How time flies! Its nearly 50 years since Holden’s LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 (L34) took to the tracks and thrilled Australian racegoers with the raucous-barking-howl of its Repco-Holden F5000 influenced 308 V8.
Allan Grice teased race fans with the L34’s potential when he ran a 310bhp SL/R 5000 in some high-speed demonstration laps at Amaroo Park on Sunday April 19, 1974; the Amaroo shot of the same car above was taken during the June 2 meeting, with Fred Gibson’s XB GT Falcon Hardtop behind.
Peter Brock reinforced the SL/R 5000’s pace by winning the final two Australian Touring Car Champiosnship rounds in May/June at Surfers Paradise and Adelaide International in his Holden Dealer Team car, thereby securing the title, the bulk of his points being accumulated in the good ‘ole six-cylinder XU-1.
By mid-1974 enough L34s were built (total build numbers 263) to allow CAMS homologation and therefore competition in the Adelaide and Sandown Manufacturers Championship rounds in advance of the Bathurst 1000.
On August 25 Colin Bond famously won at Adelaide International on an HDT L34 wing-and-a-gearbox-prayer debut.
Bondy then followed up and won the 1975 Australian Touring Car Championship with Peter Brock and Brian Sampson delivering the Mount Panorama goods. The ’75 rout was complete when The General took the Australian Manufacturers Championship with the L34 winning four of the five rounds.
Things were a lot tougher in 1976 when the Allan Moffat/Colin Bond Ford Falcon XB GT351 ruled the roost, except at Bathurst where Bob Morris and John Fitzpatrick won a close finishing tear-jerker of a race in their L34.
It’s fitting that the Life and Times of the L34 are being celebrated en-masse at the Phillip Island Classic this weekend as the fast but fragile – axles, gearbox and differential – cars won there a few times: Bond in a Holden Dealer Team car in 1974, Brock in 1975 in the Norm Gown-Bruce Hindhaugh prepared car, and Bond again for the HDT in 1976. In 1977 it was the turn of the L34’s younger sibling, Allan Grice won in a new Torana A9X (Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback).
In a wonderful half-centenary 1974-2024 Phillip Island book-end, Rod Hadfield’s ex-Rod and Russ McRae Dustings of Burwood L34 – third placegetter in the 1974 500K – will be on-circuit throughout the Phillip Island Classic including morning parades on Saturday/Sunday along with 40 other race/road L34s organised by the L34 Fiftieth Anniversary Committee.
This is a not to be missed meeting for Holden, Torana and Group C fans!
Etcetera…
SLR/5000
Graeme Blanchard pushing hard in his Holden Torana SLR/5000 ‘at Winton on May 5, 1974,’ wrote historian Neil Stratton.
The first to race an SLR/5000 ‘was very close as Grice had his SLR/5000 debut race at the Oran Park ATCC round on April 28, 1974 and Blanchard first raced his on May 5. As you say (photographer Bruce Keys) Blanchard was the first to race one in Victoria.’
‘Peter Brock first raced the Holden Dealer Team version at the Surfers Paradise ATCC round on May 19, 1974, then at Calder on May 26.’
Blanchard Holden occupied one of the busiest intersections in Melbourne, on the corner of Dandenong and Springvale Roads Springvale – a decent drop-kick from Sandown – for decades.
I dare say it was easy for pretty-handy-racer Graeme Blanchard to convince his dad to have an SLR/5000 off the lot. ‘I’ll put stickers on on so in a couple of months we can remove them and flog it as a loved-usedee.’ Before too long he did of course upgrade to an L34…
L34
Believe it or not, I loved Touring Cars once upon a time when there was variety from one end of the capacity spectrum to the other…it all turned to shit for me when the ruling CAMS-Maxi Taxi Junta gave us the infinite boredom of same, same, and a bit more same, 30 or so years ago. Fuggem I thought, and still do. Those hopelessly-conflicted pricks are the tall-tree-in-the-Australian-racing-paddock that grab all the nutrient (money) for themselves leaving fuck-all for everybody else.
While I was in Oakleigh last week I had a snoop through some of Big Bad Brucie’s (Bruce Williams, Auto Action’s publisher/owner) archives and will gradually work my way through the more technical material about the way these cars evolved through 1974-75 with a view to expanding this piece.
Etcetera: Falcon GT 351 Coupe…
Interestingly, Auto Action published the ‘Super Bits’ FoMoCo homologated on August 14, before Bathurst that year, in its September 20, 1974 issue.
“The parts homologated include four-bolt main bearing blocks, forged aluminium pistons, a new slightly modified inlet manifold, modified cylinder heads, modified water pump, and an, as yet unused (by Allan Moffat) sump.”
“Moffat’s Falcon (at the Sandown 250) was modified at the rear suspension with the trailing arms being turned into leading links. Apart from all this, it was lowered more at the front, while still retaining enough ground clearance to pass over the ride height measure.”
“All this adds up to around two seconds a lap at Sandown using what amounted to a development car.”
Credits…
Auto Action, Neil Stratton, Robert Davies, Bruce Keys
Finito…
primotipo... 