Hooniverse Weekend Edition – An Aussie 1968 Holden HK Monaro on eBay Stateside
Continuing with the latest Hooniverse Weekend Theme, here is an Aussie living in the state of Massachusetts. This is a 1968 Holden Monaro HK GTS 327. What its doing here is anyone’s guess, but it is a glorious Australian Muscle Car that I don’t think you will find anywhere else in North America. Make the jump to see more of this Muscle from Down Under…
The Holden Monaro holds a special place in out hearts. You see, the latest Monaro was imported into the states as the Pontiac GTO from 2004 through 2006. However, the Monaro was also one of the hottest cars built in Australia since 1968, and according to Wikipedia the car was named after the Monaro region in New South Wales and was introduced in July 1968 as a two-door pillarless hardtop coupe available in three models: the basic Monaro coupe, Monaro GTS coupe and Monaro GTS 327 coupe. It was written that the GTS versions had full instrumentation, which included a tachometer mounted on the centre console. This proved to be a bad location as the drivers knee would obstruct the view of it.
Monaros could be ordered with a choice of six-cylinder engines of 161 CID or two versions of 186 CID, with the GTS getting the 186S version. There was a 307CID Chevrolet-sourced V8 available as an option. The exclusive GTS 327 model was powered by the 250HP version of the Chevrolet 327CID V8, making this coupe one of the liveliest production cars in Australia. 1968 was also the only year the 327 was available, with subsequent versions upgrading to the Chevrolet 350 CID V8.
So, what is the story with this Monaro GTS 327, and why is it Massachusetts? The listing states:
4 Speed Saginaw all synchro
Rear Axle
Salisbury 10 Bolt Limited Slip
Features:
Factory Tramp Rods
Large Capacity Bathurst fuel tank.
Sports Suspension
Console mounted Tacho
NSW Rego “327HK”
All matching numbers car.
So it seems that is was once registered in New South Wales, and apparently made the journey to the states, ending up near my back door in Hatfield, Mass. (That’s north of Springfield following I-91) Current bidding has this car at $8,300 with an unmet reserve, and almost two days left within the auction. See the listing here, and tell me what you thing this Aussie will go for when the bidding has finished.
Related posts:
- Hooniverse Classic Captions – The 1968 Holden Monaro GTS Edition
- Hooniverse Weekend Edition – A 1968 Sunbeam Alpine Series V
- Hooniverse Van-Tastic Weekend – A 1968 GMC Handivan
- Hooniverse “Big Ass” Convertible Weekend – A 1968 Chrysler 300 Convertible
- Hooniverse International Harvester Weekend – A 1968 International Harvester Travelall
BЯдΖǐL-ЯЄРΘЯΤЄЯ's Opala says hi to it Aussie cousin.
<img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-D6HR12s7wGE/TwXNmTyBXCI/AAAAAAAAC88/9bjWHZ–GOY/w561-h421-k/DSC07866.JPG">
Honestly… I like yours better.
They didn't put the steering wheel on upside down.
I think it's the wheels.
Daddy says hello to both his sons (1967 Opel Commodore).
<img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7017/6537287089_4ec5828550_z.jpg" width=500>
"Hey, man, where'd ya get that funny-looking Chevelle?"
"tramp rod"
So that's what she calls one-night-stands, eh?
It should be HK, not AK. Just saying.
Other than that, I'd love to know of any other Australian cars (other than G8s) in North America. I hear there's a WB Kingswood Ute in Chicago, and a HQ/HX/HZ (unsure of which) in LA that may or may not be loosely associated with Mr. Murilee Martin.
Sincerely,
An Australian exile in Canada.
You would think I would have caught that little typo by now….
Yes and no. One of the wonderful things about this site is that you'll always run into someone who knows something more obscure about some unknown vehicle than you do. It was my turn to be that person today.
A very classy response earns you a thumbs-up from me!
The early-1990s Mercury Capri roadster was an Australian product.
<img src="http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/EXID572/images/EX-Mercury_Capri_1992_XR2-lfq-color-590.jpg" width=400>
Eew. That's a bit embarrassing. I suppose the G8 makes up for it a little.
I was thinking a little more along the lines private imports, but I guess that wasn't really too clear. Must be the accent.
The Capri wasn't all that terrible in itself, but what killed it in the US was that Ford-partner Mazda offered a roadster that was prettier, better-built, and RWD for about the same price – the Miata. The Capri really never had a chance.
The Capri II could have been a pretty good car, if it had been specced correctly. But, weak engine, and floppy drivetrain/suspension. I think the Probe was in the pipeline then, and that might have looked like the main chance and led to the decontenting. As it turned out, these were an insult to the Cologne Capris.
That, and the fact that it was made by fat blokes in Geelong.
/ducks and runs
Actually, it was built at their Homebush (Sydney) plant – which was closed down shortly after they stopped building these.
As a Mazda 323F driver, I'd be interested in driving the Capri. Wonder how far removed from the 323 the driving experience is, or whether it compares favorably to the 323F.
The seats are typical mid '60s GM A-body seats, right down to the pattern heat-embossed into the vinyl.
When I came to North America, I was amazed at how many little (and not so little) bits and pieces were taken directly from American cars and put into Australian ones, which makes perfect sense from an economic perspective. Had I known that earlier, I wouldn't have been so worried about finding parts for my Valiant. When I return, I'm going to fill a container with air vents and window winder handles, sell them at exorbitant prices, and make millions.
Tacho?
Rego?
Sounds like a drunken Ed Sullivan trying to introduce Topo Gigio.
Any time I see "Australian" mentioned, I just assume a certain amount of intoxication.
Seems to work pretty well around here.
/admiring how the Aussies hold their booze
If its good enough for Norm Beechey, it's good enough for me.
<img src="http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1179/5125122954_5977a14882.jpg" width="500" height="302" alt="70 atcc@lakeside norm beechey holden monaro gts 350">
Hard to say what sort of price they will get for it, being an unknown brand in the USA, with no local parts support except for the engine and transmission.
If it were back in Australia, and everything underneath matches the outside (I suspect it doesn't, given that there are no engine bay or underbody photos), I'd expect a minimum of about $50K, if you could find the right buyer (it is an odd colour combination – most of these were a single colour without the chrome trim at the back of the roof). If it has an interesting history, it may get A LOT more (upwards of $100K). The lowest price for anything registerable would probably be around $30-40K. Anything below that would be a project car at best – prices Down Under for these cars can be pretty crazy, just like muscle car prices in the US.
The auction ended early with all of the bids cancelled, so I suppose the answer is that it won't go at all.
Actually, it was probably sold off of Ebay for more. This way a deal can be made without paying Ebay or Paypal.
Wow, I was just in Hatfield, MA, earlier today. Shoulda gone by to check it out…
Well I find it hard to beleive that this car is two places at once.
http://australianmusclecarsales.com.au/muscle/680…
Listed for $103,000 in Sydney.
I saw this car at Bathurst a few years ago, quite a nice car indeed. But it seems to have cloned itself.
Yeah, I emailed the guy about buying it and importing it back to Australia. He said he wanted 20k and sent my a picture of a Massachusetts title of ownership, which I'm assuming is bogus. Pitty cause I could have been an amazing deal.