Holden Monaro 1968 News

Australia's first $1 million car could change hands before the end of the year.Bidding on rare and exotic Fords and Holdens has already seen prices top $900,000. The record stands at $920,000 paid for one of only two HRT 427 Monaro coupes last month.The Holden result surpasses the $750,000 paid for a Ford Falcon GTHO Phase 3 last year.Several low-key shoppers are still lurking, looking to spend $1 million or more for a Phase 3 with proven Bathurst race history.Holden fans are also spending big. Canowindra car dealer Charlie McCarron recently refused a $900,000 bid for a 48-215, which he has pegged at $1.2 million.And now Phil Munday, who has the oldest Holden in private hands — No.19 in the 48-215 production run — as well as a collection of other early-model humpies, is hoping he will be the one to crack the magic million.“I'd like to be the first to get $1 million for an Australian car. I probably have a couple that are worth that much,” Munday says.“I reckon the Goodwood car we built for Peter Brock to race in Britain in 2006 could make it. It was the last car he raced, in September of that year.”Chris Bowden, who sold the 427 Monaro from the Classic Throttle Shop in Sydney and has intimate knowledge of the multi-million-dollar Bowden Collection owned by his father in Queensland, believes a $1 million deal is just a question of time.“It will either be a good, proven race car or a classic old-timer — something from the track with the Brock or Moffat name attached,” Bowden says.“You just need the right car, with the right driver, with bulletproof provenance. For sure, we could get $1 million for the Peter Brock A9X from '78 that is in the Bowden Collection. And we have the '79 Bathurst winner, but we wouldn't even entertain an offer for that.”Bowden says there is a lot of talk about the $1 million milestone, particularly after his latest sale.The 427 Monaro sold to a Queenslander who goes only by the nickname “Chooka.”The Queenslander has one of each Monaro model since the 1960s and was very keen to add the HRT 427, which was one of only two prototypes built before the business plan for a full-scale production run of 50 cars collapsed when the probable showroom price surpassed $200,000.The Canowindra car is still for sale and McCarron hopes it will make more than $1 million.It is a black 48-215 and one of only 112 Holdens sold in 1948. McCarron bought it for $575 in 1970 with the deluxe option pack; leather trim, safety wheel rims and a passenger's side sunvisor.It still has only 35,000 kilometres on the dial.But Munday believes his cars are better, even if he has no solid plans for a sale.“I have No.19, which has to be worth more than $1 million, but I'm not selling it,” he says.“Then again, if I were offered $1 million I might change my mind. It would be good to be the first.” 

Driving the auction fever were record prices achieved for a pair of classic Australian muscle cars of the 1960s and '70s.A genuine one-owner Bathurst race specification 1967 Holden Monaro GTS 327 was sold for an Australian record $220,000, accompanied by cheers from a crowd of more than a thousand people.The auctioneers, Shannons, had expected a price between $100,000 and $130,000."Australian muscle cars of the early Bathurst era have been the hottest segment of the classic car market over the last year or two, but the extent to which the result exceeded our expectations just shows the passion these cars arouse," said Shannons' national auction manager Christophe Boribon."The auction showed there is continuing strong demand for muscle cars, particularly amongst baby boomers, and the market shows no sign of weakening."Minutes later, a painstakingly restored one-owner 1971 Valiant Charger R/T E38 "Bathurst" coupe, which had been expected to attract a price between $70-100,000, sold for an Australian record $128,000.The car will go into a private Victorian collection, much to the relief of the man who had owned it since new, 69-year-old Charles Edwards of Hay in western New South Wales."It's sad to see it sold. I would have liked to have seen it passed in, but I know it's going to a good home," said Mr Edwards.The former owner says the credit for the record price should go to David Norris from West Wyalong who spent nine years returning the car to showroom condition.Another immaculately restored lot, a 1963 150cc Vespa scooter, sold for $8,300 - more than $2,000 above predictions.A 1940s children's pedal car sold for $5,500 - roughly double the expected price.Two antique petrol bowsers - from the 1940s and '50s - were both bought by the same bidder for prices as much as 50 per cent above predictions.The chief executive of the Australian International Motor Show, Peter Sturrock, said the auction results were paralleled by strong orders for new cars at the motor show."Automotive brands exhibiting at the show are extremely happy with the quality and quantity of sales interest the motor show has generated," said Mr Sturrock."The message from this year's Australian International Motor Show is that consumer confidence remains very high.""Regardless of rising interest rates the collectable motor vehicle market is still going very strong," said Mr Boribon.

ANSWERS The Great Bathurst Pub Argument Settler