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Don't do this on the open road!
SS Commy winding up
9514
Counting since August 2004

I have many people to thank for help over the years. I would never be able to thank you all individually but you know who I mean!
Welcome to the all new Holden Heaven
This site was first established in 1999
HK Monaro 
Holden as a company was you might say going through pubity at about this time and wanting to stretch out into the unknown was needed.  The hierarchy in Holden was missing something in there line-up that the Americans had and they wanted it badly.  It was a straight forward decision and one that was backed from the parent company as sales of large coupes were selling extremely well over in the states. It took a while though to find the right recipe for the Australian market and after a few attempts it came up with a winner that was taken by the public so well it put shivers up and down Fords spine. It borrowed the highly durable and successful mid size 327ci and 307ci Chevrolet V8 engines plus used the two home grown products the 161ci and 186ci six cylinder to power it.  The 327 in particular was a popular choice and had been powering boats and race cars for some years with huge success as for the 307 it was a typical robust and bullet proof Chevy V8. This engine was described by some experts as being the best balanced Chevrolet engine ever.
The HK Monaro was 
introduced along with the all new Brougham at a press release day which I have footage of and the press were all over the Australian coupe and it deserved all the attention as this was the first Australian Muscle Car. It was beaten to be the first V8 as Ford took the honors for that a year earlier with there 289 V8 but it was still in a 4-door sedan and most experts agree that the Monaro was the first to classed as a Muscle Car.  The top of the range Monaro was the GTS 327 and it was aimed squarely at the one race that counted, the Bathurst 500 mile race which had a new sponsor, Hardie-Ferodo.The 327ci V8 was a huge step up in the power stakes from the previous best Holden engine the 186s with over 100 horsepower more on tap and over 125 lb/ft of torque. With this much extra power there was a need for a stronger gearbox so the Chevy Saginaw 4-speed unit was used which ran into a limited slip differential. The package was there and now what was needed was for a driver to take it to the checkered flag which caused the Holden Dealer Team to be made.  You can find out more about them on the Monaro History page which also gives a run down on the race. The pillarless two-door was a new concept for Australians and with a choice of three models, Monaro, GTS and GTS 327 coupled with six engines choices they catered for everyone and more importantly it was accepted by everyone unless you were a staunch Ford fan.
Clean-up time at Bathurst
 Specifications
Year of Introduction:
January1968 

Price:
$2215 Belmont sedan
$3790 Monaro GTS 327

Engine: 
2.65 litre (161ci) 6 cylinder 
3.05 litre (186ci) 6   cylinder 
3.05 litre 6 cylinder (186S) 
5.0 litre V8 (307) & 
5.3  litre V8 (327) 

Power:
85kW (161)
95kW (186) 
108kW (186s)
157kW (307)
188kW (327) 

Transmissions:
3 speed manual 
4 speed manual 
2 speed  Powerglide 

Performance: 0-100 km/h 
15.2 seconds (186) 
8.2 seconds (327)

Standing 400 metres 
19.6 seconds (186)
16.0 seconds (327) 

Production: 
199,039

Models available:
Belmont sedan
Belmont wagon
Belmont Panel van
Belmont utility
Kingswood sedan
Kingswood wagon
Kingswood utility
Premier sedan
Premier wagon
Brougham
Monaro coupe
Monaro GTS
Monaro GTS 327
 
 

The Engines

161 inline six
161 cid 6 cylinder inline, (2640 cc)
Bore and stroke:3.375" (85.7 mm)  x 3.00" (76.2 mm)
OHV with hydraulic lifters, single camshaft
Single barrel downdraught Bendix Stromberg carburettor
Power output (DIN):114 bhp (85 kW) at 4400 rpm
Torque (DIN):157 lb/ft (211.9 Nm) at 2000 rpm
Compression ratio:9.2:1

186 inline six
186 cid - 6 cylinder inline (3050 cc)
Bore and stroke:3.625" (92.1 mm) x 3.00" (76.2 mm)
OHV with hydraulic lifters, single camshaft
Single barrel downdraught Bendix Stromberg carburettor
Power output (DIN):126 bhp (94 kW) at 4200 rpm
Torque (DIN):181 lb/ft (244.3 Nm) at 1600 rpm
Compression ratio:9.2:1

186s inline six
186 cid - 6 cylinder inline (3050 cc)
Bore and stroke:3.625" (92.1 mm) x 3.00" (76.2 mm)
OHV with hydraulic lifters, single camshaft
Two barrel downdraught Bendix Stromberg with auto choke
Power output (DIN):145 bhp (108.2 kW) at 4600 rpm
Torque (DIN):184 lb/ft (248.4 Nm) at 2200 rpm
Compression ratio:9.2:1

307 V8 ( Chevrolet 5 litre)
307 cid V8  (5035 cc)
Bore and stroke:3.875 inches (98.4 mm) x 3.25 inches (82.5 mm)
OHV with hydraulic lifters, single camshaft
Two barrel Rochester downdraught carburettor with automatic choke
Power output (DIN):210 bhp (156.7 kW) at 4600 rpm
Torque (DIN):300 lb/ft (405 Nm) at 2400 rpm
Compression ratio:8.75:1
 

327 V8 (Chevrolet)
327 cid V8 (5363 cc)
Bore and stroke:4.0 inches (101.6 mm) x 3.25 inches (82.5 mm)
OHV with hydraulic lifters, single camshaft
Rochester four barrel downdraught carburettor with automatic choke
Power output (DIN):250 bhp (186.5 kW) at 4800 rpm
Torque (DIN):325 lb/ft (438.7 Nm) at 3200 rpm
Compression ratio:8.75:1
 
 
 

General Facts

Models
Base Monaro coupe $2575
GTS coupe $3090
GTS 327 coupe $3790


Number built
8,945 (HK)
14,437 (HT)
6,147 (HG)
13,872 (HQ)
600 (LE)
4,754 (HJ)

Transmissions and ratios
Three-speed manual
(Synchro in 2nd & 3rd)
1st:2.99:1
2nd:1.59:1
3rd:1.00:1
Reverse:2.99:1

Three-speed all synchro manual
1st:3.07:1
2nd:1.68:1
3rd:1.00:1
Reverse:3.59:1

Four-speed all synchro manual
1st:3.428:1
2nd:2.156:1
3rd:1.366:1
4th:1.00:1
Reverse:3.17:1

GTS 327 (Saginaw)
Four-speed all synchro manual
1st:2.54:1
2nd:1.80:1
3rd:1.44:1
4th:1.00:1
Reverse:2.54:1

Six cylinder Powerglide automatic
Low:1.82:1
High:1.00:1
Reverse:1.82:1

V8 Powerglide automatic
Low:1.76:1
High:1.00:1
Reverse:1.76:1

Differential ratios
2.78:1
3.36:1
3.55:1

Dimensions
Length - 4699mm, Width - 1816mm, Wheelbase - 2819mm

Weight
1,300kg, 1,333kg (GTS), 1,495kg (GTS 327)

Fuel Tank
75 litres, 114 litres (GTS 327)
 
 
 

ENGINE NUMBERS
Located on a pad near the front of the right hand cylinder bank. The prefixes for the HK GTS 327 Monaro is '327'. The engine serial number follows.


BODY/CHASSIS NUMBERS
Located on a plate attached to the right hand side of the firewall. 

The first five numbers is the model number.
80337 - Monaro Coupe
80437 - Monaro Coupe
80737 - Monaro GTS Coupe
81837 - Monaro GTS 327 Coupe
HK did not distinguish between 186s and 307 for GTS

The next letter is the model code: K for HK Monaro 

The next two digits are a letter/number combination indicating the plant at which the vehicle was built
H1-H4 - Brisbane
H5-H9 - Sydney
J1-J9 - Melbourne
L1-L5 - Adelaide
L6-L9 - Perth

The remaining five numbers is the vehicle serial number represent the sequence in which the vehicle was built at that particular plant.

One of the American styles!
This shows an early prototype
 Pics
They don't come much better!


Red is nice....any colour is nice!
If you can't rev it, Chev it