History of Holden: 1963 - 1980

Although there was more interior width, the front and rear tracks were unchanged. That bigger body looked almost as if it was perched on top of billycart underpinnings. There was noticeably more body roll and understeer. The drum brakes were barely up to the job of stopping this heftier, glitzier Holden. And those infamous 'kidney slicer' front guards were targeted by the safety-conscious.
One of the most hurried facelifts in automotive history took place at Fishermans Bend and the HR was on deck just 13 months after the HD made its debut. It was the HR which had to face the most serious challenge yet from Ford Australia in the elegant guise of the 'Mustang-bred' XR Falcon, a physically bigger and more lavish car than the Holden.
Behind the scenes and, one imagines, frantically, the product planners added four gratuitous inches of metal to the forthcoming HK model between the leading edge of the front door and the front guard. They knew that the 1968 'New Generation' Holden would have to match the XR Falcon on exterior dimensions. The HK would be the first Holden to offer a V8 engine.
But the biggest surprise with the HK Holden was neither the extra length nor the optional V8 engine. Back in 1961 when Holden was talking to its suppliers about bucket seats, the rumour went out that a sports car was on the way. Wrong. The buckets were for the luxury Premier version. The sports car would not come until 1968. And it knocked our bobby socks off!
The Monaro took its name from the shire in the Snowy Mountains, which in turn was named from an Aboriginal word meaning mountain or high place. That was prophetic for a car that would carve out its reputation at Mount Panorama, Bathurst! Despite Ford's best efforts, Monaros won in 1968 and 1969, Peter Bond making his Bathurst debut in '69 to finish third, while teammate Colin Bond took the chequered flag.
This body shape had two facelifts before the advent of the stylish HQ range in 1971. The HK offered a greater array of optional equipment than any of its predecessors so it was fitting that the old Standard and Special badges were dropped in favour of Belmont and Kingswood. Add the Monaro and Monaro GTS and it suddenly looks like a long way back to the simple days of the original Holden sedan or ute! Even so, by 1971, the HG Holden was looking pretty old-fashioned.
Beneath its pretty lines the HQ owed plenty to Buick and Cadillac. Chief engineer American George Roberts favoured ride comfort over handling and believed that understeer was a built-in safety factor. Enthusiasts disagreed and this came to a climax when Peter Wherrett revealed the poor dynamics of the Holden on national television. He chose the HJ Premier model to make his telling points.
By the time the HJ of 1974 had made way for the 1976 HX, there was a new plan taking shape for Australia's Own. The next managing director and chief engineer would be imported from Opel in Germany. When Chuck Chapman and Joe Whitesell discovered how poorly the big Holdens handled they introduced 'Radial Tuned Suspension'.
The next huge step was into the Commodore, which is surely worth another few hundred words…
By H D Young