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  Proud owner Ron Jackson is only the second owner of this white LC since it left the yard at Loders in Caringbah (Sydney) way back in 1971. Photo Gallery

Ron Jackson is a dyed-in-the wool Peter Brock fan first and a Torana fan second. Other Holdens are down the tree.

Jackson remembers Brock's Bathurst glory days fondly and he was trackside for some of the great man's wins. So, when the chance to pick up a rare original Torana similiar to Brock's early cars came up Jackson couldn't resist the temptation. Having said that, its not exactly the same.

Brock debuted a six-cylinder LC Torana at Bathurst in 1970 but it had a larger engine, a lot more tweaking and two less doors than Jackson's standard 2600 four-door sedan, but there's enough left to keep the sentiment strong.

"I'm an extremely staunch Peter Brock and Torana fan" he says proudly. "I've always loved Toranas, the style, the character. They handle really well, they're comfortable and they're easy to work on."

Jackson is involved with both the Lion's Pride Holden and Sydney Torana car clubs where he rubs shoulders with fellow Torana fans. The LC was the first of the Australian-designed Toranas. The earlier models were re-badged Vauxhalls from England. Nearly 75,000 LC models were made between September 1969 and early 1972.

He is only the second owner of this white LC since it left the yard at Loders in Caringbah (Sydney) way back in 1971. The car stayed in the same family for nearly 40 years.

Jackson bought it three years ago when old age and fading eyesight were restricting its loving owner from driving. She swapped the Torana for an electric scooter. "The lady who owned it wanted someone to look after it. She wanted the car to be kept in the original condition.

"Her daughter said they had some young people come to look at it but when they asked "what are they going to do with it, they said they were going to paint it another colour and put a V8 in it." But Jackson's vow to preserve the LC won him the day.

Despite its age the car has done only 61,00 miles (98,000km) on the clock and has been garaged for all of its life which accounts for it being in remarkably good original condition. "It runs beautiful," says Jackson. "It hasn't had much use."

When he got the car it only needed the three-speed auto transmission serviced and the radiator core replaced. While the paintjob had some minor dents and scratches and had faded to a yellow off-white colour he didn't want to respray it. Instead he had it repaired, the scratches painted and the whole car was then buffed to bring up the colour to its original sheen.

Inside the car the red upholstery is also in remarkably good order. Exposure to the sun has created some marks on top of the back seat but he has covered that up. While the car is far from concours condition it is an authentic representation of how it looked when new 38 years ago.

The car is on historic vehicle plates and he only drives it to car shows. "I take it to car shows so people can enjoy it as it was." he says. "Some of them have driven similiar cars in its day or have had such cars in the family."

And Jackson has even found a Holden lion mascot to go with the car to display at shows. When Brock and Co sat on the grid at Bathurst all those years ago the faithful Holden mascot, Roary the Lion, was with them to rev up Holden fans and upset Ford and Chrysler supporters.

Jackson's Torana will be on display this weekend at the All-Holden Day show at the Hawkesbury Showground opposite the RAAF base at Clarendon. It starts with a swap-meet today and expands into a car display show tomorrow. Organisers say the show is one of the world's biggest displays of Holdens. Money raised will be donated to charity.