From the Classifieds: 1969 Holden HT Monaro GTS Bathurst

The boom time for Australia’s automotive history was in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when muscle cars reigned and Ford and Holden fought tooth and nail for outright market dominance.

The local industry, riding on a wave of success then unknowable to full-line vehicle importers, was on a roll.

Our homegrown cars, though admirably well-suited to market requirements, well-built and well-designed, didn’t have the technological edge of the Europeans.

Technical advances moved at a slow pace and suspension designers were still waking from a slumber that reflected the post-war years of a newly-awakening industry.

Primary and secondary safety, always on the agenda but hardly front and centre as they are today, existed behind the smoking haze of burning rubber that marked a US-style power battle among the major carmakers: Holden with the likes of its GTS Monaro coupes and Ford with its blustering, Superoo-decalled Falcon GTHO were the pace-setters.

Deeply imbedded into Australian motorsport history, the Falcon GTHO can be worth squillions today. It’s not that long ago that pundits were talking about million-dollar Falcon GTHOs and surmising where prices would go from there.

Well, that barrier passed in 2018 when a GTHO once owned by Australian cricketer Jeff Thompson went under the hammer for a tad over the magic million.

By comparison, Holden’s GTS 327 and GTS 350 Monaro coupes from the same era sound almost like a bargain.

Bringing between $200,000 and $320,000, they only demand a fraction of what is asked for a GTHO, yet deliver pretty much the same buzz. And, with their slinky two-door coupe styling, are arguably more aesthetically appealing.

The fact is the Monaro coupe is about as significant a reminder of the local car industry’s halcyon days as you can get.

It all started with the first-generation HK model in 1968: A bold redesign of the familiar four-door Holden family sedan, the slinky two-coupe was an Australian sensation.

And although the Monaro name was revived in 2001 with the VX Commodore-based V2 series, it’s the first-generation versions, from HK through to HT and the final iteration, the HG model launched in 1970, that have a special place in Australian hearts.

The original was sold in base 161 cubic-inch six-cylinder form, as an also six-cylinder GTS using either the bigger 186 cubic-inch engine or Chevrolet’s 307 cubic-inch V8.

But the crème de la crème was the GTS 327 version.

Employing Chevrolet’s 186kW 5.4-litre V8, Holden’s first muscle car was driven by Bruce McPhee and Barry Mulholland to victory in the country’s premier production-car racing event, the Bathurst 500, in 1968.

For the HT model introduced in mid-1969, Holden worked on what was a relatively minor facelift of the HK – but underpinned by a big change in the engine line-up.

The HK’s 327 cubic-inch V8 moved aside for a bigger, more powerful 350 cubic inch Chev-sourced engine that lifted the flagship Monaro GTS 350’s power to 224kW, while two locally-designed and built V8s – a 253 cubic-inch and a 308 cubic-inch – also joined the engine line-up.

The HT GTS 350, in the hands of Colin Bond and Tony Roberts, scored another Bathurst victory in the same year, beating a trouble-plagued Ford Falcon GTHO sedan and cementing the two-door Holden coupe indelibly into Australian motor racing history.

Little wonder that today, early-generation Monaros are keenly sought after on the used-car market. Particularly in GTS 327 or GTS 350 form, these highly-collectable coupes are potent reminders of past glories.

Which is why this original-condition low-mileage (42,050 miles) 1969 GTS 350 Bathurst edition that is listed on carsales.com.au caught our attention.

The pictures tell the story: The Sebring Orange paint, like the rest of the car, including the black-trimmed interior is, according to the owner, original, with what looks to be an unblemished interior.

The provenance appears unquestioned: The HT GTS 350 (it is listed as car number 81) comes with matching numbers (engine, chassis, etc) and, along with other memorabilia, an original owner’s manual. According to records, it was built in September 1969, just before the Bathurst 500.

And the price?

Well, indicative of where Holden muscle cars vehicles are heading, the owner, who hails from the outer Melbourne suburb of Bayswater, has put a price of $224,800 on what is undoubtedly an outstanding, unmolested GTS 350 Monaro.

For more details, such as registration status, interested buyers are advised to contact the owner through carsales. The Monaro is not offered with a roadworthy certificate.

See previous carsales From the Classifieds