Power Figure
Street Machine Magazine|May 2020
Engineer warwick bryce served at the gm-h coalface for over three decades, helping to develop many of holden’s most beloved engines and associated technology
Warwick Bryce
Power Figure

Retired Holden engineer Warwick Bryce masterminded plenty of GM-H’s engine tech and made its V8s go. We caught up with him to get the lowdown on his career – and the truth about those ‘cop chips’.

How did your tenure at Holden begin?

I started there in 1973 in what was called Experimental Engineering. There were body and wheels and shock absorbers and latches [departments], but my interest was in engines. I got my foot in the door, and once you’ve done that you look around and see where you can go. You follow your interest, and mine was in engines.

When did you begin on engines?

After about a year. We worked in areas known as ‘downstairs’ and ‘upstairs’. The design blokes were upstairs and they designed the parts to be tested and sent them downstairs to Experimental Engineering, where the team would decide what tests to do. I was on the six-cylinder. We had red motors then; it was the time of the HJ, and the LX Torana was also in the pipeline.

The 1970s, smog control – not a good time!

I was working on the carburettor and the ignition calibration. I was working on the first serious emissions version of the red motor [compliant for the new exhaust rules of the late 1970s]. It was already in production, but it needed a fair bit of fixing up for the HZ Holdens.

The later blue motor seemed to fix a lot of that.

Yes, next we worked on the blue motor with the 12-port head, the counterweighted crank and the two-barrel carby. I had a fair bit to do with it. I was in Design by then, and we worked with the drawing office – the draughtsmen – to design such things as the inlet manifolds and the cylinder ports and so on. I worked on the cylinder heads and manifolds mainly.

This was the dawn of the ‘high-tech’ 1980s, too.

Denne historien er fra May 2020-utgaven av Street Machine Magazine.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra May 2020-utgaven av Street Machine Magazine.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA STREET MACHINE MAGAZINESe alt
ROYAL CARRIAGE
Street Machine Australia

ROYAL CARRIAGE

BENNY ROYAL TOOK A FAMILY HEIRLOOM TOYOTA CORONA, SHOVED A 1JZ IN IT AND HEADED OFF FOR FIVE DAYS OF DRAG-AND-DRIVE

time-read
2 mins  |
July 2024
DEBUT TOUR
Street Machine Australia

DEBUT TOUR

WITH A SCREAMING HOLDEN SIX, DEAN TROUNSON'S HOME-COOKED HR STEERS WITH THE BEST OF 'EM

time-read
3 mins  |
July 2024
FULLY FRANKED
Street Machine Australia

FULLY FRANKED

A SNEAKY 670 HORSES OF FRANK MARCHESE POWER MAKES ROB GORGIEVSKI'S CONCOURS XW A PROPER TREAT

time-read
4 mins  |
July 2024
NOMADIC LIFESTYLE
Street Machine Australia

NOMADIC LIFESTYLE

DON'T BE FOOLED BY ITS DEMURE APPEARANCE THIS '57 CHEVY NOMAD IS A RAUNCHY RESTOMOD PACKING MODERN MUMBO

time-read
4 mins  |
July 2024
PERFECT 10 '!!!!
Street Machine Australia

PERFECT 10 '!!!!

THE SYDNEY HOT ROD & CUSTOM AUTO EXPO TURNS 10

time-read
3 mins  |
July 2024
VAN WILDER
Street Machine Australia

VAN WILDER

PETER MARRIOTT BUILT THIS TOUGH, 350 CHEV-POWERED HK PANEL VAN IN TRIBUTE TO THE LONG-LOST HT VAN OF HIS YOUTH

time-read
4 mins  |
July 2024
EXPRESS DELIVERY
Street Machine Australia

EXPRESS DELIVERY

IF YOU'VE ever been to the Bright Rod Run (and you damn well should've), odds are you've seen Joel Beatson lapping in an early Falcon.

time-read
4 mins  |
July 2024
RED HOT & BLUE
Street Machine Australia

RED HOT & BLUE

A REBORN PROGM8 SHOOTS FOR THE TITLE OF AUSTRALIA'S BEST SHOW-AND-GO COMMODORE

time-read
4 mins  |
July 2024
PEOPLE LIKE US
Street Machine Australia

PEOPLE LIKE US

WHEN Michael Gonzalez isn't busy making eight-second passes in CHOCTOP, his street-driven, LSA-fed VC Commodore, or cruising one of the many other cars in his collection, he can be found managing Springmount Raceway, home to Far North Queensland's biggest horsepower hoedown, Northern Nats (see p. 48 for full feature).

time-read
2 mins  |
July 2024
DRIVING INNOVATION
Street Machine Australia

DRIVING INNOVATION

EVER WISH YOU COULD HAVE A BRAND-NEW VERSION OF AN ICONIC 1970s AUSSIE MUSCLE CAR, FULL OF THE LATEST TECH? DRIVE SOUTH IS WORKING TO MAKE THAT A REALITY

time-read
2 mins  |
July 2024