While Holden's Torana was winning under-30s buyers, its LJ GTR XU-1 was capturing enthusiasts and Bathurst
When most of us think of the Torana LJ GTR XU-1 one image springs to mind, Peter Brock winning his first Bathurst. It’s hard to fathom that was 50 years ago.
In the year of the iconic Hot August Night by Neil Diamond, it was February 4 1972 when the Holden Torana LJ broke cover.
The General was chasing under-30s buyers and in October 1972 a knockabout, long-haired 27-year-old named Peter Brock winning Australia’s great race in a Torana was the stuff of dreams for the folk at Fisherman’s Bend.
A facelift of the LC model, the LJ Torana was offered in six trim levels across two- and four-door bodies with four- and six-cylinder engines, manual and auto gearboxes and a palette of bright colours.
Prices went from $2050 to $3579.
The big news was the arrival of the 173 and 202ci sixes along with handling and safety improvements and a reduction in cabin noise levels.
Overall the LJ took a big step up in refinement, fit and finish.
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In a bid to reduce costs or clever cross-model marketing, the LJ Torana boffins raided the HQ Holden parts bins with both models sharing steering column, headrests and sun visors.
While the styling changes to the LJ Torana weren’t major, they were immediately noticeable. An all-new recessed plastic grille with the headlights in separate housings gave the snout a fresh look while at the stern were three-piece wrap-around taillights. Less obvious changes were the moving of model emblems and on some variants, a chrome strip along the flanks.
Keeping chiropractors employed the offset driving position remained but new seats with slightly contoured backrests enhanced upper body support (especially when cornering) and the squab was now thicker and firmer.
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Carried over from the LC were the gauges and their easy-to-read layout recessed into a padded, flat-top dash with a centrally mounted radio and glovebox opener, both in their own recesses. The key went into the steering column, not the dash as in the LC and the single central ashtray of the LC changed to individual ash catchers in the doors.
GTR and XU-1 drivers swung off a Monaro GTS three-spoke wheel with other models having stock HQ tillers.
Suspension revisions in the form of new front springs and rear shockers transformed ride and handling.
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On the safety front, the sun visors provided energy absorption as did the adjustable headrests and the heater controls new home, to the right of the steering column was a result of being within easy reach for the driver when strapped in.
The General offered no less than eight engines in the LJ Torana from a 42 kilowatt four to a 142 kilowatt six.
And despite buyers preferring the sixes, Holden knew the importance of having a four-cylinder Aussie battler to fight against the rising tide of Japanese rivals.
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Entry into the Torana lineup set you back $2050 and for that you drove away in a Torana 1200 two-door manual, its 1159cc four coughing up just 42 kilowatts.
Next was the raft of Deluxe models in both two- and four-door bodies and an optional TriMatic three-speed auto. These kicked off with the 1300cc 47 kilowatt four, a 1600cc 60-kilowatt four in 1972 that increased to 1760cc and produced until 1974.
You could buy the six-cylinder Torana S and SL in both two and four door-bodies with either transmission and a 138ci six putting out 71 kilowatts or the new to HQ 173ci donk and its 88 kilowatts.
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When fitted with a manual gearbox and the optional GTR brakes and wheels the 173ci SL offered affordable and reasonable performance without attracting undue attention from insurers.
The sporty GTR and flagship GTR XU-1 only came as a two-door body with a manual gearbox. For the first time both shared the same engine. The new 202ci six lasted until the end of the VK Commodore in 1985.
In GTR guise you had a shade over 100 kilowatts while the GTR XU-1 with its higher compression ratio, triple Stromberg carbies and other tweaks gave you 142 kilowatts of fun under your right foot. A four-speed M21 manual gearbox was fitted to both cars.
A year after launch the 202ci six was offered as an option in the S and SL models with the 173ci engine becoming the standard offering with the 1200cc four quietly dropped in favour of the 1300cc as the new baseline model.
From February 1972 to March 1974 LJ Torana production totalled 81,813 units.
In South Korea, the LJ Torana-based Chevrolet 1700 sold from 1972 to 1976 as both a sedan and wagon. It had the 1698cc four-cylinder engine but its poor fuel economy and unsuitable suspension for local conditions saw a mere 8000 sold.
In 1973 the LJ SL 173ci six with manual and auto gearboxes were exported to NZ in CKD form for local assembly and became known as the Kiwi Toranas.
MOTORSPORT GIANT KILLER!
When a Torana won (which was often) the General used this catchphrase in its advertising.
Successful on the track, in rallying and rallycross, the LJ Torana did what the LC couldn’t. Win Bathurst.
Without doubt the LJ Torana’s greatest win was the 1972 Hardie Ferodo 500 when Peter Brock, driving solo won his first of nine Bathurst crowns. In trying conditions that saw his rivals, and teammate crash, retire or fade away, Brock flogged the faster Falcon Phase III GT-HOs and more powerful Valiant Chargers.
The podium that day was famous as Brock’s first win and also the only time the three local car makers Holden, Ford and Chrysler were represented, with John French second in a GT-HO and Doug Chivas and Damon Beck third in a Charger.
Back then Bathurst, with its live all-day telecast was a must-watch for many Aussies and a must-win for manufacturers. The GTR XU-1 now with its more powerful 202ci engine was better able to keep up with the Phase III GT-HOs up and down the hill while its agility across the top of the mountain proved unbeatable.
Meanwhile out in forests the XU-1 tasted victory in five of the six rounds of the 1972 Australian Rally Championship. The brilliant duo of Colin Bond and George Shepheard were crowned champion driver and navigator. The following year another LJ Torana GTR XU-1 pairing, Peter Lang – driver and Warwick Smith – navigator took out the championship with Bond and Shepheard recapturing the title in an LJ XU-1 in 1974.
Rallycross combing dirt and racetracks, jumps and water splashes took off in the late 1960s at Calder in Victoria and Catalina Park in the NSW Blue Mountains. Sliding sideways to victory on many occasions were Peter Brock, Colin Bond and Larry Perkins, sharing a supercharged XU-1 Torana built and developed by Harry Firth and Ian Tate at HDT.
In 1973 the rules for touring car racing changed and in place of Camaros and Mustangs were GT-HOs, Chargers and Toranas. Once again Brock and Moffat battled door-to-door with the pair winning all eight rounds, Moffat five to Brock three, giving the Canadian his first of four touring car titles.
By Bathurst time the Holden 202ci six, now had well over 200 horsepower. Up against the new XA Falcon Superbird hardtops the Brock/Chivas XU-1 was comfortably leading when the team told Doug Chivas to maximise his laps. It was one lap too many with the Torana running out of fuel and Chivas, already knackered from racing in sweltering heat, trying to push the Torana uphill to the waiting mechanics and fuel. Brock shoved a near collapsing Chivas aside into the arms of an official, made the pitstop and drove the wheels off the XU-1 to finish second with Colin Bond and Leo Geoghegan in the sister HDT Torana coming home third.
Moffat and Pete Geoghegan won in the Ford. It was the big one that got away.
1974 saw Brock and Bond start the season in XU-1s and then move to the V8-engined LH mid-year. However, Bob Morris, sponsored by Holden dealer Ron Hodgson, campaigned an LJ XU-1 all year claiming the runner-up spot in the touring car title.
To compete in the fledging Sports Sedan series Harry Firth and his team shoehorned a Formula 5000 engine into an LJ GTR XU-1, with a good portion of the V8 engine sitting inside the cabin alongside the driver, for better weight distribution. The ’Beast’ as it was nicknamed being such a handful to drive, did very well.