History
Owning an HK ‘GTS 327’ Monaro is a dream that so many of us will never get to realise…
I grew up in Australia during the ‘80s and ‘90s. Back then you couldn’t head to the shops without seeing at least one locally produced muscle car in the car park. People rarely bothered taking out comprehensive insurance on an old Holden or Ford. And it was hard to find an unmodified GT Falcon, Monaro or Torana. Yep, it was a different time alright.
At night the main road echoed with the roar V8s and I filled my head with ideas from car mags like Street Machine. Maths and chemistry were another language, but specs from a GTS, SL/R 5000, XU-1, GT-HO or E49 were easily absorbed.
Straight out of school, all I could afford was a cooking model HK ‘Special’. Thinking about it now, a loan for the extra couple of grand would have been well worth the investment. She was a resto, from an old bloke in QLD. A1 condition. And aside from a ‘mild’ 202, she was pretty much stock.
To the younger crowd, or muscle car fans that have only appeared since prices started climbing, the idea of modifying a Monaro or GT Falcon might seem like a strange concept. But there was a time when Monaros, Toranas and Chargers were the last car you’d see featured in a fashion shoot of a trendy magazine.
Back then, stockers were as cheap as chips. It was the modified cars that pulled in the big bucks. So it goes to reason that I wanted to make a streeter out of the ol’ girl.
The HK, as you see in the later pics, had a Pedders suspension all round, copy Centrelines, and a cheap stereo. I saved and saved for the stroked 5.0L that a mate’s brother had in his HZ Ute. But I never got there.
I loved that car and some of the best times I ever had were behind the wheel. She wasn’t quick, but I’d be out every night until 3am, just cruising.
In the end I had to sell the HK. I crashed it into a few cars (long story that one!) and lacked the funds and time for repairs. The HK did go to a good home, but I regret selling it.
