Printable View
A good driver can drive a bad car well but a great car even better. Some people are only able to drive one type of car. They cannot adapt to different settings.
Bond was one of the drivers who could adapt. But to drive different settings and cars you never get 100% it is a compromise.
Hey Baz,
I would say the opposite, my Torana handles better than a lot of newer more advanced cars and definitely much better than a GY Falcon. More comfortable as well. The GT with those crappy low back seats, plenty of power and great for a straight line, different story if you wanted to stop or turn quickly. But hey thats my opinion as well.:D
Quote:
Originally Posted by Redback
Just a few more things for the very impressive list.
What goes round...
...looks a lot better.We're referring to the L34's 7in diameter round headlight inserts that replaced the standard square ones on the SL/R 5000.
Those colours
L34's were produced in the following mostly attention-grabbing,Holden colours; Aquamarine,Covert(dull metallic grey),Gunmetal,Burgundy,Azure blue(mid blue),Glacier white,Orchid(lilac),Cognac(golden brown),Monterey green(bottle),Chrome yellow,Autumn gold,Willow(grey/silver),Sunburst(Gold with a hint of green),Sable(silver),Saffron(Orangey-gold),Barbados,Salamanca red. In addition to the standard Holden range of colours at the time,at least two tuxedo black L34's were built and as many five special order Sebring orange examples went to Bob Jane's southern motors.
Anyone for golf?
The vast majority of L34's had black trim with 'Dark Ash Sadlon' vinyl inserts-what widely became known as the golf ball-pattern.A couple of odd ball interior combos also slipped through.
It's the little things.
The L34 features a raft of subtle modifications that set it apart from other Toranas. For example the accelerator pedal has a different pivot point,so with less pedal travel the driver gets more response.In other words,it's designed to be driven on the throttle.
Occasional finds.
The last 'Numbers matching car'in original condition that turned up out of the blue-i,e.previously unknown to Torana club record keepers-did so two years ago.It was owned by the family of a former Holden dealer who had put it away many moons ago.And the previous 'find'was three years prior.Which means another is just about due to be discovered...
A driver's car.
As one Torana fan told us,"As an enthusiast,there's nothing more pleasing than driving one. You've got to take control to get the most out of them,at which point they became very rewarding.With the noise it makes and it's willingness to rev,you do feel like your driving a racing car more so than behind the wheel of the XU-1 and A9X. The A9X feels more refined.The suspension didn't progress markedly to the A9X."
A fabled development mule.
What was learned from the L34 program was built upon for the A9X. A left-field example was a stream lining of production line processes to help the race teams.It started when Bob Forbes/Wayne Negus L34 was rushed down the assembly line at the Dandenong production facility so the team could make the start line at Bathurst. The manner in which it was fast tracked made production line chiefs realise the plant could do more for race teams,prompting the famed production line process that was adopted for the famed A9X of 1977.
Stealth-like introduction.
Because the L34 arrived just two years after the supercar scare it was never advertised and showroom cars were often not fitted with all the go-faster gear.Of course,stealth-like introductions-and Holden's furphy that engine mods didn't increase horsepower-served only to create desire and mystique among enthusiasts.
Media snub
The SL/R 5000 L34 received less magazine and newspaper coverage upon it's launch than you might expect.One reason was because most publications couldn't get their hands on 'works burger' L34's to test and photograph.The Adelaide Advertiser overcame the lack of press/fleet L34's by driving a privately-owned car with all the fruit.Motoring journalist Stuart Innes'Bonnetful of Fury'report began with the words "astonishing performance". "Using the middle of the four speed box a kick on the accelerator would send the car rocketing ahead. "A squirt down the drag strip at AIR stopped the clocks at an amazing 14 seconds for a standing-start 400 metres. "That is a very quick-quicker than times recorded for such fast movers as the Porsche 911 Carrera and 1.8 secs faster than the XB GT Falcon.The standard SL/R 5000 took 15.9." Innes summed up with "The L34 Torana V8 is a very powerful and very fast car having more than is needed for road use.But it has no bad temperaments,is quite usable in city driving and has good handling and brakes."
I think that pretty well sums things up:D
My wife had an LC with the red 138 (2250) engine. Only a small motor but it went well in the little Torana.
Torana means "To Fly" in Aboriginal I once read!
My wife's uncle still has a G-Pak he purchased in 1975 and it is still a daily driver. Another one owner in the family is a HQ 350 Monaro four door.
Cheers, Mick.
Gotta love the HQ:)Quote:
Originally Posted by mick88
As Craig says, a Torana can be made to handle very well with some of GM's part's bin modifications.
The L34 claim to fame was that magnificent engine, understandably misunderstood in its early days, but good enough for many race wins against fords far bigger 351.
The A9X claim to fame is shared between the bigger 1 tonner axle with discs and the new Radial Tuned Suspension.
any torana can be easily updated with later model suspension parts and revised geometry. The difference that makes is really astounding.
There are plenty of Torana club racing cars keeping pace with more modern machinery or certainly more favoured cars.
As silly as it sounds, most people would scoff at the old Torry going door to door with a 911 Porsche, but it happens in classic targa racing all the time.`
Happy 40th Birthday L34 :burnrubber:
The really big difference on the A9X was bigger rear wheel wells/tubs (it used the later UC floorpan) to fit better/bigger racing rubber, as well as HJ/Z front brakes and 14" rims.
As Mick said, the geometry revisions were relatively easy to do.
The racing A9X also used a watts link instead of relying on the standard angled 4 link for lateral axle location.
Disco Man..thanks very much for that inforemantibve post..
A Holden Legend like the LH Torana deserves lots of respect!:)
I have a Yellow HOLDEN LH TORANA L34 SLR 5000 SEDAN in 1:43 scale model
They looks sooo tough! love them!:):)
No problems mate,i found a couple of articles and thought maybe some people on the forum might get some enjoyment from them.And yeah i agree they deserve respect and a mention.Quote:
Originally Posted by 4x4 MORE
Thanks Disco Man for posting, it brings back memories of my youth.
I owned 4 XU-1's.
The first one was a Yellow Dolly LC. It was second hand but not very old. It was before the LJ came out. I went to Mallala races one day and there was a dark blue racing Torana there with flared guards. I loved it so I had mine done. I had 8 X 13's with a decent offset and 195 x 13 tyres stretched over the rims. It looked hot. The rims were 3 piece specially made by Pfitzner Engineering. The carbies were replaced with triple Webers at one stage, they sounded good fluttering away but were buggers to keep in tune. Went to Bathurst with my then girlfriend in 1972 when Brocky won. (or was it 73?) After the race the car was treated like royalty, people stopping traffic so we could get out of the car park and as we drove down the track, people were waving and calling out "Torana" with thumbs up. We stopped for fuel somewhere and there were lots of cars there having been to Bathurst. One lad was looking around the cars and pointing at them in turn. He said, "I passed that one, I passed that one, I passed that one." but then he looked at the Torana and said "But I couldn't pass that one." I don't remember what he was driving. My girlfriend said she opened the door and was going to step out and almost stood on a guy's head! He was checking out the underside of the car! I put a 308 V8 in that car. It wasn't much of a sleeper because it looked tough standing still.
One day I was in Adelaide and I went past the Holden dealer down near the markets. In the showroom was a red (tangerine or mandarin, can't remember the difference) LJ XU-1. It was second hand.....It was beautiful, I had to have it! I put 7 X 13 deep dished Magnum mags on it and drove it til the flywheel bolts came loose (common fault I believe). Engine out, V8 in. It had a 2" single exhaust and looked stock. It had a 3.55 diff. It was quick but had no top end speed. I dragged a 750 Kawasaki 3 cylinder bike one night at the lights, he couldn't believe it! I took the front swaybar off and fitted one to the rear. It handled like a go-cart, nothing could get near it yet it was easy to drive.
We put the LJ engine in my mate's LC GTR, the GTR engine in my yellow LC and I then sold it.
I had a white LJ with the Globe mags and more bog in the back quarter than in a crash shop and an ugly metallic green LJ too. Both had original JP engines, but were not special like the first two.
In 1974 we were all trying to find out as much info of this enigma L34 as we could. Information was very scarce. I bought a yellow one from Colleton Motors down at Reynella, drove it 200 meters to my mate's tyre business and fitted 8 X 14 deep dished Magnums. I kept the original wheels as well. That engine was scary on the over-run until you got used to it. Engines in those days shouldn't sound like that, not brand new anyway. I remember the engine number on that car was HZ13000. I had the front and rear bumpers dechromed and powder-coated flat black. I also fitted Ford GT triangular scoops on the bonnet, this was considered sacrilege in those days. I was hassled by a certain Police Sergeant about the width of the wheels for some time and eventually put the standard rims back on it.
Then came the A9X and I had to have one of those as well. I had an order in for a GTR-X at some time too but of course they never happened unfortunately. There was a Holden dealer in Melbourne sprouting that they had contacts with HRT and were fitting the flares etc to the A9X so they would get the first of them......I fell for the BS. I drove to Melbourne in the L34 but they wouldn't give me anywhere near enough for it and the waiting list for the A9X was smoke and mirrors stuff. I remember it was a long weekend and we went for a drive on the Monday and happened to pass Bill Patterson's at Ringwood. There in all it's glory was an A9X hatchback, funny but I can't remember the colour. I couldn't wait to ring them quickly enough on the Tuesday morning. I spoke to Ray Biffen (he was a Melbourne footballer at the time). He said THEY were doing the flares, electric fans etc on the A9X's not the other mob because of their contacts with HRT and Brocky. He was honest, he said he couldn't give me enough for the L34 but if I wanted to place an order, he'd hold one for me. They had orange and a Tangarine or Mandarin hatchback(again I can't remember the colour between the XU-1 and A9X colours). I said to Ray to "scratch my name on the red one!" I went home to Adelaide, promptly sold the L34 to a car dealer on Port Road for good money. Funnily he wanted bigger wheels for it so I sold him the Magnums as well. I rang Ray Biffen, he said did I want to fly to Melbourne and drive it home or put it on a truck. Silly question! They paid for me to fly over, had a 3 day permit organised and I drove it home with lipstick on my earlobes (the 70's version of a permagrin) I had the rims widened to 8" with Pirelli CN36's, just the outer rim was chromed so they looked standard. The old sergeant never noticed and left me alone. That car had a 2.6 diff. I towed a ski-boat at the time and it was very difficult to pull out of a boat ramp with the boat on, mega clutch slip. It did have other advantages though. One day we were going up to Walker's Flat skiing. My mate had a HQ Statesman and was towing the boat. His girlfriend was driving. I came off of Cook's Hill and saw a glint in the distance, I knew it was them. I put the pedal to the metal, pulled out to pass them about a km before I reached them and went past them with the speedo needle off the gauge. My mate was turning around at the time talking to someone in the right rear seat. He said he saw a red flash and by the time his head whipped back to the front he couldn't tell what it was that went passed........but he knew it was me. Because I had difficulty on the boat ramps, I sold the car and bought........wait for it.........a Datsun 260Z! Silly you say, but not as silly as my mate who sold his Phase 3 for one of those EL GT's. OUCH!!
Sorry about my ramblings but I loved my Toranas at the time. A young lady said to me at the time "What makes a car great?", I said, "If it goes handles and stops, it's great." Now if you asked me I'd say "Auto, air and power steering." Agh, the tyranny of old age!