Holden Torana LJ (GTR XU1?)
The Holden Torana is a mid-sized car made by Holden in Australia from 1967 to 1980.
Introduced in May 1967 to replace the HA series Vauxhall Viva in the Australian market, the first Torana was a facelifted HB series Vauxhall Viva. It featured a two-door body, 12-inch wheels, and a 1.2-litre four-cylinder engine mated to a four-speed gearbox. A three-speed automatic transmission was optional. Drum brakes were fitted front and rear, with power-assisted front disc brakes optional.
In September 1968, the '69 Torana' was released. This featured locally made body panels, replacing the imported bodies of the original HB. The model lineup now included a four-door sedan which was developed in Australia.
The next generation of Toranas - the LC - appeared in October 1969 and were available with either a four cylinder 1159cc or six cylinder 2262cc engine: a more-powerful 2639cc 6 cylinder was optional. The six-cylinder cars had a longer wheelbase than the four-cylinder models, and a more aggressively styled and slightly longer nose to accommodate the larger engine. In July 1971, a bigger overhead cam 1.6-litre 4 cylinder engine was added to the range. Body styles were available in either two- or four-door versions.
In August 1970, the first genuine performance Torana, the GTR XU-1, was released with a 160-brake horsepower 186-cu in (3-litre) six-cylinder engine, fitted with three Zenith-Stromberg CD-150 carburettors, cast-iron headers, a performance cylinder head and camshaft, and an Opel four-speed manual gearbox.
In February 1972, the facelifted LJ Torana was introduced. Many mechanical components were shared with the LC, with the major changes limited to the choice of engines. The four-cylinder Torana retained its 1200 and 1600 engines, but was now also available with a 1300-cc unit. The 2250 and 2850 engines carried over into the revised six-cylinder Torana models, and the 3300 engine (known as the 202 in the HQ range) was adopted as the engine for the LJ Torana GTR sedan. Gearbox choices remained the same across the range.
In 1974, the six-cylinder LJ Torana was replaced by the six- and eight-cylinder LH Torana series. To fill in time before the March 1975 release of the four-cylinder GM world T-car Holden Gemini, the short-wheelbase four-cylinder (1.3- and 1.8-litre) LJ models were given a basic facelift and released as the TA Torana.
March 1974 saw the larger LH series released with a completely new Torana body. Originally only available with 6 and 8 cylinder engines, in May 1974 a 4 cylinder option was introduced This meant that the same body style was available with a choice of inline-four (1.9litre), inline-six (2.85- and 3.3 litre), or V8 engines (4.2- and 5.0-litre). The 5.0-litre engine was reserved for the sporting SL/R 5000 sedan
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