186-S Spec Suggestions

If your not doing anything to the internals i wouldnt bother with a 350 Holley and go with the proper WW Stromberg as the 350 is a little to big for a non worked 186 in my opinion.

186S's all had steel cranks, and a slightly different cam, valves are a little bigger and of course the WW Stromberg and split cast iron headers. 2 1/2 inch exhaust will be plenty.

And a set of engine decals are a must and will really make it look the part. Have a look in my shed and see how mine came up.

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Electronic ignition off a blue motor is a good way to go as well if for no reason than to get rid of the old points dizzy.

Good luck. I can email you a full spec sheet on the motors if you like cause i have the workshop manual here at home somewhere.

Apparently only a tiny number of carb fiddlers can get a 350 Holley to actually run sweetly. A popular alternative is the twin-throat Weber 34ADM carb. Never heard of it? No problem - it's the unit fitted to all 3.3 and 4.1 litre motors in XE and XF Ford Falcon/Fairmonts & non-injected Fairlanes. They were also in the XG commercials, after the XF passenger range ended. Simple, reliable, easier to tune, more fuel efficient at light openings, breathes plenty deep when you floor it, common as muck (so they're cheap), AND there's plenty of info on this site about fitting them up just right :-)

I guess you could always add an XF model 'cold air' intake to the Falc air cleaner, if you went with one of these carbs too. (I'm on the hunt for one for my Weber at the moment actually). If you're making your engine pretty, the huge Ford air cleaner and intake will cover up a bit of your nice machinery though.

With a 186 assisted by nothing more than good carburettion and extractors, a 2 inch tailpipe will serve you best. Don't, don't, DON'T be fooled by the penis-envy of sticking a stupidly large 2.5 or 3 inch pipe under there! You'll simply lose back-pressure (reducing the function of your extractors) and go slower over all.

186S? From memory, they had a 2-barrel Stromberg carb, instead of the single barrel standard one. (They are a nice improvement, but one particular member will attest to the gold-painted air cleaner they came with, being even more impressive. Akin to fitting a supercharger, running nitrous, or somesuch - heh heh. It'll also pull blondes, complete you tax and solve world peace - just ask him!)

The S also had a pair of cast iron, tri-inlet headers, instead of the 6-into-1 standard exhaust manifold. These breathe much better than the stock set-up and some OldHoldeners here prefer their sound over even top name brands of proper extractors, made from thinner bent steel tubing. Problem is, they're getting pretty rare, and a set of tidied up original cast headers on EBay will set you back as much as new extractors!
I THINK the S spec 186 also had a mildly warmer cam, but don't quote me.

Cheap extractors rarely seem to match the Red motors' exhaust ports. You could always whip off your existing ones and try to match the ports to the pipes (or vice versa) to let the exhaust flow in a less disrupted fashion.

Grab an electronic ignition from a WB or VC, VH, or VK C'dore. They, with good plugs of course, will greatly help too. A highly recommended upgrade, 'round these parts!

Fuel it with 95 octane (or even 98 octane BP stuff) and it'll start to repay you with slightly better economy and response too.

Hope that helps!

HK'ing.

P.S. Your other post only has a tiny picture. Are they Globe brand 'Bathurst' 5 spokers on your car? A very nice wheel indeed! :-)

This is the chance to do something special. Putting a bigger carb on the std engine does sfa.
Do put a new cam and lifters in. Go for a 30 70 grind (22L in the old speco range). Solid lifters give a great sound.
The head is the next bit. Yella terra is a simple bolt on but a well ported std 12 port head with bigger valves and quality springs will give good torque and revs.
The elecy dizzy is a must to assist this. If you go 12 port head, the extractors will need changing.
The weber carb as mentioned above is ideal and this combo will be a fun unit, will have much more poke than a stocky with a holley!
A bit more than you thought but as long as your motor is in good shape now, these mods will liven it up. Any more extreme and you probably need to balance the bottom end and refresh the rings and bearings with race quality.
Go for it....

186S had different bearings too.
When you fit the full synchro box you'll need the gearbox rear mounting rails from an HT or HG to allow the gearbox to sit a bit lower.
I had a 186S HK monaro and used the rear mount from a 3 speed full synchro box when I had to replace the Opel. I used wheel nuts as spacers between the full synchro rear mount and the floor. Bodgy as, I know.

I often wondered whether I could somehow have used an HK powerglide rear mount. Never got around to trying it.
You might find that the guide wheel for the handbrake cable is in a different place and where the speedo cable goes through the firewall was different for me too. Of course this could only apply to 186S Opel vs. 3 speed full synchro.

Cheers Guys,

That covers all the good stuff. Its good to know what to spend your money on when doing stuff like this rather than assume bigger is better.

Jim.