KEY POINTS:
Australian muscle car fans in New Zealand got their jumper cables in a tangle over a picture of a 1974 Holden Torana that sold for A$110,000 ($124,300) at auction in Melbourne.
This page lost count of the emails saying that Wednesday's Superwheels had it all wrong - that the picture was instead that of a Chrysler Valiant.
Emailed Brian: "Your Holden Torana is a Valiant Pacer, I used to sell them in Australia." A picture of a 1971 Chrysler VG Hemi Pacer Coupe that sold for A$31,000 also accompanied the auction story.
Another Alastair wrote: "The image on your article on the auction prices of "classic" Australian cars is, of course, a Chrysler Valiant Charger and not a Holden Torana."
Stephen said the photo "is actually a Valiant. The Holden Torana is popular with Aussie car enthusiasts. While not a major issue to me it will be to some car enthusiasts. At least it wasn't a picture of a Ford."
Said Graham: "Photo is not of Holden Torana." The many other emails said pretty much the same thing.
But the photo was indeed that of a Holden - a 1974 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 sedan, Lot 30 in the auction and described as "comprehensively restored." The engine number was HZ16641 and the chassis number 438957M.
Its sale price of A$110,000 was typical of the growing demand for 1960-70s Aussie muscle cars.
A 1968 HK GTS 327 Monaro Bathurst coupe in signature Warwick Yellow sold for A$185,000 at the same auction.
A 1972 Holden LJ Torana XU-1 fetched A$143,000 at the Sydney motor show auction in October. A 1971 Chrysler Charger VH R/T E38 Coupe had a reserve of A$140,000.
Top-notch examples of the Ford Falcon GTHO and Holden Monaro are particularly highly prized across the ditch. A 1969 Holden HT Monaro GTS 350 coupe sold recently for A$220,000. A 1971 Ford Falcon XY GT-HO Phase 3 sedan sold for A$525,000. Another 1971 Ford Falcon XY GT-HO Phase 3 has A$650,000 on it.
The owner of a 1970 Ford Falcon XW GT-HO is looking for A$375,000.
The LH was regarded as the first all-Australian Torana and was launched in March, 1974 with the SL/R 5000 badge.
It carried a 5-litre V8 engine and formed the basis of Holden's assault on the Australian Touring Car championships, continuing the tradition of the earlier six-cylinder Torana XU-1s.
To homologate the new LH Torana for the Bathurst endurance race, Holden released an option pack called the L34.
Included was a new engine, a heavily reworked version of the standard 5-litre block, heavy-duty gearbox, stronger rear axle, uprated brakes, and bigger wheels.
The body package consisted of bolt-on flares to cover the bigger rubber and special paint stripes, different from those on the standard SL/R 5000.
The L34 enjoyed success at Bathurst, finishing second and third on its first attempt in 1974 before scoring successive one-two-three finishes in 1975-1976.
Total production of L34 SL/R 5000 Toranas was 263 units, all completed in the latter part of 1974 at a retail cost of A$6609 each.
