Great video. I love your white SL/R 5000, not a colour you see that often. I've owned my 1974 unrestored white genuine LH SL/R 5000 so I'm a little biased. My paint is a bit rough but mechanically, she still drives nicely with the original engine and quadrajet carby. We have similar plates too, mine have been on for over 40 years and are white on black also, but Victorian plates which read LH 308. Your car has inspired me to consider a rebuild.
My father would receive a company car every couple of years and one of my favourites things was when he came home with a new car. The time he came home with a Torana was my favourite car. I am not sure the type, it was in the 1970s probably 1973 to 1975, I was fairly young 4 to 5. But I do remember it was fast and noisy which was lots of fun riding in the back seat. I think it was green in colour. One of the things back then was the choice of colours in the exterior paint and interior. I remember my father coming home with the brochures to decide on the colour. It was never boring like cars these days 5-6 colours. There was hundreds of colours and so much choices. Our cars have more tech nowadays and creature comforts but in terms of the paint and interior choices they had a lot more. Great video and club.
Holden's Torana: A basic car, perfectly done, Stir in performance, via a straight-six or a V8, plus the necessary bits and you have one of the most respected, feared and balanced muscle cars the world has ever seen.
Very cool video. So much love goes in to these beautiful cars. My 10 yo believes the LX SLR is the best car ever made. So the passion will live on long after we are gone. We are absolutely custodians of these machines.
The love for the Torana summed up perfectly great Video , Ive owned 18 Torana's Still have my favourite the ugly duckling UC had it from the age 16 Im 43 now.
Great story . I have owned a genuine 1972 Holden Torana LJ GTR XU1 and a genuine 1974 Holden Torana LH SLR 5000 . Unless you have owned one of these and especially the 5000 you wouldn't know that they were the most wonderful drivers car you could buy at the time . Out of all the vehicles I have owned I only regret selling the 5000 and a 1978 Ducati Black and gold 900 SS .They were not perfect as no vehicles are but GOD I loved them. Thankyou.
Torana was available in so many funky colours that are not available anymore. You could go for a drive and see dozens of cars the same model but you wouldn't see one exactly the same. Holden used to boast in the early 70s that they could make a million cars and because there were so many optional extras (literally everything was optional, the base model just had bench seat and gears on the column), as more colours and options were added Holden could in theory have sold about 4 million cars without any 2 of them being the same. They were very spartan, none of the creature comforts we take for granted now. No power steering or aircond, no electric windows or locking, not even intermittent wipers. Thieves could break in and start the car in about one minute. If you wanted to sell your car and get a better price it was a simple matter of buying a speedo with lower mileage from the junkyard for $5 and take 5 minutes to change it. Most maintenance could be done with 20 bucks worth of tools from K-Mart.
My first car was a Holden Gemini TD, but that wasn't fast enough so I went to a Torana, in the late 80's. I sold it for $650 and bought a VK Commodore. The Torana is still the best car I ever had.
Was fortunate to buy an LC GTR new that led to a wonderful girl,subsequently a family and traded it for a used HT wagon 253.A while later and a better job allowed another GTR,LJ new,and as time rolled on,a house became priority and the torry paid the deposit,and a HR became the hack that pulled the trailers of whatever was needed for the house and block.Never managed to get another Torana,but one day ------- 😉 Thanks for the memories.
Iain McDougall This man can build some beautiful LSR 5000 from the ground up in his 6 meter by 4 Meter shed. In humble suburban Perth. Amazing man with that special passion.
I could be wrong, but I think the LH Torana was the first car in the world to be available with a 4 cylinder, two 6 cylinder or two V8s engines. The very first HB Torana was a direct copy of a Vauxhall Viva/Opel Kadett. The LCs & LJs were enlarged versions of the same. The LH, LX & UC Toranas were essentially restyled Vauxhall/Opel products, engineered to take the much gruntier V8s.
Not too many cars worldwide to fit this criteria but LH a worthy note. Checker cab cars did do 4s/6s and 8s from late 60s but I’m not sure if this occurred at the same time. Earliest US example is the Chevy II/nova platform. 4/6/8 cyls from 1964.
As an engineer at GMH during that period I leased many Holden models, the best in my opinion being a Torana SS 5 litre manual hatchback (red, of course) Stoplight Grand Prix's were usually handled by starting in 2nd because 1st was too low geared causing wasteful wheel spin and also it saved the time-wasting change from 1st to 2nd.
So is this the right way to call a gear low or high? Its alway confused me, but I would use mountain bike gears to help remind me. I think what confuses me is how you're talking about 1st gear and 2nd, and you would say they're lower gears. But is that only correct if only talking about selecting gears? Cause if I think of a mountain bike sprocket cassette it seems more intuitive to call the largest gear and easiest to peddle to be higher geared. And so in that respect the equivalent gear with a high ratio is 1st gear. But then thats opposite to the other way of looking at it.. Where am I going wrong?
The white LH SLR 5000 appears correct to be an L34 (wheels, guards, headlights, no rubber on bumpers). If so I am surprised you did not articulate this. Quite a different car to the standard SLR 5000. Nice production. Thanks for the memories.
Back in 1994 I owned a LH four door Torana with the gutless 253 and four speed. Completely stock. I don’t have fond memories of it. Kept breaking diffs as it was obviously piss weak in this area. I understand now why most people installed a ford 9 inch diff! Mine was red with blackouts and thankfully NO flares as I don’t like the look of them. The engine was reliable but quite sluggish I recall but it did have a nice sound to it. The overall look of the car was nice and I liked the interior. I don’t recall any rust issues with it and back then I remember I took out a loan to buy it! It cost me $4,000. Can’t do that now.
I really like these stories from these guys talking about what it means to them being a Holden enthusiast then you could only understand the connection with these amazing cars. I've always dreamed of having one but for me it will never be possible. I'm just lucky to own a commodore
I purchased a 1 owner bone colour LX 6 cyl SLR auto in 2003 for $3500 , the engine was ok but boring so rebuilt a mild 308 and detailed engine to look factory fitted, drove it for a couple of years. Sold it for 10k to a guy out Botany area in Sydney.. power to weight ratio was my fond memory of that car. Another one I shouldn’t have sold.
hi , Very interesting the decisions behind Torana vehicle birth started from HB TA LC LJ then onto the later LH LX UC Racing decisions be interesting to actually no the full truth . Mainly the Torana because the decisions were mainly done by Australia GMH vs usa GM . Torana started racing because it was a budget decision very much at the cost of the HQ onwards series . Very disappointing but without this decision the A9X option would never appeared . The option was the pinnacle of HQ and Torana combined Yes I own a Lc and a HQ .
HK,t,g leaf spring rear drum [H series rear disc ] , ,,,undersize front brakes [H series bigger ] ,,, old school bias ply suspension tuning [H series radial tuned suspension ] leaf spring [H series rear coil] Reality is H series was/is better handling driving etc
By the mid to end of actual model release the few racing versions that were running had removed all of ""your soggy suspension"" . Its called factory understeer . Coil springs are far more accurate to tune than rear leaf . The solution was negative camber and positive caster [pos caster results in camber gain during cornering ] Later this was called RTS radial tuned suspension .. Torana suffered the same slow factory development for road cars .
All items that appeared later in the H series started development in the HQ series . Production vehicle release varied . As u would expect alot of development happened during racing . If u talk HQ only there were many revisions and up grades made from factory . Optional Spring and shock absorber rates Racing a Torana was a budget and control decision by GMH at which point any hard core development stopped officially for the H series . The H series was sentenced to a passenger car only future . Racing development included vented front discs for LC LJ in historic vids HQ was the start of rear disc brake but was not released to very late HJ common by HZ . Development of f/r disc also heavily influenced A9X ,, WA ,,WB statesman and the Commodore WB version .These vehicles were at my Tafe college
Nice mate im now 58, owned 4 toranas ,even a 138 red motor,3 on the tree lj,granny spec with a sunvisor.,bought a 253lx for 1500 dollars in Kempsey,my sister went and picked it up for me,to my horror it had Datsun 180b hub caps on its steel rims,,still love Holdens,ve ss ute now, enjoyed your video mate🇭🇲
Absolute legendary
They are an Australian icon
Great video. I love your white SL/R 5000, not a colour you see that often. I've owned my 1974 unrestored white genuine LH SL/R 5000 so I'm a little biased. My paint is a bit rough but mechanically, she still drives nicely with the original engine and quadrajet carby. We have similar plates too, mine have been on for over 40 years and are white on black also, but Victorian plates which read LH 308. Your car has inspired me to consider a rebuild.
Congrats Steve & Staff for showing us the passion of Torana's
Great video! i'd love to join you for a cruize some day! love the video and the friendships formed.
Fantastic video. Not just for Toranas but a great representation of what car culture in Australia is all about. Love it
My father would receive a company car every couple of years and one of my favourites things was when he came home with a new car. The time he came home with a Torana was my favourite car. I am not sure the type, it was in the 1970s probably 1973 to 1975, I was fairly young 4 to 5. But I do remember it was fast and noisy which was lots of fun riding in the back seat. I think it was green in colour. One of the things back then was the choice of colours in the exterior paint and interior. I remember my father coming home with the brochures to decide on the colour. It was never boring like cars these days 5-6 colours. There was hundreds of colours and so much choices. Our cars have more tech nowadays and creature comforts but in terms of the paint and interior choices they had a lot more. Great video and club.
Holden's Torana: A basic car, perfectly done, Stir in performance, via a straight-six or a V8, plus the necessary bits and you have one of the most respected, feared and balanced muscle cars the world has ever seen.
Very cool video. So much love goes in to these beautiful cars.
My 10 yo believes the LX SLR is the best car ever made. So the passion will live on long after we are gone.
We are absolutely custodians of these machines.
Congrats Steve & Staff for showing us the passion of Torana's. I'm currently doing up my 8th little tory. 😁
The love for the Torana summed up perfectly great Video , Ive owned 18 Torana's Still have my favourite the ugly duckling UC had it from the age 16 Im 43 now.
Great story . I have owned a genuine 1972 Holden Torana LJ GTR XU1 and a genuine 1974 Holden Torana LH SLR 5000 . Unless you have owned one of these and especially the 5000 you wouldn't know that they were the most wonderful drivers car you could buy at the time . Out of all the vehicles I have owned I only regret selling the 5000 and a 1978 Ducati Black and gold 900 SS .They were not perfect as no vehicles are but GOD I loved them. Thankyou.
Torana was available in so many funky colours that are not available anymore. You could go for a drive and see dozens of cars the same model but you wouldn't see one exactly the same. Holden used to boast in the early 70s that they could make a million cars and because there were so many optional extras (literally everything was optional, the base model just had bench seat and gears on the column), as more colours and options were added Holden could in theory have sold about 4 million cars without any 2 of them being the same. They were very spartan, none of the creature comforts we take for granted now. No power steering or aircond, no electric windows or locking, not even intermittent wipers. Thieves could break in and start the car in about one minute. If you wanted to sell your car and get a better price it was a simple matter of buying a speedo with lower mileage from the junkyard for $5 and take 5 minutes to change it. Most maintenance could be done with 20 bucks worth of tools from K-Mart.
Top story, I feel very lucky to have owned a few Toranas over the years both sedan and hatchback.
My first car was a Holden Gemini TD, but that wasn't fast enough so I went to a Torana, in the late 80's. I sold it for $650 and bought a VK Commodore. The Torana is still the best car I ever had.
Thanks so much for sharing
Beautiful.
Always been my favourite car. Unfortunately, will probably never get to own one 😢
Love the one with the Ford bonnet scoops - brilliant
Brilliant job on putting this together. Credit to all involved.
Thank you Simon!
Great film, very nicely done. Congrats.
Thank you - really appreciate it!
Was fortunate to buy an LC GTR new that led to a wonderful girl,subsequently a family and traded it for a used HT wagon 253.A while later and a better job allowed another GTR,LJ new,and as time rolled on,a house became priority and the torry paid the deposit,and a HR became the hack that pulled the trailers of whatever was needed for the house and block.Never managed to get another Torana,but one day ------- 😉 Thanks for the memories.
What a journey! Fingers crossed you can find your way back to the torry
Started as a.compact family sedan 4cyl ,6cyl and V8 performance ❤
Owned a SL 1998 redid all the suspension myself on a weekend handled corners perfect
Iain McDougall This man can build some beautiful LSR 5000 from the ground up in his 6 meter by 4 Meter shed. In humble suburban Perth. Amazing man with that special passion.
Nice one, Steve, the best thing is that you get them out on the open road and enjoy them. :)
I could be wrong, but I think the LH Torana was the first car in the world to be available with a 4 cylinder, two 6 cylinder or two V8s engines. The very first HB Torana was a direct copy of a Vauxhall Viva/Opel Kadett. The LCs & LJs were enlarged versions of the same. The LH, LX & UC Toranas were essentially restyled Vauxhall/Opel products, engineered to take the much gruntier V8s.
Not too many cars worldwide to fit this criteria but LH a worthy note. Checker cab cars did do 4s/6s and 8s from late 60s but I’m not sure if this occurred at the same time. Earliest US example is the Chevy II/nova platform. 4/6/8 cyls from 1964.
GM made the Chevy Monza, Buick Skyhawk, Pontiac Sunfire about the same time. pretty similar to the Torana. and the opel record.
I always thought the HOLDEN HURRCAINE was a futuristic prototype on which the Torana grew. ?
Torana’s won Bathurst five times from 72-79. Enough said 😎
Awesome
While ever there is a handful of you to keep the spirit alive those cars will survive.
Rip Holden 1948- 2017 you were a legendary aussie car mate ❤️
Teal Blue is my favourite colour..👀
İts beutiful
Aussie Aussie Aussie 👍
As an engineer at GMH during that period I leased many Holden models, the best in my opinion being a Torana SS 5 litre manual hatchback (red, of course) Stoplight Grand Prix's were usually handled by starting in 2nd because 1st was too low geared causing wasteful wheel spin and also it saved the time-wasting change from 1st to 2nd.
So is this the right way to call a gear low or high? Its alway confused me, but I would use mountain bike gears to help remind me. I think what confuses me is how you're talking about 1st gear and 2nd, and you would say they're lower gears. But is that only correct if only talking about selecting gears?
Cause if I think of a mountain bike sprocket cassette it seems more intuitive to call the largest gear and easiest to peddle to be higher geared. And so in that respect the equivalent gear with a high ratio is 1st gear. But then thats opposite to the other way of looking at it.. Where am I going wrong?
Nothing beats the Sunbird! 😂
The white LH SLR 5000 appears correct to be an L34 (wheels, guards, headlights, no rubber on bumpers). If so I am surprised you did not articulate this.
Quite a different car to the standard SLR 5000.
Nice production. Thanks for the memories.
Back in 1994 I owned a LH four door Torana with the gutless 253 and four speed. Completely stock. I don’t have fond memories of it. Kept breaking diffs as it was obviously piss weak in this area. I understand now why most people installed a ford 9 inch diff!
Mine was red with blackouts and thankfully NO flares as I don’t like the look of them.
The engine was reliable but quite sluggish I recall but it did have a nice sound to it. The overall look of the car was nice and I liked the interior. I don’t recall any rust issues with it and back then I remember I took out a loan to buy it!
It cost me $4,000. Can’t do that now.
I really like these stories from these guys talking about what it means to them being a Holden enthusiast then you could only understand the connection with these amazing cars. I've always dreamed of having one but for me it will never be possible. I'm just lucky to own a commodore
Thanks Dion - we wanted to show that true enthusiast passion that these guys have. Glad you enjoyed it! Got to love a good commodore!
My first car was an LC Torana that I bought for $800 in 1998.
In hindsight selling it was a big mistake haha.
Wow, you could never have known how popular they'd be 20 years later I guess!
Same, modified LJ S cost me 5k in 1997
I purchased a 1 owner bone colour LX 6 cyl SLR auto in 2003 for $3500 , the engine was ok but boring so rebuilt a mild 308 and detailed engine to look factory fitted, drove it for a couple of years. Sold it for 10k to a guy out Botany area in Sydney.. power to weight ratio was my fond memory of that car. Another one I shouldn’t have sold.
Put your foot down when no one is looking 😂
I think Steve's car was my brothers car back in the 80's
He traded it in at Arthur Brown Holden in Katoomba
Wow, that would be quite the connection if that's true Chris!
Lucky enough to have a 1976 2 door hatchback
Beauty of a car!
No narrative or footage about the motor????????
lucky enough to have 4 lol
Should have never sold mine
These old cars are cool, but you spend more time working on them than driving them.
Bonnet scoops on blue machine look suspiciously Fordish.
hi ,
Very interesting the decisions behind Torana vehicle birth started from HB TA LC LJ then onto the later LH LX UC
Racing decisions be interesting to actually no the full truth . Mainly the Torana because the decisions were mainly done by Australia GMH vs usa GM . Torana started racing because it was a budget decision very much at the cost of the HQ onwards series . Very disappointing but without this decision the A9X option would never appeared .
The option was the pinnacle of HQ and Torana combined Yes I own a Lc and a HQ .
HK,t,g leaf spring rear drum [H series rear disc ] , ,,,undersize front brakes [H series bigger ] ,,, old school bias ply suspension tuning [H series radial tuned suspension ] leaf spring [H series rear coil] Reality is H series was/is better handling driving etc
By the mid to end of actual model release the few racing versions that were running had removed all of ""your soggy suspension"" . Its called factory understeer . Coil springs are far more accurate to tune than rear leaf . The solution was negative camber and positive caster [pos caster results in camber gain during cornering ] Later this was called RTS radial tuned suspension .. Torana suffered the same slow factory development for road cars .
All items that appeared later in the H series started development in the HQ series . Production vehicle release varied . As u would expect alot of development happened during racing .
If u talk HQ only there were many revisions and up grades made from factory .
Optional Spring and shock absorber rates
Racing a Torana was a budget and control decision by GMH at which point any hard core development stopped officially for the H series . The H series was sentenced to a passenger car only future .
Racing development included vented front discs for LC LJ in historic vids
HQ was the start of rear disc brake but was not released to very late HJ common by HZ . Development of f/r disc also heavily influenced A9X ,, WA ,,WB statesman and the Commodore WB version .These vehicles were at my Tafe college
Nice mate im now 58, owned 4 toranas ,even a 138 red motor,3 on the tree lj,granny spec with a sunvisor.,bought a 253lx for 1500 dollars in Kempsey,my sister went and picked it up for me,to my horror it had Datsun 180b hub caps on its steel rims,,still love Holdens,ve ss ute now, enjoyed your video mate🇭🇲
Thanks Mark - that's a lifetime of Holdens, you must love them!
@@BernieKMedia not many people can say they were conceived in a Holden but I was,a fc,in 1964,my parents fessed up after a few sherbets one night 🇭🇲