Thread: Holden 308 engine.

Hi Mate what year is the car ? there were 3 different 308's . Red , blue and black motors . But all 3 of them are great motors . I have had a hand full of 308's and never had a problem with any of them . probably the only thing that lets them down are the lifters as they will tick when buggered or the oil needs changing . Go they mighty 308's

Hi Mick. It is a 97... Last of the 308's?

I would like 100,000 kms out of it. Once uni is over it can vanish in to fat air and it won't bother me. If I have to put a couple of grand in to it I don't even mind that and I'm happy to keep filters and oil changed but I do need some reliability.

I did look at a couple of ford V8's with around 150k on them for about 5 grand and they were on gas. Nice enough car but the holden is cheaper and interests me more until I'm told it would be a silly buy.

Xav

Ah injected 304 . tough as nails engine and a sheet load of parts for them . and you can get heaps of parts cheap for the Commodore too . you won't kill that motor if you look after it .

VN V8, great car and great engine for the P plater who has no power restriction on their licence

Just a word of warning,

They are not in the least cheap to run, they are not even a bit expensive to run, they are bank breakers, espesially if you like to hear it roar.

They are very tough on rear tyres, even old guys on pensions cant resist doing a burn out in a VN V8.

You are very likely to want to spend about 3 times the value of the car on a stereo on purchasing it.......dont know why but it seems to be the thing to do.

Sorry, Im a ford fan, but Holdens to have a place......normally last place but it's a place.

Good luck with your purchase if you buy it, I know the engine will deffinatly out live the car.

Originally Posted by mcrover

Good luck with your purchase if you buy it, I know the engine will deffinatly out live the car.

Pretty much that, EFI 304's are EXTREMELY sound, reliable and cheap to run........Its just a shame they came in a commodore

A mate just chucked one in a GQ, just over 300k, NEVER opened, the things runs like a clock, no blow by, no smoke, prefect still

Thanks for the replies so far. They have been helpful. I don't prefer either holden or Ford, I don't get the rivalry I mean to me they are a totally different car to drive. When looking on the forums both have sticky threads which have endless common problems but the big thing people seem to come back to is how good the 308 is.

Originally Posted by mcrover

Good luck with your purchase if you buy it, I know the engine will deffinatly out live the car.

the car will last as long as the engine . same thing applies . look after it and it will look after you . and that goes for any car .

Originally Posted by Fusion

the car will last as long as the engine . same thing applies . look after it and it will look after you . and that goes for any car .

I don't see anything wrong with McRover's statement. I have seen 110 countys that are buckets of rust on their last legs, but the ISUZU 3.9 engine still runs like new.

Just the same, I am sure there are plenty of V8 commodores in the same condition.

Sure - IF you maintain everything properly and keep it rust free it will last just as long, but Xavie already essentially said he doesn't care what happens to it as long as it gets him through uni.

Back on topic. I can't see how a V8 can be especially cheap to run - even on gas - but as others have said, commo parts cost almost nothing. Dad has had a few V6 commos, and I think he pays less than $50 a pair for brake pads, rotors are about as cheap, oils and filters are cheap, etc, etc...