Holden Built My Hot Rod

PROJECT MONARO SEES HOLDEN BREATHING NEW LIFE INTO ITS MOST ICONIC MODERN AUSSIE MUSCLE CAR – AND YOU COULD OWN IT!

- Kian Heagney

REWIND the clock just 13 years and the world was a very different place. The term ‘Android’ sounded more like a mispronounced Star Wars reference than a teenager’s life-support device, the movie Borat was allowed to be shown in cinemas without half the world getting offended, and, importantly, it was the last time anyone had a chance to own a brand-new Monaro – until now.

Holden has taken it upon itself to rebirth a much-loved Aussie two-door coupe, tracking down a worn-out 2004 CV8 with over 200,000 clicks on the clock and resto-modding it into a one-of-a-kind machine. On the surface, it may look like all that has resulted in is a new lick of paint and set of wheels, but there are dozens of custom touches and hours of work that have gone into this Munro to make it unique.

The car was stripped back to its bare bones at a Holden dealer in Melbourne, before parts and brains from all corners of the country were called upon to create Holden’s vision of the ultimate Monaro. The CV8 spent some decent hours at B&A Motor Body Repairs in Melbourne in preparation for a fresh coat of custom PPG paint. The original LS1 donk was sent to the great Maurice Fabietti from Fabietti Race Engines in NSW for a complete rebuild and a bit of a tickle. The mill was in good shape, so a simple deck and hone was all that was needed, along with a CNC port job of the original heads. The heads were also given a shave-down of 30thou, raising compression to 11.3:1 to complement the beefier Chevy Performance cam that was slotted in. The 4L60E ’box was given a makeover with Holden OEM parts by FluidDrive, along with a reconditioned LSD rear end.