WHAT AUSSIE LUXO MONSTERS

of the 1970s and 80s would I want lurking in my shed?

I can immediately think of one I wouldn’t touch with a barge pole.

The Ford Landau. A mate bought one in the early 80s cos it was cheap.

Should have been named the Land Yacht for its seasick inducing soft, wafting ride. There was little if any connection between the steering wheel and front end, so navigating a road was all about sawing away on the tiller and heading in the general intended direction. With a 351 in its snout it did have a good turn of grunt if you were game. The interior in my mate’s was awful.

It looked like a bordello and was as cheap and tasteless as the exterior.

But there is one two-door luxo I’d happily park in the drive. The 770 Charger. It sat at the top of the range. Oddly it was the only one to get a V8 powerplant, while the race version had to tackle Mt Panorama and GT-HO Falcons with two less cylinders. I really like the look of the Charger and the 318ci Mopar V8 under its bonnet gives it true performance cred. From what I recall it offered a semi-sporty ride and reasonable levels of handling. It had all the fruit inside, including aircon and cassette player all standard.

And I’d have to have an HDT Magnum. After all it’s a Brock and one of the first models to be fettled by his famed HDT outfit, with acres of room inside and its exterior square styling carried through to the interior. HDT added more urge to the 308ci, made the auto shift slicker and tied down the corners so its handling didn’t scare its occupants witless.