assumed that the engine has been removed from the vehicle prior to the following work being undertaken. Note that extreme care must be exercised if the crossmember is removed from a vehicle with the engine still in place. This practice is not recommended.

Remove the motor from the vehicle, or raise the motor and support using a recognised engine support frame. Raise the front of the vehicle and support the body on stands under the chassis. Make sure that the car is level and the stands are firmly in place.

Remove the front road wheels and disconnect the brake lines where they are connected to the flexible hoses. Remove the clips that hold the flexible hoses to the subframe. Remove the splash trays and anti-sway bar from the vehicle. Remove the drag links from the steering arms using a suitable puller.

Place a pair of trolley jacks underneath the crossmember, raise the jacks until they just take a slight amount of load on the front crossmember, and then remove the front outrigger retaining bracket and the four bolts holding the crossmember to the subframe. Slowly lower the jacks and draw the crossmember out from below the vehicle.

At this stage either a changeover crossmember must be procured from any of the various retailers (Rare Spares, Rod Hadfield), or a competent welder may prepare his own. First the outrigger must be carefully removed and replaced with an original one from the EJ-EH. The engine mounts must also be moved if you are doing a "red" motor. To make sure that the mounts are in exactly the right position, run a string around the four posts where the bolts go into the chassis on your original front end, and measure the distances to the original engine mounts from there. Then cut off the engine mounts from the HR front end and run a string around the posts. You will be able to work out from the positioning of the string where to weld the engine mounts. Accuracy is of the utmost importance. The outrigger and engine mounts must be securely attached to the crossmember by TIG or MIG welding in a professional and competant manner.

Place the modifiedcrossmember on the two trolley jacks, slide it under the vehicle and raise until it just touches the subframe and lines up with the rubber insulators. It is best to use new rubber insulators for the job. Fit the bolts, washers and nuts being careful to use the front metal spacers and rear spacers in their correct positions, as they are slightly different lengths. Refit the outrigger retaining bracket with new rubber insulators, and tighten all bolts as specified in the workshop manual.

EJ-EH steering drag links are made up of ball and cup fittings which are very prone to wear. Whilst the crossmember conversion is being done, it is recommended that the HR ball joint type steering linkages are fitted. The pitman arm and idler arm from the HR can be bolted directly onto the EJ-EH.

Refit the brake lines and bleed the system. At this stage you may need to work out where your lines will be if you are going to run disc brakes and a remote booster. Make sure you fit only the EH sway bar, as no other will fit. Otherwise fit a new heavy duty sway bar, made to suit EH application. Once the road wheels have been fitted, lower the vehicle to the ground. If you need info on front brake applications to suit the HR balljoint front end, read on.

  Installing Air Conditioning into an EH

If you would like to install air conditioning in an EH you may gain some information from my experience.

It had been a goal of mine to install air conditioning in the EH when I initially restored the vehicle but 7 years passed before I finally dedicated a week to the project.

One of the reasons for the long delay was due to my perception that the job would not be easy and to some extent this was true, however, having now completed the project I can say that it is not such a difficult task especially if the following is taken into consideration.

Over the preceding years I did gather some information and parts to do the job but some of what I collected was not used. Whilst restoring the EH I saw a number of other EH’s with air conditioning fitted but not always working. In most cases the units had run out of gas and the owners had decided not to spend any money fixing the problem ie re-gassing the units. I suspect some of the reasons why they were not “fixed” were due to the fact that they had previously been re-gassed but they did not function for very long because of gas leaks or inefficiencies with the then current technology. (The modern technology has gone ahead in leaps and bounds and really can’t be compared to the older designs. Even the refrigerant has changed considerably.) I also noted that in most cases the Compressor was driven by the same v belt which also drove the Alternator and Water Pump. This solution in most cases worked however the torque required to turn the Compressor was relatively higher than the Water Pump and Alternator therefore the v belt needed to have extra tension applied to enable the Compressor to work at maximum efficiency and if any belt slippage occurred (which often did due to the enormous loading on one belt) the Compressor would not function as required and the Alternator and Water Pump would also lose power.

Given all of the above I decided that whilst restoring the EH I would reposition the battery to the opposite side of the engine bay to enable enough room to fit the added components without having to contend with the battery being in the way. The extra space was paramount in achieving the final outcome.

Now, if you know the basics of how air conditioning works then you may like to skip reading the next section. Since my knowledge of air conditioning components was fairly basic I needed to have a better understanding of how the system functioned in order to be able to communicate with those who could give me guidance on what I should consider when making it all fit. It may help you to know the correct names of the specific components, how they function and where they reside.

 There are 5 main components (not including hoses & wiring) 1/ Compressor 2/ Condenser 3/ Receiver/Drier 4/ TX Valve 5/ Evaporator (plus Hoses & Wiring)

 The Compressor usually resides near the front of the motor and is driven by a belt. It compresses the gas and forwards it to the Condenser.

The Condenser usually resides in front of the radiator and it is used to expel the heat component generated in the system. During this stage the gas changes to liquid refrigerant.

 The gas then passes through a Receiver/Drier which although small and shaped like a cylinder plays and important role in removing any moisture in the sealed system and storing the refrigerant until it is needed.

 The refrigerant then moves on to the TX Valve which is part of the Evaporator and usually located in the cabin of the car. These two components cause the refrigerant to release energy and in doing so create a very cold process which gets transmitted into the cabin of the car via a fan. The refrigerant changes to gas, absorbs heat from the cabin and returns to the Compressor where the cycle continues again.]

The next sections describe how I fitted the 5 components and what to be aware of.

Compressor

The most difficult part of the project was to fit a Compressor. For a number of years I tried to source a small compressor to fit a “Red” motor bracket that I found at a swap meet. This bracket included lugs for the Alternator and no doubt suited a specific make of Compressor but it seemed that the original style Compressors (longer and thinner in the body) were no longer available so I had to resort to locating a unit that was current and as small as possible to fit the space available. I chose a Sanden SD7 unit that was fairly compact, had good output cf/m specifications and I anticipated that it would be available for many years in case it should wear out or fail. I tried to fit the Sanden unit to the existing bracket but I eventually gave up on trying to use this bracket as it was just not suitable. I decided to visit the local wrecker and select a number of brackets that appeared could be modified to fit the 179 “Red” motor. Whilst browsing through the various cars at the wreckers I noticed that there were a number of different styles of brackets and I narrowed the selection to those on a Commodore VH model which had a “Blue” motor fitted. There also seemed to be a number of different makes of air conditioning brackets so I selected some that I thought could be adapted. (eg. Some had bracketry associated with enabling power steering pumps and some did not). None of the brackets that I looked at had the capability of having the alternator and compressor on a single bracket. I did find this surprising given that the “Red” motor and “Blue” motor are very similar in footprint and bolt locations. (Perhaps there is a single bracket out there that you may be lucky enough to find and save much time and effort as detailed in the next part).

I needed to use two brackets to mount the Compressor and Alternator. The bracket which held the Alternator in position was the main part of the solution and it fitted using the two alternator bolt holes located near the sump (although I needed to redrill the bracket so that the alternator pulley lined up with that on the “Red” motor). This bracket placed the Alternator towards the top of the motor and enabled the Compressor to be placed in the position where the Alternator normally resided. The bracket would have attached to the “Blue” motor via a bolt hole in the side of the “Block” however the “Red” motor does not have this hole so I welded a short lug to reach one of the Water Pump bolts as well as welding another bracket to reach another bolt hole near the front passenger side Head bolt. It sounds a bit complicated but it was not too difficult. I added a spacer to the bracket so that it touched the Block where the bolt was not able to be used. This added extra strength ensuring the bracket would not twist when tension was applied to the belts.

The next part was to fit the bracket that would hold the Compressor. This bracket had lugs that were a standard distance apart and matched a common size for many different air conditioner Compressors including the Sanden Compressor. It needed to be welded to the newly installed bracket. To do this I needed to mount the Compressor to it and then offer the bracket with Compressor attached to the vehicle and weld it in a position that enabled the drive belt to line up with the newly added pulley on the Harmonic Balancer. This process was difficult as I needed to tack weld the bracket whilst on the car as well as make sure that the Compressor and Alternator could be tensioned without fouling one another and that the Compressor would not hit the inner mudguard panel. There was not much room for error. In order to apply tension to each v belt I was able to utilise two of the same design Alternator tension brackets from VH commodores. The Alternator tension bracket was attached to one of the Water Pump bolts and was not modified much but the curved bracket for the Compressor had to have some extra “Arc” to enable it to work correctly. This bracket bolted to a new hole drilled on the Alternator bracket. I used a nyloc nut on the pivot bolt as the bracket needed to be installed prior to installing the Compressor and prior to tensioning the Alternator and I could not gain access to this pivot bolt after the Alternator and Compressor were installed.

It is also important to note that you can source several different styles of pulleys to add to the Harmonic Balancer. The best solution is to get one that butts up against the existing pulley and does not have a gap. This will ensure that you can still use the metal fan blades for extra cooling capacity if desired. You still will need to space the fan blades forward but only by a small amount. The pulley that I sourced was slightly smaller than the Harmonic Balancer pulley so as not to come in contact with the front stabiliser bar. It suited an 11mm v belt and the Sanden Compressor had pulleys to suit 13mm v belts however the v belt tapers were such that the different sizes did not cause a problem. Of concern to me before the air conditioner modifications were done was the fact that the motor temperature increased significantly whilst at idle and I did not want to make this issue worse.

Once the air conditioner was installed I did not experience any motor overheating problems but it may be worth noting the vehicle had a three-core radiator. The metal fan blades were also positioned closer to the Radiator. The transmission was a Tri-matic and during the installation of the air conditioner I had the cooling tank in the radiator removed to enable maximum water flow. (Cooling for the transmission was already being done by using a pair of air-cooled heat exchangers).

Condenser

The Condenser was the next most difficult item to fit although relatively easier than fitting the Compressor. I chose to use a Modien Parallel flow (or Multi-Flow) style rather than a Uniserp (or Serpentine) as the efficiency is ten fold and only about 30% more expensive. (about $100 more). The largest Condenser that would fit the allocated space was a 14” high by 27’’ wide unit. Some slight modifications needed to be done to the underside of the boxed section of the Radiator Upper Support Panel. This entailed using a Ball Pein Hammer and dishing a 20mm section on the drivers side. I also spaced the Condenser away from the Radiator so as not to introduce radiant heat into either cooling unit as well as enabling the Condenser to be easily mounted. The method I chose was to use 1” square tubing strips either side and attach the Condenser to the tube and then secure the tube by self tapping screws through the panel either side of the Radiator. This also enables the Radiator to be removed from the vehicle at any time without interfering with Condenser mounting. I also fitted two 12” Craig Davies fans to the front side of the Condenser. Again I looked for an easy method to mount the fans and I was able to fit them to two 27” long angle iron supports that attached to the Condenser side support tubing. I also wanted to force all the air these fans pushed through the Condenser through the Radiator so I made sure any side and top gaps were blocked using .55 gauge metal angle flashings. (There are quite large gaps on the either side of the bottom radiator tank as well as across the top and down the passenger side and I figured some of the air would take the path of least resistance if I did not block the escape passages.)

Receiver/Drier

The next item to fit was the Receiver/Dryer and I mounted this near the Compressor on the inner mudguard panel. I chose this location rather than in the front grill area near the Condenser as it would be difficult to access if under the Radiator Upper Support Panel and it makes it easier to maintain the gas system as well as being able to see the sight glass on the Receiver/Drier. It also enabled easier hose connection.

Evaporator

Initially I wanted to conceal the Evaporator behind the Dash-board and I spent a number of hours and money over the 7 years investigating the feasibility of an “in dash” solution. There really is not enough room to tailor a solution to be concealed so I conceded to using an “Under Dash” unit.

(If you really do not want the unit to be seen then you need to place the Evaporator in the Boot compartment under the rear parcel shelf. This is not the solution that I wanted as I would lose valuable Boot space as well as having to cut into the rear parcel shelf to install vents which would also be difficult to adjust from the front seat area).

The “Under Dash” system I used was mounted to the passenger side and I fitted it so that the glovebox could still be used and the glovebox lid would open all the way to enable easy access to the compartment as well as being able to use the “Tray” function for drinks etc. A small issue I needed to address was due to my vehicle being a Premier with the standard heater unit and tubular vent tubes for the front window demister. The Under Dash unit partially obstructed the area near the passenger side heater vent leading to the window demist connection. I had to discard the existing hard coil flexible tube and source a flexible PVC hose with wire support rings to re-establish the air duct connection.

Hoses

As the Evaporator was fitted the next job was to make and fit the gas connection hoses and having a mate in the automotive industry was a big help. There are 3 different size hose diameters to be used 6, 8 and 10mm. I used a combination of straight, 90 and 45 degree crimp fittings dependent on what angle best suited connection to the specific component. Each hose needed to be measured and made to fit the exact location and in some cases they needed to pass through rubber grommets which were installed in suitable locations.

Electrical

Other jobs that needed to be done were to install the cables necessary to make the system function. I noticed the fan in the Evaporator ran slower when installed in the car than when I had tested it on the bench with a short lead to a battery. This was due to the voltage drop over a few metres of cable to the battery which can be quite high if the minimum size cable is used. It is necessary to increase the cable size feeding the Evaporator fan switch as power for the Compressor clutch is also sourced via this cable.

Summary

In summary there are a number of ways to achieve the end result and it is up to the individual to determine how they wish to install the various components.

The performance of the system was excellent due to the Sanden SD7 Compressor being capable of cooling larger size systems, the Condenser being very efficient as well as being the largest that could be fitted in the space available, the large capacity of the cooling fans and lastly the Evaporator being an “Under Dash” unit which was very efficient.

The amount of R134a gas that was installed in the system after it was evacuated was 500 grams ie half a Kilogram. I measured 0 degrees at the cooling fins and found the 179 “Red” motor not to require an idle increase solenoid. The cost to complete the project (early 2006) was approximately $1,000.00 bearing in mind that most components were sourced at trade rates and very little labour costs were incurred. Most of the components were sourced from Ingram Corporation (who have offices all around Australia ). The guys there were very helpful.

Should more detail be required I would be happy to assist address your questions and can be reached as per details below.

Part Numbers

The Compressor is Sanden SD7 SDH715-CXS8031 which is a general purpose unit. It has twin pulleys to suit 13mm v belts but only one belt and pulley was used. The Modine Parallel or Multi-Flow Condenser CNX413. Two Cooling fans type Craig Davies DCSL 12. To assist further the following may be of benefit. The part numbers of the Bosch V Belts that I used were 11A0990 for the Compressor and 11A1105 for the Alternator/Water Pump. (both belts are 11mm section). The various crimp air conditioner fittings were:- Evaporator blx1113 (10mm45flared) and blx1121 (6mm90flared). Compressor blx1323 (10mm90) blx1322 (8mm45). Condenser blx1302 (8mmStr) blx1321 (6mm90). Receiver /Drier blx1301 (6mmStr) blx1311 (6mm45). The Under Dash Evaporator Part # ZCD850SE is a three vent Sanden unit that seemed fairly new when I bought it second hand. You can still source new Under Dash units eg. Sanden747-EV11472. (There are also units on the market that have heater and cooling elements in a single housing but cooling BTU’s may be less).

The Receiver/Drier is rdx025/6159. The bracket is rdx911. The valve to add gas attached to the R/D is afx4000. The inline valve to add gas is blx6103-3 (10mm T). Heater air vent hose PVC 2” diameter 12” long is SPX022

Author - Peter Lenthall (Member of EH Holden Club of SA)

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  Front HR and other Disc Brake conversions

So you don't think the General built EJ's and EH's with good enough brakes? Well there is someting you can do about it, and it needn't cost you a mega amount of dough if you dont want it to.

Check these articles out for heaps more info too.

www.oldholden.com/possible/index.php/Hopper_Stoppers

The first thing you will need to do is get hold of a HR front end. These later model ball joint front ends, not only offer better braking options, but also the advantages of ball joints, which are longer lasting, and easier to maintain. You options are to get either a disc front end complete, and run it totally stock HR or get a drum front end and get some disc stub axles for it. You will need to run HR rear brake wheel cylinders if running HR discs. A HQ proportioning valve is good for HQ or Commodore discs

Now, the stub axles and disc's. Here are a few options; You can use the totally Stock HR setup, disc rotors and calipers. Rod Hadfield has conversion brackets to set disc's and calipers on drum brake stub axles; You can get new lowered stub axles from Rod Hadfield, which take either LH Torana disc's and callipers or HQ-HZ disc's and callipers. You will need to make a small cutout in the lower wishbone to make clearance for full turning circle, you will need to try everything on to work out how much to groove out;

You can use LH Torana stub axles, disc's and calipers, or HQ stub axles, disc's and callipers if you want to use later wheel stud pattern. You can get blank HQ discs and have early Holden stud pattern put in them. What you actually need to do when fitting HQ discs is use the HQ stub axle. It is the only one that the calliper will fit onto to suit a HQ disc. Also HQ stud pattern and Commodore stud pattern is different. HQ is imperial and Commodore is metric. This means the stud outer edges are approx 1mm further from the centre of the hub, causing the full stud diameter to be about 2mm out.

A HQ steel wheel and a Commodore steel wheel seemingly fit each other, but are dangerous to swap. The alloy wheels with lug nuts will not fit each other at all. Also the threads are different. If you fit a commodore rear end at a later date, you will have to get your axles restudded to suit HQ It is worth noting that the LH disc rotors set your wheel base out about 10mm, and you can get Leyland P76 disc's that set your wheelbase in about 10mm. You will need a conversion kit to fit these.

Whenever a car is converted to disc front end, you will need to fit a brake booster to suit. The VH40 unit is the most common. New they are about $350. You may be able to pick one up from a wrecker, and totally reco it for about $180. If you have access to the special double flaring tool required for brake lines, you will be able make them up yourself. Alternatively you can make up templates using a bit of wire, straighten it out, and get your local brake place to make up the lines to the length and put the ends on for you.

It is a good idea if you can, to convert your vehicle to a tandem brake master cylinder system. There are kits available from Rod Hadfield for this. It includes a spacer block so you can use the brake master with your clutch master next to it. You can buy this on its own, and buy the appropriate HQ style PBR brake master cylinder yourself. This also allows you to run the HQ proportioning valve and brake fail switch setup.

Remember above anything, you must consider all of the safety and legal requirements. If you have any doubts, contact your local registration branch.

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  Rear Commodore Disc Brake conversions

If it wasn't good enough to have disc brakes added to the front of your EJ/ EH, then consider this. Disc brakes on the rear! It may not sound like your cup of tea, but to most modifiers it is essential. Nothing makes people want to look under your car more than when you say it has four wheel discs. The stopping advantages are tremendous. Virtually say goodbye to brake fade, adjusting drums, changing shoes and no handbrake in reverse.

First of all you will need complete rear brake assemblies off a VN Commodore. You will need everything, caliper mounts, backing plates, calipers, slide brackets, rotors and handbrake cable. You will also need a VH40 or VH24 Brake booster if you plan on running a second booster for the rear. If you are not running a tandem brake system, then you will also have to convert to this. You cannot legally run four wheel discs on a single system. It would be ludicrous to do so. If you need it done, and it is very tricky, I suggest you speak to Alex at The Brake Shop Melbourne Mob. 0408 12 1964.

You can do most of the work, and the assembly yourself, but you will possibly have to get an engineer or fitter and turner to make up a couple of small components for you. The components that you need made up, first of all are the pre-load retainers for the axle bearings. Remembering that the caliper mounting plate is thicker than the original drum backing plate, you will need to get a spacer ring made up to compensate for this difference. It goes between the bolt-on plate on your axle and your wheel bearing, and creats the same pressure that your original bolt-on plate supplied. The other component is two rings that go on the hub at the end of your axles to allow for the larger diameter of the hub hole in the Commodore disc rotor. It needs to fit solidly on the end of the axle, by either pressing it on, or heat shrinking. It must then fit very snugly inside the rotors.

if your car is lower than standard height, you may have some clearance problems with your calipers near the back chassis rails. If this is so, all you need to do is do a dummy fit, and locate the area that the calipers would hit. Then you need to make a small box section that travels about 20mm in to the chassis rail, 60mm long and 60 mm high. It is not as painful as it may sound, and with a dummy fit, and a few hours , you will have it worked out. The boxed section can even be pop riveted in, as it is not cut into a sructual part of the vehicle.

The handbrake cable will have to be modified. You will need to supply your original EH cable, and your Commodore cable to Alex from The Brake Shop, and he will modify the assembly as required. It is then a case of making sure all components are in serviceable condition. If in doubt, get your calipers overhauled or new rotors or new brake pads if required. Use only quality rotors, not Taiwanese units. If using crossdrilled rotors, you must use standard pads, not metal or race pads. Last bit is to get the new brake lines made up. If you make a template with some wire, straighten it out and take it to a brake shop they will make them for you. Make sure, and it is very important that you tell them it is going from EH body to Commodore calipers. If you want to make sure, take your old lines and the calipers with you.

You should be ready for assembly now. Get a friend to help you with bleeding the brakes. You may wish to consider coverting to silicon brake fluid if you whole system is empty and rebuilt. It is about $50 a litre, but it does'nt eat through paint.

The approximate cost of the job. Second hand parts $200-$250, new rotors $200 pr, new pads $40, rebuild calipers $40 ea, handbrake cable $80, brake lines $40, Brake fluid $50, box sections by custom panel beater $200-$300, box sections by friend $slab, retainer rings x4 $60-$200 (ring around), convert master to tandem brakes $200-$600, engineers report $250-$400. So you can see it may cost as little as $400 not including an engineers report all the way up to a staggering $2000. I am being realistic here, as it all depends on how good, safe or legal you want your conversion to be. I support the use of automotive engineers in all modifications. They are there to make sure the conversion is above all safe and legal.

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  Diagnosing vehicle noises

Faulty front or rear wheel bearings, heavy tread tyres, exhaust resonation noises, and vibrations are often confused with gearbox or differential noises. Experimentation without solving the problem could cost you money.

The correct way of diagnosing differential noises is to road test the vehicle. Jacking up the rear and running the vehicle in gear will not simulate on road conditions and loadings, and I advise against this practice. The uneven turning of the rear wheels will result in fast spinning of the planetary gears, causing loud noises, and masking the real fault.

Heavy shuddering or banging noises on cornering indicate worn or scored crownwheel and pinions. Humming noises which do not change from acceleration to deceleration indicate worn pinion bearings. Scraping or rumbling noises which do not change from acceleration to deceleration indicate worn carrier or wheel bearings. Constant knocking noises generally on deceleration indicate chipped crownwheel or pinion teeth. Excessive backlash is normally a planetary gear problem.

Gearbox noises are always more pronounced in lower gears. Constant rumbling noises indicate worn bearings. Knocking noises in a particular gear indicate chipped teeth. Difficulty in engaging gears indicate worn synchros, gears or selectors. Noises which occur in neutral with clutch depressed indicate worn thrust bearing.

Vibrations are rarely caused by differentials or gearboxes, and in most cases are caused by out of balance tailshafts, worn centre bearings, worn universal joints, worn gearbox yoke or extension housing sleeve, or out of balance wheels.

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  Fitting different or larger wheels and tyres

Tyre chart

There are many different options when changing your wheels or tyres. In fact the combinations are almost endless. That is one of the reasons why a lot of people who modify their vehicles turn their attention to the wheels. It is a highly individualistic affair, so therefore I will not tell you what brands to go for.

The information I am putting up here is solely designed to help you with measurements and fitting of various sizes. This will help you to understand the sizing and measuring techniques used in the wheel industry.

First of all, your stock EJ-EH has 13 inch rims that are 4.5 inches wide. The original tyres were like pizza cutters and of a crossply bias. That means no steel belts folks. This gave very roly poly handling, but if you are going for a concourse rebuild you will have to retain them for originality. There are companies that can supply whitewall versions, or put them on using a latex insertion technique. Most EJ-EH's now have 185/ 75 / R13 radial tyres fitted. This is the most common sized steel belt radials used.

What does this mean? 185/ 75/ R13? 185 is the width in mm of the tyre. 75 is the series, and is a percentage of the width. Therefore the height of the tyre is 75% of 185 or 139mm. The R means Radial (other letters give higher speed ratings up to Z which is 240kmh plus). 13 of course is the rim diameter.

Here is a chart which you can use to work out which tyres are the same or similar height, so you don't end up with huge ballons, or tiny donuts. find the size of tyre you currently have, and work your way left to right to find larger rim sized tyres that would be suitable for your vehicle. The tyre code is in the top of each cell, and below the code is the tyre height in mm, the minimum rim width required in inches and the actual fitted tyre width in mm. Using the chart we can see that our standard 185/ 75/ R13 has a very similar tyre height to a 195/ 50/ R16. The only factor you would have to take into consideration is the difference in width and if your vehicle is lower.

This brings another factor into it all. Your rim offset. Rim width is measured internally where the bead of the tyre seats. Therefore measuring a rim completely across its outside width is wrong. You will find a 7 inch mag will measure almost 8 inches across the outside width. The offset is measured from the central point of the rim, and is positive in mm if the wheel sits further in to the car centre, and is negative in mm if the wheel sticks further out of the car. The other way to measure is backspace, and it is measured by laying the rim flat on a bench and sticking a ruler through the central hub hole and getting the measurement in inches to the face of the rim that touches your hub or disc on your car.

Most reputable tyre and wheel stockists have all of the original offset measurements, and can work out your wheel and tyre combo for you. You must remember that a HR front end will change the offset required, and different discs will change your offset also. See the info on disc front ends. You will also have to check with your insurance and State road authority to see if the rims you would like are legal.

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EH Holden Car Club of Victoria Inc. P O Box 4364 Ringwood VIC 3134

Email: ehccv@ehholden.com.au   © 2000 EH Holden Car Club Vic. Inc.