The real gains achieved by the General with the UC range of Torana's have been pushed into the background by Commodore. Even when the last Torana was launched in March 1978 reports were full of references to the forth coming VB and the message was, " This new Torana is great, but just wait for the brilliant Commodore"!
The UC had only eight months or so in the show rooms before it was joined by the newcomer. Industry observers scratched their heads and wondered. GMH had three six- cylinder/V8 ranges with not much difference between their prices, which would be the first to go? Apparently no decision had been reached even by the end of 1978. Although the GMH executives were confident Commodore would eventually supersede Kingswood/Premier, they still weren't certain the market would stick with the new car as it had with the old, The solution was to sell them along side for a while, giving buyers the choice and maximizing the corporation's sales. The Torana's role was even less certain. Where the Kingswood was wider than Commodore and took up more space on the road, (important considerations for many), the Torana had no obvious advantages. And the price differential between a base Torana with three on the tree and a base Commodore with four on the floor was only a few hundred bucks. So the smart money said that Torana would hit the history books first, followed somewhere down the calendar by Kingswood/Premier. Commodore certainly out sold Kingswood, but it destroyed Torana.
Faced with a choice between the all-new Holden out of Germany and the revised Torana, which had been on the market since l974, few buyers opted for the latter. So the UC Torana became one of the shortest lived Holden models ever, running from March 1978 until about mid 1979, Despite the substantial face lift the UC Torana looked old even when it was new, To appreciate its dynamic brilliance, a test drive preferably an extended one was obviously necessary. But it’s probably fair to say that few prospective buyers were interested.
In the looks stakes, the Torana was hardly a front-runner even in March l978 and when Commodore arrived in November it began to look like a superseded vehicle. Not surprisingly, sales staff generally hustled the old Torana towards the back of the showroom. It quickly became a forgotten motorcar. The UC did boast a considerable improvement in ride comfort, thanks to revised front and rear springs, which were part of an extensive upgrading of the suspension. The sway bars were modified in order to reduce body roll even further. The rear bar of GMH's second generation RTS decoupled design as seen on HZ, being mounted directly, on the body rather than on the lower control arm. New suspension bushes were fitted front and rear. While rear spring rates were increased by eight percent for superior load carrying, the front rates were dropped by 11 percent. But the shocks were re-calibrated all 'round and increased in diameter. By increasing spring heights the engineers gained additional ground clearance of 11 mm at the front and 18 mm at the rear.
These changes were significant. While phase one of the RTS program was basically a matter of making the old suspension work much better, phase two brought the really big changes that required more time and money. So bad was the original LH/LX suspension that the improvements wrought on it by Joe Whitesell's team of engineers headed by another German hot shot, Peter Hanenberger, transformed the car's road behaviour, The changes from phase one to Phase two was less obvious on the road, despite the extensive engineering work.
Yes, UC was considerably better, but the RTS LX was already pretty sure footed. Other mechanical changes included the use of a new GMH designed Salisbury rear axle instead of the old banjo type. A new lighter M26 four speed gearbox was introduced, even though the three speeder remained standard on the base S model. For the first time, GMH offered the option of rear discs on its Torana line up. They were available on any model. You've had most of the good news already. The bad news was that the General had ceased to offer v8 engines in the new Torana. Better balance might have been achieved for the six-packs, but many enthusiasts mourned the passing of V8 Torana's.
After the release of UC, various dealers advertised superseded LX V8s, which were doubtless snapped up quickly. While at first glance the UC looked like a face lifted LX from behind the steering wheel the impression was of an all-new car. And that was even before you left the kerb and experienced phase two RTS! The wheel itself was a stylish new two spoker that would have looked at home in an Opel. New instrument clusters were introduced. The cheaper cars still scored a quota of idiot lights, but at least the setting was more attractive. The "full instrumentation" cluster was impressive for an Australian car, neat, legible, stylish. That primitive piece of equipment, the foot operated parking brake had been quietly removed from up market versions of UC. In its place was a normal between the seats unit. So SL Torana's finally scored front bucket seats as standard equipment. The S models still intended for fleet sales persevered with the old front bench seat and prehistoric foot operated parking brake.
One change on UC that would have pleased sales reps as well as private buyers was the relocation of the spare wheel. It now sat upright on the left hand side of the boot, providing an increase in usable space and allowing GMH to fit a slightly larger fuel tank. GMH used the introduction of UC as an opportunity to rationalize the model six. After all, Commodore was only months away. Torana now came in just three basic versions S sedan, SL sedan and SL Hatchback. Sunbird came in four, sedan, Hatchback, SL sedan, SL Hatchback. All Sunbirds had to make do with the nasty Opel 1.9 litre four, although the equally nasty GMH developed Starfire four was due to replace it within months. With the exception of the SL Hatchback, all Torana's still came with the 2850 six as standard. The SL Hatchback had the 3.3. With the V8s gone, no Torana offered a decent engine. Had the six packs been even halfway reasonable, the loss of the V8 wouldn't have been so disappointing.
Fortunately the 2850 and 3300 units were marginally better than on LX where ADR27A had taken a severe toll on performance and drivability. For UC the distributor and carburettor were recalibrated for smoother running, emission hoses were re-routed and there was a new muffler.
No matter what criteria are used, any six-pack UC was a far better car than an earlier equivalent model. The 1978 models were better in handling and ride, ergonomics and styling. In almost every respect they were better than their competitors cars such as the Cortina six and the Sigma. Where they fell down, of course, was on performance. Even a four slot 3.3 couldn't manage a genuine 100 mph and the gearbox ratios despite the switch to the M26 unit were still too low. . The best choice for this sort of work was probably a manual (M26) equipped with 3.08 gears, rather than the standard 3.36s. Incidentally, for those who wanted it, the M20 gearbox was still available.
Ratios in the M26 were first 3.50 (3.05 in the M20), second 2.02(2.19) and third 1.41 (1.51). Had GMH's management been able to turn to Opel for a decent six cylinder engine, then the v8s would probably not have been missed. Equipped with a modern overhead cam six pack with power as well as torque (like the Nissan unit in the VL Commodore, for instance!), the UC Torana could have been a brilliant car in every respect, instead of merely a brilliant car in search of motivation.
