It’s like they always say: like father, like son. For Gary Lowe and his son Ash, using old-school six-pot power to upset the V8 crowd is a family tradition – one that has seen the birth of two spectacular street machines.
This article was first published in the August 2020 issue. Street Machine
“It all started with Dad,” says Ash. “He’s had a lot of Minis and a few V8s in the past, but really a lot of Holdens, and most of them were six-bangers.”
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Being a panel beater by trade, Ash had no trouble handling the Torana’s bodywork. What was more difficult was choosing the color. Ash eventually opted to swap out the factory brown gold for pearlescent Renault gold.
As a teenager, Ash went through a couple of chrome-bumpered Lions before settling on the LX Torana you see right now. “It should have cleared quickly, but the car quickly went back to bare metal,” he says. While the exterior got some love, it’s under the bonnet that really has our attention.
“It was originally a 202 car, and then we did a few different things before we put this built 179 in there,” Ash says. The 179 has been boosted to 206ci thanks to a decent bill of parts. A 202 crank was slotted together with some Starfire rods and ACL pistons to increase compression to 13:1. The bottom end was finished off with an Ivan Tighe custom grind rod, sealed by a heavily modified head adorned with a Redline triple carb manifold and a trio of FAJS carbs. Sucking E85, the package makes about 200rwhp, but for Ash, that wasn’t its primary goal. “The guys use the dyno more as a tuning tool than anything else, so the power level can always change,” he says.
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The Torana’s 179 mill was bumped to 206ci and put together by Trevor Owen Race Engines, and the 13:1 compression ratio is slightly left-handed feeding triple carbs with E85 to help tame it.
Since its completion, the Torana has clocked a best of 12.97@104mph, with a modified Trematic ‘box and Hilux rear-end transmission. Tori has taken home a stack of trophies on the track and in show, for being a bit of a head turner. “When we built this engine, we wanted a 13-second quarter, so I’m very happy with that,” says Ash. “People don’t really believe it’s not a V8 when it’s parked off the line, and they like to see something different with us driving sixes.”
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Gary’s HZ was a minter when the guys picked it up, restored a few years ago, and only missing the engine and gearbox.
On the other side of the garage is Gary’s HZ Kingswood, a 202 snoot. Just like his son, Gary’s love affair with six-banger Holdens started early. “It all really started when I was a young man, because not everyone could afford a V8 back then,” he says. “We’d mess with sixes because we had it all, and that’s the only thing that stuck.”
After nearly 30 years messing around with Minis, Gary opted to go back to his roots and snag himself an old Holden. The HZ was a nice roller when the guys picked it up, really just needed an engine and a ‘box. Before that, the pair raced a seriously stripped-out VC Commodore, which donated its driveline to the HZ.
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Unlike the Torana engine, the HZ’s mill was put together by Ash and good friend Andrew ‘Hobo’ Howe, who guided him through the process. The setup is very similar to the Torana’s engine, using the same triple carbs and intake manifold.
The 202 is actually the matching numbers engine of the Torana, as Ash said: “It’s all kept in the family.” It’s also dropped its fair share of work, including Starfire rods, ACL flat-top pistons, a ridiculously lumpy cam, a reworked Yella Terra head and an intake manifold similar to the Torana’s mill. Carby setup.
“That makes it a tough street car. I use it a couple of times a week and people are amazed by the noise – half the time they think it’s a V8!” says Gary. On E85 it pumps out 200rwhp. out – just like Ash’s Torry – but Gary opted to dial it up to 180rwhp on the PULP for a more practical street cruiser.
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While Ash’s car has had a lot of success on the track, Gary’s HZ has yet to hit the strip in anger. As Toowoomba boys, they both frequent Warwick’s eighth-mile strip, with many street miles in between. “It’s nice to see Junior following in our footsteps, but it’s funny that people at the track say we have more of a brotherly relationship than father and son,” Gary says.
Needless to say, if you see these guys roaming the streets of Toowoomba, don’t assume you’ll have an easy time keeping up with them!
Cooking with gas
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Even though the Kim guys already have two pearls, they’re not slowing down with project cars. The family recently bought Gary an FE Holden Special sedan for a 70th birthday present, which he and Ash are going to build into a 60s/70s style gasser. The plan is to use a triple Weber Holden Red motor, and the car will ride on a set of big and small Jelly Bean mags for the duration.
ASH LOW
1977 Holden LX Torana.
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Ash has amassed a decent set of silverware with Torana, both on the track and on show. His biggest achievements are the Fastest Street Award at Six Banger Knots in 2018 and taking his class at Nostalgia Drags in 2017.
paint: Renault Gold Pearl
engine
Brand: Holden 179
Capacity: 206ci
include: Redline Triple Weber
Carbohydrates: Triple FAJS 45 DCOE
head: Modified standard
Camshaft: Custom concrete
Conrods: 202 Starfire
Piston: ACL
Crank: 202
Exhaust: 15/8 inch extractor
Transfer
Gearbox: Traumatic
Converter: TCE 4500rpm
Difference: HiLux, Truetrac, 4.33:1
Suspension and brakes
Suspension: Reduced adjustable (f&r)
brake: HZ Holden (f), HiLux (r)
Thanks
Anthony McBurney; Justin Vero; Rob Hendry; Andrew Sutton; Andrew Howe; Ruby and Jimmy at Muffler Kings Toowoomba; Auto Barn Toowoomba; Trevor Mitchell at Tricky’s Automatics; Ken Stevenson for Auto Electric; Trevor Owen for the Torana engine and J-Tune for tuning both cars; Gary Craig at Repower Engines for Machine Work; Rick Welch; Ash’s partner Chrissy Hilton and of course Deb (Ash’s mum; Gary’s wife) for incredible support.
Gary Lowe
1978 Holden HZ Kingswood
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paint: Caribbean Turquoise.
engine
Brand: Holden 202ci
include: Redline Triple Weber
Carbohydrates: Triple FAJS 45 DCOE
head: Nine port Yella Terra
Camshaft: Crow customized concrete
Conrods: 202 Starfire
Piston: ACL Flat Top
Crank: Standard balanced
Emissions: 1½ in extractor
Transfer
Gearbox: Traumatic
Converter: TCE, 5200rpm
Difference: LSD Banjo, 3.55:1
Suspension and brakes
Suspension: Lloyd Monroe (f&r)
brake: standard (f&r)