The "HP" were the first of the 179 motors fitted to the EH Holden which until then were only 149 cubic inch, so the HP meant they were the Higher Performance option engine. Later in the production of the EH model the engine blocks were cast with the actual cubic capacity of the engine on the left hand side.
They are a good strong engine (2890 cc) and go well and will easily handle a diff upgrade or a transfer case upgrade (high speed).
If bored out to 0.060" oversize (3.625") they are equivalent to a 186 in capacity.
The hydraulic lifters are the reason for rev limitations, but solid lifters can be fitted or a common conversion by the rev heads back in the day was to remove the internals of the hydraulic lifter and fit a piece of solid bar. Remember these engines and their red cousins ran at 6000-7000 rpm all day in the old Bathurst 500 mile Races (now the 1000) around Mt Panorama in New South Wales.
Some conversion kits supplied a heavier flywheel (Red Six is 11kg) which made a huge difference to the low rev range torque of the Holden Six, some conversions utilised a Land Rover 2.25 flywheel (14kg) but they still ran the Land Rover starter motor. The conversion kits with heavier purpose built flywheel are the go, as the purpose built flywheel is slightly larger in diameter across the clutch face and is drilled to accept a Land Rover 9.5" pressure plate. In saying this a red motor flywheel can be drilled for the 9.5" pressure plate PCD, but the drill holes are close to the outer edge. A Johnson Conversion Kit that was produced for the series 3 era would be your choice, cast iron adapter plate and accurately made, along with purpose built flywheel for the 9.5" clutch. I am currently making up modified 2.25 flywheel that runs the Holden ring gear, but i still have to trial it in a vehicle, which i hope to do in the not too distant future.
If you drive the vehicle in a sensible manner you wont blow the gearbox, it's how you use the loud pedal that does that, plus you need the throttle linkage set up so that you have plenty of pedal movement, nice long progressive acceleration, not a half inch of pedal movement from idle to full stick. A bit of tweeking and sensible thinking about setting up the throttle linkages and it can be done.
In my opinion a set of 3.54 diffs make a huge difference to a Holden powered Landy as they slow the drive train speed down and they give a bit of load to the engine, thus making the vehicle much quieter to drive, a bit like the difference between driving your Landy around empty, or heading off on a trip fully loaded, they always seem to run quieter and smoother.
A Crow towing or torque cam is a good option for a Holden Six in a series Landy or even a cam to suit an EFI Holden straight six, as they are a similar grind.
From the Crow catalogue:
Number 35613 Hi torque cam, suit towing good economy, rev range 1200 - 3900.
Number 35678 STD replacement cam, suit EFI engine, rev range 850 - 3500
Given that your vehicle was a six cylinder you will need the long engine mounts which you should be able to pick up easily here in Australia.
Not the end of the world if you can't find any, they can be easily fabricated, and if doing this i would make them so that the engine sits lower, not kicked up at the front like most conversions are (as the Holden red engine sits up in Holden vehicles).
The other thing you will need is the right spigot bush to go into the rear of the crankshaft if the flywheel in the conversion you pick up does not have one fitted in the center (some do, some don't, in the flywheel is the better option). Alternatively you can get a stock Holden spigot bush and machine the center out to 7/8" dia., not ideal to turn sintered bronze, but it does work without any real issues.
I will post some pics of the six cylinder engine mounts. These are cast, but the majority around are fabricated from 8-10 mm flat steel.
Good Luck and enjoy your Holden powered series Land Rover.
Added some pics i took today of a fabricated set on a 202 Holden engine conversion.
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