Peter Schwarze's Holden LH Torana SL/R
I get into a lot of arguments over the production date of this car. It’s 1973, well before the showroom models and is a pre-production car. I bought it in 1975 from Holden – it was the first time it had been sold to the public. It was like new and it’s still original, with the bodywork, paint and interior that came out of the factory.
I believe they made 10 as test cars. Three were SLRs – this was third one and the other two were destroyed in testing at Lang Lang. This one is the survivor.
I’ve hung on to it all this time – 40 years last Christmas, I’ve had it. It’s a beautiful car to drive. It’s got a close-ratio XU-1 gearbox in it – similar to the original. The engine is quite modified, with a counterweighted crankshaft, different pistons, XU-1 carburettors, limited slip diff. It’s quite good.
If you put a counterweighted crank in those 202s – my son’s car has one too – they’re a very smooth engine and I think these cars handle better with a six in the front.
My son learned to drive in that car and has a bit of an attachment to it, and now of course they’re highly collectible, so they’ve gone full circle.