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The Holden "Grey" Motor is an OHV inline-6 cylinder engine built by Holden between 1948 and 1962. It earned the name "Grey Motor" as the engine block was painted grey. This engine was fitted to the 48-215(FX), FJ, FE, FC, FB, EK and EJ Holdens mated to a 3 speed manual transmission. An automatic transmission (the 3-speed GM Roto-Hydramatic 240) was optionally fitted in the EK and EJ series. The engine was based on a Chevrolet pre-war engine design, and saw only minor changes throughout its 15 year life. This simple engine, primitive by today's standards ran a 9-port non-crossflow cast iron cylinder head (3 ports inlet, 6 ports exhaust in a siamese layout), and was fed by a single barrel Stromberg Carburettor and fitted with a traditional points distributor and ignition coil. It displaced 132.5 ci in its original form, and was bored out to 138ci (2171 cc or 2262 cc respectively) when the FB series was introduced in 1960. It made only 60 hp at 5000 rpm, which - although uninspiring by today's standards - still provided better performance than the English 4 cylinder vehicles it competed with (Austin, Morris, Vauxhall and British Ford), and of course the Holden represented significantly better value for money than the US GM and Ford imports. Due to the low compression ratio (7.5:1) they were able to rev quite fast and effortlessly. Due to their sheer ubiquity, they were popular for racing, and were fitted to many open-wheelers, as well as racing Holdens. With the motor's low-end torque, they also found their way into boats and machinery such as forklift trucks. The ignition system was 6 volts to match the FX and FJ's 6 volt negative ground system, as was the starter motor. The earliest grey motors (approximately 100,000) were fitted with Delco-Remy accessories, although these were replaced by Lucas and Bosch equivalents throughout the motor's lifetime. The very first production grey motor (1948) was number 1001, and they continued in a single sequence until July 1956, when the prefix "L" was introduced at engine number L283373 for 12V negative ground engines as fitted to the all new FE model. The prefix "U" was introduced from engine U283384 for motors with the original electricals as fitted to the run-on FJ utility and panel van models, which ended in February and May of 1957 respectively. The prefix "B" was introduced and the number sequence reset with the introduction of the 138ci displacement engine, and ultimately this was replaced by a "J" prefix for motors fitted to EJ vehicles in 1962. Many performance enhancements were built for the "Grey" motor, such as the Repco Hi-Performance crossflow cylinder head, which located the induction gear on the other side of the head, the exhaust remaining on the original side. Over 100 hp could be had with fitting this head. The Merv Waggot twin-cam cylinder head could gain you well over 150 hp, but this head was mainly fitted to "grey" motors that were fitted into planes, and were not water cooled, so fitting them to a car required modification and creativity in making a suitable cooling system. Only 9 Merv Waggot twin-cam cylinder heads were built. McGee mechanical injection was also fitted to the "Grey" motor primarily for racing, as it was not considered efficient for street use. It consisted of a high pressure fuel pump running off of the engine and a manifold made with 3 throttle bodies and 6 injectors, 2 in each inlet runner. The injectors were controlled by crankshaft timing and required constant maintenance. The Holden "Grey" Motor ceased production in 1963 to make way for the new Holden "Red" Motor. |
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