LC TORANA
The earliest car memories I have are of GM vehicles that my folks owned, starting with an old Cresta that had the magic ribbon speedo that went from green to orange to red as speed increased — it was fascinating for a young fella.
The Vauxhall made way for a mint EH Holden, which was probably only five years old at the time. It was the family transport and hauled many tons of building materials over the Kaimais during the years the folks had it. It was the first car I tried to drive, too, aged about 10. That car made an impression, but, when I found a mint EH sedan with a 179 to buy at 15, I got steered by the folks into something less powerful (but boring!).
My love for the early Red motors continued through various mates’ cars, and, a few years later, I bought the most boring — but cheap — LC Torana on the planet: brown with a vinyl roof and an asthmatic 138 and three-speed. It quickly received a 186 backed by a Celica five-speed, a Yella Terra head, triple 45mm Dellorto carbs, and a TAM cam that let it rev to 8000rpm with ease. A great little sleeper that looked like a nana’s car but was anything but. block that ran 14 flat at 100mph on 185x14 Dunlop Aquajets through a whisper-quiet single two-inch exhaust. That car evolved over a few years, with the engine rebuilt and improved a few times and ultimately making 420hp, which was plenty for a daily-driver 30 years ago. A Jag fuel filler was grafted in the rear guard to stop the fuel stains on the left rear from the stock filler, and the rear was mini-tubbed to accept BF Goodrich 295s with ease despite being lowered front and rear. The car quickly gained a reputation for what would now be called ‘sustained loss of traction’ and was a blast to drive. It was a great street/strip car that was driven all over New Zealand, got into the high 12s at Thunderpark, and won best burnout awards at pretty much every eighth-mile event in the North Island as well as at the Blenheim ³/₁₆mile drags. The hot engine ended up in my T, with another 350hp 350 going into the HT, which became the daily-driver and tow car for a number of years.
It’s been all downhill over the past couple of decades, with a manual VS wagon being the last Holden I owned. While I still yearn for another HK/HT/HG, or even an HQ/HJ/ HX/HZ, I just can’t see it happening with the prices they are going for now.