HOLDEN TORANA LX SS V8
THE LX MARKED THE DEBUT OF THE MUCH LOVED TORANA HATCH. GOOD ORIGINAL CARS ARE HARD TO FIND AS MANY BECAME L34 CLONES OVER TIME.
Holden’s V8-engined Torana arrived at a time when the world was turning against fuel-guzzling cars and overt displays of performance. Well, parts of the world anyway.
Big cars with V8 engines were decidedly on the outer but Holden was a beneficiary of the belief that the size of a car rather than the capacity of its engine increased fuel consumption. The Torana seemingly provided a more socially-acceptable platform for local V8 engines than other, physically bigger Holdens.
All kinds of LH Toranas could be fitted with V8 engines but only the SLR5000 and purpose-built L34 came with the full-on 5.0-litre motor. Fast forward to 1976 and the arrival of an LX model upgrade which brought to the range a quite unexpected hatchback.
The three-door Torana was lighter than the sedan and in A9X race-spec used a different rear floor-pan pressing to accommodate a beefier differential and rear disc brakes.
Both versions of the Australian-built V8 engine were made available to SS Torana buyers, as was the 3.3-litre six cylinder engine. At a time when Aussie-made hatchbacks were non-existent - the Leyland Force 7 having been boned along with the company - the three-door Torana opened high to reveal a small and insecure boot area which could be extended by laying the back seat flat.
Adding versatility was the widely-publicised ‘hatch hutch’; a tent-like arrangement that could fill the gap left when the hatch was open and allow the rear area to be used for sleeping. Most buyers, it seems, preferred to camp in a conventional tent.
Inside the SS cabin, almost everything was bland and made of plastic. The seats were flat and slippery and flimsy enough for the backs to bend and frames to crack without much abuse at all.
The SS Hatch was meant to stand out from the mob without going to the extremes explored by the SLR/5000 or L34. Look past the grille with its monster ‘SS’ centerpiece and there were no spoilers or wheel arch flares, just a ducktail lip to the spoiler. The plastic hubcaps were styled to look moderately sporty and inside was a cluster of instruments including a tachometer.
The SS wasn’t cheap though, with manual 5.0-litre cars costing $7275 in 1976 and the six-cylinder at $6088. Over time, and with realisation growing that A9X Hatchbacks were very hard to find, many SS owners did succumb and add A9X guard flares, the reverse bonnet scoop and long-range ‘drop’ fuel tank that would transform their cars into ‘lookalikes’.
These additions in times past did add some value to an otherwise stock SS. However, as demand for authentic cars has grown, their perceived desirability is diminishing.
More disastrous are alterations that are more difficult to reverse. Chucking the horrible old seats in favour of some shapely rally buckets, changing the colour-scheme or dumping the correct engine all have consequences for people trying to sell a now very valuable car.