If only it was an Alfa.....

[pep105]

Time warp HZ Kingswood (253) found in adelaide 998km on the clock


http://theage.drive.com.au/motor-news/not-the-kingswood-20120626-20zm3.html

[Frank Musco]

Wow!, that's grouse mate.

[colcol]

That was one of the first cars German engineering Peter Hannenburger fixed up when he took over Engineering at GMH, he replaced Pontiac Engineer George Roberts, they came with R.T.S. which stood for Roberts Theory Suspended, and the HZ came with lots of negative camber on the front suspension to stop the tyre falling over during hard cornering, just like Austrian Engineer DR. Rudolph Hruska did to the Alfasud  6 years earlier in 1971, Colin.

[pep105]

Peter Hanenberger was also involved in the development of the first VB Commodore, which was based on the Opel Rekord and at the time in the mid 70s, the Opel engineering mules would crack at the firewall due to large stresses endured as a result of the tough Aussie conditions, so in it's transformation to the Common Door the body was suitably strengthened. (Bit of useless trivia for you Colin  ).

RTS (interesting definition Colin) transformed the dynamics of 70s Holdens, not to Alfetta level but hey......

He was Holden MD from 1999 - 2004 and was well liked as was told by my Holden colleagues, until the Americans came in 2005 and it all turned to shit.

Frank - You know what Im gonna ask don't you ? Want to go halvies ?   Make a good towcar or cruiser. All we need is a foam esky some salami, home made wine, a pack of Benson & Hedges and a picnic rug and boom it's 1980 all over again!

[Frank Musco]

Yeah mate.. sweat!  So... we'll have to keep it at my joint cause ya got no room, no worries mate, I'll look after her   

[colcol]

The family car at the time was a HQ, and i drove a HZ and the difference was night and day, i guess that why we all drive good handling Alfa Romeo's, sometimes when car company's appoint Engineers as Managers, they go off on their pet projects and send the company broke, but not in the case of DR. Hanenberger, when money men run car company's, the company usually makes money, but the cars are bland, [oh what a feeling], Colin.

[aggie57]

When I read the article I checked to make sure it was in fact an HZ and not the extremely anemic and very forgetable HJ.....

Back in good old NZ I had a job in the Xmas holidays ferrying Avis rental cars around the North Island.  The fleet one year was Toyota Corollas, Toyota Coronas, and HZ Kingswoods.  Suffice to say "relocation" became code for "race" and despite the RTS suspension the fastest cars both in outright speed and point to point were the Coronas.  The HZ with a 202 struggled to get past 90 (mph).  Can't recall what the Coronas would actually do.... 

[Paul Gulliver]

code for "race" and despite the RTS suspension the fastest cars both in outright speed and point to point were the Coronas

Geez Alister, 90mph in one of those cars on NZ roads in the late 70's. Did you get "danger money" as well.

[aggie57]

code for "race" and despite the RTS suspension the fastest cars both in outright speed and point to point were the Coronas

Geez Alister, 90mph in one of those cars on NZ roads in the late 70's. Did you get "danger money" as well.

No Gully - of course I am only repeating what I was told by others who worked there.  I always stuck to the speed limit...

[L4OMEO]

Of course in the late seventies the open-road speed limit in NZ was a brain-melting 80km/h. You do remember it was km/h not mph, don't you aggie57?   

[aggie57]

Of course in the late seventies the open-road speed limit in NZ was a brain-melting 80km/h. You do remember it was km/h not mph, don't you aggie57?   

huh? !

Remember when the police starting booking people for going slower than the speed limit and holding up traffic? Seriously. 

[colcol]

Hey Aggie57, those quick Coronas must have been powered by the Japanese overhead cam motors, in that era in Australia the Aussie Coronas were [under] powered by the backfire 4 that was fitted to the Sunbird and 4 cylinder Commodores, that is a 1900cc, 202 6 cylinder with 2 cylinders lopped off, Colin.

[aggie57]

Yes they were proper Corona's Colin.  None of that 2/3 of a crappy old straight six nonsense Australia had to suffer.  They were an Aussie special.

[enzo1891]

looks like i have to drag out the monaro from its hybination only been sleeping for the last 10 years