Re-ringing Holden 173

[Tim_G]

Hi All,

I have a 1973 SIII LWB which was originally a Leyland 6 (2.6l) but now has a Holden 173 donk in the front.

Until recently is was running fine, starts on the button and pulls through the rev range, would cruise at 90km/h all day.

Alas, it was not to last, it has lost compression on cylinder #2, which on inspection is caused by shattered rings. With all pistons out it is clear that several other rings have also cracked. There is some light scoring on the cylinder wall and little material transfer from the #2 piston to the cylinder side wall at the top, but nothing that I'm not expecting to hone out. It currently has standard size bores and pistons, so worst case is bore it out 30 or 60 thou over-sized, but if I'm going to pulling the block out and sending it out for machining I'd rather just write it off and source a replacement Leyland 6 to put back where it belongs.

So...

1. Does anybody have any advice regarding re-ringing the Holden 6 or...
2. Does anybody have a spare Leyland 6 lying around looking for a new home (preferable within NSW).

Any advice either way would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Tim
194347194348194350

[Tins]

I'm no expert on the LR six but I believe they are hard to come by.

Tend to agree about the red motor. It would seem uneconomic to send it away. Unless you can hone it yourself it would probably be better to find another one. 173 or 186. Avoid the 202 as they had a habit of breaking pistons. At least a red motor would bolt back in.

But I could be wrong about the Land Rover engine.

[gromit]

I'm no expert on the LR six but I believe they are hard to come by.

Tend to agree about the red motor. It would seem uneconomic to send it away. Unless you can hone it yourself it would probably be better to find another one. 173 or 186. Avoid the 202 as they had a habit of breaking pistons. At least a red motor would bolt back in.

But I could be wrong about the Land Rover engine.

A lot of Rover 6-cylinder engines were removed & scrapped. Expensive to repair compared to fitting a s/h Holden engine.
Australia probably had more 6-cyl motors than anywhere else as they were fitted to all the Australian Series III Military Land Rovers.
Problem now is that some parts are scarce/expensive e.g. water pumps, pistons, shell bearings, exhaust manifolds.........

I recently collected 2 6-cyl engines & spares for my Series III FFR.
Someone on MarketPlace was selling some 6-cyl parts but they are in VIC.


Colin

[Tins]

A lot of Rover 6-cylinder engines were removed & scrapped. Expensive to repair compared to fitting a s/h Holden engine.
Australia probably had more 6-cyl motors than anywhere else as they were fitted to all the Australian Series III Military Land Rovers.
Problem now is that some parts are scarce/expensive e.g. water pumps, pistons, shell bearings, exhaust manifolds.........

I recently collected 2 6-cyl engines & spares for my Series III FFR.
Someone on MarketPlace was selling some 6-cyl parts but they are in VIC.


Colin
Are they a similar engine to that used in the Austin Kimberly ? I don't remember. Or the low rent P76?

[sharmy]

Are they a similar engine to that used in the Austin Kimberly ? I don't remember. Or the low rent P76?
No the motors in the Austin Kimberley and the larger one in the P76 were an Australian designed and built overhead cam unit and were a fairly good unit. The Land Rover one is a heap of junk.

[gromit]

Are they a similar engine to that used in the Austin Kimberly ? I don't remember. Or the low rent P76?

The Land Rover 2.6 is a short stroke version of the motor used in the Rover 3 litre car. Old fashioned, even back then, as it's an F-head design (inlet over exhaust).
The Rover car had a Weslake head which helped performance but this is difficult to fit to the LR motor unless you move the pedal box. The Land Rover has the inlet manifold as part of the head casting.

Renown for burning exhaust valves if you run them a bit on the lean side or don't check exhaust valve clearances regularly (this isn't easy so it gets put into the too hard basket).

Lots of torque but not particularly economical, not a problem for the Army when the tax payer was funding the fuel bills :)

Looked after they seem to be reliable, the Army didn't have any issues with their Series III fleet but they would have been well maintained.

Expensive to rebuild hence a lot were removed when in private hands. They turn up in farm sales & sheds where they were dumped after removal.
I have an FFR with the 6-cyl fitted and 3 1/2 spare engines. One engine cost $80 and came with a VRS gasket set, one was free and 1 1/2 came for a bargain price recently when someone was clearing out their LR parts.

In the right hands the motor wasn't a piece of junk !


Colin

[Tim_G]

Firstly, thanks all for getting involved in the conversation, I didn't expect such a good response to the post.

Colin - how have you managed to come across so many of these engines? It's a shame you're in Vic, or I would be very tempted to come knocking. I wonder what freight would be? How much would you want for one, if you'd consider letting one go?

Ultimately I would like to put the Leyland engine back in, but if I can get the Holden running again, it would be good to have her back on the road whilst I take my time finding a decent one and rebuilding it.

First port of call is to hone the bores and asses for scoring/damage. If it looks okay, I'll replace that piston, new rings and screw it all back together and check the compression.

[gromit]

Firstly, thanks all for getting involved in the conversation, I didn't expect such a good response to the post.

Colin - how have you managed to come across so many of these engines? It's a shame you're in Vic, or I would be very tempted to come knocking. I wonder what freight would be? How much would you want for one, if you'd consider letting one go?

Ultimately I would like to put the Leyland engine back in, but if I can get the Holden running again, it would be good to have her back on the road whilst I take my time finding a decent one and rebuilding it.

First port of call is to hone the bores and asses for scoring/damage. If it looks okay, I'll replace that piston, new rings and screw it all back together and check the compression.

Hi Tim,

Firstly, it's a Rover motor, Leyland owned things for a while but it was designed before they came on the scene :)

All the motors have come from people I know.
I've turned down others, I put a wanted advert on Gumtree years ago and got a couple of offers but they wanted too much for engines that had been removed from vehicles because.......? They couldn't tell me so I didn't know what I was buying.

The motor in my FFR was 'dusted'. The previous owner didn't realise you need oil in the air cleaner so the rings were badly worn and the bores at max wear limit. I honed the bores, hand scraped the wear ridge at the top and fitted new rings.
FFR Refurb (https://www.aulro.com/afvb/leaf-sprung-military-land-rovers/118730-ffr-refurb.html)

I have a bare block I'm about to scrap, problem is it takes two people to lift it ! If it wasn't so heavy I would have got rid of it some time ago. Standard bore size, I have rods, crank & pistons. This motor was partly stripped when I got it.

Two engines are outside under tarps so I've no idea how they have survived. I'd have to see if they still turn over.
The other engine & a reco head I'm keeping as a spare but if I sell the FFR at some point I won't need it.
There are also a set of NOS pistons & shell bearings which are getting hard to find plus a NOS exhaust manifold in a LR box. I've seen a NOS exhaust manifold advertised for $1,300 !!!

Much as I hate to say this.....get the Holden motor fixed first and then start looking. The Holden parts will be more readily available.
Put a few wanted adverts up and ask any other Land Rover people you know, there will still be some out there. I'm sure that somewhere will be some ex Army reco engines in a shed. Also check out farm clearing sales.

You'll need a portable engine crane and trailer to collect a 2.6 if you find one closer to home.


Colin

[Tim_G]

I think you're right Colin,

Getting the Holden running again is going to be the shortest route to getting back on the road.

If you start looking, it turns out there's quite a few 6's around, but none close by and none as reasonable priced as your finds.

I'll keep my ear to the ground and see if I can turn something up.

One thing's for sure, it's a lot easier for me to go and pick one up with the LR than trying to get it into the back of my little hatch-back.

Thanks for all the advise - I appreciate it.

[Tins]

Of course, freight would be a killer...
.
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[Tim_G]

Thanks JayTee,

I'm hoping it doesn't come to sourcing another Holden engine, though.

Honing the bores is a job for this weekend. Then I can assess the state of the block and start putting togther a shopping list for the re-build.

[V8Ian]

The ubiquitous red motor is very forgiving and tolerant.

[Tim_G]

Thanks again all for your contributions to this thread.


In the process of rebuilding this Holden 173, I’ve come across the HQ Holden service manual, vol. 4 which covers detailed service procedures for the Holden red engine.


If the contents of this book would be useful for forum members, I’m happy to scan and share, just let me know.


Cheers.194597