Adam Warren’s 1973 Holden HQ GTS 4 Monaro is a family car. Purchased in 1990 in Kingaroy by Adam’s father as the first car for his older brother, the car has been in the family for 34 years. Adam purchased the Monaro from his brother back in 2005 and the rest is history.
We caught up with Adam at Rockynats to learn more about this impressive vehicle.
Fast HQ, the factory four speed with a 253 HC engine was originally built in Brisbane in 1973 and sold new by Hecker Motors in Maryborough Queensland. It was first rebuilt by Adam’s older brother and father in the 90s. Adam has incredibly fond memories of the car growing up.
“I remember riding in the front with my father driving, I would have been about twelve at the time and had my hand out the window as we drove past the police. They (the police) then caught up to us, turned the lights on and pulled us over where I had a firm talking to by the officer about the dangers of having your hand on the outside of a vehicle while moving. There are a lot of memories of this car, and I want to create new memories that my children will have.”
Initially stripped down and placed on a rotisserie for a full restoration in 2007, it then took 17 years to get the HQ Monaro back on the road. After being transported around in “a million pieces” to different towns and houses along the journey, the Monaro’s progress throughout the years was put on hold as major life events such as marriage and starting a family took precedence. The Monaro eventually landed in Adam’s brother-in-law’s paint and panel shop in Biloela where the paint and panel work was re-done and completed in 2021. After completing the paint work, it took a further two years until the car was fully complete, registered and back on the road. As with all car projects, Adam contends that is may never be fully complete with aspirations to convert if from carby to fuel injection with a group A twin throttle intake in the future.
In the final push towards Rockynats, Adam wasn’t sure the vehicle was going to be ready in time. The Monaro, which had only been registered three weeks prior, had the original ignition barrel rack fail one week before the event. After a call out on social media, Casey came to the rescue with a spare one. A day later the Monaro was back up and running.
The Glacier White Monaro features a custom bonnet alongside a Holden 308 stroked to 355 engine with VN heads port and polish, torque power intake, a mechanical fuel pump and a Mighty demon 750 carb. In addition to a custom cam and MSD ignition system. Fast HQ boats 448hp at 6500rpm.
Looking towards the Monaro’s future appearances, Adam is eager to attend Rockynats again after the brilliant success this year. Also on the list are Summernats, the HQ Run and Monaro Nationals to connect with likeminded people who share a deep passion for quality cars.
Rare Spares products played a large part in the restoration of Fast HQ. When prompted on the use of Rare Spares product in the build Adam said, “There was a large amount of Rare Spares parts used. Some of the key items are the GTS grill, steering wheel, full seal kits, badges, centre console, mirrors and the dash facia. Small clips, bolts and seals have all been used in the process of restoring it back to new. Without the quality reproduction parts Rare Spares sells, I would not have been able to restore my GTS Monaro back to the condition it is now”.
Congratulations on the rebuild Adam, we can’t wait to see Fast HQ at future events!