This episode the 308 TO 355 stroker engine build reaches it's final phase on the dyno machine to be broken in and tuned. Boy what a rollercoaster ride this one was...
Tony really is the guru when it comes to the iron lion. I live in Adelaide and have the pleasure of seeing his reputation go national as soon as the big players start rubbing shoulders. That bloke lives and breathes his product.
Props to you for sticking by your engine builder and not flying off the handle trying to point the finger. You had an expert on the case in TK, and I'd say that lifter failed due to the original seized cam bearing. Fantastic case for why you use an engine dyno. I'm a firm believer, and my 383 will definitely go on one in the hunt for 700hp.
Yeah it defintely cemented my belief in the Dyno process, sure if you have an old standard thong slapper rebuild you could get away with it in your shed, but once you start chasing those HP'S as you would be fuly aware things need to be dialled. Nice work on the channel as well, enjoy the content.
@@BarnesysBuilds Crane anti pump up Lifters work realy good . 65000 miles on 144 Blown engine and have 0 concave on bottom of lifters. All race miles and still Brand new comp Supercharger 400 pound Valve Springs 0 valve float .
Great episode Barnesy, i had a tear in my eye watching the engine failures and the effort you went through with Tony and Con. I'm glad you went to this extent with the engine or this would be a shed nightmare and possibly a destroyed motor. The HP is great for what it is and i'm sure it'll be fun to drive. Take care mate, look forward to the next episode.
Good result in the end..and these things can happen to the best of us ,and test everyone involved.The customer was so patient, so kudos. Its also important to stick by your engine builder through the rough times.
Good to see NO keyboard warriors bagging the builders. I had a clevo years ago that i freshened and changed from Auto to top loader. never had a TL before and didnt know about the starter motor spacer... anyhow after a short run in, it came to the same sounding screaching, gut wrenching sound yours did the first time cos it rips the starter gear past the flywheel gear and then seizes up the str mtr. A wise man once said, we learn from our mistakes... so just a couple of tips from my lessons that cost me dearly in my early years 1. never use thread tape near methanol 2. always lube your convertor snout with vass 3. ALWAYS earth ignitons to the engine, not just to chassis 4. Brand new name brand parts can perform sexual abuse too.
Nothing like watching such safe hands with those pros problem solving and resolving with all their experience. That was really good information to pass on. Great episode!
I somehow missed this episode, but wow. What a testing last few months. All the machining is done in my engine including the heads, but only got the bottom end assembled so far. But I'll be getting it dyno tuned after watching this. What a ride.
This reminds me of a conversation i had with a work mate who's visiting from Australia. He mentioned he had a Holden V8 WB ute back home and was thinking about putting a 355 stroker kit in it. At the time i said a LS/460le would probably be easier and cheaper and yield better results. But one thing i wasn't thinking about is the purity factor and the fact the cars are just as much emotion as function. Also being a proud Australian he wants to represent the local product. In all those respects a LS would be wrong. So now I get it.
Yes the LS is definitely a more economical option and the “bang for your buck” factor is very good but it is about the old Holden engines in these old Utes. The sound is just different in the Holden cast iron block, different firing order, combined with the nostalgia and it’s really the only way to go to honour the true origins of the Holden H series Utes. Specifically the old WB
Enjoyed the Episode! In addition to Chicommie parts, I’d be very concerned about the possibility there’s might be a restriction the oil feed to the camshaft area, since both of your issues were cam related. Do you have a way to monitor the pressure at the cam bearing area. My old chevy has a plug where I can. Speaking to your 458HP, we have an American trick, which works every time for that extra few horsepower we’re striving for. Two good coats of CHEVY ENGINE ORANGE will have that Holden over 460!
The block had oil mods to open up the common restriction areas plus mods to the oil pump to make it stronger. As you saw the engine wasn't even up to revs and the CAM bearings seized so it's definitely faulty manufacturing, incorrect steel finish, not hard enough. And yes red paint always adds extra HP😂
It will take 10,000 kms for the motor to loosen up properly, should get more than that out of it then. The carby looks suspiciously like a Holley. Otherwise, what a bugger of a run. I rebuilt my 253 20 years ago thank goodness and it goes like a champion. Jeff
Yeah the brawler carbys are pretty good, not sure of the design inspo however. Yeah I won't be flogging this engine but as long as it's reliable and makes good responsive power I will be happy. The Torque converter will be crucial in that delivery with the auto. Cheers
Seems to be close to winter time in that area. We’re feeling the pains of parts failures here in the US as everyone is probably aware of. I have a home based engine machine shop and it’s grown painful to even try and find parts right now. Still hopes for a better day. Hope you all the best with this project. Thanks for sharing your experiences and you humble nature. It is sure appreciated.
Yes nice and cold, it's actually heading out of winter into spring now. I was unaware of this parts issue but certainly am now! I'm glad it's sorted and I just hope there is nothing else in there that will break as well.
I am impressed with your engine builders morale during these adverse times. He hung in there and made corrections and fixes with a great attitude. We’re seeing plenty of flat cams even we broken correct as this job was.
Wow I feel better now just had same lifter problem on a 400 Cleveland engine , lasted 4 minutes . Never had a problem in 40 years !! Lifters we’re soft as butter
Great video mate and top marks to Tony and Con for their great work. I guess you can't name the manufacturer of the cam bearings on this platform but its something that the engine building world should be aware of. I've been watching your build since the start and I've enjoyed every step. Now for the heart transplant and gearbox.
Thanks Troy, unfortunately I can't for insurance reasons name the brands however happy to answer on a PM in Instagram if you so wish. We swapped to Dura Bond bearings which are fine. Thanks for sticking we the build as well appreciate the help along the way.
all the good reasons to dyno an engine for sure.I built a run stand to break in the engines before going to the dyno. on changing valve springs with the moroso tool like that once the spring is pulled down remove the handle frpm the tool because I had tool tool release and the handle hit me in the eye with the rubber grip. my eye is ok severe pain for a week. just saying. Cheers
You poor bloke mate ! Disgusting that new parts let u down ! Glad to see you get through it ! Sounds awesome and 460 hp is really good for a 350 cu motor that is street driven .
Yeah cheers mate, it is very bad that manufacturers think it's ok to send out parts like that. Hopefully with all the talk going on about people having similar engine issues around the world something will change. Fingers crossed
That is one of the neatest engine shops I’ve seen. A lot of knowledge between those boys by the looks. Good to get it done properly the first time! this motor looks mint., clean as. Great watch Barnsey. Been watching since you started this Ute. Good to see some new vids cheers mate
Gday, it’s bloody awesome to see guys willing to go that extra mile to make sure the jobs done right, just found your channel and liking what I see already, Cheers
Had a feeling to get it all sorted by the pros, so glad you did..Some things you need years of experience and ace troubleshooting skills...Onwards Barnsey..
Gr8 vid, next level stuff. It’s scary stuff having an engine built, you’d expect it to be fine from the get go. Can you imagine if you just took delivery of it straight up, then fitted it expecting it to be right as reins as you’d spent your hard earned, only for it to failed on you.
Yeah it's something I didn't think about really, you expect it to happen if you tried it yourself. Sign of the times with parts. Got there in the end that's the wmain objective. Cheers
I don't fit flat tappet cams anymore to performance engines have had failures with them also go to a roller mate make sure the lifters are rotating if you have to go flat tappet done a 308 2 weeks ago and one lobe wasn't rotating so I sent the cam back and got another one all rotated on it same lifters the problem is in the cam grind should have a 2 th taper very nice engine makes good power
Hell of a ride mate but it’s looking amazing , great to see it installed , the end of the tunnel is getting closer, you’ll need a new project once completed the Ute
first it was the change in oil formulas now it's china crappy manufacturing, good call to dyno before the install. sorry to see you go through that but man, you kept your cool, listened to the expert and persevered! great video, hopefully others will learn from it. cheers from California!
Awesome video mate! Very interesting and what an eye opener. You have converted me, I was going to go the LS route like everyone else but I’m definitely going to go with the 308 / 355 combo. You have been a big inspiration for me to finally pull my finger out and get working on my WB after 20 years of her sitting there, So thank you very much mate! Can’t wait for the next t episode legend.
Thanks mate, yeah good decision. I also found out that they do sound different to an LS as the firing order is different in the old Holden 308 so it makes the note different and notably better on my opinion. Thanks for watching and good luck with the 355👍
I 110% with you about the sound! Something satisfying about hearing that angry old school sound! Thanks heaps mate. You’re doing an amazing job and the car is turning into such a beautiful rig!
Fantastic episode Barnesy. So glad that you got the dyno done. I wasn't going to get it done but will definitely get it done now! Its such a shame that the world is so dependent on China for manufacturing complete JUNK!! Con and Tony were fantastic with the work they did to help you get your engine set up!!
Thanks mate, yes definitely glad I got it done, saved a potential huge headache. Hopefully it's all good going forward now once it's in and running. Yeah I would suggest it's worth it for sure.
glad you got it sorted barnsey but i'd be concerned where all that metal went when ever i've had issues like that i stripped the engine and cleaned it 🤔🤐🤨
Yeah I know, I guess at the end of the day you have to place your faith in the engine builder and dyno guy and if they said it was cleaned out then I believe it was cleaned out. It was flushed twice so anything that was left over would be insignificant.
Unlucky mate glad the problems were caught early im guess it was a crane cam and lifters that you were using? Also when you get the motor back in the car run a bottle of the crane cam zinic additive with your oil it will help the flat tappet solid cam last longer 😀
Yeah was a bad run of luck but still got the end result so can't complain at the end of the day. I can't mention brand names unfortunately for insurance reasons here but happy to let you know via PM in Instagram.
I feel your pain. Well done persisting and showing the failures in all their glory. I take it ACL bearings and NASON lifters are not on the future shopping list?
You should eventually go with a torque power high rise single plane manifold for your combo I have the high rise dual plane on my 308 and it beats the hell of the old edelbrock performer
Want to keep it all under the bonnet that's why I chose the single plane low rise manifold. 458 HP is more than enough for the old ute. That redline manifold is great
Mate, that was heart breaking to watch - but you really dug deep and pulled thru 💪 Just my 2 cents - not a bad thing to stick a couple of neodymium magnets in the oil pan before the pickup - last ditch effort to stop swarf taking a second lap of the motor ! 🙏👍
The world of bad parts it's insane when I was building cars in drag racing didn't have any of these problems this is ridiculous modern technology should not have problems have a great day
Had same problem with a lifter failure within half hour of run time. Did the correct procedure of run in but after that have been hearing of alot of story's exactly the same.
@@BarnesysBuilds changed brand of cam and lifters. It's good now done about 2500km. Also had Tony build me a 355 solid flat tappet engine for another customers build which hadn't skipped a beat either. Done 3500km now
You have to look on the bright side Barnesy... You can now tell everyone you've done a 13 second run when they ask how fast your motor is. As gutted as you must be its better to happen now than later. Good luck with the rest of the build mate!
Bloody hell, I'm lucky I built my engine just before the pandemic began, just missed out on all this dodgy parts mayhem, thank god. Good power and torque figures though mate, be interesting to see what it makes at the rear compared.
@@BarnesysBuilds should see at least 380rwhp and depending what diff gears you're doing, traction is a thing of the past, mine is pretty mild, essentially the same as your setup but with a torque power high rise dual plane manifold and a 286 hyd ft cam(for now), and it lights up 1st and 2nd on just part throttle alone in a VS sedan. so with your setup, it'll be a handful in a ute. good fun.
Was talking to tony about this the other week, as much as this should of never of happened, it happened at the rite place with the rite people around it t get it sorted
Well I went with the engine builders advice and he reckons solid flat tappet cams at this HP range are actually more reliable than small hydraulic rollers given the components are like they are meant to be. At the end of the day Tony has built a thousand flat tappet CAM engines and has a great reputation for building solid reliable good horsepower engines.
What a roller coaster ride mate…. Faaarrrkkkk Tony is a great guy and engine builder. I’m sure that 355 will make the Ute haul the mail mate. What brand of replacement cam bearings did you end up fitting please? Were the replacement lifters an EDM style solid lifters? Looking forward to seeing the engine in the Ute 👍🏻🇦🇺
Chinese Who Does That? My buddies Say Cleavite 77s Battle proven over 100 years in Pro Racers. Id be good with Bi metal or expensive moly coated , But Chinese Summit Brand would do .
Looked like there was no lube on that bearing at all, and the chances of doing two engines with two sets of bearings, that are knackered are very high odds
They farked up installing the bearing, all my years as an engine reconditioner, never has a cam bearing farmed up, it was only ever due to the bad fitting and poor sizing when fitted . And I have done a lot of Holden 5 litre engines including race units. You was fed some b.s
Engine had manifold off, engine was flushed twice and oil filter would grab any particles before any damage was done. It wasn't running for long so nothing was scored. They were happy it was clean and so was I and have no problem with moving forward with it from here. Cheers
Wow, that’s harrowing 😩. Glad you got a good result. Who pays for the crap parts failing, not really any ones fault but the manufacturer, very shit situation for everyone. How long till engine builders won’t touch them?
I wasn't there for that but I'm they flushed it out twice and assessed it and wouldn't have proceeded if they weren't happy. Oil filter would've done it's job and as it was caught early there was very minimal debris from one lifter.
People have been having trouble with bearings dont buy any kings bearings from precision . Kings had seconds and precision bought a bin full and repackaged them. No coating on the bearings and sizes all over the place . Im talking mains and rods . Even the dizzy gear on the cams are not round . Lifters failing fast wiping out lobes . People dumping junk on our shores and saying you built the engine wrong . Lots of people have been killing holden v8 from junk parts that we payed good money for the quality but the quality has gone . Billet Roller cam is the only way to go now with lifters . So many problems are going on with flat tappet cams and lifters .
Hopefully with the new Dura Bond bearings, COMP cam and new old stock lifters and it should be solid now. I mean they worked in the past so should be right to work now as long as the parts are the same quality which hopefully now they are. Cheers
@@noahmira4788 Mate we are in 2024, i only commented 6 months ago, my block is still probably 3 months away from the machinist finishing it LOL..Its been there since June 2023.
Mate I feel for you. All that complexity, expense and effort to get 400-500HP. And then a EV comes along and blows you away, with virtually 2 moving parts. Anyway that said I still love V8's.
I'm not concerned about being beaten by EV cars mate, it's all about keeping some old school Australian motoring history alive for me, oh and they give you the V8 sound and experience you will never get from an EV vehicle. In my eyes that's worth every cent.
Really , have you ever seen a lithium phone battery explode taking off a man's hand , now try that by 1000 ! And HP ain't everything , it is not even a real measure of power, I had a 1991 ZZR 600 and it made 100hp at 13500 rpm , my mate has a 9000cc D4 Dozer and it makes 100hp which one is more powerful ?
Wow..im also in the process of having a 355 built.15 months in and the last part just arrived.hopefully i dont have these issues on the dyno.u mentioned single plane manifold.im going dual to fit under bonnet.what fuel pump are u using?mechanical or electric
I didn't think a dual plane would fit under? Maybe I got that wrong with single plane. Makes great power either way. You might make 470hp with a bigger manifold but i am the same I want it under the bonnet. I will go an electric fuel pump. Probably a Holley blue or there abouts
i had the same problem mate in my 351 cleveland not cam bearings but 1 camshaft and 2 sets of lifters hydraulic flat tappet engine was in car had to pull it out 2 times after the second time i was that pissed off diss heartend we could not believe it why we were having so much trouble it was the lifters causing the problem my mechanic said he had never seen anything like this before in all his years with building engines with flat tappet cams he had never had no issues . All the components were brand names made i the USA ? been around for decades the problem today is its a lucky draw you dont really know where its really made nothing is made of quality anymore. So now i am on my second cam and 3rd set of lfters and all is good at the moment lfters still tap a bit when i first start it up cold or hot then it goes away after a few secondsi its like they bleed down a bit and they are ment to be the best anti pump up hydraulic lifters i could get so i just have to live with it and its stil going so thats the main thing but its pretty frustrating when your paying for whats ment to be top quality brand stuff and it fails because it was probally made in china
Yeah I have heard so many stories in the past 3 days it has confirmed to me that it is 100% a manufacturing change to China with no regulation checks on quality. If they want to save their businesses best they start producing in America again quick smart.
If I had of known then what I know now I would go roller cam and lifters if I did another one less hassle don't have to change springs to run cam in etc
@@jasongriffin5994 yeah, I really have been going with Tony's advice but he reckons a roller CAM at this level HP is overkill and he thinks the flat tappet solid cam option is actually more reliable
Yeah I know mate that's fair enough tony is a top bloke it seems just after my experience I looked at a roller set-up before we built it and it was 3 times the price of flat tappet but after all the frustration and expense and doing it multiple times it would have been cheaper to go roller
I've seen on other channels that there's a world wide problem with lifters. There just shit quality metal, a cheap out by the suppliers/ manufacturer's. Made in C.... crap. Don't make them like they used too, lucky they had some NOS ones.
Gr8 video, all i can say is stop usi g shitty Ryco Oil Filters, absolute crap. If you want your engine to last, only use 'Baldwin' filters. ( the orange/red colored ones ) Best tip i can offer you.... thank me later...lol
@@BarnesysBuilds another good tip is run a Moroso screen filter on your oil filter. Best $50 invested. Everytime you change your filter you can look at the screen and see if there is any metal. Clean the screen and reuse. Moroso Part# 23845. Not everybody knows about them. Maybe your engine builder would.
The original Holden block and any subsequent build would only be suited for marine application not as the power plant or engine more just the anchor ... hmmmm standard block woe's 🚫 hehe the video of you telling your missus that news 3 days in would have been worth a few views i bet 🤣😅🤣🙃
@@jimclarke1108 depends if it's old stock, i know a lot of brands have switched to Chinese manufacturing of recent times and apparently during COVID maybe corners were cut. Not sure what to believe but if you can get your hands on new old stock lifters then get those
half way through , I was like ..who the fk built this engine ! then I saw the lifters and thought oil or poor quality...Then I heard China! One of me suppliers here in japan does oil filters, bought Yen 1 000 000 of springs at about 1/2 a yen each ( I have the drawing and a box of the springs ) ALL JUNK !!!! IF you don't nail the Chinese to the floor AND PUT IN PLACE A decent QA program you may get junk , Probably better now some of the horror stories I have heard. THE question now remains who is going to pick up the tab ?
Yeah at the end of the day I can only go by what the professional I paid to build the engine has told me which was it was faulty parts. Could it be due to a build error? Possibly it could however engine building as you know is all word of mouth and Tony has a reputation for being one of the best in the business for Holden engines so I doubt it was. I believe it was faulty Chinese made parts that he was unaware of the manufacturers he uses now swapping to. The tab was picked up from insurance and I paid no extra.