Welcome to Monaros and Me

I have since done other modifications as follows: - airconditioning (ex an HX so original style, though the control panel is an HX one too with international symbols; removed vinyl roof (could not get replacement of the same type which was Ford LTD anyway); power steering; Pioneer stereo; Yella Terra head, Crane roller rockers, extractors.

My love of them started in the late sixties; my younger brother David and I used to have a competition to spot the Monaros viewable from the bus on our way to school!
In September 1973 my parents were looking to buy a new car (the exact same month my MANG-01 was being built in Melbourne, spookily enough). I tried to convince my Dad on a dark green LS Monaro at United Motor's yard on North East Rd. (near the Greenacres Shopping Centre) rather than the '71 Silver Kingswood sedan he eventually bought. Even though he rejected the idea of the coupe, citing the long heavy doors as being impractical (he was a milkman and the car would be towing a trailer laden with heavy milk bottles, and he would be getting in and out regularly during the night) I always thought he had a gleam of desire for it in his eye (I must ask him one day!).
The closest then I got to one (before I eventually bought MANG-01 in '79) was a mate's Dad's HK GTS (186) in which we were ferried about a few times (wonder where that is now? It was white but had an electric blue painted roof with matching side strips low on the sides).

Monaro is named after the country near the NSW Victoria border, not too far from Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory (I stayed in the Monaro Motel in Canberra in 1985, with my Monaro parked out the front of my room, of course). It's name is from the local aboriginal language and means high ground or even woman's breast! This may explain the voluptuously curved bodywork?

The cars themselves started with the HK series and were essentially two door coupe versions of the then current Holden sedans, with lower rooflines and pillarless side construction requiring stronger underbody stiffening. They were released in June 1968, six months after the other HK models (sedans, wagons, utilities and panel vans). A luxury sedan called Brougham was also released at the same time but was not especially successful, unlike the new coupes.
Very soon after it's release Monaros went on to win the famous Bathurst 500 mile race in 1968 and repeated the win in 1969.
Engines varied initially from 161 c.i. inline 6 cylinders through to imported 327 c.i./5.4 litre Chevrolet V8s (Monaro GTS327). The latter was replaced for the second model (HT) with a 350 c.i./5.7 litre version. The third model (HG) was mostly remarkable for the debut of the Aussie-built Trimatic autobox. The sixes were increased in size in mid 1971 (HQ - yeah!) for the second generation shape to 173/2.8l, though the 202/3.3l was more commonly fitted especially to the new LS model (Luxury Sports?, no-one knows for sure what it meant) which my two were built as.
In mid 1973 a four door sedan known as GTS/4 was added to the range, the better to compete with Ford's Falcon GT, which had until 9 months before been only available that way (in September of the year before a pillarless coupe known as Falcon Hardtop was launched, presumably to compete with the Monaro - it was no competition for style!!).
The debut of the HJ series at the end of 1974 saw rationalisation back to the sedan and 2 coupe models with the base coupe and 350 engine shelved. The coupe's tail styling was not altered to match the sedan's new design indicating the end was in sight. This as good as came when the HX model arrived with only a sedan and a special run of 600 LE (for Limited Edition?) coupes. The sedan continued into the final short wheelbase model based on HQ, that is the HZ (with Z being the last letter of the alphabet and the HZ being the last "H-something" model, finally the code meant something!) but the name Monaro was not used, merely GTS.
Of course, now the Monaro is back!

You will see where I get my email address from, check out the blue one's green and yellow (personalised) rego plates below!

I am a member of the Monaro Car Club of South Australia. These pages now include some pictures of Club events and articles that I have written for them.