Talk:Holden Torana

message: I have uploaded an image of a 1971 Torana – the portrait I took for advertising it for sale, infact. I'm not really sure where in the article to place it though, as it seems like it'd interfere with the infobox, so I'll leave that to someone more familiar with these car articles. Oh and the colours came out rather saturated, but feel free to alter them if you have the skills/software to do so. The image is here: :Image:Holdentorana1971.jpg Cheers, Qirex 11:56, 5 January 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Image for article uploaded

message: What it says on the tin.
Zaktoo 00:59, 30 April 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Link to MFA site removed

message: The XU-2 was never a LJ based product, rather it was used by GM-H for the V8 LX Torana prototypes.Space alligator (talk) 10:15, 12 November 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  XU-2 

message: Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just modified 3 external links on Holden Torana. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20040924081558/http://www.toranagtrxu-1.com/ to http://www.toranagtrxu-1.com/
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20121021091220/http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mellor.nsf/story2/B420B97D78FDF021CA256F2600076A6A to http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mellor.nsf/story2/B420B97D78FDF021CA256F2600076A6A/
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20110107205649/http://www.gtr-x.net/ to http://www.gtr-x.net/
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thread_title:  External links modified 

message: I dispute the accuracy of  following sentence: in the section on the LJ:
"...as well as a new close-ratio M20 four-speed Australian-made transmission (commonly known as the Aussie 4-Speed and often incorrectly called an M21)".
There was no such thing as a standardised M20 or M21 gearbox across Holden vehicles - it was basically GMH's ordering system for describing whether a vehicle was to be fitted with a "standard" (M20), close-ratio (M21) gearbox, and in some cases, a wide-ratio(M22) gearbox when it came off the production line and delivered to the dealer. However, the choice of actual ratios of a specific gearbox  for a specific vehicle, engine and manufacturing year combination.  The ONLY way to tell the gearboxes apart was by the gearset "cluster" - a specific set of ratios - of which there were  five different clusters available, each with a specific  part number; these were:
  Part No	1st	2nd	3rd	4th
  2813496	3.05	2.19	1.51	1.00
  2813497	2.54	1.83	1.38	1.00
  2820694 	3.74	2.68	1.38	1.00
  2823899	2.54	1.83	1.25	1.00
  9939484	2.32	1.65	1.25	1.00
As for "Aussie gearbox"  this could refer to the Australian 4-speed fitted with ANY of these clusters;  the "different" gearboxes was the  same  basic mechanical assembly (case etc) but just the clusters - which were interchangeable - that differed. The only genuine difference was  the input shaft, with versions fitted to V8s having  a longer shaft, Furthermore there  was NO DIFFERENCE to how much power and torque the different clusters could handle - they were basically all heavy-duty especially when compared to the  older Opel units which could not handle the torque of the larger capacity or high performance 6-cylinder engines available in the LC and LJ Toranas (and certainly not a V8) and would break. 
In the case of the LC Torana, early 6-cylinder models were equipped with an Opel gearbox. As this was the standard gearbox it was therefore the M20. However, it was withdrawn in June 1971 and replaced with an Australian-built item, which was also called the M20 (which continued through to the LJ), even though they were totally different gearboxes with different ratios.   Also, from June 1971 the standard cluster for 6-cylinder non-XU1 LC and LJ Toranas was part number 2813496 ((according to my research this was NOT fitted to the XU1 as Holden did not homologate this cluster for racing), which in GMH ordering records the geabox/cluster combination was known as the M20. If the close-ratio cluster 2823899 was chosen (I cannot confirm this was an option, except for the standard GTR)  this was then the M21 in ordering information. However that was also the standard cluster for the XU1, so on GMH's ordering information it was the M20, and if the buyer wanted the even closer ratio cluster 9939484 (which featured on the LJ 'Bathurst Special') then that was the M21.  As I said above, this is why there was no such thing as a "standard" M20 or M21 gearbox, even within the same basic model for a single manufacturing year.
As far as I can verify these ratios are valid for all of Holden's Australian-made gearboxes fitted for all of their 1970s straight-6 and V8 vehicles from the LC Torana and HQ Kingswood through to the VB Commodore i.e. those fitted with the 'red' motor. These details can be confirmed in Holden factory publications such as "Holden Parts Book M37058" and independent books (of which I have many), including "Holden Torana GTR XU-1 - The History and Technical Specifications" by Fiv Antoniou (ISBN 9780959041200) and many online forums and websites, including the Torana GTR XU1 page on Hot Rods Down Under (https://hotrod.gregwapling.com/torana/torana-gtr-xu1.html), a mostly accurate online resource but unfortunately does not mention clusters nor their product numbers (you need to look up some of the printed literature to confirm this, or trawl through online old Holden forums as it's highly likely some nice person has uploaded this data).
NOTE: Holden's naming practice becomes  even more confusing when you took into account other vehicles from the same time, such as the HQ. The 6-cylinder HQ sedan used the same "M20" (i.e. same gearbox and cluster) as non-XU1 LJs built in  the same year, but some HQs built with a V8 (i.e. the GTS 350, etc) featured stronger US-made gearboxes such as the Muncie and Saginaw units, which were also called the M20 (for the standard ratios) and M21 (for close ratios)., even though these gearbox were totally different units with different ratios again. 
Therefore, as at 11 September 2020, I have modified the quoted text to instead read: "...By now the XU-1 was equipped with the 202-ci engine and larger CD-175 Zenith-Stromberg triple carburettors, as well as a new close-ratio  four-speed Australian-made transmission (which was available as an option on the standard GTR). available on the 'Bathurst Special' was an even closer-ratio gearbox and the taller (reduced from 3.36:1 to 3.08:1) rear axle final drive ratio from the standard GTR which increased top speed to 135mph. This gave the nimble  XU-1...". 
Blammy1 (talk) 17:51, 11 September 2020 (UTC)
thread_title:  Regarding the M20 and M21 gearboxes fitted to LC and LJ