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Thread: Fittting a Holden 179 in a S2a 109 Station Wagon

  1. #1
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    Fittting a Holden 179 in a S2a 109 Station Wagon

    I’ve got a S2a 109 SW which was originally a 6cyl but has currently got a terrible Nissan TD23 diesel engine in it. It’s underpowered and incredibly noisy

    I have just picked up a Holden HP Red 179 which I am going to be fitting

    Being in the UK I’m new to the Holden engines but I do have a Chevy 3100 which has a 261 which is very similar

    Has anyone got any pointers of what to look out for fitting the 179?

    As soon as I’ve found somewhere to host my pictures I will add them to the post 👍

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    Where did you find a Holden motor in UK they must be rare, 179 would be early to mid sixties I’m guessing.
    Engine mounts need to be changed I have some here I could photograph if you want but I’m sure there would be images on the net.
    Its a very common conversion here but be aware speed is restricted to gearbox and diffs so your not going to get any gains in that area.

    Cheers Paul

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    Was going to ask same question. The Holden will not do the gearbox any favours.

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    I follow your page on Instagram, great content!!

  7. #7
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    The link in the 'sticky' section has the instructions for the Johnston's conversion which might help.
    Links and Downloads Manager - Australian Land Rover Owners

    Lots done in Australia in period because plenty of s/h Holden engines available whereas reconditioning a Land Rover motor would have been more expensive. Alignment of the adaptor to the gearbox mainshaft seems to have caused problems with some conversions.
    I've personally never driven one with a Holden Motor, I've parted three out and each time the motors went to a mate who plays with older Holdens.
    I could probably get a conversion plate from my mate but they are a heavy lump to ship.

    The fact that you are starting with what was a 6-cylinder Land Rover gives a bit more room. A lot of 4-cylinder LR's converted here and the front crossmembers tend to get chopped out. The last one I parted out had the top cut out but wasn't boxed in and no drain holes added so it rotted out !

    If it was me I'd be looking for an original 6-cylinder motor but they are more common here because they were fitted to the Army Series III's. Parts are getting scarce (read expensive) but I guess they are even less common and more expensive in the UK. The other problem is you need a fuel tanker following you on a trip because they are a bit thirsty......


    Colin
    '56 Series 1 with homemade welder
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    Motorcycles :-
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  8. #8
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    Homestar is offline Super Moderator & CA manager Gold Subscriber
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    Welcome along - the 179 is a good match for a series and despite what others have said here, the gearboxes can live a long and happy life behind one - the run out between engine and gearbox needs to be spot on and this has caused many failures over the years - easy enough to check with a dial indicator when fitting them together.

    You will need different engine mounts and a flywheel adapter. Given so many of these were done here in Aus over the years, these items are still kicking about - an ad in the wanted section here might unearth what you need.

    If you need any parts for the 179, they are generally available over here and are a simple and easy engine to work on.

    If your vehicle was a factor 6 like you said, its an easier job regarding the length of the engine as the firewall is different and allows the engine to sit back where it's needed - if you do this conversion in a 4 cylinder you need to cut an inch or so out of the front crossmember to make it fit, but you shouldn't have that issue.

    Overall it's not a difficult job, but your distance to parts might cause you some delays as far as obtaining what you need.

    Good luck, sing out if you need more info - I've done this conversion in both a 4 and 6 cylinder series over the years and worked and rebuild heaps of the Holden red 6's. Look forward to your progress.

    Cheers.

    Edit - Gromit beat me to some of the info - I was slow in typing while on a teams meeting this morning.
    If you need to contact me please email homestarrunnerau@gmail.com - thanks - Gav.

  9. #9
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    The Holden motor is really not a good fit for a LR without the addition of O/d or high speed diffs - doesn't rev enough to suit the LR gearing.

    I had a 161 in my first LR and it was Ok but no better than the 2.25LR engine in my later Series 3.

    I would be looking at something home grown like a Rover 3 litre six which would be better suited.

    Garry
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    1957 Series 1 88" Station Wagon

  10. #10
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    Thanks for all the replies 👍

    The 179 popped up on EBay, thought it sounded interesting and was a good price so decided to give it a go

    I think this engine or a derivative was fitted to some Vauxhall’s in the UK so I’m hoping I might be able to get some basic service parts here in the UK

    The engine was previously fitted to a S1 Land Rover and comes with the mourning plates for that which should be a good start

    I just received further pics of the engine, I’m hoping to get it shipped to me ASAP

    The 109 was originally a 6cyl so has the extra space at the bulkhead and covers, it also has the Fairey Overdrive fitted. It currently has a Salisbury axle but that will get changed over to Rangerover Diff when possible

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