Don't Do This! Greentop Barras Are Dead!

We have ridden the wave of Greentop goodness for many years, but we're here to tell you why you shouldn't put a green top Barra into your car anymore.
Street Machine Carnage is all about having fun with cars. Sometimes it's serious performance, sometimes it's crazy fun, but it always interesting and done on a budget.
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[@jaffertv]

Scotty over here trying to single handedly kill the green top market to make them cheap again

[@georgegoodall3573]

I got one under my bench I paid 400$ for 😉

[@danrowlands3705]

Next he should cover VTs & VXs.... Millenials might start trying to sell their manged out 6s for under $100k😂

[@unclebrentsshed4253]

All while preparing a 30 year old 1UZ 😂😅

[@sebastianmccoullough1492]

@@georgegoodall3573 my local wreckers offerd me $355 for green top barra with just over 100,000km on it, lol

[@Thatcressidaguy]

@@georgegoodall3573 I just payed $300 for mine today

[@sameuljones5496]

Got my greentop barra at 180,000kms back in 09. Slapped a turbo on her, big injectors etc straight away sent her to 548kw. She's been there for 14 years now and she's on 330,000kms. Havent had any issues. Take it to drag races all over Australia, burnout comps, power cruises most weekends shes getting driven hard. Only change oil n filter ever 6 months thats all she just loves the boost being fed to her

[@jatinbassi860]

Hi can you recommend me anyone that can do it in Melbourne?

[@DodgyBrothersEngineering]

This is why I enjoy this channel so much. Instead of flogging a dead horse and trying to make out like it is still the best because you happen to have it, and it is made out of unobtanium and build in some kind of mystery like some channels would. You give us the straight up truth, that it is no longer viable to go down that path. Thanks Scotty for keeping it real.

[@AtreidaeChibiko]

When are we building a car mate ;)

[@DodgyBrothersEngineering]

@@AtreidaeChibiko I think those days are long behind me. I keep thinking it would be nice to build another fast car, then I realise I live in QLD with a speed camera behind every bush. Also being married my money has other priorities these days, but still the thought of a fast car persists. So for now I just need to find the motivation to finish off some of my current projects like the remote control mower, and the CNC mods.

[@damienwilloughby]

🙄

[@letsallbe-friends1120]

*Someone needs to machine a V12 out of 2x Barras.* 😁👍

[@paule4204]

I have been wishing for this for a while. Imagine a xb falcon with 8 litre v12 barras and twin turbo

[@JosephcallsmeNolan]

I like your thinking

[@JosephcallsmeNolan]

@@lukefox7011 true.. We got excited.

[@5lcalais1]

Just buy an existing v12 🤷‍♂️🤣 it'd be cheaper lol Lamborghini make a 6L v12 ,some mercs and bmw also had v12 options, wouldn't be too hard or costly to grab one , be expensive but still cheaper than designing and building a custom block n crank.

[@thomasnathan8035]

8 liter V12 🤔 very interesting

[@dunga_on_bass5034]

Gotta love how quick Zane backed out from saying the shut the front door word🤣🤣🤣 Great advice all round. As much as the flogs love em, the LPG motors still need the lube.. that's what she said🤦‍♂️🤣🤣

[@izaak997]

I purchased an 09 fg Ute when the fuel prices started to rise last year. I'm holding off on doing a turbo build until I get my moneys worth from the LPG. Glad I purchased one with full service history (and low kms) after this video 👍 let's hope it stays in one piece 😁

[@kaybee9363]

Bought a 08 pre COVID. 160km It's been boosted for a while now. Although spark plugs were seized in head.

[@callum5181]

100% facts! Completely agree! I did it to myself for a Barra in my patrol. Lucky I opened it up to give it a freshen up bearings were toast. Head was toast I now have fully rebuilt motor. But I now tell anyone that ask buy an na motor and do rods and pistons and the other supporting stuff!

[@fossilfuelenthusiast]

Great video, great perspective. Good to hear it from someone like Zane who does this stuff all day

[@10GTE]

100% I've actually been saying this for years now. By the time you buy (at inflated prices) a gassy, remove the head and do the valves, remove the pistons and gap the rings etc. Just pick up an NA motor and build it. I run a drift car with an NA motor with gapped rings, turbo and on e85 n 10psi. It's great bang for buck and reliable 👍

[@barraboy03]

Built or 1r rods?

[@10GTE]

@@barraboy03 1R rods. Loves it.

[@bnm4799]

Not all Barra green tops got the 3R23 rods. It's been incorrectly reported on many occasions. The early BA green top Barra's from 01/01/2002 to 30/11/2002 were built with the na AU2 6200 A (1R23) rods. From 01/12/2002 onwards, the BA green top Barra were built with the BA 6200 C (3R23 gas rods). I've seen quite a few very disappointed people when they've opened up their early BA green top Barra to find it has 1R23 rods 🤣

[@darkhorsematt3000]

The other issue with ba gas motors is compression is higher again. 10.7 instead of the usual 10.3. So unless you're using e85 they won't last long.

[@STREETMACHINETV]

I've heard this but never seen this myself

[@davidzplace2011]

Not to mention that the later models FG ect didn't have the 3r rods, much lighter pistons I believe

[@word1901]

@@davidzplace2011 yep the ecolpi engines had liquid phase port injection backfiring was no longer a problem so they had N/A rods and 12.5 to 1 comp

[@bigcazza5260]

ive seen a 1r23 before, when my intech spat it out the side, still runs (up to 4500rpm)

[@nickryan1268]

Good vid. Sad but true about the gas valve seats. I'm busy at the moment lapping new valves into an NA head that I luckily had sitting here. You can pretty much count on a minimum of new rings and bearings and a tidy up of the head no matter what you buy, whether it's a gassie, na or turbo engine. Most are pretty well used

[@batmanlives6456]

What a great little car!!! I would be so proud to own her ! Congratulations guys Keep this type of content coming!!!

[@EverythingFuzzY]

Glad someone finally said it! Seeing greentops on marketplace for $1000 so stupid.

[@johndoe1778]

1000 is too much? How much should we be getting them for? Cheers

[@5lcalais1]

Yeah was a shock to the system when I looked a month ago for my vn and knowing they at least need rings n bearings and possibly head recoed I was like yeah nah not paying 1000+ for an engine that needs a basic rebuild, if I'm going rebuild one it's getting all the fruit and unfortunately that's outa my budget atm. So staying with the ol buick now, it was already turboed so may as well finish it and enjoy it as it is, only reason I was looking at barra was for it's simplicity and ease of modification, turboing the buick was an absolute nightmare, it's amazing how quick you run outa room and was frustrated by it but it's 99% done now so may as well stick to it 👌

[@5lcalais1]

@@johndoe1778 well it's got 300k on it like most I've seen do, 400 maybe 500 max 👍 Not as bad as ls still, people asking 4k for rebuilders 🙄

[@johndoe1778]

@@5lcalais1 cheers bro appreciated

[@craigmarshall9450]

Thanks for the insight, if/when going to start a rebuild. Information was definitely taken on board

[@paulcoote3094]

Hmmm scotty......you owe me a beer next week. You have just devalued the 50 greentop taxis I have paddock stored!!!!!!! I was only just starting to turn some $$$$ to pay for building a blown injected 460 big block for weekend drag challenge 🙃

[@STREETMACHINETV]

Haha

[@dinosshed]

Sucked in!

[@MafiaboysWorld]

Since they're now devalued so much, I'll offer you $50 for a green top just so you can buy some beer. 🤣👍

[@brucerichards9102]

Always honest pragmatic advice from Scotty. Thank you.

[@STREETMACHINETV]

I try, nice to be appreciated

[@gearheadindustriesmedia6890]

This was good to here.. saying up options.. I watched the garage built an and think that’s the way to go.. still relatively cheap compared to everything else.. a lot cheaper than ls aswell

[@needmoreboost6369]

Great vid and it’s spot on accurate! it would be nice just to go all out billet straight up but you got to work with what is on the bench sometimes lol I still think the Ecotec is better! they are still cheap and they age well often having minimal bore taper,guaranteed the valves are pitted and it’ll need a deck but that’s not major. I just put 40000+ km over 2 years and hundreds of 1/4 passes on a cheaply modified l36 engine roughly $2k build cost running 20psi every day! and it took me jamming the boost in earlier and earlier to a point but with 2bar hitting like a hammer it bananafied the rods! Ooops that just cost $100 but even then with bananas for rod’s 5mm shorter than normal it still had good power! And easily walked away from most. On a fresh motor it reels in a Yamaha r1 bike in top gear so it’s finally getting some forgies

[@5lcalais1]

Even the earlier ln3's and l27 buicks can make decent power for not much $ , I'm at about 13k on my ln3 and it should be good for 400 rwhp 👌 From what I've been told by a few gurus getting the heads done and a decent cam n valvetrain and it's good for 550 atw on a stock bottom end 👌 though I'm not game to try that without at least arp studs lol realistically at that point I'm doing rods n pistons too. Ecos are a better start though being they have better designed heads , kinda regretting not going to an eco to start but decided to use what I had already though in saying that I wish I'd just gone barra instead lol

[@747Mode]

Appreciate the vid Scotty, the Everyman who thinks they’ll have 500+ rwkw for f all is a pipe dream agreed on that However they are still cheap ($204) doll hairs at Jollys If someone was going to the extent of putting rods in a silver top it’s arguably similar’ish cost to have a green top valve seats recut and replace valves - that is if they’re even buggered. Same deal with the ring gaps in either variant LONG LIVE THE GT MOTER!

[@TradieTrev]

I love it when Scotty plays with a thick rod ;)

[@TURBOTRISTO]

Hahahahah

[@piffiiiiiiit]

🤢

[@seanb250]

Thank the lord!!!! Some actual information put out there based in reality 👍

[@garethwest9069]

Thank the Lord Jesus Christ that he died for our sins.

[@paulmartin3340]

So ya say'n Scotty Green tops are dead Go 2JZ instead! Ohhh what a feeling!! 👍🤣👍 Love ya work big guy. Cheers from Sydney As usual.

[@jromesmith968]

Great video again

[@GlitchBob]

Yep my BA XR6 I’ve pretty much brought all the parts brand new and just stored them away till it ages and put it on club plates when the time is right

[@30059686]

Glad I had my motor built, never even considered a greentop!! 🤙

[@nunika1975]

Love my EcoLpi but I don't see many in Brisbane. Would love to add a bit more.

[@BadApe351]

They were a great cheap option for a bulk power upgrade in their heyday. But, yes, they're getting too long in the tooth now. Spend some money on rebuilding one to your needs and you'll get years more enjoyment out of it.

[@zjw3504]

Someday I'd like to put an aussie Inline 6 into my American 1965 falcon Futura here in the USA!

[@MindieJ]

Between 2 Barra’s was 👌🏼

[@TURBOTRISTO]

Hahaha love between two barras

[@andynogo]

Yup, Been saying this for a while now. Gassies also have high compression so more of a pain to run boost with. Cheap na, new rods, pistons, turbo valves if you want to be fancy, valve springs and you've got a great base for power!

[@snapped4433]

Dont forget oil pump gears

[@andynogo]

@@snapped4433 haha yes of course. That just goes without saying for any barra build!

[@snapped4433]

@@andynogo yeah my uncle on his stock fgx xr6 shattered his pump gears other day 😅

[@jackmeoff7686]

@@snapped4433 flex plate as well and timing chain kit

[@ChristopherHallett]

Good rods for a Barra are SO CHEAP now too - Spool do a set of good tough rods for $860.

[@grahambate3384]

Being old cab driver. Taxi would do 800,000 plus kms in 6 years. I drove some with over 1000,000. Oil from big bases and Ozzie owners changed oil every 5000 km. Oil looked like honey. Some onwer would not use coolant and cheap oil. One owner I drove had two motor replaced at 600k. LPG is hard on heads, that y there were not many Holden cars. Ones I knew would do heads around 300k. I seen ex cabs from mid 90s with 1.2 million k

[@Keithostrangeman]

I have a dirty old 03 ba wags that I’ve driven into the ground. I’ve scrapped the car and the Barra is tucked away ready for myself to learn to tear it down and build it to turbo spec and there will be no corners cut. All matching will be done professionally then with the help of a Barra guru mate that lives and breathes barras will help me reassemble for a future swap into another vehicle. May take a few years but I’m willing to take the time do it right. Be no 2k Barra build that’s for sure.

[@MafiaboysWorld]

I remember when ACM did a deal when they sold Barra motors for $79! 😎 Nowadays, you just get any low mileage block you can find and just swap the parts you need to anyway (head studs, pistons/rods, oil pump gears, etc.) 👍 Let's not get into the foreigners scabbing all the Barra's they can off us. 😂👍

[@bvward]

Damn, here I was looking to fill a 50--foot container full of Barras and Empire parts...☺

[@shaneanning180sx]

Even 3 years ago i did one same thing dude wanted it on the cheap did spring on the motor and 6 of the 12 ex valve were leaking he sent it and still ran 28 psi for a year

[@TURBOTRISTO]

Great job Scotty/Matty

[@danrowlands3705]

Thank you for the LPG acronym break down ..... who woulda known😂👌

[@Cavemanadam82]

You’re right about them getting lazy towards the end…I have a ‘09 BF3 dedicated…but a silver top, confused me the first time I opened the bonnet

[@STREETMACHINETV]

Turbo Taxi also had a silver rocker cover

[@Cavemanadam82]

@@STREETMACHINETV I assumed it was a BF3 bit of weirdness…as they’re basically BF2’s built next to FG’s…they have a few weird things Base XT trim, but they got rear power windows as standard instead of winders, and the mirror switch is not a B-series switch…must be from the terry or FG…lots of odd things like that

[@kippen64]

Love my BFIII dedicated lpg station wagon. It's a silver top. Not after big power.

[@AlexKokkinarasMusic]

Was saying this about 4 years ago. Build an na (especially when they were 40 to 60 bucks each engine with roughly 200000ks on them.) Buy the good bits for the inside of the motor. And wallah.

[@ryanhoulder8516]

Broke my stock bottom end fg barra motor after 8-9 months of 550rwkw on e85, it ended up chucking a rod. I ended up putting a bf 07/06 LPG barra engine in it (it had 220,000 kms on it) it ran at 400rwkw on e85 for about a year before majorly cracking multiple piston ringlands after 44 laps at luddenham raceway lol. After 2 broken engines I ended up just doing a proper fully built engine 😂

[@smithy2]

That was tops Scotty 👍

[@jaspercambridge7397]

Good video!!!

[@Andyc351]

I came to this conclusion when converting my BF Ghia. I just turboed the N/A engine in it and if it lets go I'll just get one built properly.

[@sittingsidewayz]

same deal with my BF ute, Turboed na havent had a issue with it yet on low boost 7-9 psi

[@tony66au]

Nice one Scotty and Zane, It makes good sense to rebuild anyway especially if you want longevity. I've had this chat with a few mates about Greentops and LPG engines, Its a dry fuel, you have to do valve seat inserts on a good propane/butane engine anyway plus spend money on a new intake system and the engines went in tradie utes, taxis and pov pack tightarse specials and this all has an age limit. Then theres the parts thing, Aussie engines dont have the aftermarket support US and Euro engines do and sure theres parts support but its shrinking unlike the likes of Japanese engines and there they need a once over and freshen up. Look at the run you've had with Trolvo compared to Turbo Taxi........ (and that was hurt coz of a whoops) SO I reckon the way forward is US engines, Coyotes etc and the likes of JZ's and UZ's unless you are prepared to spend money and do it right.

[@terjejohnsen3651]

Good advice also good to know.

[@beaubear6516]

Great vid ..

[@leroybrown6946]

For my barra I'm building, I started off with an NA xr6 BA for my EF falcon and building a decent engine

[@STREETMACHINETV]

Nice

[@leroybrown6946]

@STREETMACHINETV cheers, I bought it with 150,000km and it's from a 10/2002 BA, so it is probably one of the first barras to have been produced, hahaha

[@haatch999]

i got a gassy and rebuilt it like oem fresh because of just this they were workhorses and they got worked hard i am planning on this being the test engine its refreshed and moded so its 9.0 comp to one i will be documenting how far i can push what is now a factory fresh low comp gassy then immediatelt start building a full built going for 9k rpm no matter what boost i want a singing falcon

[@Aquarium-Downunder]

I have 17 green tops in my shed, all out of taxis 500,000km+ on them, picked up 30 ex-taxis for $200 each. got my money back and more on parts the litfs from the wagons paid well. Out of the one I have re-done for turbos, some needed re-sleveing, all get new piston, rings, bearings, worked cams ect. Cheap is one thing it's not, can't get things in bulk with some getting re-sleved and others just getting machined 20 or 40 oversized, all heads are a full long head reco

[@andrewbax6761]

Well said and very true, they are old now and not serviced people want upto to 2k for one now aswell.

[@sittingsidewayz]

Thanks for the video scotty, glad you made this was about to buy a greentop for a cheap build and going to run 2 gaskets to decomp. with all the time and effort spent you guys are right, may aswell drop the extra few hundred $ and get a cheaper NA petrol motor and put rods and low comp pistons in it. Any Recommendations on decent budget pistons and rods?

[@747Mode]

Mate do the GT! Reco the head and spruce up the ring gaps you’re good!

[@STREETMACHINETV]

Don't bother with two gaskets

[@adme5926]

Can we please get a photoshop of the opening scene with a chain from the roof as Scotty 'came in like a wrecking ball' to all the Green Top lovers 🤣🤣

[@Flambaa]

What about the silver top ecolpi ones from the fg xr6's, same deal you wreckon?

[@STREETMACHINETV]

They have the thin rods

[@peterrobins3708]

So would a BA ute with column auto, little or no towing with nearly 240,000km on the clock be a good thing then? I'd think for occasional drag racing maybe different auto & something to stiffen up rear springs but pushing up engine power...yeah whats too little, whats too much? 🙂

[@R3V0LV3R45]

Or, how about use an NA motor, lower your expectations to a power level that will keep it alive. Because once you get past the 500hp 600hp bracket in a Barra your in the “Pay to play” bracket. You either need to pay more to make more, or have realistic expectations the car is going to spend more time broken than running. Aaaaaand pay twice or 3 times, at which point, might as well have built one that can handle 1000hp……

[@HardlineHunter]

Could you drop a EB/EL/EF LPG bottom end into a Barra? It's a common swap for a standard bottom end on Turbo AUs with VCT Heads

[@mattangrave8478]

Never late in a 3.8 💪

[@tba3900]

Have replace 20 or more green tops. Usual symptom is running rough. Pull the rocker cover and it’s alway on number 6 cylinder the camshaft lobes have lost their case hardening and started to munch the roller on the rocker arms. Oil clean as usual, but very high in water content. Since the oil doesn’t protect the contact surfaces when the engine is off, it’s begins to rust the camshaft. It’s a slow process to begin with but become catastrophic very quickly once the hardening is broken through. Root cause, lack of servicing and using mineral oil.

[@10GTE]

I thought the problem was that the hardening process wasn't very good. Engines have run mineral oils for years and the cams don't pit.

[@tba3900]

@@10GTE hardening process fine, but the condensation on the camshaft always seem to be where the pcv valve is , funnily enough exhaust cam no6 is directly below the pcv . Petrol don’t suffer from it, turbo don’t either only the Egas.

[@fossilfuelenthusiast]

Glad I have a spare low km Gassy I stashed away years ago 🙂

[@craigsampson3386]

I suppose this time was always coming, just feels sooner than expected though.

[@imashankusobad]

not really, barras gained heaps and heaps of traction in the last 2-3 years everyone wants a turbo barra

[@craigsampson3386]

@@imashankusobad I was referring to the days of cheaper and lower milage green top barras are gone now like they said in the video, hence why its not really worthwhile boosting green tops anymore.

[@nepntzerZer]

@@craigsampson3386 they are also WAY over priced because they popular and in demand from people boosting them. There's 250k klms ones going for $1k, but theyre not selling though. So the party is over. Its good that this video was made cause maybe it might make people wake up to themselves and come back to planet earth and maybe we all can still get a barra for a reasonable price.

[@DaveHiggoHiggins]

Great video and perspective. Everyone knows the 1UZ is where it's at, mine's just turned 30

[@CRFLAus]

I had a look under Scotty's bed and lo and behold he has 8 green tops under there!

[@BensDR30]

Like it or not, 'old age' happens. The Barra is now a member of the $$$ rebuild club!

[@jamesforge8107]

The FG2 and FGX ECO LPi engines had insane compression ratios (in the 12:1 range) but I don’t believe they needed or used the good rods as they didn’t backfire (which is why the need for good rods).

[@jamesforge8107]

I agree about the green tops being dead. As start with one that needs a rebuild you may as well build a petrol one with better internals. Glad I bought mine about 5 years ago in a good running ute that had been written off. I only intend on getting around 180RWKW out of it N/A though. Going to be running the cars original petrol injection plus LPG vapour injection, a free flowing exhaust, phenolic inlet manifold spacer, K&N air cleaner, Territory duct and possibly the Typhoon air inlet that goes under the headlight. With that lot and a tune it should run better on LPG than it did with the factory restrictive mixer ring throttle body and better on petrol than the original Barra 182 did. I'm not chasing insane power for my daily driver just a bit more poke and better LPG compatibility.

[@grantreid8583]

@@jamesforge8107 If you want the engine to last don't use a k&n filter they let dirt through which wears out rings and bores. just use ryco paper filters and replace more often. You won't even notice any difference in power with the k&n. I used to rebore 4 to 5 blocks a day and i have seen what happens to the cyls when shitty filters are used. We had a saying that the only thing a K&N filter has is the wank factor down the pub.

[@jamesforge8107]

@@grantreid8583 I know when I was an apprentice in the early 80's we were told that most sports air cleaners were designed to stop rocks and birds entering the engine and to make it run that little bit leaner. I would have thought a well oiled K&N or BMC would have filtered better than a dry paper element filter.

[@andydoogz]

Dont believe you! I daily drive my 450kw BA with a gassy. been going strong for 2 years and still has 180psi compression on all 4 cylinders... im still looking for the other two.

[@10GTE]

🤣 Gold

[@maxrockatanksyOG]

Agree on the turbo motors too- boost gets wound up, and then have the shit flogged out of them by owners we all know. I knew of a bloke in Ipswich that did the same thing- NA motor, threw a turbo on, flogged the shit out of it and clean tore the centre bearing mounting bracket out of the floor. B & F series turbos are now the VL turbos

[@STREETMACHINETV]

Also, so many factory turbo cars show up at Maxx Performance now with a green top replacing the original engine

[@orion_033]

I'd love to see a n54 build or b58 next gen Inline sixes :)

[@plumbs7199]

IMHO , if you are going to put a green top through even mild boost . You need to pull it down , new gapped rings, bearings as well as the normal mods .

[@XA393GT]

Ive had 2 gassys let me down and finally biting the bullet and building a forged engine. The first green top was mint, 120,00km and i fitted dominator springs, studs, pump gears and head gasket. Lasted 10,000km with 16psi 400rwkw and sent a rod out the side. The second one was tired, hone, rings, bearings and carried over the dominator stuff whilst also adding all genuine timing gear. lasted a little over 1000km and bent a rod on the dyno. Car has quality supporting mods with Nigel Rose turbo, big cooler and piping, plazie surge etc. The trouble is people claim the car makes 4 5 600 kw on a gassy, easy, but you never hear for how long.

[@nepntzerZer]

They would be alright on a low boost. Just a little extra grunt maybe 350-400 hp max with some extra bolt ons. That would be a satisfying daily to drive around and enjoy.

[@XA393GT]

@@nepntzerZer you might be on the money for a low stress setup mate

[@nepntzerZer]

@@XA393GT but you're still probably going to need to start rebuilding the whole engine from this point on. Especially with the older engines. Anything with 200k+ is starting to get dicey. Yeah the glory days of boosting 100 dollar green tops are over lol, but theres still fucken heaps of barras around. They just need more work now.

[@freestyleskyline]

So your Barra runs on Propane???

[@EnviXR81]

Sounds like Maxx Performance are getting inundated with requests from viewers to get the same power from the green tops in the carnage cars, without spending the money that has been spent on them. None of the cars on the channel are budget cars and I don’t think people realise that. Most of them start out that way, but due to breakages or whatever they are all heavily modified projects.

[@STREETMACHINETV]

Not far from the truth. People slap a Green top in and expect 500rwkw

[@EnviXR81]

@@STREETMACHINETV absolutely. And for the cost of aftermarket pistons & rods, it’s cheaper to build an engine to take the punishment.

[@cobyfield9237]

@@EnviXR81 not even just cheaper, the time saved outweighs basically everything. Especially since people feel the need to go camping every second weekend and waste time on other stuff. Too much fk assing around by just being tight.

[@BUILDSforDRIVING]

What would a mid level bottom end cost..? Can anyone recommend a popular rod and piston kit...its still a daily at 14psi or 1 bar max..i have sorted the bolt ons but my first barra

[@STREETMACHINETV]

A standard bottom end with do 14psi for a long time

[@cabline1193]

It’s a good day to be alive, LS the world 💪

[@N01spoonman]

Is this why there is turbo'd Greentop :). Behind ya Scotty in Carnage.:) :) :)

[@STREETMACHINETV]

It's not a greentop. It just looks like one. It's an NA engine with rods and pistons

[@sammitchell1788]

Thats all well and good, very informative, but what about the comparison to the market? Say LS, RB, JZ? How do they compare to OEM / aftermarket support, vs a Japanese market that's nearing 30years of washed-up engines... I'd love to see your opinions on the next best thing, think it would be interesting, especially from someone who knows the tuning market.

[@STREETMACHINETV]

That's a whole different subject, and maybe a video worth doing

[@Twenty_Six_Hundred]

Im still running my good old 190KW NA lol. But as it's a Fairlane it's more of a cruiser. Don't get me wrong i have thought of green topping her and just running low boost around 7psi. But people just want too much for green tops now so i just can't justify the money. Anyway atleast i know the trusty old NA motor is good for a million kms if i look after it

[@kylebutler7142]

You can low boost an NA barra......scroll up you'll see this comment Sitting Sidewayz 4 hours ago same deal with my BF ute, Turboed na havent had a issue with it yet on low boost 7-9 psi

[@TURBOTRISTO]

Best thumbnail

[@STREETMACHINETV]

Thought you would get a laugh out of it

[@jakebrown6291]

If you were going to completely rebuild a Barra engine for performance, wouldn't a green top still be a better choice to start with?

[@doctorhelicopter]

That's what I figure, because you can just sell it if you don't need it

[@dinosshed]

The dreams are alive with some asking north of 4 grand. I'm thinking it's easier to create something wild out of a single cam with good internals.

[@xr6woggo]

Yeh and they don't sound like crap.🤣

[@dinosshed]

@@xr6woggo the proper weapons grade barra sound pretty sweet. There's no replacement for a rough idling big cammed four litre.

[@wheeman999]

Mate of mine is doing this. He's pushing 700hp from his sohc au motor at the moment with goals of 1000hp. He's put a fair whack of money into it though.

[@dinosshed]

@@wheeman999 there's a very inexpensive combination. L series nissan conrods (I used 180b datsun rods) xf/ea crank, vw air cooled pistons. There's the basics plus machine work to offset grind. I've also used this set-up in a 202 block with the shorter rods aspirated. It went mid 12 in a full body fx 5 spd stick shift, constantly snapped camshafts as the revs were too much harmonics for it. 20 years ago.

[@GTFORDMAN]

wow it should be about time an Australian manufacturing firm create a Billet Barra block!

[@STREETMACHINETV]

Already happening

[@danrowlands3705]

I bet half the guys walking in are wearing red shoes😂👌

[@julianalderson3938]

Sorry to ask scotty but brought a 2010 bf wagon. No grentop but factory gas. Is it same motor?

[@STREETMACHINETV]

BF factory gas should be green top

[@r3ck17rick7]

yeah nah mate you just want them taxi tootin greenies for yourself! 😂

[@Jarmezrocks]

Syngas all the Barras! Blue gum horse power baby

[@nevillebartos2858]

Does this apply to the fg2 and later liquid gas injection LPI engines? Or only the 156kw vapour Barras?

[@STREETMACHINETV]

LPI engines have thin rods because they don't backfire

[@nevillebartos2858]

@@STREETMACHINETV but hopefully not the valve recession problem, caused by dry gas?

[@commodorenut]

I’ve got 340k on my LPi (owned since new). Still has great compression, and no hint of valve seat issues. Only thing showing it’s age is ticky tappets for the first 0.5 seconds on a cold start. It’s had a hard life too. I don’t drive it softly. Over 20,000km of its life has been spent lugging a loaded car trailer all over NSW and a few times interstate too. Direct injection petrol cars are no different as far as the lack of valve lube from wet fuel, and they’ve been around over a decade now. Most don’t have issues (gasket failure usually stops them!)

[@Footrotflats251]

I’ve actually got a taxi Spec EL falcon, tickford duel fuel before the green tops came out, it was actually bought by a farmer, OPT25 but never used as a taxi 👀

[@Footrotflats251]

I wouldent be surpised if I had a slightly bent rod aswell, backfires atleast 4x a week (I do a lot of driving) you can hear the difference in the exhaust note especially when running on petrol (could also be shitty injectors from being never used)

[@STREETMACHINETV]

It's better if you run them on both if you can. My AU is very rich on petrol, I need to check some things

[@Footrotflats251]

@@STREETMACHINETV on gas 90% of the time but make sure I give it a good peel on petrol every so often to make sure it still works as I’ve had dead fuel pumps and blocked filters on my old duel fuel AU aswell

[@Footrotflats251]

@@STREETMACHINETV be oxygen sensor failing, how many Ks to a tank do you get? I still got 500ks to 100$ of 91 at todays prices (highway) with a fucked o2 sensor, sensor got replaced when the gas converter got replaced, which the vialle ones are aparently shit and Set me back $650 alone 👀

[@Iswhatitisssss]

These gassys are good for one thing, hauling around the wheel barra and cement,until it shits itself then time for another one (Ute)

[@fo82rd12]

Was always my understanding that the green tops had thicker rods than a N/A barra. But they weren't as thick as the genuine BF or later turbo (FPV) rods.

[@mickeynismocat]

Same rod, he just told you that!

[@yeahna]

why would they manufacture 2 different rods with the same part no

[@grantreid8583]

@@yeahna The 2 rods he showed had differnt part numbers one started with a 1 the other a 3.

[@yeahna]

@@grantreid8583 bro... Watch the video again your original understanding was wrong anyway is the point

[@davidwindsor4632]

Barra Green top "Priceless" 🤣

[@shanekenny2390]

My BF series 3 2009 was dedicated LPG and it wasn't a green top. Was this usual for this model?

[@commodorenut]

Not unusual. Ford were using up whatever bits they had to keep the wagons in production for minimal cost. We had a heap of the early FG with mixer gas at work as company cars, up to October 2010 when they stopped producing them, expecting the LPi to be ready, but it wasn’t, not until August 2011 (I bought one of the first production LPis). We also had a few BF3 wagons from ‘09, and it puzzled me why 2 of them were standard BF silver top, like a petrol, but the other one, and all the early FGs were still green. Working for a supplier to Ford and FPV, as well as an R&D partner, I had ready access to the engineering team - a fantastic, talented bunch of people btw. When I asked about it, I was told there’s subtle differences in the FG vs BF (gas, not petrol- it had bigger changes) and the low volume of dedicated gas BF3s didn’t justify another minimum qty batch of a special part, when the plain one still in production would suffice.

[@shanekenny2390]

@@commodorenut Thanks for the reply. I had the wagon since 2012 and still going strong.

[@TheMichaelStephens]

Was good while it lasted for a heap of workshops to cash on tuning 10 cars a day with Gassy turbo conversions lol Now the issues are biting them in the ass it's not worth taking the work on.

[@theclinchdrive]

Green tops should be good for 500hp with a set of head studs, valve springs and oil pump gears surely.

[@nepntzerZer]

Good for 500hp but for how long?

[@SamBarnetby]

@0ne.p01nt.zer0 Zer0 Mines lasted a few months so far 😂 just over 500hp and gets a thrashing, hasn't missed a beat. Don't expect it to last forever obviously, that's what people need to understand.

[@deanmoser5907]

Honestly by the time you buy all the supporting parts to make good power throwing a bit more at putting some decent parts and a little machining into the engine isn't that much more. The old saying poor man pays twice comes to mind.

[@dontbestumped]

How much are Barra’s? Where can I get a barra in Canada I might do that instead of 2jz ge swap depending on prices

[@STREETMACHINETV]

There's a couple US Facebook groups where you can find them, but I'll be honest it'll be hard to beat the 2JZ in bang for buck, depending on what a GE block and crank costs there. Deck the GE out wth good rods, pistons, caps, etc and you'll have a very solid 2JZ.

[@Andrewdoesbass]

Would a 2003 green top be able to handle say 270kw, to 300kw? I would imagine for some people who already own thier car and arent looking for mental power they could still be a good option.

[@STREETMACHINETV]

Sure, if you know the condition of the engine, but buying a wrecking yard engine and just sending it to 500rwkw is going to end in tears

[@shoominati23]

It's the same green as the Sulo Bins 😂

[@scottmeoutofhere]

Im still doing it going for a 500hp patrol build

[@bruceyblowback8748]

Sweet.

[@jimclarke1108]

Im led to believe that all FGX's have stronger rods and other performance parts standard? I have a 2015 FGX😁

[@STREETMACHINETV]

Turbo maybe, not NA engines