Hello Norma Jean
The magni cent HT Monaro GTS displayed here with a 253ci V8 under the bonnet is owned by
Victorian Tony Connarty.
It’s Verdora Green in colour with Persian Gold stripes, a combo be tting an allAussie Monaro. Tony has owned it since 2007 and is the car’s second owner, having purchased it from its original owner, Howard Frankenberg, a former champion boxer. Frankenberg purchased it new from Watsons Holden in suburban Greensborough, Victoria back in 1969. It was treasured by the Frankenberg clan for some 38 years until it became too difficult for him to drive.
We can only imagine that being owned by a boxer was something of a theft deterrent. This despite it being packed with extra goodies from new, due to being a Watsons demonstrator. It left the dealership highly specced with the GTS 350’s suspension and exhaust, plus a radio. Howard tted the eight-track stereo a few months later.
Howard had the choice of three Verdora Monaros at Watsons – a GTS 186S, a GTS 253 and a GTS 350. His Dad was a taxi driver and advised him, if he was after a V8, to get the 253 for the fuel economy. Good advice!
The Monaro was in remarkably original spec when
Connarty bought it 12 years ago (see inset above left), but in need of some love to ensure it lived long into the future. The car got some love alright, in the form of a full resto.
“I began the resto just eight months after I bought it,” Connarty explained, “and it was off the road for two-anda-half years.” It would have taken much longer, Tony says, without the help he received from his mate Joe Edwards. When complete, Tony took the car to show Howard. “Howard was in tears. He and his family were really pleased it went to a good home.”
So what was Tony’s motivation for buying a GTS 253, when so many others are xated on owning a GTS 350, if they can afford one.
“I just wanted a Monaro. It didn’t matter if it was a six or a V8, I just wanted a Monaro. It ticked all the boxes for me. I love the cream-coloured, Sandalwood, interior.”
Tony has nicknamed his GTS 253 ‘Norma,’ a nod to his Aunty Norma. This ties in nicely with the fact many such coupes are dubbed ‘Marilyn,’ the stage name of a certain Hollywood siren whose real name was Norma Jean Baker.