HOLDEN HK-HG MONARO V8

HOLDEN'S RESPONSE TO THE FALCON GT BECAME AN INSTANT CLASSIC AND A BATHURST WINNER

Australians during the 1960s acquired a taste for glamorous cars but didn’t have one of their own until 1968 when Holden introduced the Monaro. It was based on the HK sedan, which in January of that year brought a handsome change to the Holden range with its flared wheel arches, ‘hipped’ rear quarters and plenty of glass.

Monaros, like other models in the HK range, could be bought with six-cylinder engines and column shift transmission, but rumbling V8s and four-speed transmission were the enthusiast preferences.

‘Bathurst Spec’ Monaros used a 5.3-litre, 327 cubic inch engine that wasn’t available in any other kind of Holden. For mainstream drivers though, there was a 307 cubic inch version with manual or two-speed Powerglide transmission.

Cost containment and the need to maximise Australian content saw the imported V8 replaced during the reign of the HT model by 4.2 and 5.0-litre versions of a new, all-Australian engine.

Passenger safety was important too, with the Monaro dash sloping dramatically away from occupants’ knees. Along the top ran crash padding, there was a collapsible steering column and three-point seat belts. GTS V8 Monaros had dual-circuit brakes with front discs. Tyres were cross-ply, rated to 125mph (202km/h), but with the exception of dedicated show cars, Monaros today will invariably have radials.

Other GTS features included front bucket seats, a sports steering wheel, limited-slip differential, tachometer and heater/demister. Among the options were power steering and under-dash air-conditioning.

HT models differed only marginally from the HK but did debut the first plastic grille fitted to a Holden, plus two-tier tail-lamp clusters with indicators that could be seen from side-on. Gone too was the restrictive strip speedometer, replaced by round dials in a revised instrument cluster that moved the tacho from the centre console to the dash.

Big news for buyers of the HG models was the introduction of Trimatic automatic transmission. Australian-made and with three ratios, the new transmission helped GM-H further contain costs and maximise local content.

Understeer was the HK-HG’s dominant handling trait and was exacerbated by a V8 engine’s extra weight. Learn the techniques needed to minimise understeer though and the big coupe could be hustled along very effectively, as proved by the third-place finish recorded by a GTS350 in the 1970 Ampol Round Australia Trial.

Modified Monaros are common and buyers do need to show caution. Back when HK-HG two-doors were a tenth of their current values, it didn’t matter much that a replacement motor might have come from a 1976 Kingswood. Today it does.

Any kind of alteration, including non-authentic paint and velour retrims, will hurt values, but not to the same extent as changes that give rise to compliance issues. Ensure that body or mechanical mods, even those undertaken decades ago, have been approved and ask to see engineering reports covering any significant changes.