This is only my (uneducated) opinion, and therefore should be taken very lightly, but I don't think the H.O. option should be lumped in with V8 LJs, Turbos or scuff plates/pinstripes/flux capacitors installed at the dealers. This package was put together by Holden partly to homologate certain bits for racing,(oil cooler, carby spacer) and is part of "SL/R 5000 With L34 option incorporating 'High Output Package' Parts Catalogue Supplement" (M37536). If we include the Amendment Bulletin, the H.O. option comprises of 35 Holden part numbers. This catalog even has an exploded view diagram of the 780 Holley.
So my car may not be standard. It may have been "hot rodded". But it was hot rodded by the factory.
No doubt the parts themselves had factory support, but it was a balancing act for Holden. Its was clear to Holden that dealers would sell their sole for any sale, but holden definitely didn't want those parts going into road cars. However being penny pinchers, they also knew it was hard to stop/police without upsetting why they used that distribution channel. To help entry numbers for the ATC and Bathurst, the use of dealers and the parts operation made for easier distribution and support of private race teams. Of course this meant all dealers had access ....... even out the back of Burke. The alternative was make it harder for teams to get that factory support and result in more expense.
So you had two different entities, the dealers who do anything to sell a car and then Holden who wanted the prestige and flow on effect of winning Bathurst. Unlike the 60's it was a strange time in the rules and politics, but as always Holden just wanted to win another Bathurst over Fraud. However the company had a social conscience conflict and their tight ass bean counters where cutting & counting costs every day. Otherwise today we would have a GTR-X in the shed. After the 1973 supercar political headlines, Holden definitely didn't want to get dragged into the super fast road car fire again. As it was still fresh last thing Holden needed/wanted in 1974/75 was headlines of speed hoons and an L34 on the news wrapped around a lamp post with the 20 something occupants all injured or dead. Lets face it at 130mph you need better brakes than what was on the L34. Having driven a standard Fraud Phase3 between Coolgardie and Southern Cross I can tell you that corners and kangeroo's are not surprises you needed while winding it out.(least I for one like bloody good brakes ..... as did old KB in the 9 Camaro ... LOL)
This political hot car thing went on for a decade (until PB setup) and was also why the A9X was slipped under the radar with little fanfare and attention. In truth at $11k Holden found it extremely tough to sell them and lets face it besides the lumps and bump fibreglass it had a std 27a pollution chocked 308. That alone should show people the mentality of Holden at the time. Because of its racecar looks, the better handling, better brakes was simply ignored and not promoted in a public way. Mainly because of volumes, but also because the look of the car and relationship to racing might reflect badly on the companys desire for a more responsible image. Those of age would remember they mainly promoted the higher volume HZ GTS, a mild looking 4 door taxi with its rts and 4 wheel discs. Yet they contradicted themselves with its 78/79 Bathurst ads which where all Torana A9X Hatch images.
The solution came with the relationship with Brock, as it gave them the bathurst exposure and seperated them from directly being involved in hot rodding dunnydores. Although ultimately they supported Brock and supplied cars to suit, the fact was it was a very relieved Holden to get rid of a small volume market segment (hard to profit) along with the political responsibility. Yet they could still ride the Brock dunnydore coat tales of Bathurst Success.
Winning at the Mountain really had a big effect on sales.Back in the day when Australian manufacturing was politically supported and encouraged (by protection measures), those measures also had a rebound effect on Holdens costs of importing chevs and pushed the need to develop a local engine. So of course it meant the use of chevs had to stop with the HQ. But personally I have always wondered why GM couldn't have licensed the Chev to be manufactured here so we could tap into the big factory and after-market parts and knowledge that had existed since 1955 in the USA. Trying to re-invent the wheel and get close to a small block that had been around since 1955 was fraught with heartache and headache, especially with the design Holden chose with its poor oiling system,head design,sealing,odd firing order etc. As we know many things where slowly fixed, but how many races ended during that period because of the 308's inherant poor design issues?
Funny in 2012 the old plastic is long dead and gone and we are back to where we started except using the latest chev motors. Manufacturing has almost ceased to exist, as Australia has finally realised its true market size and that we simply can't compete on a world scale. Mind you that's also because most of us can't live on a bag of rice either ..... LOL
Probably for some who are younger its hard to fathom or understand today, but we had pretty much nothing off the self for hot rodding 308's
until the L34. Pre L34 everything was custom and bloody expensive (if you couldn't do it yourself). Almost no information was available and hot rod engine shops just laughed if you asked about the 308. When I modified a 308 (before the L34) I adapted basic engine modification information from people like Bill Jenkins, Bill Fisher, Bob Warr and still have all their old 70's and 80's books. Of course chevs are a different animal but the relativity of breathing,rods,pistons,clearances,carbys etc made for some starting point. It was all trial and error and
I'll be the first to say it was more error and cost than success.
So for those like me (no Harry Firth) who didn't have big piles of money, it was always tough not to go to a chev (except for licensing reasons). At the time 500Hp chev was easy, 500Hp from a 308 was an impossibility. The amount of HQ heads we trashed when we where trying to put in better valves,springs and bigger porting would be laughable today. (water leak - welder). Normally if viable we adapted parts from chevs enormous catalog. I remember before the L34 we hand modified the pickup tube size, sump with windage tray/scraper, modified return galleries,modified oil pumps all to get all that oil back into the sump and out of the top end. Everytime we held big revs 6k+ we had big issues and fought the poor design for years. I sure am glad there was no video of me in the shed doing stuff I had no right to be doing Ha-haa.
So not only as a Torana fanatic but as a Holden man we owe a hell of a lot to the L34.Just one other clarification is that personally
today I could never modify anything at all on any
genuine A9X, L34, XU-1 or SS, SLR 5000, GTR.
Used to do it in the 70's and 80's but not now. However I have absolutely no problem in doing a replica and going mad with the gas axe and hammer to fit what ever will make it a better performing car (brakes,eng,gearbox,diff or anything but the outside look).
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