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I'm thinking grey
Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 11:34 am
by John
My EK is still in the body repair stage but I am starting to think about the running gear.
I love the idea of fully original (Well, as close as it can be) and drop the original grey and crash low back into her. It would be an easier option than going red, sourcing HR disc brake front ends, EH sumps and oil pick up e.t.c but going red may mean cheaper in the long run. (Sourcing parts, rebuilt kits e.t.c)
So I guess I need suggestions, is staying grey the way to go?
Re: I'm thinking grey
Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 4:26 pm
by Mick
John wrote:
So I guess I need suggestions, is staying grey the way to go?
if that's what want it is, there's no point fitting a red motor if you want a grey motor and vise versa
by the time you spend money on all the associated stuff including engineering and associated costs with that it would be cheaper to stay grey, unless you can find a good running 138 or 149 red but chances of that are pretty slim
Re: I'm thinking grey
Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 12:03 pm
by Stygian
Hey John,
Despite the fact that I love the nostalgia of a grey, they are getting expensive to rebuild. Take lifters for example. As far as I know you cannot get them new. My engine builder had to go through a few sets just to make one good set before getting them resurfaced (half of mine were shot due to the oil pump being rooted). A stock rebuild be relatively affordable but hopping up a grey is going to cost money.
Is your car already modified for a red motor? If so, it might be cheaper to go with the red. You can pick them up fully rebuilt or worked for a fraction of what it costs to do (worked greys almost never come up for sale). Thommo on here picked up a street/strip screamer of a 186 for only $1100. On the other hand, as Mick said, the red 138 and 149 motors are now getting hard to find (but they will be cheaper to recondition than a grey and you can get almost everything new).
I drove a club member's V6 powered HR the weekend before last and it went like the clappers. He picked up the whole donor VN Commodore for $500, and just put the engine in the HR without a rebuild (he already had a Pat Gardiner conversion kit).
Andrew