Classic Australian Muscle Cars Specs & Pics

[motorsportnerd]

Most UCP users will know a bit about American muscle cars, so I thought I'd start a thread introducing UCP users to the less well known Australian Muscle Cars.

First up, 1967 Ford Falcon XT GT.
Introduced in May 1967. Available in gold body colour only.
Number built: 596.
Engine:289 cubic inch (4.7 litre), 168kW (225bhp)@4800 rpm; 414 Nm (305ft/lb)@3200 rpm.
Suspension: Front coil springs, rear leaf springs.
Brakes: front discs, rear drums.
Transmission: Toploader 4 speed. Wheels 14 x 5.5". Tires:Olympic GT 185 x 14in radials.
Performance: 0-60 mph 9.7 secs, standing quarter 16.5 secs, top speed 195km/h (121mph).
Won 1967 Bathurst 500

[motorsportnerd]

Second installment.
1968 Holden Monaro HK GTS 327.
Introduced: July 1968
Engine: Chevrolet 327 V8, pushrod overhead valves, four barrel Rochester carburettor.
Power: 186kW (250 bhp)@4800 rpm.
Torque: 412Nm (325 lb/ft)@3200 rpm.
Supension: Front:Independent by unequal length wishbones, coil springs, telescopic dampers, anti-roll bar. Rear (with axle type):Salisbury hypoid bevel with limited slip diff rigid axle with semi elliptic springs, telescopic dampers, radius rods.
Brakes: front discs/rear drums.
Transmission: 4-speed Saginaw manual.
Wheels: Steel 6 x 14in. Tyres: D70H14.
Performance: 0-60mp/h 7.8 secs, standing quarter 16.4 secs, maximum speed 184 km/h (115 mph).
Finished 1st, 2nd & 3rd in 1968 Bathurst 500.


Note: Australian muscle cars are generally referred as belonging to time period from the 1967 to 1978. Thus, this thread will run from the 1967 Falcon GT to the 1978 Falcon Cobra. I may look at later Australian performance cars in another thread.

[fpv_gtho]

Car: Ford Falcon XW GTHO Phase 1

Engine: 351 Windsor, 600cfm Holley 4 barrel carburettor,
Power: 224kw@5400rpm
Torque: 515nm@3400rpm
Drivetrain: 4 speed toploader with LSD
Suspension: front: coil springs with strut type dampers, anti roll bar
rear: leaf springs with dampers, anti roll bar
Brakes: front: 286mm vented discs with single piston calipers
rear: 254mm drums, servo assist.
Tyres and wheels: 14x6" rims with ER70H14 radials

Performance: 0-100km/h - 6.7 seconds, 400m - 14.4 seconds

[fpv_gtho]

Car: Ford Falcon XT GT

Engine: 302 Windsor V8
Power: 172kw@4800rpm
Torque: 420nm@3200rpm
Drivetrain: 4 speed Toploader or 3 speed C4
Suspension: Front: Wishbones w/Spring over Strut-Type Dampers, Anti Roll Bar
rear: Live Axle w/Semi-Elliptic Springs, Telescopic Shock Absorbers
Brakes: front: 270mm discs, rear: 254mm drums
Wheels/tyres: 14 x 6 in, 185SR14 radial
Numbers built: 1415
Performance: Top Speed: 124mph, Accelleration: 0-100km/h - 8.4 seconds



After the success of the XR GT, the decision was made to make the GT a permanent model for the following year. The cars durability was put to the test during the 1968 London to Sydney rally where it won the Teams prize with a 3rd, 5th and 8th placing. The car came with optional black-outs and side striping

[Coventrysucks]

Needs more pictures. (I am on dial up at the moment and can't be bothered to go hunting for pictures myself.)

[motorsportnerd]

OK, heres some pics of the XW Phase 1 GTHO in race trim. This was the car driven by 4 times Bathurst 500/1000 winner Alan Moffat in the 1969 Bathurst 1000. Moffat finished 4th in this car at the 69 Bathurst 500. Another Phase 1 was second in the hands of Bruce McPhee/Barry Mulholland.

[Coventrysucks]

Cheers guys

[motorsportnerd]

Ok, heres the next installment. This is the car that gave Australia's 9 time Bathurst winner, Peter Brock, his first start in the Bathurst 500/1000. He finished 3rd first time out in the 1969 Bathurst 500 sharing with Des West. The Colin Bond/Tony Roberts Monaro won the race.

Car: 1969 Holden Monaro HT 350 GTS
Introduced: May 1969.
Engine: Chevrolet 350 cu inch (5740 cc) V8
Power: 225kW (350 bhp)@4800 rpm
Torque: 380lb/ft
Performance: 0-100km/h 7.7 secs;standing quarter 14.7 sec; top speed 217km/h

[motorsportnerd]

Here's something a little different. The first of the Australian Chrysler to use the famous "hemi" 6 cylinder engine. The Pacer was available as either a sedan or a coupe and in standard, E31 and E34 versions. The E34 was the most powerful of the three.

Introduced: 1970
Engine: 245 Hemi 6 cylinder. The VG Pacer sedans were available as the standard Pacer (245 Hemi, 185 hp with 2 bbl), E31 Pacer (High Performance 250 version of the 245, with a 2 bbl carb, about 195 hp)and the E34 Pacer (Even higher ouput version of the 250 E31 engine with a 4 bbl carb, wilder camshaft, etc, around 235 hp).
Transmission: 3-speed manual.
Suspension: Front - torsion bars, non-parallel control arms, anti-sway bar and tele shock absorbers. Rear - rigid axle with semi elliptics and tele shock absorbers.
Brakes: front discs/rear drums.
Performance: Pacer: standing quarter 16.4 secs.
Pacer E34: 0-60mph 8.8 secs; standing quarter 19.9 secs.
Top speed was about 179 km/h.

[fpv_gtho]

Car: 1969 XW Falcon GT

Engine: 351 Windsor V8
Power: 216kw@4800rpm
Torque: 522nm@3200rpm
Driveline: 4 speed toploader or 3 speed C4 with LSD
Suspension: wishbones with spring over strut type dampers and anti roll bar, live axle with leaf springs and telescopic dampers
Wheels: 14 x 6.0 in with ER70H14 radials
Weight: 1500kg approx

[motorsportnerd]

Unlike in the US, there are several Australian cars with six clyinder engines which are considered by Australian enthusiasts to be muscle cars. These include the Holden Torana XU1 and Chrysler Charger R/T series.

The Chrysler Charger R/T E38 was designed as an homologation special for Australia's series production touring car rules of the late 60s and early 70s. Each of Australia's Big 3 (Ford, Holden and Chrysler) produced special homologation cars for the catagory, the jewel in the crown of which was the Bathurst 500 at the Mount Panorama racetrack. Probably the ultimate "homologation special" was Ford's Falcon XY GTHO Phase 111 (of which more on later in the thread), but the Charger R/T also epitomises these homologation specials.
Two weeks before the 1971 Bathurst 500, a Charger R/T E38 in the hands of Doug Chivas won a mini-enduro race at Sydney's Oran Park. For the 1971 Bathurst 500 there were three semi-official Charger R/T E38s entered. These were for Leo Geohagen/Peter Brown, Norm Beechey/Jim McKeown and Doug Chivas/Graham Moore. There were four other privateer Chargers. The best of the Chargers in qualifing was the Geohagen/Brown car in 8th.
In the race itself, the Chargers couldn't match the Falcon GTHO Phase 111s, and the Geohagen/Brown entry was the first Charger home in 7th place.
The E38 might not have been a success at Bathurst, but it remains a much loved and popular classic. It was the fastest six clyinder car in the world at the time it was released. Even today its acceleration times can be favourably compared to modern 6-clyinders cars from BMW (M3), Porsche (911), Nissan (Skyline) and Ford (Falcon XR6T).

Specs:
Introduced in September 1971.
Engine: HEMI 4.3 litre 6-clyinder with triple Weber carburetors. Power 210kW@5000rpm. Torque 433Nm@4100.
Suspension: Front - independent torsion bars, upper and lower control arms and antiroll bar. Rear - semi-elliptic leaf springs, and a Hotchkiss type live axle.
Brakes: front discs, rear drums.
Transmission: 3-speed manual.
Performance: 0-60 mph 6.1 secs, standing quarter 14.8 secs, top speed 203 km/h.
Weight: 1,400kg.
4570 mm long, 1880 mm wide and 1370 mm high.

[ace]

HQ gts monaro 1973

[ace]

1970s torana's

[crisis]

Originally Posted by ace

HQ gts monaro 1973

What sweet memories. I love the style of these. Forget that they handled like shit and in standard form had less power than a 4cyl Camry. They looked cool. Great back seats too.

[fpv_gtho]

well the power never stopped people buying V8 Commodores during the 80's when ford dropped their V8 Falcon, despite the 308 having about the same power as a 4.1 EFI X-flow