1973 Holden LJ Torana GTR - Reader Resto

By: Robert Fellowes with Philip Lord - Words & Photos

Date: 07.02.2022

Even though it needed a lot of work, this LJ GTR was too good to wreck

My 1973 LJ Torana GTR is an Adelaide-built car, running down the production line at Elizabeth on 29 August, 1973. It first came into the family in March 2007, when my wife’s son, John, bought it from an old school mate who lived down the road. It had been off the road for a while and was incomplete. It also had been painted in a lighter orange at some stage, not its original light red (Mandarin Red) colour.

John had the car for two years, and didn’t have the chance to get any work done to it, so he sold it to his brother, Joseph. Joseph owned it for another two years, then sold it to me in January 2011 because he was getting married and needed to get the money together to buy a house.

As the GTR was bought in 2007 by Rob’s step-son

The Torana was in poor condition body-wise, with some parts missing. However, I was lucky that the three Holden ID tags were still on the car and the LJ GTR engine was still in the engine bay. I decided then and there that I was going to do a full resto on the car. It needed to be saved. My search for parts for the resto then began.

Aside from plenty of individual parts I bought for the resto online, I was also lucky enough to find a complete 1971 LC Torana four-door on eBay, which I had transported up from Melbourne. The car was in pretty good condition but unfortunately I needed to strip it for the parts I have to replace or repair on the LJ. I completely stripped the LC down and labelled and bagged every single nut and bolt that came off it. I kept some LC parts but others were sold to fund the LJ resto.

| Reader Resto: 1971 Holden Torana LC GTR XU-1

Repainted body awaiting internals

The LJ was sent to Frank Tedesco’s workshop (The Holden Guru) in Smithfield. Frank assessed what needed to be pulled out and replaced and started some bodywork. He pulled out the engine to check it; as it turns out, it had already been completely reconditioned. From the workshop, the car body then went to my brother Gary’s workshop for further body work.

The floors (only) were sand blasted inside and out, then the guards and front apron were removed and the rest of the paint stripped.

| Buyer's Guide: Holden Torana LC-LJ

Stripping the car out in preparation for the work ahead

Then the big job of welding, painting and putting the car back together began.

The front apron had to be cut and a new piece welded in from the LC donor car due to a poor accident repair job someone did years ago. The boot floor was rusty so new sections had to be welded in. Even the rear seat back support brace had to cut out of the LC and fitted to the LJ. A previous owner had cut holes in the LJ’s one to fit aftermarket speakers.

The 3300 had already been reconditioned

As the car was getting repainted in the workshop in its original Salamanca Red, I was busy reconditioning or re-plating every part that had to go back onto the car. I laid out every part that needed to go back onto the car on the garage floor in order, from the front of the car to the back. This made it easier to find and label the parts and box them up so they could then be sent to Frank’s workshop as required when the car was finally painted and ready to be reassembled.

Everything was either repaired, reconditioned or replaced with new parts. Even the wiring loom was redone, using original connectors, and the speedo reconditioned.

No longer flawed

Most of the car was restored to how it came from the factory. There are a few changes from original spec that I have made because I prefer them. So people who know these cars will notice that the steel wheels are painted all black where they were originally silver – and the grille, originally with the centre section painted black on the GTR, is silver as I prefer the way it looks. The fuel tank is also not standard, but the XU-1’s larger capacity 77-litre one, while under the bonnet the cast exhaust manifold have been replaced with extractors. The inlet manifold has been polished.

My LJ GTR was all finished and registered in February 2014, with special plates ordered from the NSW RMS.

Like any restoration of this magnitude, there were a few minor teething problems. The 2.78:1 diff was too tall so I fitted a shorter 3.08:1. The fuel tank sender needed sorting out so the gauge read the right amount of fuel with the XU-1 tank. I’m lucky that all my family is into all types of classic cars. We enjoy taking the GTR to cars and coffee events but rarely put it on display at shows. One highlight was in 2018, when I took the car to a charity event at Penrith Paceway.

Beverly Brock was a special guest at the event, and she was very impressed with my GTR and loved seeing it restored to its original factory condition. I was lucky enough to get a photo with Beverly and also have her sign my HDT jacket.

Thanks to everyone for helping me with the GTR’s restoration, especially Gary Fellowes (Gazza’s Paint and Panel) and Frank Tedesco (The Holden Guru), to restore the great car we have in our family today.

THE RESTO:

1. Plenty to do

The front required a lot of time and effort to restore it.

2. Rough start

A lot of work had to be done to repair the front inner guards.

3. Bodgy fix

A poor accident repair job meant the nosecone had to have replacement sections welded in.

4. Trussed

A new seat back support brace was grafted in from the LC donor car.

5. Ready for colour

The reparied shell is ready for painting.

6. The first touches

Seeing this you know it's gonna look good

7. Underside

New stoppers, springs and shocks.

8. Dashed

Back in black and looking like new.

9. Dazzling

Bright chrome bumpers and trim give the retinas a workout

Original car: 1973 Holden LJ Torana GTR
Length of restoration: 3 years

1973 Holden LJ Torana GTR

Body: 2-door coupe
Engine: 3310cc straight six
Power & torque: 101kW @ 4400rpm, 262Nm @ 2000rpm
Performance: 0-100km/h 10.0 seconds (approx)
Top speed: 180km/h (approx)
Transmission: Four-speed manual
Suspension: (f) Independent with unequal length wishbones, coil springs (r) live axle, coil springs
Brakes: Disc front, drum rear

From Unique Cars #460, December 2021

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