as ive said before. im building the uc torana but ive thought to myself what would be better. a worked 253 or a nuts 400 chev motor. so what do u guys think??????????

Really depends what you want matty, i've seen 253's punch out some decent performance... and it may well be a little more registerable in the uc than the 400.

Just remember, you can stroke it too which means as far as DOT is concerned it's still only a 253

yeah but i cant find any where that does performance parts for 253's mate and ive seen big power outta 400's. i just want a good motor thats got a hot sound and the speed to match. and if i can get parts for a 253 that gets rid of that shitty sound they have from standard and more power ill build my 253 up

an x pipe in a decent exhaust system is a good start.

ProStroke down in melbourne do stroker kits and you can also use VN style heads

true but im not sure where to get mufflers from coz most places have the really poppy sounding ones. but i can do an x pipe myself. but ill have to get started on my 186 soon anyway. ive got time

hey guys, yeahh matty u still got heaps of time, like 6 years b4 you can drop a V8 in ur car, so i would be
more concerntrating on ur 186 at the moment. besides knowing your dad you dont know what V8 you'll have in your car
by that time..
(p.s PIG208, im the kid that was around at mattys yesterday)

Why can't you just use a 350?

hes already got a 253 that he got for free, and he likes teh 400, im a good friend of his

Well in that case, use what you've got

Or 308 ?? I personally wouldnt use a 253 for anything other than a daily, They wernt meant for Performance.

yeahh thats true they werent for performance but i think any V8 in a torana would go hard... theres not doubt about that.

At the moment i think for L's, and P's the 186 he has would do just fine, and your not allowed a V8 on L's or P's so the 186 would be my first priority. and he still has a few more years before it will be on the road, so he has a lot of time to do it.

ah cool cool.... spewin i missed out on that sedan lol but i'll keep looking.

I personally would stick with the 6, as it's easy to work on, parts are still reasonably cheap and readily available and if you really want you could adapt the efi from a VK onto the oldgirl.

But a simple cam, lifters, springs and port job would keep ya smiling. Something that will still be traffic/fuel friendly and still be able to have some fun.

this has been said before but i will say it again,

if you want all the performance of a big six and the fuel bill of a V8, go the 253...

imho you should just work the fuck out of a 202 and make the UC as light as possible

how about a 265 hemi????

Now ya talkin sense...

Seriously, f*#@k the 253. Its such a waste of time. You got it for free for a reason, nobody wants them. They were crap when they were new and nothings changed, poor mans 308 nothing more. Modding the 253 is polishing a turd!
Google it, many stories on the net of people with 253 powered vehicles getting blown off the road by NA auto rb30e's for christ sake. 125kw stock, what a joke!!! boat anchor.
186s respond well to mods, as do 202's the 202 just doesn't like to be revd too hard.. snap off cam lobes.
308 would have been my first choice purely coz toranas came out with them, 308 have heaps of performance parts out there too, cheap as chips.
350 chev be the next choice, big torque monster with plenty of performance parts available.
400 chev, sort of geting into the drag racing motors now, little more expensive parts, little harder to find.
If you go down the 253 road, you have way too much money to waste.

this

or the chev. what is the largest size motor you can put in a uc anyways?

253s aitn worth the hassle nor is stroking them if ur goin a holden 8 atlesat use a 308 and stroke it to a 327..get more power out of a 327 stroker then a 355

There is nothing wrong with a 253, especially with fuel prices these days.
As the torana is a fairly small light car you really don't need a huge motor. As said above what do you want to do with it?
I had a LX hatch years ago with a bog stock 253 with a 350 holley on it and it would smoke the 265's on the back all day any day. So it is all reletive...

As I recall, Street Machine magazine did a build up on the 253. I believe they made some pretty good power too.
So you may want to check with them.

I'd work with what I have.



G

Are you 5 years old? The point of a stroker is for more cubes. More cubes more power. Fuck i wish i could figure how to quote for my a sig lol!!!

mate i heard you cant use 253's for boat anchors anymore,,there is so many of them on the bottom of dams they are like european carp mate you gotta bury them in the dirt on the bank.thats the only way to stop them from multiplying..

ah fuck it im negotiating to get a 307 that ill stroke and make a weapon instead of the 253. ill use the 253 for a dune buggy or somethin.

holy shit nobody like 253s do they. haha

I would of thought this woulda been a fairly simple decision. 253, or 400 Chev. Seriously.. duh.

It all depends on personal preferance though man..
If i wanted a reliable daily id use the 253 alas if i wanted a motor for performance id use a 308 ect, personally id rather keep it a 6 and try and get good numbers out of it.

But just to put something out there. put a 400 in there goes the originalaty. if he wants to keep the same engine in i would say put the 253 in . stroke it. the biggest you can go is 340 i think. so there would be nothing wrong with 340cubes out of a little 253 put a high rise manifold cam and carby extractors. That would make a very good BHP. Or then a 308 which can be stroked to 405. Which is 5 cubes bigger than the 400 chev. (Before you stroke the chev that is) As someone said it is personal preference. I am a Holden surporter all the way so i say keep the holden engine in.

hey guys also.. UcTozza78 is a friend and hes only really asking this because hes a little stuck with thing..
he has a 253 that he could warm over but.. he also likes the 400 chev.. but taking into consideration that he is 14 and can only have a 6.. i say work the six a bit and that would do fine..

most young kids want these hot fast done up cars that have 344576453493 million horsepower's but can they really drive them?
theres no use getting a huge engine.. slamming it in a small car and going off and wrapping it around the first powerpole you see..
just a bit of commom sence

just my opinion..

just slam it.put some whitewalls on it.centrecaps.and drive it.who needs to go fast

Race car drivers? but yeah if you want to keep it original use the 253 a 308 wouldn't be bad either if you have the $$.

my mistake i did not know that he was only 14. so with the new rules he can only have the 6. so if hes got a 253 lying around do what i done strip the guts out of it cut the sump flat, paint it and turn it into a coffee table.

Click to view attachment

yeah.. thats a cool idea.. but.. i myself am 14 and my car is on the way.. its just got a little 202 with some work and im just gunna keep that in it and not even worry about big engines or whatever (for now).. just making it look nice.. drive nice and cruise with a bit of power behind it..

thats just how im looking at things now..

im not too worried about who has the biggest engine and whose goes the fastest.. i just want something that i like and if noone
else likes it fair enough.. they dont have to..

That's fucking brilliant. It's still probably making as much power as it was in the car

I never knew you were 14. Keep the 202 in it, or if you want you could build a tough 186 or something. They can be found anywhere (both 186 and 202 motors) and so while your cruisin it you could build a tough motor with twin or tripple carbs a cam electronic ignition and some good head work and it'll go fast enough for ya.

ill pm you man^^

unfortunatly for a 253 a 202 would spank one , and thats the bad bit , you've got 2 extra cylinders and use more fuel and go slower , so whats the point of a 253.

mate drop an injected 304 in it and learn how to drive it , my first V8 was a clubby with 4.11 diff gears , manual and an exhaust made 221 rwhp. and i can tell you if i drove that when i first got my license i would have killed myself!

now im driving round in a 360rwhp vt ss , that little step in the clubby made me learn how to handle the pure torque that a V8 hast under your right foot.

food for thought

Not sure why everyone bags the 253's - they are a revable little V8 and can sound nice and raspy with decent pipes and a system behind them. Ive had customers who swear by them for burnout cars, on the grounds that yes they lack torque and arent as easy to get spinning as a 308 etc but once those tyres are lit you can hold them til the valves nearly bounce for as long as you like.
A 253 with standard stroke and bore with a decent head port and polish, running even a basic torker manifold and 465/600 vac sec holley with extractors and a twin TWO inch (no larger) system is believe it or not a very tough sound. A decent cam will only add to this, but if you are running an auto you will need a fairly high stall converter due to lack of bottom end power.
THAT BEING SAID - there is a very good reson people stroke there 308s to 355s, and there 351's to 408 etc - cubes makes a difference. Those extra 55cui from a 253 to a 308 will do wonders, if you can find a 308 that hasnt been bored to the point of being a throw-away. VN heads flow enough for very decent HP.
As for the 202 - a ported and polish 186 head will up your compression and increase you inlet velocity, especially if you pick up a yella terra head (which are always on Ebay - just make sure you get verification on its validity) controlled by a decent cam grind and a 4 barrel inlet manifold such as a redline etc, running a 465 holley will net you very reasonable power, without sacrificing driveability or even much fuel economy being a vacuum secondary carburetor. Even a Weber 2bbl off an alloy headed 4.1 falcon will show you some improvement, using a two barrel manifold like a Cain etc.

Twin carb setup on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...=tab%3DWatching

Bargain! ...and even though it's in NSW, I already asked and the guy is happy to box it up for delivery if you arrange for a courier. At that price it would still be cheap even when paying for the courier.

Was gonna bid on it myself, but realised it wont fit what I want to do.

Also this: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/holden-6-cylinder-e...=item2a02982c54

phill

some work....... ahuh, its a ex calder thunderdome racecar i think its got a bit more than some work done lol

i love the sound of red motors dont get me wrong. but a red in a bigger model torana just doesnt seem right to me, i will have a worked 186 for my l's and p's but i am starting to save to build my v8 as i want to build it myself so it will take time. im saving for the 186 re-build which will be first priority but i also want to keep some aside to start the V8, im just askin around to see what people woud think would be a better motor to build after the 186

stock for stock the 253 is an utter waste of time , spend the same money on it and the 253 wouldnt be far off , i know they are a 308 block with less stroke.
doest make up for the fact is they were meant for lazy cruising not blacktop bruising

even better idea for the uc drop an ls1 into it

Agreed sort of as above..

Although, hes asking between a 253 and a 400 chev. An LS1 is 346ci (close enough to a 350). Not what was on the list..

ls1 at the end of the day , will make more reliable streetable power
in terms of cost , weigh up conversion cost + motor , 253/308/304 will be the cheaper alternative here , because blocks are worth shit all , and if you get a 304 and run a harrop manifold with a BG or holley 750 on it , that would be the go for sure.
but weigh up even further along the line u spend lets say 10k on the 253/308/304 , nets you probly around 340RWHP , good powerful not very streetable

slot an ls1 in it , 6 k ish looking for motor wiring etc to be put in , spend 4k get a set of heads and a decent comp cam and retune and theres 400 RELIABLE RWHP , something you can putter round with every day

i honestly reckon your investment lyes within the ls1 buddy , definitly food for thought mate

i meen i even putter round everyday with 360rwhp , in the VT its a bit of a prick on cold start but once it warms up it drives beautifully lol

thats not a bad idea, i spose when i think bout it the 400's gonna cost just as much but then again ls1 are injected motors and there bastards to tune arent they?

hey guys,

When you say that the engine is just 10k or whatever.. youve also gotta have a fairly decent box and driveline (especially with the 400 chev).. also just for the engine ive found a few brand new 400 chevy's that are askin 8 - 10k and theyre pushing 650 odd hp.. so hence comes in a very worked gearbox, driveline, diff etc.. so 10k can soon become 15k.. and then youve gotta muck around and get it in and all sorted, tuned etc.. and make it all work properly.. also new extractors... (because in a UC torana(which UcTozza78 has) it would need new extractors) and room would have to be made for them..

it all becomes expensive very quickly..

yes thats very true as we both know by now lol. it just depends on what u get i spose, like a 400 chev that cheap in the states and a old turbo 350 gearbox and you reco it like what weve done and a 9 inch diff youd have a good streeter for 8k-11k

save your money and but a real Torana kid