1971 Holden LC Torana: Reader ride

Date: 08.10.2014

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Annette Allan's 1971 Holden LC Torana

Annette Allan's 1971 Holden LC Torana

Annette Allan's 1971 Holden LC Torana

I met my husband Trav in 2000 and told him I wanted to build up a car, so he found me this Torana, which was originally owned by a little old lady who literally used to just drive it to the shops and church. It was white with a six-cylinder, column-shift auto and brown interior, and it was the ugliest thing I’d seen.

We decided to strip it down and do the rebuild ourselves. I did the interior and panel work and Trav did the engine. I was driving a Nissan Bluebird at the time and this was the first car that I’d built up.

I took out all the trim and dash and repainted all the trim with black spray paint, adding chrome pinstriping around the door skins. It was a bit tedious, but we got there.

The body was in really good nick. There wasn’t much rust, just lots of shopping trolley dents. I was going to get an LJ, but every one I looked at had rust. A family friend painted the body for an engagement present, but I sanded it back, which took forever – I don’t have any fingernails left. I used to go down to Autobarn covered in oil and I got a few strange looks back then.

It now has a 202ci with triple SU carburettors, MSD ignition and Trimatic gearbox with a floor shift.

It still has the standard LSD in the rear end, but has 14-inch Dragways on the front and 15s on the rear. The rear wheel diameter is taller because I regularly race the Torana at street drags at Ballarat and Heathcote and it does low 15s over the standing quarter.

It’s my cruiser and racecar and I try to beat my times every season. The blokes get quite annoyed when I beat them. I’ve beaten a few V8s and when I pop the bonnet they go, "Oh, it’s a bloody six". But a win is a win.

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