Holdenvs ford

SmAll CArS

ligHtweigHt champions
Words Ben dillon

When we talk of the Ford/Holden tussle, its usually the bigger cars that come to mind. But this classic battle also raged in a different weight class

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Australian Classic Car

he heavyweight championship of the showroom has always been Falcon versus Commodore. Year after year we see these two fighters go at it toe to toe on track and street, competing for the title. While these top-billed boxing matches draw the crowds, its the undercard fights that are often closer, harder and more entertaining. Far away from the pre-event hype and manufactured hostility between contenders

at the heavyweight press conference, the feather and middleweight fighters prepare for battle. They have the difficult task of underpinning the sales success of the heavyweights. Cars like Holdens Gemini and Torana, and Fords Escort and Capri, face off with the knowledge that no matter how well they perform, the Falcon and Commodore will always be on top. These lithe scrappers who are harder, keener, and have the animalistic hunger to win and be recognised are often disregarded as mere entrees on the Australia car menu, but they have won their place in the hearts of many. This is their story.

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Holdenvs ford
SmAll CArS
Top marks The Anglia is not without flaws but is a fantastic first-time

The ford escort

he featherweight division has spawned many legends in Australia, including the Ford Escort, the popular Holden Gemini, and Jeff Fenech. That all three are imports (to varying degrees) doesnt matter, as they all have built cult followings out of being tough winners. In Australia the Ford Escort is one of the most under-appreciated small cars of all time. Despite the adulation the Escort received throughout much of Europe, the Australian market struggled with the concept of a small Ford. Sales of the Mk1 Escort were reasonably good, with over 135,000 units sold during the Escorts 11 years in Australia, but they pale in comparison to the number of Geminis Holden sold during a similar, albeit later, time period. The Mk2 Escort which was a direct competitor to the Gemini from 1975 to 1980 struggled to counter the popularity of the Holden even though it was arguably the
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Australian Classic Car

superior car in terms of roadhandling and interior comfort. Happily for Ford, there were those that did take the plunge and found the Escort a sweet-mannered car. Fitted with the 2.0-litre fourcylinder Pinto engine in the Mk2 model the car went from stop to 100km/h in 11.2 seconds, by no means a world record but good enough to keep up with the traffic of the day. The Escort was a rival to the Gemini in terms of size, price and niche, but in the world of racing it achieved much more. A very capable circuit or rally car, the Escort proved its worth in Europe a swathe of victories in rally events saw it develop the kind

Tough sell Europeans went wild for the Escort but the enthusiam never quite caught on here.

In Australia the Escort is one of the most under-appreciated cars of all time

The Holden gemini

gem of a car The Gemini took the fight directly to Fords Escort and surpassed it for sales during the late 70s.

The sPecs
ford escort mk2
EnginE: 1.6-litre (1598cc) four-cylinder PowEr: 46kW (62bhp) @ 5000rpm TorquE: 110Nm (81lb/ft) @ 2500rpm 0-100km/h: 13.1 seconds (1.6), 11.2 seconds (2.0) ProducTion: 1975-1981 rrP on rElEasE: $3430-$4420

of following rock stars enjoy. On the road this translated into sales, with over two million Mk1 Escorts sold in Europe by the release of the Mk2. This success spawned several sporting variants of both the Mk1 and Mk2 models. The Mk1 Twin Cam and Mk2 RS2000 are the most recognisable, as they were sold new in Australia but we missed out on the full breadth of sporting models the Europeans had available to them. Both the Kent and Pinto fourcylinder engine proved to be very durable and tuneable, as evidenced by the plethora of books on tuning the engine and its use in varied kit and race cars. The Escort was an important part of the Ford line-up, supporting sales of the Falcon and the imported Cortina. Despite the decent sales achieved in Australia and its local rally success, the Escort is only really loved by enthusiasts and is not a revered member of the Ford family.

fter the success Holden enjoyed with the Torana, the dawn of the 1980s altered many car companies perspectives on what a small car needed to be. Holden, too, knew it needed something small, fresh and cheap. The Gemini was to be the new hope for Holdens featherweight title defence against the incumbent Ford Escort. Being a child of the GM T platform family which sought to create a world car to fit all markets the Gemini had cousins spread all over the world from Japan to Germany. Built in Holdens Acacia Ridge plant in Brisbane from 19751985, the Gemini wasnt an exact copy of its Asian or European twins, as it used a lot of local content in the production of the car, but still there were some similarities. The 1.6-litre engine, which featured a cross-flow eight-valve alloy head and twobarrel Stromberg carburettor, was used throughout the range with the option of a 1.8-litre diesel from 1981; it was an interesting choice as there had not really been a small diesel on sale in Australia before. The punters loved it and Holden ended up selling over 226,000 Geminis in the 10-year period the T

series was produced. The motoring press also had good things to say about the Gemini and it took the Wheels Car of the Year award in 1975. Finally here was a Holden that was small and economical and could act as a family or second car. Like the Mk2 Escort, the Gemini was a very basic economy model that became better featured as the years went by, and its fan base grew. In line with the Commodore, 1978 saw the advent of an SL/E luxury model, which was later changed to a less well appointed, but slightly cheaper SL/X version. The Gemini, like the Torana before it, went on to create a cult following all its own, but unlike the Torana it didnt lapse into Vegas Elvis weight gain in the latter part of its career.

The sPecs
Holden gemini
EnginE: 1.6-litre (1584cc) four-cylinder PowEr: 50kW (67bhp) @ 5400rpm TorquE: 114Nm (84lb/ft) @ 3600rpm 0-100km/h: N/A ProducTion: 1975-1985 rrP on rElEasE: N/A

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Holdenvs ford
SmAll CArS Hit and miss

If you sneak into a Holden fans bedroom and peek in the wardrobe, you are likely to find a shrine with pictures of Peter Brock, various Commodores and at least two or three Toranas to which the devoted directs his prayers every night. The blue oval brigade has something similar, but you will be hard pressed to find a solitary Ford Capri in their sacred pictorial scripture. Why this disparity exists is not certain. Looking at the Mark 1 Capri and at the Torana from the LC model forward you

could be fooled into thinking they were family. Long bonnets both housing four and six-cylinder engine options, elegant Coke-bottle lines that aped their bigger muscle car brothers and quite a bit of racing ability. The fact the Capri was British and the Torana Australian was probably a factor, along with the greater appeal of a fourdoor option in the Torana range. So the middleweight fighters in our double bill were very closely matched in specification, but poles apart in popularity.

The ford caPri mk1

he Capri was available in Australia from 1969 to 1972 in 1.6-litre and 3.0-litre (1970 onward) V6 forms. Sales were good, with a reported 15,000 units sold during this time. This was a far cry from the roughly 74,000 LC Toranas sold in the same period though to be fair the Torana had a broader public appeal with more options and a greater range of variants. The Capri was intended to be a European Mustang and to lure sports car buyers to the brand. This strategy worked well elsewhere, with around 1.2 million Mk1 Capris sold confirming the Capri had appeal. Whether punters here in Australia couldnt see the appeal or werent interested in looking for it is another question. Many Australians did, however, take advantage of the Capris styling, performance and handling, all of which were of a high quality, but these enthusiasts were the minority and subsequent Mk2 and 3 models, which served to solidify the Capri legend in Europe, were entirely ignored here.

sTar performer The Torana earned its hard-asnails reputation with multiple victories at Bathurst.

second fIddle Like the Escort, the Capri found a willing audience in Europe but buyers here remained unconvinced.

The sPecs
ford caPri 3.0 V6
EnginE: 3.0-litre (2994cc) six-cylinder PowEr: 107kW (144bhp) @ 4750rpm TorquE: 261Nm (192 lb/ft) @ 3000rpm 0-100km/h: N/A ProducTion: 1970-1972 rrP on rElEasE: $3230

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Australian Classic Car

No one really thought it would become an icon as big as the Commodore

The Holden torana

n the boxing world its unheard of for a lower weight-class contender to knock out a heavyweight in the ring, but when the fight is in the street, there are no rules. The Holden Torana has always looked to a prize far above its station in life as an economical mid-size runabout. In 1967, when the Torana was first launched with the HB model (based on the UK-sourced Vauxhall Viva), no one really thought it would one day be a contender for the heavyweight crown or become an icon as big as the Commodore. The first clue of this sporting aspiration came with the release of a Jack Brabham edition in 1969, which added a twin-barrel Stromberg carburettor and a lowrestriction exhaust system to boost engine output to 79bhp (59kW). The word Torana comes from an Aboriginal dialect meaning to fly, which was probably a source of much congratulatory back slapping in the marketing department. Few people suspected that in the hands of Peter Brock in the 1972 Bathurst,

it would do just that. At a rainsoaked Mount Panorama circuit, Brock took the win by the huge margin of five laps, not only proving his skill as a driver, but the mettle of the Torana. For a middleweight to stick it up the GTHO Falcons and Monaros at Bathurst proved the XU-1 GTR the toughest of our support fighters and the kind of car that could bite an ear off. This early success steered the Torana down a road of weight and performance gain with subsequent SL/R 5000 sedan and A9X hatchback versions taking multiple Touring Car Championships and Bathurst wins on the way to becoming a true heavyweight by the time it retired from touring car racing in 1979.

The sPecs
Holden torana lc gtr XU-1
EnginE: 3.0-litre (3048cc) six-cylinder PowEr: 119kW (160bhp) @ at 5200rpm TorquE: 256Nm (190lb/ft) @ 3600rpm 0-100km/h: 9.2 seconds ProducTion: 1970-1972 rrP on rElEasE: $3148

Post FigHt ReFlection

Over the years, both Holden and Ford have put contenders of all weight classes in the ring hoping for a title win. Some have been red-hot, others pudgy hasbeens well past their prime, but a new generation of Fords and Holdens has always come along to revive the rivalry. Long may it continue.

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