HT-G GTS monaro's with 308-350
VY SS
HZ sandman P/van 5.0L 4sp
XB GS 351 auto ute
XY 351 fairmont

WORST
camirs
4cyl commodors
morris marina
austin 1800
Citroen DI-19 Parisisnne "toad".

Hey Terry

A little bit of worthless (but interesting) info.

The Zeta is probably the fastest production car ever produced in Australia......and probably the world come to think of it ...that is when it is driven in a particular fashion!

Terry, I am sure you can tell the other half of the story......


I wouldn't want to be in it (or even near it for that matter) when this feat is attempted...lol!
Cheers
Nick

Edited by user Monday, 18 April 2011 6:44:29 AM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Favs

Any HQ
SS/L34/A9X/ XU-1 Toranas
HR
HZ
WB statos


Worst
The P-76. I'd call it a P 38, but that defames a fine aircraft and
a fine pistol.
The AU range.
Phase 3 gtho. Over rated then, over priced now.
Escorts with that gutless, wheezy, dog to work on 1300 or 1600
crossflow POS boat anchor.
Datsun Stanza.

quote:

---

Originally posted by castellan
HT-G GTS monaro's with 308-350
VY SS
HZ sandman P/van 5.0L 4sp
XB GS 351 auto ute
XY 351 fairmont

WORST
camirs
4cyl commodors
morris marina
austin 1800
Citroen DI-19 Parisisnne "toad".

---

OK aussie only worse
All 4 cyl torana's
All 6 cyl Valiants hemi that did not have 2V carby gutless!
6cyl Layland P76

GREATEST
any GTHO(for those of us can can afford one, some dream, then say they dont like them, bit like the story bout the cat and the goldfish...)

worst
any HK, over rated and unable to prove its own anywhere, and any torana(apart from HB)

Edited by user Tuesday, 19 April 2011 11:32:01 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Yes, HK and HT GTS327 and GTS350 dominated all GT's and GT-HO's of their era. Everyone respects the GT-HO but not everyone wants one. I'd have a PhaseII if one was offered, but it'd have to be much cheaper than an XA RPO83 or HK GTS327 for me to even consider it! At least the Monaros and XA GT's beat V8 opposition!

Favourite - reason
Any HQ - purely its clean design, one of the best US-inspired Holden designs ever, esp the Coupe.

VH Commodore - the last of chrome bumpers, uniquely Aussie facelift design (not Opel)the sweet spot in engine design - electronic dizzy, not many fancy electronics to go wrong.

HX Holden LE Coupe - purely on its crass pimpin' looks. Crank up George Benson on the 8-track and get on down.

Holden GTR-X - Man that would've been great in production. No one would believe it was a Holden.

Leyland P-76 - Everyone bags it but forgets that it was the most advanced Australian sedan of the time, not hard I suppose. Goes to show how reliability and good looks will sell anything, the opposite a disaster. 2000 orders taken in the first week in 1973, Aussie loved it then. Later, not so much...
Dislike
Aussie Chryslers. Dunno why, some look okay but my mate's VH Charger 215 3-speed was hard to drive, slow, uncomfortable and didn't handle. Interiors all looked stuck in an early 1960s time warp.

EA Falcon. Dreadful car.

Nissan Bluebird - Do I have to explain why?

WB Statesman in Crapulian Green or Dirt brown- personal thing, but the Aussie Caddy only looks good in typical 70's primary colours. Love 'em in white, black, even metallic gold looks okay...but look gross in the 1980s hues.

quote:

---

Originally posted by ExportHolden
Favourite - reason
VH Commodore - the last of chrome bumpers, uniquely Aussie facelift design (not Opel)the sweet spot in engine design - electronic dizzy, not many fancy electronics to go wrong.

---

I always thought that the WB was the last of the chrome bumpers, it out-lived the VH by nearly 12 months. The VH is not a bad car though.

quote:

---

Favourite - reason
Leyland P-76 - Everyone bags it but forgets that it was the most advanced Australian sedan of the time, not hard I suppose. Goes to show how reliability and good looks will sell anything, the opposite a disaster. 2000 orders taken in the first week in 1973, Aussie loved it then. Later, not so much...

---

It may well have been an advanced design on paper, but have you driven one ??

I drove several different versions when they were brand new, & with the possible exception of a V8 auto Executive, they were all shyte.

Dr Terry

quote:

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It may well have been an advanced design on paper, but have you driven one ??
I drove several different versions when they were brand new, & with the possible exception of a V8 auto Executive, they were all shyte.

---

Yep, but not till the 1980s. I owned four runners and modified a few with two parts cars - so I owned six in total. When my mates were buying gutless $2000 HQ Kingswood 202s with skinny 5in rims that would understeer at a sniff of a corner and have M21 selectors getting you three gears at once (and jamming the car where it stood) I'd run rings around them in my stock $1100 V8 Executive, later converted to 4-speed manual. For bang for your buck as a broke 18-year old, the P76 was sensational. With a stock V8 auto but a dual system, it would peg an XC GXL 5.8 up to 100km/h, and pull away from a HJ 253 4-sp with mild cam and extractors like it was standing still. Not too shabby for a 4.4. Would I buy one now over an HQ? No way, just like I'll never wear tight footy shorts again, thank christ. But the P76 was a good car, if not a good looking car for its time - or at least my time with them as 8-10 year old cars in the 1980s. I drove HQs, HJs, VH Vals and XC Falcons of the similar era, and only the Falcon came close to the P76 for dynamics. The HZ? Well, I didn't drive one till much later, they were nearly new then and unobtainium (to me).

quote:

---

Originally posted by ExportHolden

quote:

---

It may well have been an advanced design on paper, but have you driven one ??
I drove several different versions when they were brand new, & with the possible exception of a V8 auto Executive, they were all shyte.

---

Yep, but not till the 1980s. I owned four runners and modified a few with two parts cars - so I owned six in total. When my mates were buying gutless $2000 HQ Kingswood 202s with skinny 5in rims that would understeer at a sniff of a corner and have M21 selectors getting you three gears at once (and jamming the car where it stood) I'd run rings around them in my stock $1100 V8 Executive, later converted to 4-speed manual. For bang for your buck as a broke 18-year old, the P76 was sensational. With a stock V8 auto but a dual system, it would peg an XC GXL 5.8 up to 100km/h, and pull away from a HJ 253 4-sp with mild cam and extractors like it was standing still. Not too shabby for a 4.4. Would I buy one now over an HQ? No way, just like I'll never wear tight footy shorts again, thank christ. But the P76 was a good car, if not a good looking car for its time - or at least my time with them as 8-10 year old cars in the 1980s. I drove HQs, HJs, VH Vals and XC Falcons of the similar era, and only the Falcon came close to the P76 for dynamics. The HZ? Well, I didn't drive one till much later, they were nearly new then and unobtainium (to me).

---

Points taken, but I think if you do a comparison between a Holden a P76, you should be comparing a 202 3-sp manual Kingswood to a 2600 3-sp manual Deluxe, it too had 'skinny wheels'. All P76 fans use the Executive for comparisons, but it was their top of the range car, priced somewhere between a V8 Premier & a GTS. The P76 handled better, but the Holden 202 had way more torque than the 2600 & was still in one piece at the end of the week. Another bonus with the Holden was the need to only take in for dealer service twice yearly, not twice monthly.

Dr Terry