Greaser wrote:

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https://www.automobilemag.com/news/australias-american-muscle-cars/

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Who wrote that tripe! Lots of incorrect information on that page. Will try and address it when I get a chance. 

Ive commented where the text is wrong. Ive quoted their text.

Muscle cars are seen as an American phenomenon, but for a time in the 1960s and '70s, our fellow former colonists in Australia caught the muscle car bug as well. Popularity of the Australian Touring Car Championship racing series, as well as draconian right-hand-drive laws, led the American Big Three to develop a series of muscle cars designed exclusively for the Australian marketa rush that was nearly cut off at the knees after the "Supercar Scare" of 1972. Here's how Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler responded to the Australian need for speed.

The cars that this article are referring to had not much to do with the ATCC, which was Group C Improved Production racing starting in 1965 and up until the end of 1972. Only the Holen GTS327 was originally aimed at this series of racing. Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_C_(Australia). This series had a mix of local and imported vehicles that were modified for the class. It was a combination of Mustang, Camaro, Ford Falcon, Holden Monaro and others. Two notable cars of North American interest were the Kar-Kraft Boss Mustang (a proper Transam racer driven by Canadian ex-pat Alan Moffat) and a ZL1 Camaro driven by Bob Jane. There were no draconian right hand drive laws either like any British Colony the vehicles are right hand drive.

The cars were not designed exclusively for Australia either. The GT Falcons were sold in South Africa just named differently. Monaros were CKD exported from Australia and assembled and sold in South Africa as both Holden and as Chevrolet SS, using the same 350 engines used in Australia. The export market for GMH was huge in the later 60's and early 70's, selling all over the word including Hawaii, Jamaica and in Europe. GMH even had a Holden assembly plant in Trinidad building CKD cars. Every now and again watching TV shows shot in Africa, like the second last season of Homeland you spot a Holden, in this case a HR Holden utility. Here is a an article about the South African SS and GT Falcon, plus another about the Perana:

https://www.tradeuniquecars.com.au/feature-cars/1712/south-african-spec-exports-holden-monaro-chev-ss-and-ford-xy-gt

https://www.tradeuniquecars.com.au/feature-cars/1412/perana-mk2-cortina-ford-perana-capri-ford-perana-granada-review

GMH (General Motors Holdens Limited) had developed a race ready EH Holden in 1963 to race in Group E (also called Series Production as a factory team https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_E_Series_Production_Touring_Cars). However the clarification of the GM Corporate ban on racing in 1963 killed it off at least as a factory effort. It was raced privately in the big 500 mile race called the Armstrong 500 and ran second behind a Ford Cortina GT.

The next year (1964) the new GMH Tech Centre built in Victoria and the first new project to be designed was the HK Holden for 1968 release. Part of the HK Series was the new coupe which later in the piece was called the Monaro. Part of this range was to be a car that was initially called the GTS Special and was aimed at Group C Improved Production racing. It was to be fitted with a 4 barrel 327, which for 1965 was a 230hp engine, so then for Group C it could be fitted with any 327 that GMH could source from the likes of Traco. This car was the first Australian Muscle Car along the theme of the Pontiac GTO. It was the identical theme of the first GTO. It was a mid-size coupe, V8 pulled from the full size car (GMH assembled and sold the full size Pontiac Parisienne and Chevrolet Impala with the same 4BBL 327), it was a 4 speed manual with dual exhaust. Its styling was all John Schinella who those in North America will know for many cars such as the 1977 Pontiac Transam Firebird and the Corvette Mako Shark. Bill Mitchell (GM Chief of Styling and Vice President of Design) had a big interest in the car.

Ford got wind of what GMH were doing via corporate spies, and misinterpreted it, thinking GMH were building a car to race in Group E. So they took their standard 4 door XR Falcon fitted with the 4BBL 225hp 289 Windsor and 4spd manual from I believe a Police only option and made 500 of them in mostly one colour. They entered this car in the 1967 500 mile race and won. It was a fantastic car for its time, but it was no Muscle Car.

GMH took notice of the 1967 Group E win. The HK Monaros were due for release in July 1968. So at the very last minute (around April 1968) the Monaro GTS327 suspension was tweaked to be race ready so it could be competitive in Group E, and a deal was made at the Monaro Press Release in July 1968 with a Sydney based race team headed by Davis McKay to front a 100% factory backed race team hidden in plain sight as the Holden Dealer Racing Team (HDRT). The new HK Monaro GTS327 dominated the Group E races this year. Ford had their new XT GT which was now a 302 Windsor with 230hp, but it was no match whatsoever for the 250hp GTS327 which in blueprinted form was pulling a few more hp. By the end of lap 6 of the 130 lap race the Fords were not even in sight. Due to their larger fuel tanks the Holdens could do the race in 3 pit stops for fuel, the Fords had to do 4 stops. Due to the rules the stops were very slow, like 2-3 minutes as Jerry cans and factory wheel braces and jacks had to be used. After the remaining Holdens 3^rd stops one Ford was briefly in front in the race before it blew a radiator, but in reality it had another stop to do so even if it kept going it would have not even been on the same lap as the winning Holdens. 4 of the top 5 were GTS327s, plus one car that was disqualified for a trumped-up reason, was later exonerated but was never re-instated into the records it actually won the race. So that is 5 of the top 6. A whitewash. THIS is Australias Muscle Car.

For 1968, the redesigned XT-series Falcon GT got a 5.0-liter V-8 that routed 230 horsepower through a close-ratio four-speed transmission. The XW-series Falcon GT HO adopted the Cleveland 351 cid (5.8-liter) V-8 with 290 horsepower. In 1971, the XY-series Falcon was released. The GT-HO version now featured a shaker hood scoop, and while Ford claimed 300 horsepower, gearheads Down Under pin the engine's true output well north of 350 horsepower.

Following having their pants pulled down in the 1968 races the XW Series saw Ford design a radial new car, which they called the GT-HO. If there was to be a sedan Muscle Car in Australia, this was it, or at least the first of them! The standard GT still existed but the GT-HO had a special 351 Windsor engine with about 300hp plus a load of other tweaks to make the car an endurance race winner. It was a no cost spared, win at all costs car Ford didnt have a Corporate Memorandum banning racing. It had a cartoon Kangaroo on the front guards and was often called a Super-Roo very much reminiscent of the Super Bee and Road Runner decals on Mopar products (Google Super Roo). The XW GT-HO for 1969 was partially designed by Harry Firth for Ford (Harry drove the Ford GT Cortina to victory in the big Armstrong 500 race in 1963 and the XR GT Falcon in 1967 in the Gallagher 500). Harry Firth was shown the door by Ford as they wanted a different direction, but they didnt build the car as radical as Harry designed. In a big twist, GMH hired Harry the head their new HDT (Holden Dealer Team) in 1969 and it was his modifications to the GMH HT GTS350 Monaro for 1969 that made it a success. The GTS350 ran a 1969 300hp L48 engine, blueprinted good for about 330hp. In the Hardie-Ferodo 500 in 1969 (same race as before, different sponsor) the HDT cars (3 car team) sported stickers on the rear bar stating Hooroo Super Roo and GT Ho-Ho poking fun at a car that he deemed inferior to what he designed. Come the race, the HDT Monaros finished 1^st and 3^rd with a private GT-HO splitting them. Ford fans carry on with garbage that had they not used race rubber they would have won. In fact the fastest and most powerful GTS350 Monaro ran the same rubber as the GT-HOs and it finished 6^th. The top three cars all ran Michelin XAS radials. So all cars were on a level playing field and the best prepared cars won.

The next GT-HO still in the XW model was termed the PhaseII and ran an imported 351 Cleveland. The Cleveland 351 when used in a standard GT ran a stock imported M code 4V engine as far as I know. However Ford Australia hand built solid lifter versions for the GT-HO that were reported to be good for about 330hp standard, a real weapon of the day. It was an obvious hand-built race car. Ford people tell you this car would have wiped the floor of Monaros (which GMH had retired from racing) however that is just typical Ford hysteria. In fact the 1970 500 mile race was slower in qualifying lap times, race lap times and total race time despite the 1969 race having a very long yellow flag period at the start due to a big crash on the first lap. The PhaseII was a very fast car, but clearly not as good a race car for Mount Panorama as the original XW GT-HO. GMH had prototyped a 1970 HG GTS350 with an LT1 360-370hp engine (called Old Man Emu), but it also would have meant using a Muncie 4spd, 12 bolt rear end and they also had trialled oil cooled brakes for the car (today can be seen on the 1969 Holden Hurricane concept car). All far too expensive for a Manufacturer who was banned from racing. On top of this, the end of the 300hp L48 and the LT1 in 1970 guise was coming in July 1970 with the end of 1970 GM vehicle production so access to factory high performance engines was ending. GMH did not want to build local engines like Ford was doing for the 351 Clevelands the GT-HO was prohibitively expensive compared to a GTS350 running a production engine. So GMH built the much cheaper Torana XU1. It was a tiny little car built from a Vauxhall Viva sporting a 160hp 186ci 6 cylinder engine with triple carburettors. It was light, nimble, good on fuel and did go well. It only weighed about 2400lbs. It almost pulled Fords pants down in the 500 mile race in 1970. GMH had skimped on valves and the HDT cars failed. The private XU1 that ran 3^rd was on the same lap as the GT-HOs (some published results have this wrong) that came first and second and both were starting to fail, race reporters of the day stated that another 3-4 laps and the little Torana would have won.

The XY GT-HO PhaseIII for 1971 was the pinnacle of these cars. It had a less cranky engine but was a weapon. There is a lot of bullshit published about the cars, but they were super fast. The standard car was rev limited to 6150rpm and was tested at around 14.7s quarter mile in standard form. They must have had in the vicinity of 330-340hp standard. There wasnt much competition, the car won the 500 mile race easily in 1971 but in 1972 it was beaten by the new LJ XU1 Torana which was basically the same car as the 186ci XU1 but with a 190hp 202ci 6 cylinder engine.

Nineteen seventy-two was a big year for the Australian Falcon: While Ford of Australia had influenced design changes since the mid-60s, the '72 XA-series Falcon was the first all-Australian model. The Falcon GT was finally offered as a two-door coupe, with the 300 (alleged) horsepower 351-ci V-8 as the top engine choice. (This was the Falcon best known to the world, thanks to a '73 GT that had a starring role in the film Mad Max. Several have made it to the States.) The hottest of the hot was the GT HO0-60-mph in 6.4 seconds and a 142-mph top speed, making it the fastest 1972 four-door in the world. But Australian interest in muscle cars cooled rapidly after 1972 (for reasons we'll explore below), and the Falcon GT was discontinued after 1973.

The XA Falcon is very much  like a cancelled HQ Holden design. No idea how Ford got it, but here it is in early styling in the GMH Tech Centre in 1965. The thing to the right of it is the seating buck for HT Holden coupe. Compare to a standard XA falcon sedan in the next picture.

The XA GT Falcon ran a standard 4V Cleveland 300hp 351ci engine. Ford had planned an XA GT-HO PhaseIV but only built one car with three regular GTs destined to be factory race cars being built to Phase IV specs. The Supercar scare of 1972 saw the PhaseIV cancelled along with GMHs V8 XU1 which was basically to be a 1972 LJ XU1 with a 250hp 308ci V8 engine. GMH built 3 of these cars from a lower spec GTR destined to be the race team cars just like Ford built 3 cars from lower spec GTs. All of this meant 1972 was to be the last year of Group E Series Production as it stopped manufacturers from building high performance road cars. The new combined Group C for 1973 allowed cars to be modified so standard cars did not need to be weapons. That whole garbage statement about the fastest 4 door sedan in the world is a myth perpetuated by Ford people. The reference is to the XY GT-HO PhaseIII. In the Sun-Herald on 22^nd August 1971 Evan Green wrote "on a dollar for dollar basis it is probably the best performing four-door car in the world". Somehow that got Chinese Whispered over time into the fastest four door in the world. Maybe modified it might be, like with the rev limiter removed and a different rear axle ratio to standard. The 1966 Coronet street Hemi sedans would eat a standard PhaseIII for breakfast in ¼ mile, 0-100mph and top speed. So too would a 1969 Mercedes 300 SEL 6.3. So too would an L79 powered Nova sedan.

 The infamous cross-town rivalry between Ford and General Motors didn't end at the Detroit city limitsor even at the International Date Line. Ford's success with the Falcon GT did not go unnoticed, and for 1968, GM's Holden division revealed its own muscle-coupe based on the new HK-series Monaro. The GTS 327 had a Chevrolet-sourced 5.4-liter V-8 rated for 250 horsepower. In the spring of '69, the Monaro was facelifted (now known as the HT-series) and the GTS 350 arrived with a 300-horsepower 5.7-liter V-8. Like the Falcon, the Monaro GTS 3xx cars were equipped with a heavy-duty suspension and bigger brakes.

Some of this is right, but the GTS327 didnt get bigger brakes, only the GTS350.

The HG-series Monaro, introduced in 1971, had a reduced emphasis on performancethe GTS 350 was now down to 275 horsepower. The manual transmission was dropped for 1974, and when the facelifted version appeared the following year, the 350 was no longer on the option list. Holden wasn't done with muscle cars; it had simply found a new formula.

It was the HQ that was introduced in 1971. It was a re-purposed North American model finished in Australia, possibly a 1970 Beaumont. The engine power wasnt down for any GMH purpose, it was simply that the 1971 L48 engine in the USA had dropped compression for ULP, the power dropped to 275hp. Same 4BBL 350ci engine though, just with 75cc heads and dished pistons. GMH had planned to use the 400ci SBC for the HQs replacement late in 1974 (which was the HJ Holden) however the power output on the unleaded 400 was so low it was dropped. The local 308ci V8 was upgraded for HJ to 250hp SAE Gross (ie was 240hp advertised for HT, HG and HQ Holden but only 227hp SAE Gross).

The formula worked, with XU-1s proving quicker on the track than the Monaro. For 1972, Holden increased the engine's size and upped output to 190 horsepower, while further improving the suspension and steering. Holden sold around 1,600 XU-1s between 1972 and 1974. Holden also built an experimental V-8-powered Torana called the XU2, but the production costs were too high, and the threat of legislation against high-speed cars loomed large.

Rubbish. The Torana was never faster than the Monaro. On tight circuits it was a more effective race car. Tyre technology is what saw the lap times reduce, not better cars. Harry Firth did not want the Torana. He wanted to keep running the V8 Monaro, and worked on some lightweight HG V8 GTSs with local GMH 308ci V8. It was GMH who wanted the Torana as it was cheaper, and didnt use imported engines. The V8 LJ Torana was not called XU2, it was simply called V8 XU1. The XU2 was the RPO code for the 1974 LH Torana race car, the code was dropped and the car was simply referred to by its engine RPO code which was L34 (the same code used for the 327ci engine in HK Holden).

Even so, when the Torana was redesigned (TA-series) in 1974, it finally got the V-8 it wanted, a 240-horsepower 5.0-liter (308 cid) engine developed by Holden. Hottest of these was the 1977 Torana A9X, effectively a homologation special. These cars are rare today and exceptionally valuable.

Garbage. The TA Torana was a 4 cylinder car. The LH Torana was much larger car, and it was this car that got a 308ci (5.0L) advertised 240hp engine (227hp SAE Gross). The only car to get the 5.0L engine was called the SLR5000. GMH had designed the XU2 LH Torana to be released with the rest of the Series but held it back, and dropped the XU2 name. It simply became the SLR5000 optioned with L34 engine. The L34 engine was a homologation engine, incorporating what needed to remain in place for the new Group C racing regulations. So it had flat top pistons for 9.8:1 compression, big valve heads, stronger rods, modified intake manifold, little short headers plus a dual point, dual coil distributor and roller rockers. It ran the standard tiny hydraulic camshaft, standard Quadrajet and standard exhaust after the first joint. Group C allowed for changes to camshaft, carburetion and exhaust after the first joint. The L34 option also came with larger brakes front and rear off the bigger HQ Holden and 14 Pontiac RallyeII rims (made locally). This car was a very effective race car, failing in the Bathurst 1000 (kM) race in 1974 but dominating in 1975 and 1976. The LX Torana A9X of late 1977 was NOT the hottest! It was a dead standard, pollution strangled engine. It was simply a homologation special for rear disc brakes and a stronger rear axle plus a few other tweaks.

Im not that good on Chrysler stuff, but the VH E38 and E49 were very fast cars, with proper development could have been race winners. The 340ci engine used in the VH E55 cars, some were older 1969 engines with over 10:1 compression and these were weapons but were auto only and single exhaust. These were very fast even with a dual exhaust added.

Why did the muscle car era in Australia fade so quickly? Ironically, it was the Ford Falcon GT, the car that began the muscle car craze, that helped to bring it to an end. A photo in the October 1971 issue of Wheels magazine showed the dashboard of a Falcon GT at 6,700 rpm and 100 mphbut it soon came out the photo had been retouched, and in fact the car was in fourth gear going 140-mph-plus. The Sun-Herald newspaper published an article that Ford, Holden, and Chrysler would soon be building street-legal homologation specials that could do 160 mph.

The car in that October 1971 Wheels magazine wasn't at 6700rpm, the tacho was out by 500rpm. They state this in the article on page 27. It was on the rev limiter at 6150rpm when the photo was taken. They state 141.4mph at 6150rpm. Pretty damn quick! 0-100mph in 15.2s with the standard 3.25:1 gears. 14.7s quarter mile, by the 0-100mph times you'd imagine the trap speed at the end of the quarter would be close to 98mph which given the weight of the car of 3360lbs (say 3700lbs with two passengers as this is how Wheels tested them) a trap speed calculator shows about 330hp. The 160mph figure that the Press touted might be happening soon wouldnt have been possible probably with the XA GT-HO as it didnt have more power than the PhaseIII, but it was a more streamlined shape. The LJ Torana with a 300hp 308ci V8 engine would have been able to do it. Harry Firth tested one of the older LC XU1 HDT race cars with a stock 308ci engine at Easter 1972 at a sports sedan race at Mount Panorama, Bathurst. It was 6 seconds a lap faster than the Series Production LJ XU1s. On the drive to Bathurst for the race Harry reported the V8 car being driven by a young Larry Perkins disappearing into the distance. Harry was in a GTS350 Monaro doing 135mph and the Torana left it behind like it was standing still. A very small car, small frontal area, very low weight and a 230-odd hp V8, no wonder it was quick! Ford knew they could never compete with this car with a Falcon. Street machine magazine published internal Ford documents in the past 10 years detailing Ford Australia's plans to put a V8 into a Ford Cortina to compete with the Torana. However the Supercar scare killed off those plans.

Classic Australian Muscle Cars

• Ford Falcon GT: Four- (and later two-) door muscle car with V-8 power

• Holden Monaro GTS: Short-lived V-8-powered response to the Falcon GT

• Holden Torana GTR: Compact car with straight-six power

• Chrysler Valiant Charger: Latecomer with triple-barrel six-cylinder and V-8 engines

• Holden Sandman: Car-based panel truck with V-8 power

• Holden Commodore: '80s revival of the V-8 powered performance car

   

  GTS wasnt short lived. It ran from 1968 through to 1979. It WAS NOT a response to the Falcon GT. The GTS was first penned in 1965 years before Ford even thought about building a GT. The GT was built BECAUSE of the upcoming GTS327.

  Holden Sandman wasnt a panel-truck with V8 power. The Sandman was a sports appearing variant of the Holden Utility and Holden Panel van. It ran the fluted front guards, Rally Rims and sports dash of the GTS. But in standard form it was a 173ci 6cyl 118hp optioned with 4spd manual and bucket seats in either utility form or panel van form. It was NOT a Muscle Car in any way, shape or form.

  Holden Commodore was not a performance car. It was standard initially with a 173ci 6cyl engine, and optional with 202ci 6 cylinder, or 253 or 308ci V8 engines. Just a normal family sedan. There were special racing homologation versions made, but they generally werent badged as a Holden, built by HDT.

-- Edited by HK1837 on Monday 7th of September 2020 11:44:48 PM