My Muscle Car
AMC readers show us their pride and joy.
What is it? “My car is a 1973 LJ GTR Torana tted from new with XU-1 options.” When did you buy it? “I purchased it at the start of 2016.” Why did you buy it? “My father was a motor mechanic who owned a Daytona Bronze LC GTR. Every morning he would leave for work at 6am and when the car started it would shake all the windows in the house and wake me up. He built two carburettorfed turbo 179 engines for it, one was SU-fed and the other engine was Weber-fed. A trip in that car as a very young child paved the way for my expensive foray into muscle cars. My dad sold the GTR in 2007 under the proviso it would be used by the new owner for my sister’s wedding; he lived up to the arrangement.
“Initially I was going to buy a new (at the time) Gen-F HSV Clubsport. I had taken a new supercharged version for a drive and I was about to sign on the dotted line. The night before I bought the car I called the LC and LJ GTR/XU-1 encyclopaedia, Ian Jones, and asked him if he knew of any LC GTR Toranas for sale before I bit the bullet to buy the HSV. Ian told me about an LJ GTR which had just come up for sale, said it had all of the paperwork back to the day it was ordered and, more importantly, it was a matching numbers car. I was put in touch with the owner and when I laid eyes on the car it was as good as sold; it wasn’t the LC GTR I was after but I had to have it. I think this is apparent in the photo of me sitting in it when I rst saw it!”
What can you tell us about its life?
“The car is an October-built GTR which was delivered to its new owner in December 1973. The car is a bit of an anomaly, as the owner wanted an LJ GTR but wanted it to look like an XU-1! The car was ordered with an XU-1 spoiler, part number 2816152, which is listed on the Young and Green contract. The car was then delivered back to the same dealer in February 1974 where it was tted with XU-1 decals (the bill totalled $12.64!) and a week later it was sent to Jim Sullivan’s Road and Track in Newcastle West where a set of Globe Sprintmasters were tted. The car spent a majority of its life on the east coast, almost all of the yearly inspection sheets are still with the car so the history is undisputed. I tracked down one of the previous owners who now lives in New Zealand; I couldn’t believe it when he sent me a photo of three globe world centre caps which still live in his display case in the land of the long white cloud. I have tried in vain to reunite them with the car.
“The car as it appears in these photos is almost the same as the day it was delivered in 1973 to a ‘Ms L Peterson.’ The only difference is the carburettor, head, hydraulic clutch, fuel tank and rocker cover. I have all of the original parts to put it back to original now.”
Anything you would like to add?
“I have owned a lot of nice cars over the years from Brock Commodores, Mk1 Cortinas, Walkinshaws, numerous HSVs and the occasional Japanese marque. However, I have never met a greater group of people who have enabled me to return this car to its former glory. It has taken me on a journey where I have met wonderful people including the likes of Darryn Carr from LC to HZ Surround Restorations, Ian Jones and the owner of one of the rare V8 LJ XU-1 Toranas, Larry Kavanagh. In July 2017 I had the joy of having Bob Morris attend my home and drive the GTR to John Harvey’s commemorative 1976 Bathurst dinner (see AMC issues #95, #96 and #97). Reading Bob’s signature in the log book is quite surreal. Having spent time with Bob and talking to him about the days of racing his LJ, it is easy to see why he was so liked. I haven’t given up on the LC GTR just yet as I am sure the right car is out there but for now I am happy to have the LJ sleeping next to the VL 05 replica, which I will speak more about in another issue.”