Faults:

I punctured the carby rubber trying to tune it.

Distributor made the car jerky; replaced.

Brake master cylinder replaced as pedal sank to the floor.

Rust hole in front inner wing; lump of glassfibre fixed that!

General Comments:

This was the interim TA model, bridging the gap between the small engined 'slope-backs' & the Gemini which was yet to be released.

It had a very sturdy body that would cope with anything. Sturdy build as well. But the performance was lousy until you got it up to a cruising speed, after which it would cruise on 100km/h all day.

The gear lever was so short that changing gear made me look like I was searching for something in the passenger foot well. I chose routes that called for minimal changes as my shoulder would hurt!

Maintenance was cheap & mine was one of the best early Torana's on the road. Alas, I didn't appreciate it that much & after getting a company van to drive, I left it to rot until it was noticed with a flat tyre & a defect notice slapped on it by the council. It was towed away & scrapped.

Faults:

Rack and Pinion worn out.

Original 202 motor developed a big end knock.

General Comments:

We found the car stolen and dumped out in the bush with a reasonable amount of damage.

We paid $400 at auction for it and have spent around $6000 on a full restoration.

We decided to go for the 1970 hotted up look, it is Mandarin Red lowered with chrome wheels. Badges and trims removed for a clean look and tail lights blacked out.

The 186 motor is out of a Sportsman 500 speedway car and runs triple 2 inch SU carburetors,12 port head with roller rockers, extractors, huge cam with straight cut timing gears and much internal balancing.

Gearbox is a Australian 4 speed.

It is a quick and agile steering car that lends itself well to running amok and smoking the rear tyres.

The way too loud twin exhaust and very rough idle of this car is a soothing balm to our 40+ year old bones.

Sorry officer my foot slipped off the clutch (Wife).

Faults:

The battery has gone flat a few times. This is easily fixed. I assume the stereo chewed away at the battery life. Nothing else is really wrong with the car, the carburettor needs to be re-gasketed. Because it's such an old car I didn't expect mint condition when I bought it, the dash is beginning to crack and the insides of the door have seen better days.

General Comments:

I love to drive this car. The twin exhaust and the 253 make the motor sound like it's purring. It's got a body kit and flares. So my car is a head turner. It's been painted in metallic two-tone paint.

However with such fat tires on both the front and back (245's) and no power steering, it sometimes is a bugger to do small maneuvers.

Faults:

Steering linkages have become quite worn over time and need replacing. Also replaced water pump and reconditioned the radiator due to overheating. One done the car now runs fine. Due to age of the vehicle the car suffers from some wind noise through seal etc particularly around the dash.

General Comments:

Very comfortable and reliable car to drive. Handling is not the best, but it looks the goods. Bit of an Aussie Classic.

Faults:

Blown head gasket.

That's all.

General Comments:

They built the old Holdens so well back then and they are very sturdy and tough, and I feel safe in it if I were to have a crash.

It still has the original 26 year old engine in it and it still went quite well, good enough for my first car, if you're looking for a fair bit of power I suggest you go for the 3300 (3.3), but the 2850 still has enough power.