HT
In June 1969, the HK Monaro was replaced by the facelifted HT Monaro. The 'GTS 327' became the 'GTS 350' with the replacement of the Chevrolet 327 in3 (5.4 L) V8 by the 300 hp Chevrolet 350 in3 (5.7 L) V8. As the Monaro was Holden's main car in Series Production racing, this was primarily in response to Ford, which had introduced the XW Falcon GTHO Phase I in 1969. Also, an automatic version of the 'GTS 350' was introduced, which used a lower-power version of the 350 engine coupled to a two-speed Powerglide transmission. HT Monaro also marked the phasing out of the 5.0-litre Chevrolet V8, and the introduction of Holden's own locally made V8 engines, the 4.2-litre 253, and the 5.0-litre 308. Late in the HT model run, a new, locally produced three-speed automatic transmission, the Trimatic, was offered as an option, although it was not available on the 'GTS 350'.
The HT Monaro can be distinguished from the HK by the adoption of plastic grilles (previously metal), two-section taillights separated by a blacked out panel, a round speedometer instead of "strip" style allowing for bringing the tachometer into the main instrument cluster instead of on the floor console, rubber front suspension bushings instead of the HK's sintered bronze, and larger taillights, where the turn indicators also wrapped around the now-slightly undercut edges. Bodywork "go-faster" stripe designs (delete options) varied for each series; HK stripes were offset to the driver's side of the bonnet (hood) and bootlid (trunk), the HT had two broad stripes down the centre of the car. HTs also had twin air scoops / vents incorporated into their bonnets, which served no real purpose in delivering air into the engine bay.[3]
The HT Monaro GTS350 was successful in Series Production racing. The Holden Dealer Team was formed in 1969 by longtime Ford Works Team boss Harry Firth with the team using the GTS350 in competition. The HDT entered three Monaros in the 1969 Hardie-Ferodo 500, the lead car driven by Colin Bond and Tony Roberts winning from 1968 winners Bruce McPhee and Barry Mulholland, who had switched to driving a Falcon GTHO. Coming home third in the Dealer Team's third Monaro was Des West and Bathurst rookie Peter Brock.
In January 1970, Bond and Roberts won the Rothmans 12 Hour Series Production race at Surfers Paradise driving their HDT Holden Monaro.
Norm Beechey upgraded to a HT GTS350 and won the 1970 Australian Touring Car Championship, Holden's first ATCC championship success. Beechey won three of the seven rounds at Bathurst, Sandown, and Lakeside, where he wrapped up the title. The 550 bhp Monaro (which Beechey and his chief mechanic Pat Purcell had bored out from 5.7 to 6.0 litres) proved too much for the opposition, which included defending champion Ian Geoghegan in his Ford Mustang, Allan Moffat in his Ford Mustang Boss 302 Trans-Am, Bob Jane's Mustang, and Beechey's own teammate Jim McKeown in a Porsche 911S. Beechey's win was all the more remarkable considering he failed to finish at Warwick Farm and did not start the final round at Symmons Plains after suffering an engine failure in qualifying. He also finished second to Geoghegan in round four at Mallala.
Beechey continued to run the Monaro (dubbed Trans-Aus in reference to its Australian build compared to the American Trans-Am cars of his opposition) for another two seasons, though unreliability plagued the car in 1971 and 1972. Norm only finished fifth in the 1971 ATCC, winning only round two at Calder. The 1972 ATCC had Beechey retire from the first three rounds at Symmons Plains, Calder, and Bathurst before his only points for the series came from a third place in round four at Sandown Park. At the end of 1972 as a result of the Supercar scare, the Improved Production class was shut down by Confederation of Australian Motor Sport with a new production-based Group C touring car class introduced for which the Monaro was not eligible to race.
