Thom

You'd have to measure the length of the bore in a 302 and make sure the 289 had the same length

Depends on which 289 block, some 289 blocks the bottom of the bore that protrudes into the crankcase is shorter than in a 302 block, those blocks with the shorter bores putting a 302 crank in them is a bad idea let alone a 331 crank

Au gas had the same rods as other au engines, same comp ratio, a dizzy will fit straight in

Are you trying to set it up with locked timing or ecu control? If el uses timing as well as the isc to control idle then that might be giving you problems

It could be, I'm not in the position to say for sure as I never played with auto stuff back then, I do remember that a couple of people I knew that turned auto cars to 5 speed cars had all kinds of fuckey issues like that but I don't really remember the solution

Now that you mention this i seem to remember having similar problems with a mates xg when we put an el ecu in it, from memory the fix was to put an xh non bbm tps on, they read the same voltage as an ef/el tps but spin the opposite direction from a bbm equipped car,in short the log manifold tb opens the opposite direction from a bbm tb but i think (not 100% memory is a bit hazy) the el tps runs in a different range from the ed style and earlier

Blocking it off will be fine

I actually ran a bbm on an xh log ecu for a long time before I started playing with j3 chips and it ran really well

The tune will be fine without a bbm hooked up and below 3800rpm it should be the same as a non bbm tune, having an el ecu will let you fit a knock sensor if you desire to. As far as I remember (granted it was 10 years ago last time I played with fuel pressure) a base 4.0 tune has a 45psi fuel pressure reg and an xr6 has a 55psi fuel pressure reg set at idle with the vacuum source disconnected

Bigger brakes more easily, better handling and no modifications to sump/swaybar/crossmember for the barra

Other than the 289 not really

255 was a smog era us engine, I'd be surprised if there was any over here, apparently there's not a lot of parts interchangeability with regular 8.2 deck Windsors, but I've only ever read about those

221 260 and 289 all share the same stroke, the biggest problem with 221's and 260's is the small bore size doesn't let you get a decent size valve without being shrouded/running into the bore, the other problem with 221's and 260's is most them are of the 5 bolt bellhousing variety

A lot of e series stuff is a direct fit for xg/xh but there a a few bits an pieces that are different but most of the major mechanical components interchange

As Dean said any e series 6 cylinder 4 speed auto will bolt straight in an xh, gearbox for ef series 1 or earlier if you want a dipstick, an au auto will bolt in if you swap your xh/e series bellhousing onto it, the btr gearboxes can be beefed up quite easily with an electronic shift kit, and there are companies that do highstalls and aftermarket valve bodies, the biggest thing with a btr is (especially a performance orientated one) having a decent trans cooler and keeping regular maintenance on them

If going the turbo route you'd probably be better off sticking with the auto, I've broken plenty of t5's with n/a 4.0, but I used to be really hard on the equipment when I was younger, as far as manual conversion you do need an xh specific pedal box, and console insert tailshaft is the same auto to manual, that's the xh specific parts the rest can be from any e series eb to el, you'll need bellhousing, clutch, flywheel, pressure plate, cable, throw out fork, manual sandwich plate, spigot bearing, clutch cable (probably a good idea to brace the firewall too), manual gearbox loom (or modify the auto loom for your Speedo and reverse lights as well as bypass the neutral safety switch) you can either track down a manual ecu or get a j3 chip so it runs properly after the conversion

Gearshift is 30mm further back on an au box

Unleaded xflow and t5 xflow bellhousing are the same casting with the mounting holes drilled to suit whichever box was being used, I had one that was drilled to suit both but I would bet someone had done that,not the factory

The height may still be an issue with a 235 60 15, just for example here's a pic of one of my old ef's (same front suspension as xh) with 235 45 17 on 8x17' zero offset rim, the tyres were very close to the top ball joint with these, unfortunately I don't have any pics showing how close they are I just realised I had a typo in my previous post I meant to write 235 45 17 not 235 55 17

One thing you have to be careful of with an xh is that your front tyres aren't to tall or wide, the tyre has to go under the top ball joint (circled area in pic) on xh/e series front spindles Ive run 235 55 17 on the front of an xh and i dont think you would fit any wider tyres on stock offset wheels

The carb mount is angled so the carb sits flat when the engine is in the car, most rwd cars have the engine tilting 3-6 degrees backwards in stock form, although that one looks like it may have been machined further, was the manifold off a boat?

A minor upgrade you if you can modify a hq caliper to fit they have a 1/8th' bigger piston, the hq racers used a falcon rotor with a hq caliper with reasonable results

An old dizzy shaft with the gear removed works well

One thing to check, on a lpg converted car they tap into the injector wiring to shut them off when the system is on gas, sometimes the connection is dodgy or breaks, if you don't ever intend to run the car on lpg disconnect the wiring to the lpg lockoff and join the wires together, it Will bypass the log system and get the injectors firing no matter where the lpg switch is set

You will have to swap your xg bellhousing (The au bellhousing will bolt to the xg engine bit the bottom of the bellhousing won't mate up with the gearbox supports and unless the Au was also column shift it won't have the mounts for the shift selector), Speedo drive and gearshift indicator onto the Au box and it will go in