The star of Repco’s 100th anniversary celebration ads also marked an important model in Holden’s history as the V8 returned to the track in the form of the Torana L34 SL/R 5000.
The infamous ‘supercar scare’ had just hit Australia in 1972 after a Sydney Morning Herald story from the motoring journalist and commentator Evan Green headlined “160mph Supercars Soon”.
The big three — Ford, Holden and Chrysler — were all in the process of building high-performance models ahead of the Hardie-Ferodo Bathurst 500 in 1972, but Green’s story put pressure on the manufacturers to stop development on their respective high-performance models.
The squeeze didn’t just fall on the manufacturers — the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport also came under pressure, leading to a change in the Series Production regulations for 1973, and the introduction of Group C Improved Production regulations.
This spelled the end for XV-1, the Holden Dealer Team’s (HDT) V8 development LJ GTR XU-1, after a long, exhaustive programme led by Harry ‘The Fox’ Firth.
Out went the compact LJ shape and in came the LH featuring a larger body to shoehorn a 308 V8 in the front mated to a four-speed M21 manual — but not just any 308 5.0-litre V8.
Needing a promotional tool to replace its successful programme with Brabham, Repco and its lead engineer, Phil Irving, had elected to develop Holden’s 308 V8 for Formula 5000 competition, which had just been introduced to Australia.
Repco’s learnings in this programme benefited the SL/R 5000 two years later as a strengthened block, a bespoke non-production crankshaft, uprated rods and pistons, a unique camshaft, roller rockers, a newly developed head and many other features were included in Holden’s new hero model.
Other options included upgraded camshaft and rockers, in addition to a Holley 780 carburettor.
A further homologation named L34 was to enter the scene ahead of the endurance events, right before a turbulent time in Holden’s racing team was to hit. Distinguishable by its circular headlights, bolt-on flares and larger 254mm rear drum brakes, it proved a success.
There were reliability problems during the early development process of the SL/R 5000, and it was Sydney privateer Allan Grice who debuted the model ahead of HDT.
Peter Brock persisted with the LJ GTR XU-1 into 1974 before debuting HDT’s first SL/R 5000 during the closing stages to secure his first Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) title.
Brock and teammate Colin Bond used the SL/R 5000 to give Holden the 1974 Australian Manufacturers’ Championship, with the rally-turned-circuit-racing ace winning three of the rounds.
Bathurst, however, eluded the team despite it being in a dominating position. Electric around the Mountain, Brock secured pole with a 2min 30.8s time — 0.8s clear of Bond. The fastest Ford was a whopping 5.1s behind.
Held in conditions not too dissimilar to those in 1972 when he achieved his first win, Brock built a six lap lead before retiring on lap 118 with an engine malady. Bond had also retired earlier, making it a bitter pill to swallow for the HDT as privateer Ford competitor John Goss took victory alongside Kevin Bartlett.
Then news followed that Brock was out of HDT, Bond enjoying a remarkably successful season in 1975 to win the ATCC in addition to the South Pacific Touring Car Championship in support of the Tasman Series.
Meanwhile, Brock linked up with Melbourne privateers Norm Gown and Bruce Hindhaugh in a low-budget affair compared with HDT, but his gamble proved sound at Bathurst as he achieved victory number two at the mountain, alongside Brian Sampson.
Success continued for the L34 SL/R 5000 into 1976 as Bond in the HDT example won three rounds to be narrowly defeated by Ford’s Allan Moffat in the ATCC. However, privateer Grice was emerging as a real thorn in the sides of the manufacturer teams.
Although there was some controversy at Bathurst in 1976, a Holden took victory again as the entry of prominent dealer Ron Hodgson driven by Bob Morris and Brit John Fitzpatrick greeted the chequered flag.
The controversy stems from a belief the HDT SL/R 5000 shared by Bond and John Harvey was robbed a lap by a scoring error, but this was never appealed, leaving the Ron Hodgson entry as the winner.
For 1977, the mighty A9X replaced the L34 SL/R 5000 as Holden’s final Torana hero nameplate before the Commodore took over because of a change of regulations for 1980.
The HDT SL/R 5000 has become a desirable piece of Australian muscle history. Some 268 were produced but few live on today.
It proved an important model as it sparked Holden’s return to V8 power in circuit racing, something that remained until its departure from the motorsport landscape in 2020.