Another year, another facelift. The obligatory revisions
to the grille and tail lights were completed, but Holden
needed to advertise that there were some 65 major improvements
over the previous HK model for the buying public to take
notice.
The most noteable change was the dumping of the all metal
grille, Holden opting to use an ABS plastic one on lower
end models. Less noticeable was the squared off boot lid,
borrowed from the HK Brougham.
The 6 cylinder engine lineup remained unchanged, but Holden
dumped the imported 5 litre 307 in favour of its two
locally manufactured V8's, the 253 and 308. The Chev 350
was retained for the GTS350.
Initially the 308 was only fitted to the
Brougham, while
supplies of the imported 5 litre 307 were used up in the
sedans. Once these were used, the 308 V8s were then made
available as an option on all models.
Ride quality and NVH was improved on the HT with the introduction
of neoprene rubber inner front suspension bushes which
replaced the steel bushings used in the
HK.
And at long last Holden standardised the manual transmission
incorporating a fully synchro 3 speed column shift
rather than the earlier "find and grind" type
used in earlier models.
