has anyone out there got a coaster with a 6 cylinder holden red motor in it  i am thinking of doing this conversion myself and need some questions answered like  how expensive to run?can they do 100ks with ease?   i will be keeping the 5 speed toyota box in it ??are there any hidden problems ? all advice or comments  will be   appreciated thanks JOHN

Nothing to do with a coaster but seen a lot of old grey & red's fitted to old land rovers, they rev to high & boil. Why not a diesel. more economical.

thanks for your comment my coaster has a 3b diesel but is to under powered  85 is its top speed and the slightest hill kills it ive done every check possible on these engines and in coasters they are a dud i i was thinking because 5th in coasters are an overdrive the reves would drop conciderable 

Maybe change the gearbox as well, seen a few Coasters with a Holden Commodore V6 and they seem to get along alright.  My Transit on the other hand has a 302 V8 Windsor with as C4 Auto & 9 Inch Ford Diff. Can easily do 100K's plus but best economy is 85 to 90.

I have seen the conversion however if i was to contemplate an engine swap i would seriously consider the Ford 3.9 lt 6cylinder Falcon overhead cam BA models onwards. Lighter engine, more power 182 kw. revs so sweetly and responsively, tough reliable engines.I would retain the Falcon 4speed auto/manual trans would be a real easy swap. I have been driving and towing for 10 years with a BA Falcon RTV heading for 300,000 kms and never missed a beat. Loaded it hauled 2.5 tonne for five months and never exceeded 17.5 litres / 100 usually around 14.3lit / 100. towing not exceeding 3000RPM Final drive gearing will determine economy and cruising speed however the overdrive trans should give good results. My opinion!

cusso1957 wrote:

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thanks for your comment my coaster has a 3b diesel but is to under powered  85 is its top speed and the slightest hill kills it ive done every check possible on these engines and in coasters they are a dud i i was thinking because 5th in coasters are an overdrive the reves would drop conciderable 

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 Hi

There are a couple of things to consider.

To address the people who say change the gearbox too. The handbrake is attached to the back of the gearbox and if you change that to a car box, then you will have another problem to overcome. No handbrake is illegal and dangerous.  

I had a Nissan 3ton truck with a Red Holden motor quite some years back, similar set up to a Coaster. It was low geared for the highway, good for town work and pulling a load. Not as powerfull as you expect though. I do not believe I did 100kph in it. Pretty thirsty too.

I would probably go for a more modern motor which revs more than the old reds. They were old technology when they were new particularly the 202s. The Falcon motor sounds better to me or a V6 but you will have the electronics there to deal with. However it is worth the extra work to have fuel injection and electronic ignition etc for the benefits. The computers and wiring is really almost self contained on these motors and would be easy to transpose.

Jaahn     

I have an 83 coaster with a 308 ,lovely to drive only need to change back for bigger hills. I run the H50 5 speed and works very well now .a chap I spoke to in Ballarat had a holden V6 with auto but as previously said hand brake is an issue ,he was saying that he had plenty of power and was a simple conversion .

Hi John,

Is now the time to work out how many ks you intend to do in your bus. Then see how much fuel this may use at different economy rates.  Eg 12 ltr/100km, or 15 ltr/100kms or 18 ltr/100 kms.  Work out the cost of this fuel at say $1.50. This might tell you if it is worth spending a couple of thousand more now on a better and more efficient motor. 

For example you might get a Toyota Jap import replacement B series diesel of a later turbo model which might go in with very little work but 50% more power and better or equal economy at faster speed. Or an import KZt which would also most likely fit in easily. More power again. These diesels would be available in the wreckers too if you look. The turbo diesels will give better economy than the 3.8 carby Chevy. 

Just some suggestions to think about before you put out the dollars on a project. Fuel is a big expense if you want to go driving most days ! I used $1000 in 4 weeks recently at around 12ltr/100ks. At 18 ltrs/100 that would be $1500.

Good luck Jaahn

Our old 3B wasn't too bad, would sit on 100 all day everyday but the hills killed it & we towed a duel cab Hilux as the toad so was grossly underpowered in hilly country.
Also looked at an engine swap & considered the Landcruiser turbo V8 at one stage. Ended up buying a 1HZ powered LWB instead, SWMBO wanted it, happy wife happy life, but before that happened I went down the path of the turbo to bring it up to 13BT specs as it was a far cheaper & easier option. Turbo exhaust manifolds are impossible to find in Aus or NZ at a reasonable price but there is a bloke in Canada who could ship a kit out to Aus (minus the turbo) for 800 bucks, all new parts custom manufactured to suit the 3B, turbo kit on the net for less than 1000 bucks & a day or three in the shed to fit. At just over two grand & no engineering bull to deal with. A mate went down this path & was very happy with the results, still not as economical to run as the 1HZ but left me in his dust/smoke overtaking road trains & in the hills.

cusso1957 wrote:

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back again folks //chev,y turned out to be wrong fitment // so it is back to school on coaster JAAHN you mentioned KZT engine ? what did they come in ? JOHN

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 Hi Cusso1957,

Look at this page for some information.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_KZ_engine

I have an imported Toyota Hiace Regius which has that engine. It is the same as in the Prados of the same vintage. Also fitted to a lot of Toyota vehicles sold in Japan of the era. They are imported by the grey importers and 'half cuts' are imported also for spares too. Not as economical as the next series of common rail motors but the injectors do not cost a couple of thousand each either
jaahn

Hi Cusso1957,

Just a note about Toyota diesel engines and fuel economy. In the B series engines they were all originally indirect injection types. However for some vehicles Toyota made direct injection turbo versions of the series. These have the prefix 1 and the suffix -T, EG 13B-T, 14B-T, 15B-T.  These will give better fuel economy with power too. The mountings and bell housing will most likely be the same as your 3B which would make it much simpler. They do not have any computers either

So a note re aftermarket turbos. If you turbo a 3B it will not be as good as a 13B-T regarding the economy despite what can be claimed but may have as much power.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_B_engine

Jaahn