Enthusiast Motor Insurance

Holden Monaro

9 years: 1968 – 1976

Classic Generation

2nd Generation

Naming Rights

Holden Monaro

Holden executive Noel Bedford came up with the name “Monaro” after seeing a sign for the Monaro Shire Council while driving to a holiday in Cooma. He liked it as it sounded similar to “Camaro”, Chevy’s new muscle car. During development the Monaro was actually codenamed “Torana”, which turned out to be another one of Holden’s most popular models of the late ‘60s and 1970s.

Missing Link

Holden Monaro

Dwindling sales of two-door passenger cars meant Holden decided to drop the Monaro name from the final 600 coupe shells and simply call it the “LE”, for Limited Edition. The HZ GTS, the final Kingswood-based performance car, was also not badged Monaro, as GM-H

Western Force

Many Aussie muscle cars were exported to South Africa in the ‘70s under different names, like the XY GT which was known over there as the “Fairmont GT”. The same is true for Monaros, which were sold as the “Chevrolet SS”. HT and HG Monaros scored a unique grille and headlight treatment, and represent a cheaper entry point to Monaros today.

HK Monaro

Holden’s first coupe landed sensationally in July 1968 as the most glamorous member of the all-new HK Holden line-up. The HK introduced the famed “Belmont”, “Kingswood”, and “Premier” nameplates, with Monaro providing a sleek pillarless two-door five-seat option.

Sold as the base Monaro, or top-spec GTS, the base got a 161ci or 186ci in-line sixes, or a 307ci Chevy V8 with transmissions being a three-speed column-change manual or two-speed auto. All GTS models (186S six-cylinder or GTS 327 V8) scored bucket seats and a console-mounted tacho, but the top dog GTS 327 had the 250hp Chevy engine, a four-speed manual, limited-slip diff, disc front brakes and 14in wheels. And those offset racing stripes!

The HK Monaro won the prestigious Wheels Car of the Year award and took out the 1968 Bathurst 500. All up 15,637 HK Monaros were built, with most being the 186S GTS model but 1192 brave souls ordered the GTS 327.

HT Monaro

The Monaro only got meaner in ’69 with the revised HT model, as the 307ci and 327ci Chevy V8s were dropped in favour of new locally developed 253ci (4.2-litre) and 308ci (5.0-litre) Holden V8s or the big dog 300hp 350ci (5.7-litre) Chevy small-block. The full-width grille made way for a new plastic design, while the tail lights were enlarged, the boot trim simplified, and round gauges were added inside.

Two low-profile scoops made their way onto the large, flat bonnet and the racing stripes were widened to run over the centre of the car, maintaining the muscle car rage. Transmission choice was once again three-speed auto or four-speed manual, while buyers could order a “base” Monaro or top-spec GTS.

Designed to topple Ford’s mighty new GT-HO the GTS 350 proved devastatingly effective. Colin Bond brought the newly formed Holden Dealer Team in first with a young Peter Brock third in another GTS 350. Over 14,000 HT Monaros were sold before the HG model debuted a year later.

HG Monaro

The final facelift of the first-generation Monaro appeared in late July 1970. With racing duties now handled by the smaller, nimbler Torana GTR XU-1 Holden chose to soften the Monaro GTS 350’s race-ready edges to make it a far nicer road car.

The grille and tail light designs were updated while the bold muscle car stripes were thinned out to “sidewinders”. These run along the tops of the guards and are visually less brash than the loud stripes featured on HK and HT GTS models, though the sidewinders could be deleted altogether.

Mechanically very similar to the HT, the HG scored its suspension softened and larger brake discs from the GTS 350 added to lower models. Only 6147 HG Monaros were sold before the second-generation HQ debuted.

HQ Monaro

The boldly styled new HQ Holden debuted in July of 1971, with the Monaro bringing some serious curves reminiscent of its American cousins the Chevrolet Chevelle and Pontiac GTO. Fully coil-sprung with disc front brakes, sports “GTS” wheels and a new subframe design saw ride and handling radically improved, while interior space was also up.

While the styling and underpinnings were radically new the drivetrains were mostly carried over from the HG, with six-cylinders (173ci/2.8L and 202ci/3.3L) and Holden V8s (253ci/4.2L and 308ci/5L) topped by a 275hp Chevy 350ci (5.7L) small-block. The Monaro coupe once again could be had in sporty GTS with its shouty blackouts and wild paint colours, or the more refined LS model that wore a Premier-style twin-headlight front-end, could be had with a vinyl roof, and was offered in more demure paint hues.

While Holden shifted more than half a million HQs, only 13,872 of those were Monaro coupes and only 403 of them were GTS 350 coupes. The dwindling popularity of two-door cars saw Holden bring out a four-door GTS Monaro in 1973 which proved instantly popular.

Race Pace

The HK GTS 327 and HT GTS 350 took wins at Bathurst in ’68 and ’69 respectively, trumping Ford’s new GT-HO. But, for 1970 The General moved away from the big-cube, full-size Monaro for racing in favour of the smaller, lightweight and far more nimble Torana GTR XU-1.

More Doors

While many consider a “Monaro” to be a two-door coupe, the four-door HQ, HJ and HX models proved incredibly popular thanks to their family-friendly practicality. Initially GM-H tested the waters with a limited-edition model called the HQ SS, the first time that famous badge appeared on a Holden, which used a 253ci (4.2-litre) V8, unique stripes, GTS wheels and three different bright colours to provide some funky ‘70s flare.

HJ Monaro

The era of muscle cars was drawing to a close in 1974 and so Holden quietly dropped the big 350ci Chev V8 from the Aussie line-up for the new HJ facelift.

With its new Chevy Monte Carlo-inspired bluff front-end and cliff-style dash design the HJ scored optional chin and boot spoilers for the GTS, while blackouts were discontinued. Holden also dropped the 173ci base six-cylinder and made the 308ci V8 an option for GTS and LS models.

The sinking popularity of two-door cars saw the Monaro coupe discontinued in 1975 after just 606 GTS and 337 LS coupes were sold, making them some of the rarest regular production Holden muscle cars. This was compared to 4574 GTS four-doors sold.

HX Monaro

The final Kingswood-based car to be badged Monaro, the HX was a mildly redesigned facelift of the HJ series. Launched in July 1976 and available only as a sedan the LS Monaro was dropped to make it a single model line-up.

Holden sold the final 600 coupe bodies it had as the HX LE, all in burgundy with gold Pontiac honeycomb wheels, velour interiors, gold pinstriping, and Premier twin-headlight front-ends. But no Monaro badges.

HX Monaro bumpers could be optioned as body-coloured and the funky blackout option returned for the GTS, while engine choices were a 253ci or 308ci Holden V8. Only 2079 HX GTS Monaros were sold before the HZ farewelled the all-Aussie Kingswood platform with the GTS model that featured no Monaro badges.

Do you own a Holden Monaro?

Protect what’s important to you with Enthusiast Motor insurance because when you drive less, you spend less. 

Monaro's today

Treated as cheap used cars for decades, original Monaros are now rare, sought-after, and hugely valuable. While values have never reached the crazy million-dollar heights of Ford’s Phase III GT-HO original GTS 327 and GTS 350 HKs and HTs are often still worth over $250,000

Their beloved place in Aussie culture means some people aren’t scared to modify theirs and will rebuild their Monaro into the car they’ve always dreamed of no matter what the value of the original car is.

Video: 1969 Holden Monaro GTS Coupe

Enthusiams from Our Happy Customers

PLEASE NOTE:

We will cover Modifications which you have listed in your Schedule or given us details of in writing, and which we have accepted.

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