THUG MUSCLE MUNRO AT WILLOWBANK DRAGS . . . . SORRY BLUE OVAL FANS, BUT THIS 'ERE THANG WAS THE VERY DEFINITION OF FACTORY MUSCLE CAR AESTHETICS IN THE SIXTIES . . . . THE GT AND THE H.O MAY HAVE BEEN THE TECHNICALLY TOUGHER UNIT . . . . BUT THE HK MONARO GTS WAS THE ONLY AUSSIE CAR THAT STYLISTICALLY MATCHED ANYTHING FROM THE STATES . . . . NO DOUBT !!!

This thing drove into the compound, changed the rear meats, lumped and snorted up to the lights, bagged it up and then proceeded to charge hard all day pulling super respectable times for a road registered rig. I ran to where it was to get a shot, the big Munro was so fucking tough, monster cam lumpiness, all black menace and malice, shaking and rumbling on the pad, the perfect noise, not sure what he had under the bonnet  but it sure as hell wasn't the 186, 'S' or otherwise . . . . 

The HK Monaro was released in 1968, heavily influenced by what was going down in the U.S, from the minute it hit the showrooms it was a complete winner with the public, in entry level fitout you could choose from the 186 ci straight six, the 'S' variant with a few more neddies courtesy of a dual throat tooter and some other tweaks, then you could step up to the 307 Chevy or, the full whack bow tie 327 . . . . the GTS was some whole other visual experience for Australia back then, a two door coupe for a start, [Ford's highly acclaimed GT was a four door family saloon, albeit, a good one], styled here in Oz, sensual, curvaceous and so bloody sexy, it looked the part from the get go . . . . they were also available in some colours that were quite radical to an old school Aussie, Anglo Celtic based population, metalic blue, banana yellow, some super rad wheel dress up options and last but not least the off centre, fat and skinny go fast stripes, and vents in the guards !!!!

I can still recall the first time I saw one on the street, I was all of eight and living up in Darwin with mum and dad, standing on the footpath on Saturday morning in town, then I saw it, so did the old man, he was just as gobsmacked as I was . . . . the big two door rolled past us, red stripe tyres, metallic blue, black stripes, deep throat rumble, I swear I nearly pissed myself, I thought it was some Hot Wheels car come to life, even dad made some comment about how beautiful it looked . . . . mum, as usual, remained stonily unimpressed. That image has stayed with me since, it may not have achieved the same success on the track as the GTHO, however, in my estimations, it still is the best lookin car ever produced in the land Downunder, and I'm a Mopar nutter, so that's saying something !!! 

ABOVE . . . . THE BIG, BLACK, BAD MUNRO . . . . CHEESECUTTERS AND SLICKS, DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER, THE DEAD STOCK BODY, NO PUMPED GUARDS, NO FLASH SHIT, ONLY MAKE IT TOUGHER . . . . STANCE PLUS.

TAKEN FROM 'OLD HOLDENS' . . . . THIS COULD'VE BEEN THE EXACT THING I SAW NEARLY 45 YEARS AGO, STYLE WISE, THE FOUR DOOR GT FALCONS HAD NOTHIN ON THIS RIGHTEOUS RIG . . . . TEE NUMERO UNO.