Road-testing the 1974 Holden LH Torana | RetroFocus
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- Опубликовано: 27 июл 2024
- In this episode of 'Torque' from April 1974, Peter Wherrett and racer Sue Ransom road test the LH Torana and ask: is it a big small car or a small big car?
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"We don't need a V8 in a small car like the Torana."
*Drives a V8 Mk8 Nagari in the intro...*
Yeah !!! He was a goose!!!
@@darryllspalding5211 and @GRIFAbyte101 - just because an out and out sports car like the extremely limited production Nagari gets a V8, doesn't mean that a mid-sized car for the family needs a V8. Just because you, me, most people would like an SLR5000, don't be a goose yourself, think about what he's saying and _why_ he's saying it.
@@thosdot6497 Actually the SLR5000 was part of the reason Bolly decided to shut shop.
Lol, I know of one with a LS3 in it.
He likes the 4 cylinder
Peter Wherett cops a lot of criticism for some of his life choices. I couldn't care less personally but I think he is the finest motoring journalist to come out of Australia.
@Shane Brbich What he chose to do in his private life is simply none of our business.....
@Shane Brbich Yes I reckon
These people being mega judgemental on his penchant for cross dressing don't know what secrets their heroes may harbour. I think it enhances his legend.
@@jamesfrench7299 Drag racing: Driving really fast with women's clothes on....
No sign of a frock when he did the Victa commercials in 82.
Peter Wherrett has always reminded me of Greg Chappell in knowledge depth, voice and mannerisms. High praise.
I remember as a child our neighbour had a Torana(6 cylinder) and every morning I would lie in bed and hear him trying to start his Torana for 10 - 15 minutes. Eventually he would get it going.
My mum had one too. They ran terrible when cold in colder climates. I remember we would pre run it for a bit before we went (if time allowed)
@@davidclarke6658 Modern cars have the same problem as a mate has a 2024 Isuzu D Max and that hates freezing weather with a car just conking out when cold. He can't do anything about it because it's an employer provided vehicle. He wasn't asked what he wanted he was just given it.
No car show came close to this. Way ahead of its time.
100% Australian design and engineering with a little German influence. A very handsome car with excellent proportions. But way too many rust traps in the body. They built 70,000 LH Toranas but how many do you see today?
Loving this series, brings back memories of compulsory viewing back in the day. It is also amazing how relevant the topics Peter talks about still are today
Watching these old videos reminds me of how bad brakes, tyres and suspension were until the late Eighties. It’s not speeding, drink and drug driving persecution that’s reduced the road toll (although that has helped), its simply safer cars. Authorities throughout the world have been obsessed with policing, I mean, some people make a shed load of money by policing the population.
But too many cars now come with so called driver safety systems which aren't that safe but lull people into a false sense of security. They're currently optional on cars but next year (2025) they're to be mandatory on all new cars. Many of these systems give false readings like warning of school zone speed limits when those speed limits don't apply out of school hours. The cameras don't work in foggy weather or in very heavy rain with constant messages coming up in front of the driver telling them to clear the windshield when the wipers are on their maximum speed. Anti collision warnings when there's no danger of a collision. Lane keeping assist which fights the driver if they try to steer round a pothole in the road. Yet ANCAP wants these systems mandatory otherwise cars will only get a 4* rating and 5* is looked upon as totally safe and 4* is looked upon as a death trap.
i used to work on this model back in the mid 70s. A basic design without the complicated features found in modern times.
I remember in 1974 a kid saying that his dad was earning $100 per week, which puts the seemingly cheap $3100 base price of the Torana into perspective.
Sounds identical to my childhood. My dad owned a Torana, and he was an insurance salesman.
31 weeks to earn that car if he saved 100 every week so break it down it be over a year of saving to buy it.
In todays money we can’t even do that for a new car :(
Make no mistake, cars especially Australian ones were at their cheapest then.
In the era of the First Shape Holden (48-215) it took 94 weeks average pay to buy a new one.
This reduced by a fair margin during the fifties and sixties.
With the rises in income especially from the mid sixties and even more so during the early seventies, it became much more affordable.
In 1973 it took Mr Average about 26 weeks to buy a new Holden Kingswood.
Ten years earlier it took around 40-50 weeks depending on if it was a Special or Premier EJ and EH.
This explains why many family cars bought during the seventies were optioned up with bucket seats, vinyl roofs, full instructions and alloy wheels as those features were more commonly found on more expensive European imports or smaller Japanese cars which were making inroads into the market.
Buyers in the seventies were now able to order their cars with much more options than ever before and it was a great way for manufacturers to increase profits.
In 1977 a Ford LTD was $15,500 new without options. A Falcon 500 was $6200. Ok, it had a V8 instead of a 6, a FMX instead of a column shift, leather instead of vinyl, fake woodgrain veneer instead of black plastic and many other things like power windows, power Ariel and courtesy lights. But look at the price difference.
Manufacturers made big profits on the luxury versions of their bread and butter family cars.
Also, during those years many wives began buying their own cars and often brand loyalty dictated their preference to being a smaller four cylinder cars built often by the same manufacturer. The Gemini and the Kingswood often shared a driveway. As did the Falcon and an Escort. The Galant or Lancer similarly with the Valiant or the mid sized cars which had grown in size like the above mentioned Torana and it's rivals the Cortina and forthcoming Centura. These intermediates were almost as roomy, and often more powerful than the family cars of a decade earlier like the EJ EH Holden, and to a lesser extent, Early Falcon (XL XM era) and Early Valiant (R, S and AP series). Many of those cars were traded in on well optioned mod size cars and many buyers were lured into things like nimble, easy to park bodies and Rack and Pinion precise steering and so on.
This also partly explains the popularity of the VB Holden Commodore and to some extent the two litre class of the late seventies and early eighties (Sigma, 200B, Mazda 626, Toyota Corona and the medium sized cars like Sunbird, Commodore 4 and Cortina.
Many people bought cars like the Sigma SE, Cortina Ghia and were happy to have a more compact car than a cheaper Falcon, Kingswood and Valiant.
It's a real surprise that the Centura wasn't as popular as it should have been. A very underrated car
I loved the young lady commenting on the car😮, and then I realised she’s probably about 80 now LOL
Can’t believe he said it handled well! It was a most understeery horrible thing. I drove a few LHs and a few LXs, when I was shopping around for my LX hatch in 1980. I ended up with a 77 4.2 SL hatch with radial tuned suspension. The RTS actually made the thing go where it was pointed, a real change for a Holden!
Ted Burnard I believe that was mostly due to the influence of the engineer Peter Hannenberger, who became euphemistically known as Peter Handlingberger. The General Manager of the time, George Roberts, thought that Holdens should ride and handle like a yank tank 👎
I believe the understeer was deliberately more pronounced than it needed to be as it was felt this made the car "safer" i.e. you could not drive it as fast as it was actually capable of.
@@brucelamberton8819 basically your default option of the day if you needed an automatic but not a 6 or a v8 was a fiat 132 or a saab 99 or a peugeot 504.
With the 173 I find it to be reasonable. It's old now and getting fragile. I wouldn't hustle it into corners but it responds well if you drive it gently.
He did mention this test car had RTS. Also, totally unrelated to Holden but, I sold my Bemma E36 M3 a few years back. The understeer could've killed me more than once. However, it did save me once when I needed it most. My point is. Approach a corner too fast in anything & it will either understeer or oversteer my friend ;)
I still miss my old LJ XU-1 Torana that was stolen and stripped in 1988. Loved that car.
I bet you miss it, it’d be worth a lot today
That's bad to hear I love the LJ XU1,I also have a bad story of a lost holden, my car was a VN Group A SS which was stolen in 1995 never to be seen again unfortunately.
Easily the best model...
What happened to it, all the value is probably in the compliance plate on the firewall
Wow.. I miss these simpler times. Hardly any traffic. Quiet. Very nice. Thanks ABC!!
So when is the series return huh??
My mate had a Peter Wherrett special Mitsubishi Sigma in high school , Factory Recaros and a spare tutu in the glove box.
What a legend.
Can we access the more full episodes of this show? This is great!
We have 7 more of these road tests to come - we'll put one up a week. Hopefully people will enjoy them and we can keep mining the vaults!
@@abcnewsaustralia Subscribed . Can't wait to see the following 7 more :)
Release the lot I say. I’d love to see them all again.
First time I've ever heard someone refer to a Trimatic as a "lovely thing"...
The "traumatic"
They are talking about when it was brand new, It wasn't too bad for the time
The Torana LH is now a very collectable car!
I'm guessing mostly by people who want to make SLR5000 look alikes.
gotta love 1970's track suits what a fashion icon.
In later life, he identified as female and was known for the last two years as Pip Wilson. She died of prostate cancer in 2009.
I'll never forget the time Peter Wherrett was reviewing a Jaguar and he said "Ahh Jaguar, the 'Rolls Royce' of cars". Even as a kid, I immediately realised what he said and laughed "But the Rolls Royce is the 'Rolls Royce' of cars!" Ahh Peter Wherrett, the 'Jeremy Clarkson' of motoring journalists.
Hilarious
But unlike Clarkson he has a brain.
New, Duff Champagne!
It’s the ‘beer’ of Champagnes!
Maybe he was thinking of the Rolls-Royce Merlin.
Yeah, I was thinking of top gear when I saw the episode with the Gemini
Most SLR 5000 ended up up in trees
By fools who could not control them.Too much power for inexperienced drivers.
@@denisovanhybrid9610 Really? Which one? Just from a basic web search 285 (slr) vs 90 kW (corolla) and 171 vs 472 Nm, respectively. Two fat occupants and the Corolla would grind to a halt.
@@denisovanhybrid9610 that’s not right mate I think you mean a 330i BMW 3 series
I couldn't believe the shakes a slr5000 got after 140k. Balance on tail shaft wasn't.
@@mapp0v0 Must have got a bad one, my 74 SLR5000 was fine up to 180 then the front got a bit light, but I had confidence in it at 160. And it was great on bush roads as well.
RIP Peter 2009. The reason for the V8 was racing, and it won against the big boys. I loved my A9X hatch and I would love to go back in time to have it again.
ah ha......
if only we knew what classics they were back then huh ?
The reason for the V8 was people wanted the V8. I am curious though at what point, and by whom, the decision was taken to stop racing the Monaro, and instead race the Torana.
@@xpusostomos The HQ, HJ and HX were very bad at understeer - turn a corner but the car wants to go straight. The suspension was not tuned for corners but the Torana's were.
@@aussietaipan8700 I imagine racing cars are tuned completely differently. And apparently they had to bolt on the massive wheel arches to the Torana to get it wide enough to corner how they wanted. I gather that the 302 block was smaller than the 350? Is that why the Torana never got the 350? In any case, racing a HQ would have avoided the wheel arches and got them the 350 engine, it would be interesting to hear the conversations had about that.
life was so simple back then, even cars were less complicated, and now it seems we are so stupid we need two cameras, a computer to tell us your to close to the white centerline of the road or stops us from running over a kid, i thought we are evolving as a humanity
@MDS new cars these days seem to have more distractions in them, i agree with you IMO we are slowly disconnecting from reality
Because of the technology getting put into cars people are forgetting the skills needed to drive in a safe manner. I have 2 cars one later model with all the bells and whistles and a 30 year old V8 commodore that has an air con and power assisted steering. I much prefer to drive the old V8 over the late model car because I feel like I am actually driving not just sitting behind the wheel steering it in the direction I want to go. The manufacturers put all these extras in to make it sound appealing to the masses, when all we really need is something basic and simple just to go from point A to point B.
my first car was a 1974 lh torana in 1981 and yes times were simple gees those were the days
In all fairness try reversing a current Ford Ranger or similar and try tell me the reverse camera isn't progress. As for auto parking and all that nonsense, couldn't agree more. It was all that interior crap that was the justification for a VF beating an FG in a comparison even though one had better driving performance.
Some modern technology is pretty good and can be helpful at times.
These are Ace. Would you be able to put these Torque videos in a playlist they are hard to find amongst all the other videos
Thanks
My mother worked at GM pagewood making seats in the early 70s
Interesting, I thought it was all males who worked at gm?
Holden really got it right with the LH/LX/UC, especially the later LX and UC with RTS. I had a UC and when fitted with gas shocks, progressive HD springs and poly bushes, it made the handling even better. My brother had a LX hatchback (6-cyl, not V8); one thing I did not like was the handbrake.
Then the commodore came out :(
As my Dad would say, "She's got quite the set of choppers on 'er!"
Peter Wherrett gives an unbiased honest fair opinion on the cars good job Peter.
He lost me when he criticized the V8 version. 4 cylinder cars today have more horsepower than 1970's V8's.
They also brake, corner and do everything else better than 40+year old car 😉
Yeah, gee, for me, this guy was a total flog. The v8 won Bathurst ffs. No man in their right mind would ever say this car doesn’t need a v8, unless said ‘man’ was into dressing up as a woman.
Peter did love his magnas and sigmas though, says a lot!
@@gtbtp2036 Yea kind of strange for a guy who raced cars too. Its not like they were forcing people to buy the V8 version.
To be fair v8's were getting a lot of bad press at the time. Well off kids and young men were racing things like GTHOs through main streets and getting into lots of crashes (handling and braking so nothing like a modern cars). So there was a general dislike by a lot of people towards overpowered vehicles back then.
And no lm definitely not one of those people, but like a lot of things culture varies over time.
BBG HDT means Holden dealer team... factory L34 engine back then unlike today’s touring car engines
The V8 Works version of this was my dream car back in the day. Heard they were tough to handle in the wet though...
My father had one of these I loved how you'd pump the park brake then released by toggle on the dash 😂lol
Thanks to uploader BUT please upload the shows in their entirety & please use the original theme song... Went to the 1990 Summernats from Bemdigo in a warm LH, drove back to Benders from Summernats '91 2am NYD in a stock LH hatchback with Deep Purple in the Pioneer deck: liked them both... Best to all🤟
always liked the boomerang steering wheel
I had both LJ and LX. I loved both. The LX was the nicer car though. I miss them both to this day.
My dad had a 74 Torana LS. The number plate was HEL 100. It stood to the number plate HELL. It leaked every time it rained, rusted out witching 18 months and always need engine repairs. Dad update it pretty quickly for those days and bought a Valiant. Now that was a dam good car.
Who can honestly admit the Holden 202 was a performance engine without the triples ??
The V8 is a no brainer for all round driving
I picked up my LH in May 1975 at the Holden dealership at Warilla. it was my first new car. Drove it to 1Townsville the next month and over the next four years drove it to every state in Australia. Only failed by at the end when it had over 250000 k on it. The gearbox jammed in 2nd. Where are you today HIB192? Replaced it with a Gemini
Shouldn’t have replaced it mate Torana is cooler then Gemini 😢
The Torana LH was , in my opinion, the starting point for the original Commodore some 4 years later. A medium sized car with the engine options and features of the larger Kingwood range. It was available as a 4, 6 & V8 sedan which was unusual, with the model range extending from an economical 1.9 litre 4 to a powerful V8!
Of course, the Commodore was a screw up, and the small size led to Ford taking top spot.
@xpusostomos you are joking right 😂
@@Mr1sick88 No, in the 80s people looked at Falcon and observed it had better fuel economy than commodore and felt bigger, so it pulled ahead of Commodore in Sales. Everybody recongised that Holden screwed up. So when they did a full model refresh with the VG Commodore in the 90s, they bloated it out to Falcon size... Naturally Falcon never downsized to Commodore size.
They fitted the V8 in the Torana for Peter Brock to kick arse around Bathurst and he did 😂.
I cannot remember a car review where they took a family sedan out to see how it performs on dirt.
Lol
But very practical as many drive on gravel roads.
Remember this car very well ... gave me a hernia lifting the spare wheel out of the boot !
I can't believe Peter actually _liked_ this pile!
It was actually a good and reliable car.
I agree with everything that Peter Wherrett said except for that V8 topic. I never liked the asthmatic red Holden sixes and unless they made a XU1 190 bhp version I think they were a good package with the V8 either 253 or 308....
I think the three speed manual version should never have been made available except for the bench seated versions just the 4 speed manual or autos
Four wheel discs should've been a mandatory option in V8 versions .
Peter looks not quite as old as how i remember him in the later colour editions of the Torque episodes with the tweed cap and sports jackets
I don’t think the Toranas needed V8s it’s not a hot rod but a small family car
To know the time back then was important. That's why the made the clock half the instruments. It was as important as the speedo, so they made them the same size.
I found that quite strange. Too bad if any of the passengers wanted to see the time. Even more than the clock strangely in the main cluster, I noticed the lack of actually useful guages in front of the driver.
Stephen Sansom you didn't want to be late to that fondue party.
The Torana at 4493 mm long 1704 mm wide and riding a 2586 mm wheelbase marked a return to the medium sized family car for Holden loyal Australian Buyers and this showed successful as these Toranas sold very well.....
It was an inch narrower than the EJ and EH and was similar length to the EJ .
The Centura released a year later was more similar in size to the VB Commodore and HD HR Holdens....
The Cortina TC actually was the pioneer in this medium sized alternative to the full sized primitive family car and it had the more sophisticated mechanicals than the Falcon, a feature that the LH to UC Torana and the Centura released a few years after the TC.
Rack and pinion steering And rear coil springs ........impressive for 1974
The EJ's body was wider the EJ's wheel track was narrower just a shame the RTS came too late and NO power steer was offered it would have been the best Aussie car of its era.
@@veragarcia9594 there were a few annoying design flaws that's for sure. Super handsome cars, though.
I loved my Torana's all four of them!:{
Peter keeps asking "why wasn't I born 50 years later? He knew exactly how cars should be built... and knew it was possible... but just couldn't understand why they were not.
BEASTS OF A BUY GONE ERA 😢😢😢
"We don't need a V8 in a small car like the Torana". What a golden line from Peter!
Bet he ate his hat in 79 when brock and Richards DESTROYED EVERYTHING in the a9x at Bathurst.
@@captainkaos754 The A9X was a very different animal to the LH.
Peter Brook wouldn’t agree! 😮
Well, I mean he was right, we didn't need it. A 202 powered Torana in good condition motored along just fine.
Remember he is talking for the average consumer.
@@BensSightSoundandAutoand the average consumer was young adults and women and a 186 would be perfect in these. 202 wasn’t good as my uncle says.
Australia's cars were amazing
In what way? I have a lot of experience with this era of car, and I can tell you, they were barely a step up from farm equipment.
@@TheHeretic435 just this car
if you think holdens are australian cars, you need to do some research.
Comrade_ Savage15 at falling apart
Don't be sarcastic, may be if we'd had less of that smug attitude, we would have supported them and made them better, Korean cars were a alot worse than ours, I don't think they'd be were they are today, with that attitude and looked at our industry, we're just lucky, were small and rich, the Saudi of coal, iron ore, wool, property and foreign students , don't blame the cars they can always be improved, blame the attitude and culture, oh well, we can always spend our money on American fighter jets
How wrong Pete was about dropping a V8 in the Torana. History in the making
Salty Dog889 To be fair, he was talking about it from a daily driven family friendly road car perspective. I’m as big a petrolhead as the next bloke but if you think about it, he really was right.
It’s no different to the sportsbike or hypercar craze of today. These machines really are stupid and unneccesary, but we as petrolheads just can’t resist them 😂
At the end of the day, a machine built for enthusiasts shouldn’t be lumped into the same category as one built for getting from A to B.
The manufacturers offered different versions for a reason, if you thought a V8 Torana was a bad idea, you could buy the six. If you thought the six was too slow, you could buy the V8.
Peter was a brilliant car reviewer, but he never seemed to understand that different people wanted different things from a car, and that his opinion wasn’t necessarily fact.
As a society we are cursed by those in power who have this same train of thought, it’s one of the biggest reasons that so many of the enjoyable things in life are gradually being banned, taxed, and made illegal, all in the name of safety, of the induvidual or the public.
Most of the time it’s simply that The Man doesn’t like a certain thing, so as little as one incidence of the thing causing a safety concern results in the thing being banned, taxed, or made illegal. I find it hard to believe that those in power care for my safety, or for the environment. It’s much more likely that they simply want to see the world corform to their own ideals, regardless of the opinions of others.
Well i got really off track there, but anyway, thanks for reading haha
Marty McFly I’m needing what you’re having🙃
But thanks for your considered opinion mate. Appreciated
Salty Dog889 It’s only International Roast and ADD medication haha 👍🏻
Marty McFly Cheers mate shout yourself some Moconna😆
Torque, for the viewer who can't aspire to driving anything better than a Holden Kingswood
The last series the UC Torana were the best car Holden ever made.
Redblower I doubt that
mick...I am pretty sure it was, course you are younger than me and never had one.
Very big call.
lol ...the column auto is very quick and smooth....
Interesting to see the parking brake floor pedal on a right hand drive car. It looks like it's in the way of the passenger. I live in Canada and I have a 1972 Oldsmobile, left hand drive. The pedal is right up against the left inner floor panel and practically disappears when you push it down.
Interesting how much this car looks like an American 1974 Buick in the grille.
2:32 thats what "she" said lol
Gold 😆😆
strueff! there's a sheila driving bruce!
Great host
After what he said I feel like polluting even more. Better hurry up and get my 2nd V8 on the road,
I ♥️ climate change
Floor emergency brake was so they could fit it with a bench seat. Holden fixed this in the HQ
The HQ came before the LH. But I think it was a space issue that prevented then fitting the drop-down park brake down the right hand side of the seat in the LH.
@@gilesflower That's true !
7 inches width difference between the LH and HQ.
The HQ was released about 3 years before the LH.
Can anyone explain Why the car in this video has LX head lights?
The LX headlights were round. Seems backwards but they were rectangle in the LH, changed to round in the LX, then back to rectangle in the UC...
I loved my Torri...
Australian road toll 1975 = 3,700, Australian road toll 2020 = 1110 . Road toll per 100,000 Australians 26.6 in 1975. Road toll 4.5 in 2020.
Before 1968 our steering columns used to impale us - this is what Peter Wherrett remembered only too well
back then many people had no problems driving drunk not like now that probaly reduced the road toll alot
Even as a Ford man. .I love the torana
My first car....I was more of a Ford dude....but Holdens cost less in the 70s....then I moved on to a Toyota Corona :):)
Valiant Charger in 1993 here.
@@TheHeretic435
My bro-in-law had one of those :)
Your bro-in-law is a better than you
@@TheHeretic435
No way dude....he was a pansy at the wheel :):)
My dad owned one of these SL 1900 good car he owned it for a while
Hardly any body roll...haha! We need suspension like that back again where I live with all the potholes nowadays
They were ok but the LX from 1976 with RTS was a revelation.
The Peter Wherrett Special version of the Sigma had a Turbo (smallish-medium sized family sedan) was that okay with you Peter? LOL 😆
Dreadful. It had NO compression without boost.
You're getting two cars mixed up. The Peter Wherrett special was not turbocharged. It ran a different exhaust, better brakes and bigger wheels, but no turbo. The Sigma Turbo was developed by Garret Australia (the turbo people) and Mitsubishi Australia.
@@gilesflower Yeah you're right... same model, same year but different cars, they used the same alloy wheels though didn't they?
Always preferred the newer 'Euro Shape" LH over the LJ personally
👨💻1974 Holden LH Torana miss my old Torana😂🐨
very honest review not like now days they say hunrds of lies to make sale
That was an Excellent car.
The foot parking brake was so the car could be optioned with bench seats of the era, he should have known that, same as the under dash hand parking brake that was common.
Sorry Peter going to have to disagree with you on the V8 option. I was one of the few decisions Holden actually got right. The SLR 5000 should have been the benchmark Holden was striving for in every car.
Yeah the base models should've been slr 5000 spec then they get better and better
I'd like to see his test of the LJ. Best looking Torrie.
Torrie
would go back in a heart beat, and Im only 21
patrick Life was certainly simpler back then, as well as harsher beyond your imagination. I blame the Interweb.
There should be an abc channel of archives Australia pre 2000
His V8 comments were funny, in hindsight. If only he knew the V8 Torana would become one of the fastest touring cars in the world.
Not in the 4 door for the average consumer get it right. The Torana hatch was different. And not everyone is a race car driver so not everyone need a petrol hungry V8 in their family car because they aren’t racing it only driving it 35mph to the shops
The Torana 4 doors were raced as much as the 2 doors, SLR5000 dominated the track. You could buy a A9X option for a 4 door. @@Jo_Wardy
Oh Peter... you were a great motoring journalist with one problem, your idea of how much power a car should have. It is laughable that you thought a V8 Torana had too much power.
Well actually considering thw brakes and handling he was probably right but times were different then and by those standards the car actually wasn't as bad as he makes out. So you're right but so is wherrett.
well who would of thought back then that they would would be like gold in 2021
it would take a lot of gold to bye one these days
why dident holden remake these old cars with new tec they might be still be making cars
are they Adidas Romes he has on over his stockings
He says the Torry does not need a V8. I loved my LH SLR5000. It was a beast and outran the big Fords with their 351's. Had it till 1978 until a drunk driver came through a red light and T Boned me on the passenger side. Unrepairable. But I got to keep it and transferred the motor into a 1977 HZ Sandman PV that had a 253 V8.
Only one problem with the boot, no remote opening, you actually need to use a key.
I've driven a couple of LH Torana 3.3 sixes- one an auto, the other a 4spd- and can concur with both presenters- the sixes were a great match for the LH, but were too slow in the Kingswood and Commodore, which were bigger, and by that stage had pollution gear fitted.
I've never driven the V8, but can't imagine it being any faster than my 2012 Corolla sedan. The problem was not V8 fitment, but matching it up with average brakes and suspension.
Having torquier engines in a car lends it the ability to avoid danger better, or quickly get out of the way if you misjudged a traffic situation.....which, along with better brakes and handling, makes a safer car.
In the context of 1974, the LH V8 may have been fast, but would be utterly middle of the road in today's traffic.
You drive a carolla ? When did you give up passion ?
@@crunchytheclown9694
I've had my interesting cars, don't worry about that. HG Kingswood sedan 186, VB Commodore 4-2V8, XE Falcon 3-3 and some shitters like an '85 Mitsubishi Colt and a TP Magna GLX. The Corolla is actually the best car I've ever had. Literally never had an issue with it. Other than with regular services, I've never had it off the road. In a couple of years, I'm looking at buying one of those Toyota C/HR's........in bright turquoise!😃
@@crunchytheclown9694carolla 2023 bloody nice car first drive thought it would be a buzz box 😂
Look at 3:38. the amount of rubbish behind the front passenger seat, the next camera scene it s all miraculously gone. but no one else around . lol.
Best favourite car ever
The Toranas then came with the V8 due to it being chosen by GM for motor racing in Australia. Peter called everyone out and they actually listened. Who can do that today?
Well the Previous Torana didn’t need a V8 it did alright with 186 and triple webbers
The V8 was for winning Bathurst that’s why it was put in
Don't need a V8 in a Torana. but they were scary fun with lsd and wet road.
Peter raised a very valid point, why was the need to build the SLR5000, the V8 was a cast iron boat anchor, that was too damn heavy that car and screwed out tyres and suspension, it belonged only in the HQ and it's next models.
Maybe it screwed out the stock tyres and suspension, I have no idea what was stock, but there was no reason they couldn't be upgraded to work better than the HQ. After all, that's why they raced it, a lighter car won't screw up the tyres around the track as quick. It's not like the Torana was a small car compared to the HQ. The Torana with V8 was like 1280kg and the HQ 1380kg.
Motor racing homologation, that's why
My first car was a 1976 LH.
Bathurst was calling, thats why a V8 went in one.
If he said that hand brake comment today... 'The ladies will like it because it takes very little effort' he would be off the air
The almighty A9x was on its way........
2:24 - if the vent is blowing air in your face, simply rotate it 180°. One side of the vent directs air upward, the opposing side directs air downward.
Didn't she say that it was NOT adjustable?
@@28102650 - the vent fins are fixed in position (non-adjustable), however, the entire vent unit rotates through 360° and has 4 sides. Two sides are blanked off - that's the off position. One side has vents angled upwards, the opposing side has vents angled downwards.
@@maifantasia3650 Thanks for explaining that. I don't think that she was aware of what you've just explained, either.
@@28102650 - perhaps Sue was trying to come up with some negatives to put across a more balanced review of the LH and really didn't have time to properly check out the car's features. Who knows?
Whilst that particular air ventilation system may have been present on others, I know that it was fitted on both the LH and LX Toranas. On the *base models, without air-conditioning, the same vents were also mounted in the centre of the lower console/dashboard but horizontally. In that location the vents could be rotated to direct air to the left or the right.
The major problem with the rotational vents was after the 'friction pads' had worn with age. When driving at speed, the vents would often blow fully open. The quick fix was to jamb a toothpick/match stick/folded business card into the side of the vent to 'lock' it into position.
*My grandfather would argue that EVERY model of Torana (including the base models) were fitted with air-airconditioning. 4-50 air-conditioning. 4 windows down, 50 miles an hour!
Imagine if there was the money and market to continue building the Torana and the Kingswood through the 1980’s and 1990’s instead of replacing them with the Commodore.
Interesting that he keeps referring to General Motors, not Holden.
It was General Motors first. GMH.
I'd sure opt for the V8 back then for $3,900 He could not have known he'd be up for $55,000 or 14 times that today
This car won 4 Bathursts with the 308 v8