History
I purchased the Monaro from a fellow down in Emerald in Victoria after seeing an add on eBay in early March 2003.
When I got the Monaro home, I had to strip the car down and go from scratch. It took some time to pull the car down with myself making notes and taking pictures along the way to help me put the car back together again.
Once the car was stripped, I wire brushed the entire under floor area as well as the fire wall, it was put onto a rotisserie that was made by one of my mates. By doing this, I wanted to ensure that when it was painted there would be no problem areas. This job took a fair while but I believe it was worth the time.
At the same time, the area’s inside the shell that had surface rust and deeper rust in it was treated with a rust converter to stop anymore deterioration of any metal work.
After this was done the car had to go to GnB Associate panels for removal of rust area’s on the shell, of which most were not too bad. This was done with the help of 8 blokes. It was loaded onto a trailer that only just fitted the shell. Once the car was there, it was put back onto the rotisserie so that the panel beaters could work on the car at a good height and not upside down.
There was also a few holes that had to be welded as well as straightening of areas of the undercarriage that have had years of being jacked up dints. The work on the shell took a long time, but that was ok as I was in no hurry and needed to make sure I had the funds to pay for it. It also had some work done on the fire wall while at the panel beaters.
After the work had been completed, I got the car home and put it on the rotisserie so the next stage could begin. This was to seal all areas underneath and paint the undercarriage. This was done in steps, with the first being an etch primer, then it was painted with a stone chip protection paint, then an under coat followed by the custom grey paint then a lot of clear coat.
This work was all done beside my house in an open sided carport. I used old bed sheets as walls for my paint booth, and I borrowed my mate’s air compressor. The air gun was borrowed from my step father and it worked very well.
Once this was done, it was time to put the shell back onto the trailer and again make the trip to the panel beaters to get the dash and all of the surrounding pillars painted. The car was then returned home to start being put back together. It was put back onto the rotisserie. This was to allow the paint time to cure and harden. With all of the parts being painted individually at home by myself over time, they could now start going back into the car.
The car was taken off the rotisserie and put onto 2 skate boards and a mechanics crawler to move around. Once into position, the shell was put onto stands so that I could start to put the front chassis frame onto it. The original one was removed and taken to the wreckers as it had too much rust in it and a replacement was sourced.
Whilst putting the front end on, I ended up trying to manoeuvre the framework into position as it was being difficult and ended up damaging the paintwork underneath the car as it had not quite cured at this time.
The front end, the front cross member and the guards had all been painted prior to being put back on the car either by my self or GnB associate panels. I did not paint any of the outer panels, only the framework and under the guards, diff, springs, all parts etc. You get the idea!
With the car now at rolling chassis stage, it was time to take it back to the panel beaters to have all of the repairs around the car painted. The entire car was resprayed and then with a few coats of clear at the end.
Once done at the panel beaters, it was time to return the car home and put the rest of it together. The wiring loom needed to be lengthened, this was done with another loom that came with the donor front end and then just wired into the original one with not too much cutting or altering needed. Whilst putting everything back on, I was working on the car and having had to jack the car up onto stands, I had to get it back off, whilst doing this the car fell off the jack and yes you guessed it, the jack as the car was falling, ran up the side of the car. With another lot of choice words said, the car had to go back to the panel beaters to get this damaged repaired and finally finish all of the paintwork.
With the car completely back together, it was time to find a suitable motor and gearbox of which I had been trying to find since buying the car.
I wanted to put a 350 chev with a turbo 350 gearbox into it. I was lucky, one day when I was looking on the Monaro club of NSW website, as I am a member, and low and behold there was a 350 chev, a turbo 350 gearbox with a full exhaust system for a HQ. This was what I was looking for even though it fitted a HQ, I knew that it would not take too much to change to fit a HG.
I rang the fellow in Sydney that was selling it, and he said the engine was a new rebuild, never been fitted to a car in the country and the gearbox had been reconditioned as well. This all sounded to good to be true and I knew I had to go and have a look.
After seeing this engine and gearbox combination I knew it was the one I needed and wanted.
Upon returning home, I made plans to negotiate on the price and then the sale would go ahead. I made arrangements to go back to Sydney 2 weeks later and pick it up.
It came on an engine stand made of racking used to store exhaust pipes and it was sold as is. I purchased the engine, gearbox and new exhaust which would be on sold later.
I returned home with the engine in the trailer on the stand and getting quite a few heads turning whilst driving across the harbour bridge when they saw a nice new v8 engine on a rack in a small trailer, seeming like it was pushing the tow vehicle ahead.
The engine, on return to wagga needed a few things to be changed to fit into a HG. These changes where made with a bit of fuss and frustration. I had to get another set of extractors to suit and this was done through HPC in Victoria. I bought a set of HPC coated pacemaker extractors from them so I could get the rest of my exhaust made and also to put the motor into the car.
With receiving the extractors, they were put onto the engine to see what they looked like and also to start her up and see how she sounded. Great I thought but the neighbours did not think so. Ohh Well. During the time of the rebuild, the extractors were re- coated again due to many bench tests of the engine and the timing not right, it crazed the coating and buggered the look of them.
It was now time to put the engine and gearbox in, once done it was time to start her up. Yeeha she starts I said.
With the car almost finished, I had to have the car fitted with an exhaust system and great looking mags. The request I made with the exhaust was to have it made in 3 sections.
This was done and the car sounded very soft for a V8. After tilt traying it home, I immediately took the exhaust off and sent it to HPC to get coated. When it was returned and fitted to the car, wow what a look and sound. Smooth sounding V8 and nice look as well.
With the exhaust being done, it was time to turn my attention to all of the moulds for the car. They all had dints in some shape or form and had to be fixed and straightened. This was done by Precision Dent Removal with just the sanding and polishing left for me to do. When this was completed, it was worth all of the work as they all came up great.
It was now time for the finale, the mag wheels. I had been looking for some years by this time, and the rims I wanted cost about $1000.00 each, this was out of the question. I looked around and had to deal with the other problem I had of having two different offsets for the front and rear of my car. The front was standard Holden width even though it had P76 rotors on the front, but the rear was 7 cm thinner.
I did in time find what rims fitted my car. I was lucky enough to have mates that had different cars and different offsets that would fit my stud pattern. After all of this I was able to find out which size would fit each offset. The only thing now was to find a dealer that would be able to source two sets of two rims for my car.
Tyreworld of Wagga was the company that took that challenge on and succeeded. The rims that were decided on were Speedy Malibu’s as suggested by one of my work mates Brett. These came in and were fitted to the car and with no word of a lie, the car changed from a good looking car with shitty mags to a great looking car with great looking mags.
With this the last piece of the puzzle finished, it was time for the dreaded blue slip check and rego, the only problem found with the car at this time was it started in reverse. It was found that the switch for the gearshift needed adjusting and that was all. With this being done, the car was registered.
In the year following the completion of the car, it was pulled down again to fix little problems and issues and re built in twelve months with the final touches only being applied 3 days before summernats 21.
When I got the Monaro home, I had to strip the car down and go from scratch. It took some time to pull the car down with myself making notes and taking pictures along the way to help me put the car back together again.
Once the car was stripped, I wire brushed the entire under floor area as well as the fire wall, it was put onto a rotisserie that was made by one of my mates. By doing this, I wanted to ensure that when it was painted there would be no problem areas. This job took a fair while but I believe it was worth the time.
At the same time, the area’s inside the shell that had surface rust and deeper rust in it was treated with a rust converter to stop anymore deterioration of any metal work.
After this was done the car had to go to GnB Associate panels for removal of rust area’s on the shell, of which most were not too bad. This was done with the help of 8 blokes. It was loaded onto a trailer that only just fitted the shell. Once the car was there, it was put back onto the rotisserie so that the panel beaters could work on the car at a good height and not upside down.
There was also a few holes that had to be welded as well as straightening of areas of the undercarriage that have had years of being jacked up dints. The work on the shell took a long time, but that was ok as I was in no hurry and needed to make sure I had the funds to pay for it. It also had some work done on the fire wall while at the panel beaters.
After the work had been completed, I got the car home and put it on the rotisserie so the next stage could begin. This was to seal all areas underneath and paint the undercarriage. This was done in steps, with the first being an etch primer, then it was painted with a stone chip protection paint, then an under coat followed by the custom grey paint then a lot of clear coat.
This work was all done beside my house in an open sided carport. I used old bed sheets as walls for my paint booth, and I borrowed my mate’s air compressor. The air gun was borrowed from my step father and it worked very well.
Once this was done, it was time to put the shell back onto the trailer and again make the trip to the panel beaters to get the dash and all of the surrounding pillars painted. The car was then returned home to start being put back together. It was put back onto the rotisserie. This was to allow the paint time to cure and harden. With all of the parts being painted individually at home by myself over time, they could now start going back into the car.
The car was taken off the rotisserie and put onto 2 skate boards and a mechanics crawler to move around. Once into position, the shell was put onto stands so that I could start to put the front chassis frame onto it. The original one was removed and taken to the wreckers as it had too much rust in it and a replacement was sourced.
Whilst putting the front end on, I ended up trying to manoeuvre the framework into position as it was being difficult and ended up damaging the paintwork underneath the car as it had not quite cured at this time.
The front end, the front cross member and the guards had all been painted prior to being put back on the car either by my self or GnB associate panels. I did not paint any of the outer panels, only the framework and under the guards, diff, springs, all parts etc. You get the idea!
With the car now at rolling chassis stage, it was time to take it back to the panel beaters to have all of the repairs around the car painted. The entire car was resprayed and then with a few coats of clear at the end.
Once done at the panel beaters, it was time to return the car home and put the rest of it together. The wiring loom needed to be lengthened, this was done with another loom that came with the donor front end and then just wired into the original one with not too much cutting or altering needed. Whilst putting everything back on, I was working on the car and having had to jack the car up onto stands, I had to get it back off, whilst doing this the car fell off the jack and yes you guessed it, the jack as the car was falling, ran up the side of the car. With another lot of choice words said, the car had to go back to the panel beaters to get this damaged repaired and finally finish all of the paintwork.
With the car completely back together, it was time to find a suitable motor and gearbox of which I had been trying to find since buying the car.
I wanted to put a 350 chev with a turbo 350 gearbox into it. I was lucky, one day when I was looking on the Monaro club of NSW website, as I am a member, and low and behold there was a 350 chev, a turbo 350 gearbox with a full exhaust system for a HQ. This was what I was looking for even though it fitted a HQ, I knew that it would not take too much to change to fit a HG.
I rang the fellow in Sydney that was selling it, and he said the engine was a new rebuild, never been fitted to a car in the country and the gearbox had been reconditioned as well. This all sounded to good to be true and I knew I had to go and have a look.
After seeing this engine and gearbox combination I knew it was the one I needed and wanted.
Upon returning home, I made plans to negotiate on the price and then the sale would go ahead. I made arrangements to go back to Sydney 2 weeks later and pick it up.
It came on an engine stand made of racking used to store exhaust pipes and it was sold as is. I purchased the engine, gearbox and new exhaust which would be on sold later.
I returned home with the engine in the trailer on the stand and getting quite a few heads turning whilst driving across the harbour bridge when they saw a nice new v8 engine on a rack in a small trailer, seeming like it was pushing the tow vehicle ahead.
The engine, on return to wagga needed a few things to be changed to fit into a HG. These changes where made with a bit of fuss and frustration. I had to get another set of extractors to suit and this was done through HPC in Victoria. I bought a set of HPC coated pacemaker extractors from them so I could get the rest of my exhaust made and also to put the motor into the car.
With receiving the extractors, they were put onto the engine to see what they looked like and also to start her up and see how she sounded. Great I thought but the neighbours did not think so. Ohh Well. During the time of the rebuild, the extractors were re- coated again due to many bench tests of the engine and the timing not right, it crazed the coating and buggered the look of them.
It was now time to put the engine and gearbox in, once done it was time to start her up. Yeeha she starts I said.
With the car almost finished, I had to have the car fitted with an exhaust system and great looking mags. The request I made with the exhaust was to have it made in 3 sections.
This was done and the car sounded very soft for a V8. After tilt traying it home, I immediately took the exhaust off and sent it to HPC to get coated. When it was returned and fitted to the car, wow what a look and sound. Smooth sounding V8 and nice look as well.
With the exhaust being done, it was time to turn my attention to all of the moulds for the car. They all had dints in some shape or form and had to be fixed and straightened. This was done by Precision Dent Removal with just the sanding and polishing left for me to do. When this was completed, it was worth all of the work as they all came up great.
It was now time for the finale, the mag wheels. I had been looking for some years by this time, and the rims I wanted cost about $1000.00 each, this was out of the question. I looked around and had to deal with the other problem I had of having two different offsets for the front and rear of my car. The front was standard Holden width even though it had P76 rotors on the front, but the rear was 7 cm thinner.
I did in time find what rims fitted my car. I was lucky enough to have mates that had different cars and different offsets that would fit my stud pattern. After all of this I was able to find out which size would fit each offset. The only thing now was to find a dealer that would be able to source two sets of two rims for my car.
Tyreworld of Wagga was the company that took that challenge on and succeeded. The rims that were decided on were Speedy Malibu’s as suggested by one of my work mates Brett. These came in and were fitted to the car and with no word of a lie, the car changed from a good looking car with shitty mags to a great looking car with great looking mags.
With this the last piece of the puzzle finished, it was time for the dreaded blue slip check and rego, the only problem found with the car at this time was it started in reverse. It was found that the switch for the gearshift needed adjusting and that was all. With this being done, the car was registered.
In the year following the completion of the car, it was pulled down again to fix little problems and issues and re built in twelve months with the final touches only being applied 3 days before summernats 21.
Modifications
Info about the car, It is painted in 2 Pak Vespers Blue Enamel with Custom Grey 2 Pak Enamel paintouts, The undercarriage is the same but in reverse, it is Custom Grey 2 Pak Enamel with all of the bolt on parts painted in Vespers Blue 2 Pak Enamel. The car originally was Burnished Bronze with a white sun roof and black paintout’s, it is an original 80837 253 Tri Matic GTS. It was built in the Brisbane factory. I purchased the car already with the Vespers Blue and Custom Grey colour combination but it had to be repainted to bring it up to show quality. I have been able to find info on all of the previous owners but unfortunately the first owner has passed on.
The bumpers are original and have been re Chromed, The light surrounds are also the same, the front K Frame has been replaced due to too much rust, the front cross member is standard down to the original jacking marks from years gone by, the headlights are altered with H4 globes, the front grille is also painted with 2 Pak in vespers blue with hand painted highlights in the grooves.
The stabiliser support bars have been thickened and chromed; an original HG 350 chev sump has been chromed along with the gearbox inspection plate. The exhaust from the extractors to the exhaust tip has been HPC coated including the nuts and bolts.
The gearbox cross member is a modified HG to suit a 350 chev, turbo 350 combination. The tail shaft was custom made to fit the same modification and has a tail shaft loop fitted that was custom made, the diff is a Borg Warner drum brake with 3.23:1 gears. The front rotors are P76 with ford stud pattern. Both of these mods where done before I bought the car. It has now been changed to Billet 28 Spline Axles with a 3.08:1 Tru Trac centre.
The boot has been custom trimmed with the boards being made and trimmed by myself.
The battery is in the boot and is hidden and has over 700 cold cranking amps. The rims are of 2 different offsets, the front rims fit an EL ford and the rear fit an AU ford. Both sets are Speedy Malibu’s 7 Inch by 17Inch.
The thermo fans are from an EL ford, the radiator is an HQ but has been turned around and cut to fit the HG front frame. It also has a radiator overflow catch chrome can.
The glass is all brand new from Road Runner Windscreens and was fitted 1 week before Summernats 21.
The dash is painted in 2 Pak Vespers Blue and also 2 Pak Custom Grey Enamel with the thin lines in and around the gauges hand painted and cleared by myself.
The interior was put together by myself but supplied by Osburn canvas and upholstery. The new interior was based on my current car at the time being a WH statesman as it is Amazon Blue with grey and grey interior. As I know this combination worked well, I decided to do similar with my Monaro having the seats in 2 types of grey velour with blue piping.
The console was sourced locally, fix and painted. Sound proofing was fitted and painted on the floor with several layers of this and sound proof sheets as well.
The engine is painted in 2Pak Enamel paint, along with other parts that are connected to the motor to colour code it with the blue on the rest of the car. All of the bolt on parts were removed and wire brushed to bare metal and then repainted by myself. Excluding the Bonnet, Boot, Doors, Valance and top and outer side of the guards. GnB associate panels painted these.
The car came with some important parts missing and I found it very difficult to source. I was able to get most but I am still waiting on a few that are very rare. If it was not for eBay and members of the Monaro club of NSW I believe it would have been impossible to finish my car as it is today.
About 99% of all of the nuts, bolts, washers and screws have been chromed.
My car has been to multiple shows and events and has picked up a few awards. Trophy List on Story Board.
I am no mechanic, spray painter, panel beater or auto electrician, but I thought I would give it a go as I had a dream of owning a very nice street Monaro one day.
I would like to thank, in no particular order, the people that helped me with my dream,
Albury Electroplater’s, Rare Spares Wagga, Wagga Bearing Service, Viewco Glass, Bellerine Classic Auto Restoration’s, Wagga Autobarn, Burson’s Wagga, Coventry Fasteners Wagga, Southwest Trailers Wagga, Power On Test and Tagging Wagga, Geoff’s Exhaust Wagga, Australian Transmission Components Wagga, Super Cheap Auto Wagga, Scott’s Old Rubber, Whittickers Speedometer Service Wagga, Cooke’s Batteries Wagga, Barclay’s Radiators Wagga, Nixon’s Engineering Wagga, Jane Plating Kits, Sign’s Plus Graphics Wagga, Osburn Canvas and Upholstery Wagga, Precision Dent Removal Wagga, Mild to Wild Restorations Wagga, Midtown Auto One Wagga, HPC Coatings Victoria, Wagga Brake and Steering Specialist’s, Wagga Windscreen Doctor, PnP Performance Wagga, GnB Associate Panels Wagga, Roadrunner Windscreens, Fernleigh Motor Wreckers Wagga, Wagga Trade Supplies, All Covered Upholstery, EBay Australia and the Monaro Club of NSW, Rock Solid Gear Riverina, Ingram’s Automotive Wagga, Bullitt Transmissions Wagga, and anyone else that has had some form of a hand in helping me achieve this dream.
Thankyou
Patrick O’Brien owner of
MY70HG aka
OBIES ONE
The bumpers are original and have been re Chromed, The light surrounds are also the same, the front K Frame has been replaced due to too much rust, the front cross member is standard down to the original jacking marks from years gone by, the headlights are altered with H4 globes, the front grille is also painted with 2 Pak in vespers blue with hand painted highlights in the grooves.
The stabiliser support bars have been thickened and chromed; an original HG 350 chev sump has been chromed along with the gearbox inspection plate. The exhaust from the extractors to the exhaust tip has been HPC coated including the nuts and bolts.
The gearbox cross member is a modified HG to suit a 350 chev, turbo 350 combination. The tail shaft was custom made to fit the same modification and has a tail shaft loop fitted that was custom made, the diff is a Borg Warner drum brake with 3.23:1 gears. The front rotors are P76 with ford stud pattern. Both of these mods where done before I bought the car. It has now been changed to Billet 28 Spline Axles with a 3.08:1 Tru Trac centre.
The boot has been custom trimmed with the boards being made and trimmed by myself.
The battery is in the boot and is hidden and has over 700 cold cranking amps. The rims are of 2 different offsets, the front rims fit an EL ford and the rear fit an AU ford. Both sets are Speedy Malibu’s 7 Inch by 17Inch.
The thermo fans are from an EL ford, the radiator is an HQ but has been turned around and cut to fit the HG front frame. It also has a radiator overflow catch chrome can.
The glass is all brand new from Road Runner Windscreens and was fitted 1 week before Summernats 21.
The dash is painted in 2 Pak Vespers Blue and also 2 Pak Custom Grey Enamel with the thin lines in and around the gauges hand painted and cleared by myself.
The interior was put together by myself but supplied by Osburn canvas and upholstery. The new interior was based on my current car at the time being a WH statesman as it is Amazon Blue with grey and grey interior. As I know this combination worked well, I decided to do similar with my Monaro having the seats in 2 types of grey velour with blue piping.
The console was sourced locally, fix and painted. Sound proofing was fitted and painted on the floor with several layers of this and sound proof sheets as well.
The engine is painted in 2Pak Enamel paint, along with other parts that are connected to the motor to colour code it with the blue on the rest of the car. All of the bolt on parts were removed and wire brushed to bare metal and then repainted by myself. Excluding the Bonnet, Boot, Doors, Valance and top and outer side of the guards. GnB associate panels painted these.
The car came with some important parts missing and I found it very difficult to source. I was able to get most but I am still waiting on a few that are very rare. If it was not for eBay and members of the Monaro club of NSW I believe it would have been impossible to finish my car as it is today.
About 99% of all of the nuts, bolts, washers and screws have been chromed.
My car has been to multiple shows and events and has picked up a few awards. Trophy List on Story Board.
I am no mechanic, spray painter, panel beater or auto electrician, but I thought I would give it a go as I had a dream of owning a very nice street Monaro one day.
I would like to thank, in no particular order, the people that helped me with my dream,
Albury Electroplater’s, Rare Spares Wagga, Wagga Bearing Service, Viewco Glass, Bellerine Classic Auto Restoration’s, Wagga Autobarn, Burson’s Wagga, Coventry Fasteners Wagga, Southwest Trailers Wagga, Power On Test and Tagging Wagga, Geoff’s Exhaust Wagga, Australian Transmission Components Wagga, Super Cheap Auto Wagga, Scott’s Old Rubber, Whittickers Speedometer Service Wagga, Cooke’s Batteries Wagga, Barclay’s Radiators Wagga, Nixon’s Engineering Wagga, Jane Plating Kits, Sign’s Plus Graphics Wagga, Osburn Canvas and Upholstery Wagga, Precision Dent Removal Wagga, Mild to Wild Restorations Wagga, Midtown Auto One Wagga, HPC Coatings Victoria, Wagga Brake and Steering Specialist’s, Wagga Windscreen Doctor, PnP Performance Wagga, GnB Associate Panels Wagga, Roadrunner Windscreens, Fernleigh Motor Wreckers Wagga, Wagga Trade Supplies, All Covered Upholstery, EBay Australia and the Monaro Club of NSW, Rock Solid Gear Riverina, Ingram’s Automotive Wagga, Bullitt Transmissions Wagga, and anyone else that has had some form of a hand in helping me achieve this dream.
Thankyou
Patrick O’Brien owner of
MY70HG aka
OBIES ONE
Vehicle Specs
- Body Style
- Coupe
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