It’s been well over a decade since the Holden V2 and VZ Monaro were in showrooms, and its left quite the impact on many gearheads across the world. Sold here in the states as the Pontiac GTO between 2004-2006, it was available with a supercharged 3800 V6 and an LS V8 Down Under, but exclusively with an LS1 (2004) and an LS2 (2005-06) in the United States.
Wanting an opportunity to tap into that nostalgia, as well as a nod to the death of Holden, Harrop Engineering spent the last few years building a secondhand Monaro into the piece of incredible craftsmanship that you see here. Packing a 7-liter (427 cubes to us Yanks), LS7 V8 that’s been severely reworked, it’s now cranking out over 700hp on an engine dyno. Utilizing a set of Mast Motorsports cylinder heads, a Callies CompStar rotating assembly, and a slew of Harrop’s own hardware, the idea to build a unique LS7-powered Monaro wasn’t that much of a challenge for our friends in Australia.
Built Sam’s Performance of Sydney, the engine utilizes Harrop’s billet oil sump and Hurricane intake manifold, paired with Harrop’s billet throttle bodies, it’s definitely a car that would stop even the most cynical GTO critic in his or her tracks. In addition, an AdRad radiator helps keep things cool, while a TREMEC Magnum 6-speed built by ATC Transmission is called upon to handle the shifting duties. A Harrop 12-bolt rear differential sits out back, and is more than up to the task to handle the both the power, and the abuse the driver throws at it.
The car sits on a set of Forgeline rollers, built in tandem with Harrop, while the Monaro uses Harrop spindles and enlarged brakes. There’s a whole host of other amazing tweaks, adjustments and modifications to this car, that we simply can’t list all of them here in such a short story. However, if you click onto the video above, you’ll get the full rundown with the help of Heath Moore and Nathan Pretty.
Rick Seitz is the owner and founder of GMEFI Magazine, and has a true love and passion for all vehicles. When he isn’t tuning, testing, or competing with the brand’s current crop of project vehicles, he’s busy tinkering and planning the next modifications for his own cars.
