From GlamRock: a circa 1977 Gemini Coupe

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Sadly, the Holden Gemini, a darling of the Aussie small car set during the 1970s, '80s and '90s, has become a bit of a unicorn.  The gorgeous coupe version is even rarer and might just be the automotive equivalent of a zebra-striped unicorn - so rare, they're almost nonexistent.  


This one - bought to you by GlamRock - is either a TC or TX, hailing from from circa 1977.  It's an absolute treat with great paint and chrome, a bang-on for era front spoiler and a nice set of alloys.  It also appears to be running a 2.0 litre donk.


Noting the transplanted heart of today’s example, it’s a pity that Holden never did a GT/E version of their take on GM's T Platform car, as Opel did, as by all accounts they were real screamers with their 1973 cc fuel-injected engines and other performance upgrades (inset).  That's not to say that Aussies didn't extract more grunt from the local 1.6 litre versions, though; there were plenty of quick Geminis in the day with twin side draft Webers, lumpy cams and free-flowing exhausts, all in a package that weighed in at a smidge over 900 kg! It's rumoured that a few got larger displacement transplants from Holden’s (Isuzu's) Shuttle van, too.  

An Opel Kadett GTE

  Photographer: Lothar Spurzem.  Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Germany  


Either way, it was a pleasure to be able to bring you this example.  The owner should be very, very proud of it, especially given its beauty and scarcity in a world increasingly dominated by appliance-like vehicles with little to differentiate one manufacturer's product from another's.  




Did you enjoy this article?  If so, why not browse the rest of the uppermiddlepetrolhead site?  There are loads and loads of classic, sports and performance vehicles featured, as well as stacks of car shows and motorsports events.  Even better, you can follow either the 'blog itself or do so via Upper Middle Petrol Head's Facebook page.  And please do like and share!


U M P H

(uppermiddlepetrolhead.blospot.com.au)

Photos by GlamRock.

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