1973 HOLDEN LJ TORANA GTR XU-1

Ever since he was a young man, Brian Wong dreamed of owning an XU-1 — a dream solidified by his father purchasing an HQ over one. By the age of 25, he’d managed to save enough to purchase this ’73 LJ Torana GTR XU-1, which turned out to be a rare Bathurst edition. Its ‘dream car’ status didn’t deter Brian from driving the Torana daily, though, and since purchasing it in the mid ’70s, it’s been used as a daily driver and family hauler, with a massive list of stories to go with it. One involves him having been transferred to Gisborne for work, soon after the birth of his second child, and he’d commute from Gisborne to Auckland — and back — during his holidays. That’s a drive that some might be game to undertake once a year in a car this rare and desirable, but to do so with any sort of frequency is something else! Being as rare as it is now, Brian doesn’t drive it anywhere near as frequently as he used to, but he’s never been one to shy away from standing on the loud pedal and lstening to noise that can only be made by three Stromberg carbs at wide-open throttle. Check out the full feature on The Motorhood, by searching ‘Brian Wong’.