Thread: 1973 Holden HQ Monaro GTS 4-Door 253 Auto.

If ever there was a volume booster dressed as a muscle car it was the HQ GTS 4-door in docile 253ci V8 automatic form.The XV4 was all about the V8 Rumble and those bonnet stripes.Story by Ben Stewart.

The Monaro GTS 4-door was released in March 1973 with the purpose of boosting HQ sales overall.The 4-door GTS was a kind of 'missing link' in a vast range of vehicles that covered every conceivable corner of the market.Up to this point,GM-H had offered the traditional sports-themed products as glamorous two-door vehicles.These were available in both the full-sized Holden car line as well as the smaller Torana line.

From the moment the Monaro had been launched in 1968 it was the company's unabashed cult car.Victories in the Bathurst 500 in 1968 (with the GTS 327) and 1969 (GTS 350) gave the stylish coupe extra street cred.Holden took any opportunity to promote the top-of-the-line GTS 350 model as its full-on muscle car.

When the HQ was first unveiled in mid-1971 it was obvious that the Monaro GTS was toned down substantially from the previous models.The all-new smooth HQ coupe was a beautifully designed and proportioned car.However,sales of the Holden coupe had been on the decline since 1970 and the all-new model failed to reverse this trend.Sure,the company still sold cars in vast numbers,but not like in the 'old days'.GM-H's head honchos were not impressed by the figures.

Director of sales John Bagshaw had an idea for a new car in the Holden line-up.This was a 4-door 'sporty' vehicle with real image.Bagshaw quickly determined such a car was missing from the vast HQ range.He came up with the SS and,as history shows,this model,released in August 1972,was an instant success,exceeding all expectations.

The SS incorporated some rather clever elements in the build configuration.The car had the base 253ci(4.2-litre) V8 engine mated to the standard 4-speed manual transmission.But in an effort to make it appeal to sporty-minded enthusiasts a performance 3.36;1 rear axle ratio along with dual exhausts were included as part of the package.Whilst not brilliant,the performance and overall appeal were way above what was normally expected for the low price of $3295 at the time.

The car looked hot,it went well and it certainly sounded the part.So it was win,win,win here.

Building on the SS,the decision was made-wrongly say many within the company-to apply the sacred nameplate Monaro to a 4-door GTS-specification sedan.If the SS was a good thing,this new car was going to be something else again,at least in the minds of its creators.
Yet,in essence,it was an optioned-up Kingswood V8 sedan.Herein lay the problem.

The entry level Monaro GTS 4-door (XV4) featured a 253 V8 (185bhp/138kw) with single exhaust,standard 4-speed manual transmission and a 3.08;1 rear axle.Thus,its performance-if you could call it that-didn't match its looks.
True,the GTS 350 version was a different story altogether,but the availability of the 253 took the gloss off the vehicle for many muscle car fans.

When creating the look of the GTS 4-door,the stylists were well aware of the visual impact of the SS.In an effort to make this new optioned-up Kingswood stand out (it was a 4-door sedan after all),extreme paint stripes on the bonnet and boot lid were included as a standard feature,along with blacked-out treatment in other strategic places.The car looked very loud to the point it also looked very fast.

Vented steel sports wheels (fitted with wide ER70H14 radials) added more visual impact.As predicted,the 4-door Monaro sold like hot cakes.It appealed to a wider cross-section,including the family man who once owned a GTS coupe yet still desired to be the envy of other drivers now that he tin-lids to taxi around.

Unfortunately for purists,this base specification Monaro GTS 4-door was rather dull in the performance stakes.An SS would blow it away big time given the benefit of dual exhausts and the 3.36;1 axle.But it got worse.
The optional Trimatic automatic version was even more of a slug.
The Trimatic version came mated to a towering 2.78;1 rear axle that took the edge (what little there was of it) off acceleration,to the point where a plain-Jane looking LJ Torana GTR could blow it into the weeds.

As car magazines of the day invariably tested the hot versions,we couldn't find any credible performance figures for the auto 253 version.
To get performance on a par with the SS,the buyer needed to choose the extra cost 308ci V8 engine that also came with the high-performance 4-speed manual and the 3.36;1 rear axle.Moving up the ladder further,the top-of-the-line XW8 specification was a GTS 350 4-door with a proper muscle car driveline including dual exhausts and LSD axle.

An HQ Monaro GTS 4-door with 253 V8 engine and Trimatic transmission in the hero colour of Mustard (yellow),a la WHEELS' March 1973 cover,is quite possibly the ultimate Australian-made image car that didn't go as hard as its looks suggested.
Its certainly muscular in its stance and appearance,but the thought of referring to it as an Australian muscle car is a difficult one for many.
If only looks could kill......

So what do you blokes think,Muscle car or pretender?
Me personally i think it's all show and very little go,but i would not turn one down if it was offered.
Whats your thoughts?

Originally Posted by Mick_Marsh

Yep. Back in the days of the SS, there were no 4 door Monaros. When the 4 door Monaros were being manufactured, the SS had long been out of production.

There was 2 and 4 door Monaros in the HQ range. What I believe is that the HQ SS was never referred to by GM as a Monaro. It was just a Holden SS.