Red engine | |
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Overview | |
Production | 1963–1980 |
Combustion chamber | |
Configuration | Straight-six |
Displacement | 130 cubic inches (2,130 cc) 138 cubic inches (2,262 cc) 149 cubic inches (2,447 cc) 161 cubic inches (2,639 cc) 173 cubic inches (2,835 cc) 179 cubic inches (2,940 cc) 186 cubic inches (3,049 cc) 202 cubic inches (3,298 cc) |
Cylinder bore | 3.125 in (79.4 mm) 3.375 in (85.7 mm) 3.500 in (88.9 mm) 3.563 in (90.5 mm) 3.625 in (92.1 mm) |
Piston stroke | 3.000 in (76.2 mm) 3.250 in (82.6 mm) |
Valvetrain | OHV |
Combustion | |
Cooling system | Water-cooled |
The Holden straight-six motor is a series of straight-six engine that were produced by General Motors–Holden's in Australia between 1948 and 1986. Initially the Grey motor so dubbed because of the colour of the cylinder block, later motors came in the form of a Red, Blue, Black and the four-cylinder Starfire engine. These engines were fitted to all Australian designed Holdens of the same years, and the four-cylinder Starfire notably found its way into the Toyota Corona (XT130). The grey motor is a different engine from the others. The Red, Blue, Black and even the Starfire are all inter-related with many common parts and castings.
The Grey motor, built between 1948 and 1962, earned its name as the engine block was painted grey. This overhead valve engine was first fitted to the Holden 48-215 and mated to a three-speed column change gearbox. A three-speed GM Roto-Hydramatic 240 automatic transmission was an option fitted in the latter EK and EJ series. The engine was based on a Buick pre-World War II design, and saw only minor changes throughout its 15-year life.
It displaced 132.5 cubic inches (2,170 cc) in its original form as used by the 48-215 (1948), and remaining in use until the FC. Holden replaced the FC in 1960 with the FB series, and its engine was bored out to 138 cubic inches (2,260 cc). It developed 60 brake horsepower (45 kW) at 5000 rpm, providing superior performance to the competing four-cylinder Austin, Morris, Vauxhall and Ford of Britain vehicles. The grey motor featured a compression ratio (7.5:1, low stress design with a view to high reliability. Due to sheer ubiquity, they were popular for racing, and were fitted to many open-wheelers, as well as racing Holdens. With the engines' low-end torque, they also found their way into boats and machinery such as forklift trucks.