´72 holden monaro

The Three Lives of My Monaro

I'm the third owner of this 1972 Holden Monaro. This car has an interesting history, particularly for me since it was bought new from Manthel Motors in Lower Hutt. My Dad worked there at the time and that´s not too far from where it is now. It still has the Manthel Motors sticker on the back window from new.

1972–1987 | 1987–1995 | 1995–now

First Life – Showboat (1972–1987)

Assembled in Sydney, Australia and imported to New Zealand fully built-up. She was first registered on the 24^th April 1972 so it would have been one of the first HQ Monaros cruising around New Zealand. It started life as a Luxury Sport model or LS Monaro. The factory 253 V8, Trimatic and a cream coloured vinyl roof was not particularly tasty even then although it did have a few sought after options like tinted windows, tacho, clock, electric windows, power steering, power brakes and additional LS stainless steel trim along the wheel arches and sills as well as the (at that time) ubiquitous vinyl roof. It was rebuilt completely when still a relatively new car – she was destined to have every possible bolt-on added.

The early history of this Monaro is a bit murky but some details have emerged since publishing this web site. Mike Scanlan was manager of Manthels in Upper Hutt and he bought it from a lady in Wanganui and used it as his company car for a few months. Peter Silk owned it for a while before selling it for $17,000. Peter was a bit surprised when he got the ownership papers to find it already had a few owners. He would have kept it but it was a lot of money at the time and sold it for $10,000 or so more than it cost new! He was pleased when Robin Silk bought it as he had fond memories of it and it went to a good home. Robin Silk is a well-known drag–racer who was an employee at General Motors, Trentham in Wellington and is now working in San Diego at the SoCal Speed Shop.

A long list of factory accessories were installed on the car. It was fitted with GTS Monaro gauges on the LS woodgrain dash, glovebox light and vanity mirror, bumper over-riders, door handle protectors, boot (trunk) light, interior chrome door pullers, electric aerial, electric clock, electric windows, rear window demister, tinted glass, GTS steering wheel and rare original switchgear for the electric aerial and rear window demister. Many options of this type are standard on cars now but in the 70s, this was luxury! The car was displayed in several car shows but many of the bolt-ons would be considered bloody awful now – imagine a Monaro with a big chrome roof rack!

The car underwent a colour change at some stage in the early eighties when it was featured in a Dulux Durolux poster showing the car with the WB Caprice front end, modifed HZ GTS Monaro guards and painted in HZ Holden metallic lime green – very similar to the Hothouse Green of VX/VY/VZ Commodores.

Second Life – Fat Block Drag Boy (1987–1995)

Mark Coffey aquired the car in August 1987 around about the same time I got my 57 Chev and he looked after it for another eight years until i bought it in 1995. Mark was responsible for the 454 big block Chev and TH400 that found its way in there and the car was drag raced for several years. The engine combination was pretty serious and ran low eleven-second passes on DOT Hoosiers when these first became common in drag racing around the late eighties/early nineties. Most of this racing was at the now defunct Thunderpark International Dragway, Highway 50, Hastings. The car also had several trips to both the New Plymouth and Port Road Wellington Street Drags.

I remember following Mark while driving up to Hastings in my blown small block 57 Chev...aaah...those were the days – had to stop TWICE for gas to get from Wellington to Hastings. Mark was also responsible for a colour change and painted it a custom silver with a dash of blue tinter.

Third Life – Super Supreme Combo (1995–now)

I got her in September 1995 but am not planning on selling. By the time I got her, the big block was gone. That motor was destined to be installed in Marks 34 Chev sedan only to be superceded by a 2006 GM big block 572 cubic inch monster. Anyway, the Monaro had a stock small block Chevy "runner" motor when I first got her and a TH350 with a shift kit. I used it as my daily driver for a year and she had to cope with the rush hour traffic for at least 40 thousand kilometres. By 1997 the motor was very second-hand, having done an unknown number of miles prior to purchase so it was time for a rebuild. I fully intended it to be a tow car for the 57 Chev but as usual I got a little carried away!

During the rebuild, it was discovered that the block had a stock bore but a very bent crank. No doubt due to Mark using the nitrous kit on it every now and then... hee hee! A new crank was aquired and Russ Clark decked and bored the block out 30 thou. See below for details.

Most recently I've updated the wheels (Simmons FR18) and replaced the brakes (drilled and slotted DBA Gold rotors) and all the suspension is HPC coated. A new paint job in Holden Quicksilver Mica (Silver to you and me) and a flash new interior will complete its third life and its ten year anniversary with me :-)

Skidding up at the Port Road Drags...

Engine bay chrome...mmmm...

Engine Specs

Chevrolet Small Block 350cu. in. bored 30-thou over (355cu.in.)

TRW flat-top cast pistons installed at zero deck height results in about 10.5:1 compression.

Resized standard rods with ARP bolts

Decked block, no align bore, new (standard spec) crank

Heads: Edelbrock Performer RPM Part #6071 aluminium heads (2.02in. 1.6ex.) angle plug 72cc combustion chambers

3/8" rocker studs, no porting other than original CNC finish, FelPro #1010 head gasket, FelPro intake gasket, Redline exhaust gasket

Intake: Holley 3310 780cfm vac.sec 72 primary jets, 76 secondaries

Weiand 7503 intake manifold port matched to the heads assembled with ARP stainless steel bolt kit.

Crower 00903 Street Beast hydraulic,grind #278H Intake duration 278 degrees .461 lift. Exhaust duration: 284 degrees .468 lift. Intake centerline: 108 degrees installed straight up.

1.5:1 Iskenderian roller rockers.

Competition Cams stock length hardened pushrods with Edelbrock hardened valve guide plates

Pacemaker headers 1 3/4" primaries with 3" collectors HPC coated to a polished 3" stainless steel exhaust with one 2-chamber Flowmaster. great sound!

JP high volume oil pump in a stock sump and pickup using Mobil 1

Stock balancer rebuilt.

TH350 trans was completely rebuilt in 2006 with heavy-duty sprag, competition clutches, heavy duty input shaft, stage 2 shift-kit, stock converter split and rebuilt to 2500rpm stall.

Mallory Unilite electronic distributor with Accel 8.8mm leads on Champion 12YC, about 14 degrees initial advance and 32 total degrees of advance.

Hella 1000cca heavy-duty battery installed in the boot using welding cable and heavy duty soldered connectors.

Other accessories include a 2kW gear-reduction 11-tooth starter motor from Road Runner, 14"x3" K&N filter, billet aluminium pulleys, billet valve covers, aluminium flexi-fan, Commodore cross-flow radiator and custom radiator support shroud and a trans cooler. Earls braided hoses are used for the fuel and water with a fabricated stainless-steel top hose for the radiator.

Brakes

DBA Gold-series rotors front and rear (slotted and cross-drilled), these have been modified to accept heavy-duty half-inch wheel studs to take the stresses of drag or circuit racing. The calipers have been rebuilt but big brakes are not far away as there are some cool options available as bolt-ons now. At the same time the rear-end was converted to Chev/Holden stud pattern making using other wheels as racing spares a bit easier.

Wheels and Tyres

For drag racing, it runs 15x5 and 15x8 Cragar Dragstars with Mickey Thompson front runners and Hoosier 275x55x15 QuickTime or Mickey Thompson ET Drag DOT drag tires.

When cruising it rolls on FR18 Simmons. 18x8 on the front with 235/40x18 (new Monaro size) and out back are super sticky 18x10s and 285/35x18 Michelin Pilots. The Ford LTD diff is one inch narrower than a stock Holden diff and the rear now has mini-tubs so that I can really dump it in the weeds :-)

Fuel System

½" fitting welded to fuel tank with a –10 hose to a Barry Grant BG5000 fuel filter using –10 Earls braided lines to a pair of Holley blue fuel pumps. Holley fuel pressure regulators using –8 Earls braided lines. 100% Aviation–Gas, but can run 96 octane gas without issues (if I take some timing out of the motor).

Suspension

When I got the car, it had a ZF/LTD 9inch diff but with a modern Camaro–style single lift–bar mounted in the transmission tunnel. This has been replaced with ladder bars fabricated by Graham Berry linked to original forward lower suspension mounts. The original top mounts are not used so a chromed panhard rod is used to locate the rear. This combination really works; the back of the car lifts several inches as the rear tyres are driven into the ground on hard acceleration – just like an ´ol Super Stocker!

Nolathane bushes were already there when I got the car so I have HPC-coated a set of Lovells "SupaLow" springs all round and replaced the factory ball joints with new ones. The higher spring rates make the car handle great now that it sits 3" lower at the front and 2" lower at the back. For the front ride height, I tried three sets of springs before getting the Lovells. I even tried standard 6–cyl front springs but it still sat too high in the front.

I since found out there are three different spring rates used on the six cylinder models (standard, power steer and towing pack versions I think) ...anyway, because I´ve taken so much weight out of the front, it just sat too high so lesson learned there. Carrera 90/10 front drag shocks are used for strip duty and KYB gas all round for street driving, these are 15mm shorter than standard shocks to match the lower springs.

Next Steps

According to the Moroso horsepower calculator, this combination makes between 370 and 400hp (at the crank)...so of course I want more!....

I am planning a leather interior with more modern seats front and back; more power for the stereo; more ignition advance; more cam – up to .510 according to Edelbrock and Crow Cams; bigger rubber (M/T ET Drag with front runners); lower it more!; adjustable shocks both ends for tuning; big brakes front and rear; more chrome!; engine tear down, check bore and bearings, forged pistons, HD rods, ARP rod bolts plus crank main stud kit and head studs, windage tray another fuel stage and an adjustable nitrous kit!