Well okay, maybe not the entire world. But there certainly were enough Holden Torana’s parked out the back of the Ettamogah pub on Sunday just gone to bring a tear to a Tori enthusiasts eye. And a grin to people like me who just love wandering around a car show..
In all honesty, I wasn’t there for the Torana show
No truth be told we had some family up from Bendigo and my wife suggested a visit to the Ettamogah pub for a look at the car on the roof, the plane in the dirt and the animals out the back. Turned out it was a case of great timing too because things were in full swing when we got there (and passing a couple of very tidy examples on the way in made me think it was a general car show and not just all Torana’s in various conditions.)
And as we continue to mine this rich vein of honesty here, I’ll admit that I really don’t know much about them. At all. I grew up in a Ford (then Subaru family.) They stopped producing them when I was born (1980). And my only close association with one was the nugget version my brother in lawn owned and me preventing him from falling for a scam over it.
(Although I was there for the reveal of the John Bowe Racing Torana back in 2016 which was pretty special and even got to interview him about it.)
And so unless one (or two) turned up in the Carrara auction yards back when I lived nearby, seeing small pockets of them outside of an event such as Coffee and Cars was rare. And don’t ask me to tell you the difference between an LC Torana and an LJ Torana because all you’ll get back is a dumb look from yours truly. (Although I do know of the rarity and want of an A9X..)
Still, not knowing one Tori from another I still enjoyed my time in the sun strolling around and looking at all of these beasties, especially some of the paint jobs not to mention the monsters lurking under the hood. I’d hate to figure what one of these are worth now in average condition let alone some of the showroom specials parked on the grass. So in no particular order:
Now if I had to pick a favourite Torana out of the many on show here, then this slick machine would be it. My potato camera doesn’t do this thing justice but the sleek paint, fat wheels and oil gauge tucked away under the scoop on the bonnet helped this thing look menacing. And I can just imagine how it might drown out the entire grounds when it started..
Although this red one above certainly did knock my socks off when I laid eyes on it too..
And finally, I’ll leave you with this one – arguably the only Holden Torana in the entire collection that I might actually be able to afford (after seeking finance obviously.) A mini one!
This amazing work is from a local guy called Colin Griffiths who builds mini cars as a hobby. And I only know this because he put up a picture of these crazy little projects up on our Facebook page recently when we asked the question What do you DIY? When it comes to DIY, Colin builds mini versions of awesome cars!
And of course it’s not just inconic Holden’s like the Torana he builds in his garage..
But now, back to the miniTor (geddit?)
