Source for parts

[Valencia]

If I was an 8 meter boat I'd leave Rockingham by myself to. ( no offense Adam)

By the way it was 40 nautical miles of exmouth in the north west

[don3527]

I paid $5000.00, motor was out of it and torn apart.

[Innuendo]

I paid $5000.00, motor was out of it and torn apart.

Would have cost almost that to get the thing transported to that side of the world.
The ol' Holden Red 308 V8 ain't too hard to build.

[Flamenco_not_Flamingo]

I paid $5000.00, motor was out of it and torn apart.

Ok, thanks for that mate, interesting

[Blocker]

Don could find a local Chevy engine to suit wouldn't he?

What restrictions/requirements do your State laws have to use a right hand drive vehicle Don?

[don3527]

The car was already titled in Ohio, I had no problems putting it into my name. I did already purchase a bell housing adapter from Dellow so I could just put a small block Chevrolet crate motor in. Right hand drive is no problem here in the states. In fact, Ford made several right hand drive vehicles before the model T ever went into production!

[playwme]

What gearbox are you going to use? Not the original M21 behind a 350 Chev? They're a pretty weak box when they get old.

I'd hot it up a little if I were you. Originality probably isn't going to be too high on potential purchaser lists over there. It'll be more the oddball aspect. Shove an LS2 and a 6 speed in it instead.

[don3527]

Thank you for the advise, I'll definitely look into that.

[HK1837]

This size Holden came standard with 350ci SBC and TH400 (in 1971-1974 HQ) and the HJ facelift was designed for a 400ci SBC. Myself or someone else here will be able to show you the bits you need to convert it. Keep the original 308 block in case it ever comes back over here.
You will be able to modify the crossmember and shorten the tailshaft there, but will need a tailshaft end with 1.125" uni for the TH400.

Bits you will need to buy from over here:
Engine mount adapters and mounts.
Speedo cable.
T-bar and harness.
Console insert for T-bar.
Radiator hoses.
TH400 rear engine mount (heaps thinner than the one on the 4spd).

Things you'll need to modify:
As already mentioned, tailshaft and gearbox crossmember.
Radiator (bigger core and swap spouts around) or buy new one from here.
Engine end of throttle cable bracket.
Engine wiring harness (use 308's senders).

You can buy off the shelf headers over here too for SBC into HX with TH400.

You want the TH400 with the tiny 4" extension housing too.

[Absinth]

Your pretty lucky being in the States, lots of go fast bits readily available at reasonable prices and far less restrictions on old cars than us. Be aware that Holden used a lot bit from the Pontiac parts bin.... Pontiac Rally 2 rims will bolt straight on with Pontiac wheel nuts... You should have no problem getting 15" rims to suit that are correct looking and then just grab a set of wheel cap decals from Rares. There are plenty of other bits from 60's and 70's Pontiacs that will fit, also from some Chev. I got a Nova indicator switch for mums HG Monaro, rebuilt 4 barrel Rochester carb for my ute years ago, Nos Firebird steering wheel also for the ute which I now wish I'd kept.

Stickthis on this site does the decals so getting it back to fairly original should be pretty easy. White with slate black trim, 308 4sp is a fairly desirable combination here in Aust. and it would be a shame not to keep it fairly original if you have all the original drivetrain. There is no shortage of hotted up modified cars in the US so a genuine restored Aussie Sandman would really stand out. However it is your van and you can do whatever you like to it, plenty of members on here will be happy to help you out and I look forward to watching the build on this one.... Please start up a build thread on here and keep us posted of your progress.