Technical 6 cylinder version of Buick straight-8 used in Australia?

Holden in Australia released its first car in 1948 which was powered with what is called the "Grey Motor" in Australia (due to the color it was painted). According to everything I can find it was based on a pre-war Buick design and in fact was a 6 cylinder version of the Buick straight-8.

I do not know if this is true.

Does anyone know if the Holden engine was based on the Buick straight-8 engine and, if so, was it a design specifically made for Australia or did Buick design a six cylinder version before the war that never made it to production (but the Australians picked it up)?

The grey motor was used on all Holdens from 1948 to 1962.

 

Interesting.

 

For what it's worth the Wikipedia page says it was.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holden_straight-six_motor
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick_Straight-6_engine

 

I've been farting around with the Holden Grey engines for years, (there's one in my avatar HA/GR) and didn't know that about them. Thanks for the information.

 

when they were all you could get in a Holden we modified the hell out of them. Stock not so good. This is a Foster DOHC conversion

 

Wagott DOHC Grey Holden, in a sports car this beat Porsche, Jaguar and Lotus to the 1962 Aust. GT Championship.
Wag

 

and at the drags 13.2 seconds and 106 mph, November of 1963 Max DeJersey.

 

Cool stuff.

 

The Grey engine appears to have a cylinder head more like the GMC 302 than the Buick..

 

AND, the GMC, I think, is a descendent of the six cyl Buick. Last Buick six until modern times was in 1931 as was the first eight.

Ben

 

and strangly a Vauxhall crankshaft can be made to fit, so there must be DNA connection to the Vauxhall 6

 

My understanding was that the grey was based on the Opel Kapitan engine. Metric cam gears, oil pump gears and bore spacings along with Bosch electricals.

Cheers,
Harv

 

Which Buick series engine ? There was a small block (special and super) and large block (century and Roadmaster.

 

Wow some interesting facts on the old grey motor ....

 

A guy near me has a WW2 Opel Blitz. When Allied Forces captured them, they could repair them with Chevy and Bedford parts. Was the Buick 6 a forerunner of all these GM engines?

Holden Grey

Opel Blitz

 

That's the one I reckon was the predecessor to the grey motor. Move that dizzy back from midships to aft, and you'd swear it came out of a humpy.

Cheers,
Harv

 

I don't feel so bad about my HA/GR now. Heavier and not as streamlined. 13.4 @ 97.9 m.p.h.

 

The first Holdens were born out of the still-born pre- war 195Y-15 Detroit GM compact prototype. I believe the engine has roots in the Opel Olympia, pre war. That Opel truck mill looks a lot like it, as previously described.

Love my grey.. and who says stock's no good? Mine's mild (double valve springs, cam, twin Strombergs, headers, alloy timing gear) and with a light flywheel she screams... 16.80 in a 2280 lb sedan with the puny original driveline. Little things kept the Offys honest at the speedways (1/4 mile dirt tracks) too.

P.S; another Steve Brown here.

 

These heads helped



Cheers,
Harv

 

Now you're just showing off Harv.

 

i play with the old greys regularly and have been told that Chrysler industrial flat heads and Kew crankshafts have the same bearing spacing and the steel cranks from industrials were a regular replacement during the speed way days to keep up with offys,,, but cant confirm it , but i can confirm the multi carb manifolds from holden greys will fit a chrysler flathead industrial engine 6 from a 1941 clarktor 6 aircraft tug,,,, and yes i cut one up and put a v8 in it before i knew how much a rich ww2 airplane guy would pay for a clarktor to tow his mustang around.

heres my latest grey with the only manifold ive never seen anywhere else ever and I collect grey speed equipment ,its got triple gravity fed Amal carbs and its bounced around a few hands for many years,only stuff ive found is pictures of the very same manifold on forums asking for info, the aussie greys are the most hot rodded engine in australias history,,,,, and my V8 Clarktor 6

 

GM owned Opel from about 1930 until a few years ago…Holden was owned by GM? The Grey and Opel engines look externally like a Chevy 216 …..Hopefully they don’t use the goofy 216 oiling system…

 

Yes, they became a subsidiary of GM in 1931 and remained one right up until the end a few years ago.

 

Oil pump driven from the dizzy, dizzy driven from the cam, cam driven by a fragile fibre timing gear off the crank.
Pressure fed big ends, early ones were pressure fed little ends though later ones were splash fed at the little end.
Tapping taken off the cam oil gallery, fed from a groove in the cam (1/3 of the circumference, so oil flow is limited). Oil pipe up to the head, dribbles back from rockers.
No oil filter, but optional bypass filter available (FRAM, RYCO, AC).

Special oil warning system fitted from the factory - rear main seal and timing covers leak like a sieve. Puddle of oil under car indicate to the owner that the car oil level is healthy. If there aint no oil under it, there aint no oil in it.

Cheers,
Harv

 

Curious about the Amals - do they have a working linkage? I built a set of triple 376's, and use the "light" factory springs in them. With three of those springs pulling on the common linkage, it takes a lot of force to open the carbs. Can't remove the springs altogether, as the slides would float. Wondering what others do.

Some good background info on how to fit Amals to a grey here:
http://www.fbekholden.com/forum/vie...arv+amal&sid=f331f8bcbe17b4b4f945423b7a576499

Cheers,
Harv

 

I have grand ideas about a FED, and needed something to power it . Powerglide, Hilux rear. IHRA/ANDRA compliant.

Not the smartest idea I've ever had (no idea where I am going to store it... is it wrong to move out the dining table and store a FED in the dining room? ), but driving one is on the bucket list.

Will need to find a Nostalgia meet that will let me line it up against a HAMBster

Cheers,
Harv

 

When the Stovebolt and Grey motor are next to each other, it looks like they shrunk the grey motor by 3 inches all around.

I am in the process right now of changing the timing cover seal on a grey, or as I call it the "forward oil system indicator".

 

When I fit those timing cover seals and gaskets I use Permatex aviation goop and haven't had a drip from either. The rear main seal, different story.
I'm with you Harv on the FED idea except I'd like to run a manual box like in my HA/GR but gear it to use only 2nd and 3rd.

 

In the U.S., Buick never made an under-head valve engine.
(Yes, I know this has nothing to do with all of the above.)

 

Well there was a Buick straight six from 1914 until 1030 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick_Straight-6_engine
Then they went to the straight 8 in 1931. According to Wikipedia the Holden six was indeed based on the Buick straight 8.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holden_straight-six_motor