VINCE'S E38 R/T CHARGER AND HQ MONARO GTS

Overshadowed by more famous siblings, the E38 R/T Charger and HQ GTS Monaro sometimes don't get the credit they deserve. Luckily there are guys like Vince Mastroianni who remind us just how good they are.

The HQ GTS coupe and E38 R/T Charger are hardly invisible, but compared to the original HK-HG Monaros and the E49 Charger, they certainly missed out on the top-dog specs and racetrack glory.

The E38 R/T was arguably Chrysler's first serious tout at the Aussie touring car series and, on the face of it, was a strange offering. Against thundering V8 Falcon GTs and GTS Monaros, the Pentastar boys fronted with a big-inch 265-cube Hemi six-pot coupled to a three-speed manual.

However, the short wheelbase and light weight, coupled with the 4.3-litre Hemi six breathing deep through triple Weber carburettors, trod a sweet middle ground between the brutal big V8s and small Torana XU-1s. While the E38 had great looks, a cool colour palette and catchy ad slogans, it was quickly replaced by the four-speed E49 R/T Charger - a model that would gain infamy as being faster over the quarter mile than even the thunderous GT-HO Phase II Falcon.

Vince Mastroianni didn't care about that, though, especially when he found this low-mile Vitamin C example back in February, 2013.

"I loved the styling of the R/T Charger; wild colours, bonnet and body stripes and outrageous triple-Weber-powered factory engine set-up are hard to match," says Vince. "I spent 2 years looking for one to make my own. I happened to find this one, the seller was in NSW. But get this; the car was actually only 600 metres from my house! It had sat in storage for 12 years.

"It has 93,000 miles now and all I have really done is get it cleaned up and made it reliable after it had sat dormant for 12 years - little things like fluid lines and disposable items have been replaced. The front seats have been re-trimmed. The goal was to return the car back to road use, as the designers back then knew what they were doing.

"It needed some original parts, which went missing over the years. Sourcing those parts and getting proper advice were the main problems. Thanks to Paul from Elko Performance who has both great advice and is a source for hard-to-find parts.

"The car is at a point now that it presents extremely well with that original look. Paint, stripes and body stickers show their age, but my initial thought of a re-paint have been put off indefinitely; I am not game to paint it as I like the character it gives it."

Vince didn't have any qualms about getting his other beauty resprayed, though. Yes, Vince is the lucky bugger who owns the keys to not just this brilliant E38, but a fresh HQ GTS Monaro coupe, too.

While the original HK-HG Monaros turned the fairly drab Kingswood into a swoopy sex kitten, by the early '70s Holden designers were taking their styling cues from Chevy's closest equivalent; the fat , staunch Chevelle. With the guards pumped out, aggressively angled snout and curvaceous hip lines, the HQ coupe is a brilliant looking machine as is, but the Monaro GTS blackouts, stripes and Rallye wheels really toughen up the aesthetics.

Power choices came down to the new Aussie-designed 253 and 308 V8s, along with the Chevy 350 Small Block, which was enjoying one final hurrah before emissions controls killed it off. The GTS Vince was considering purchasing came with a 308 between the rails, but he found a surprise when checking it out.

"The car was painted in a super bright yellow, jacked up in the rear with huge amounts of audio cables running everywhere: it was a real mess, but the body was solid," says Vince.

"I was scratching around and found evidence of the original Duchess Gold paint, which was great. The car was an automatic, but I noticed that it had a smaller than normal brake pedal so I lifted the front footwell carpet and the hidden clutch pedal hit me in the face!

"After confirming via the ID plates that the car was a factory manual, [it was] at that point I bought the car."

Along with respraying it back to the original Duchess Gold colour, Vince had the motor, transmission, suspension and diff all restored back to the way it was in the days of sideburns and flares.

"I've owned many Holdens over the years and, as was the norm back in the day, they were all modified in some way," Vince recalled. "But in the late '90s it dawned to me that some cars are just better rebuilt back to factory-spec and I think the HQ GTS Monaro coupe is one of these cars."

The restoration wasn't all sunshine and rainbow kisses, though. While the reproduction market for HQ Holdens is massive, certain colour and trim combinations are much harder to find than others. As Murphy's Law would have it, Vince's Duchess Gold over Antique Saddle and houndstooth trim was one of those rare colour combos.

"Finding the missing trim and seat belt components in the Antique Saddle finish was a real mission, but Pat from Sunshine Motor Trimmers has old school know-how and service."

Both Vince's cars are testament to a true enthusiast who has preserved a pair of super-cool Aussie legends. "Apart from the paint, I did all the work [on the Monaro] myself. It was good to see it come together so well - it is perfect and how I wanted it."

Vince's 1971 VH Valiant R/T E38 Charger - basic specs

Engine type: 265ci straight six

Capacity: 4.3L

Carburettor: factory triple Webers

Transmission: original 3-speed with floor shifter

Diff: LSD

Wheels: (Front) - factory W35 alloys, (Rear) - factory W35 alloys

Tyres: (Front) - 205/70 red walls, (Rear) - 205/70 red walls

Interior: R/T black

Dash/gauges: Full R/T instruments

Seats: (Front/Rear) - R/T seats, re-trimmed

Steering wheel: 3 spoke R/T steering wheel