Story
1971 Holden Monaro
Holden introduced the all-new HQ range on 15 July 1971. The Monaro returned as four related two-door coupes: regular Monaro, luxury Monaro LS, V8-only Monaro GTS, and Monaro GTS 350. They share one 1971 HQ family page so engines, transmissions, chassis, trim, and identity can be compared without creating near-duplicate car pages. Earlier 1971 HG production remains on the HG family page.
Regular Monaro, luxury LS, and two GTS paths
The 80337/80437 regular Monaro used the restrained single-headlamp front and could be ordered with six-cylinder or Holden V8 power. The 81137/81237 LS paired a Premier-style four-headlamp nose and richer cabin with 202, 253, 308, or automatic 350 choices. The 80837 GTS was V8-only and added sports instruments, steering wheel, reclining buckets, fender vents, grille, and 14 x 6-inch wheels. The 81837 GTS 350 combined that identity with Chevrolet power and its matched driveline.
Five engines and five gearbox families
The regular Monaro began with the 173 Red six, while the LS began with the 202. Holden's 253 and 308 V8s served regular, LS, and GTS applications according to the price schedule. The Chevrolet 350 belonged to GTS 350 or automatic LS 350 paths. Gearboxes included the M15 three-speed, M20/M21 Holden four-speeds, M40 Trimatic, 350-only MC7 Muncie four-speed, and 350-only M41 Turbo-Hydramatic 400. Engine, model, gearbox, controls, axle, dates, and records must be evaluated together.
The new all-coil HQ chassis
HQ replaced the earlier leaf-spring rear layout with a four-link, coil-spring live axle. Up front it used short and long control arms, coils, a stabilizer bar, and telescopic dampers. The July option chart lists power-assisted front discs as standard across Monaro, GTS, and LS. Six-cylinder applications used the modified banjo axle; V8 paths used Salisbury hardware, with the GTS 350 historic specification documenting a limited-slip Chevrolet 10-bolt.
Paint, roof, and cabin boundaries
The reviewed June 1971 palette contains 21 named finishes, but the complete model, roof, wheel, and interior compatibility matrix remains unresolved. LS included a vinyl roof and luxury treatment. GTS carried sports equipment but the bold bonnet and deck paint-outs familiar from later HQs arrived with the 1973 four-door program; they are not 1971 delivery evidence. Plates, protected paint, roof seams, trim codes, upholstery, instruments, and controls remain decisive for one car.
Production evidence without false precision
The specialist record reports approximately 13,000 HQ Monaro coupes across the full July 1971-October 1974 series. It separately reports 246 GTS 350 coupes and 153 LS 350 coupes built in 1971. No reviewed public ledger supplies a complete July-December 1971 total or audited splits for regular Monaro, LS, GTS, engines, transmissions, colors, or trim, so those remain explicit gaps.
Identifying an individual HQ coupe
Start with the 80337, 80437, 81137, 81237, 80837, or 81837 model identity and the pre-October-1972 VIN format. Then reconcile every firewall plate, the shell, chassis, engine stamp and castings, carburetor, gearbox, controls, axle, brakes, suspension, paint, roof, cabin, dates, title, and ownership history. A quad-headlamp nose, GTS vents, wheels, badges, 350 swap, or later paint-out cannot establish how a car was built.
Native Australian prices and values
The reviewed schedule records exact prices effective 23 July 1971 in Australian dollars, including each model, engine, and transmission path. The current structured pricing and valuation contracts do not support AUD, so those figures remain cited gaps rather than being mislabeled as USD or silently converted. Australian market observations need the same native-currency support and configuration-specific review before publication.