Hi Everyone,

As you know i have a tr exec (now se) and it has hit 300 thousand,
Now its got a few little issues
It ticks really loud until its warmed up
and it has no 2nd gear whatsover until it is also warmed up

Now
I have another motor + gearbox wit 220 on it, what i was thinking of doing is

Swap Transmissions,
Possibly get the head recoed off the 220km motor and put it on the 300km engine block..

While im at it i want more power, noting big but more would be nice,
nothing noticable on the outside (just internal mods)
and possibly looking at a manual conversion aswell.

Anyone know how to pull more power out of a powerless motor such as the astron ???

Yep, throw it in the bin.
grab a SOHC V6 from the wreckers, do the heads on those (get the valves seated again and do the stem seals) change the timing belt and grab a V6 manual transmission.
You will have PLENTY of power in stock form. Add a set of extractors to those and you will be a happy happy man.

4cyl > V6 conversion requires the passenger side engine mount to be re-wleded to the chassis as it is in a different location, everything else bolts up. you will need the V6 engine loom and ECU aswell.

Easier to find a V6 manual wreck on ebay and convert it all in one go.
I have been there done that. So take my advice, Do not bother with the asstron, period. Just don't bother wasting your time at all.

I have to agree there. The Astron is a reasonable engine in good condition - it can move the car, if that's all you want - but as a hot up proposition its a dead dog, a non starter. Look for a V6 engine, or better still a V6 with the rest of the car wrapped around it. A TS manual V6 goes quite well. I donno how your chances are of finding one in Mt Gambier though.

pardon my ignorance, but did someone just say that the V6 has timing BELTS?

erk, how often do they need changing, then :shock:???

yes the V6 has a timing belt and they need to be changed every 100,000kms or 5years , what ever comes first

tres grateful :thumb:

I'm in the other camp I will be doing up a astron. There are things you can do to any motor but it depends how much money you can throw at the project, as it said before V6 more bang for your buck.

For the astron you can remove the balance shafts, extractor, shave and port the head and give it a lumpy cam. List can go on lol But it your money so it up to you which way you want to go :)

tres grateful :thumb:
Easiest belt to change ever. I did it when I was 18 years old and knew nothing about cars. line up cams, line up crank, install belt, lock in tensioner. soooooo easy.


I'm in the other camp I will be doing up a astron. There are things you can do to any motor but it depends how much money you can throw at the project, as it said before V6 more bang for your buck.

For the astron you can remove the balance shafts, extractor, shave and port the head and give it a lumpy cam. List can go on lol But it your money so it up to you which way you want to go :)
Make sure you factor in $1K+ for a piggyback ECU of some sort and tuning.

If you need a hand with anything dude, give us a yell.

Which one is this white one? Have I seen this one?