We’re spoiled for choice when it comes to picking Holden’s greatest hits. From go-fast Commodores by HDT and HSV, back to the A9X and XU-1 Toranas that cleaned up on the race track, and the iconic EH or ‘humpy’ FJ before them, there’s as many ripper GM-H rides as there are people who like ’em. But for many of us, the HK Monaro GTS (Holden’s first proper muscle car) stands tall above all others.

First published in the March 2026 issue of Street Machine

South Australia’s Dino Labbozzetta surely agrees, with this immaculate ’69 HK GTS taking pride of place in his garage. Despite the Silver Mink paint and Goya Red trim done in the factory style, the slammed stance and girthy meats under the rear let you know this thing’s no stocker. And that’s before you hear the 700hp small-block Chev rattling window panes.

While the build is freshly finished and replete with cutting-edge style – like the forged Weld 17-inch front and 15-inch rear wheels – Dino’s story with the killer ’K started 15 years ago. “I bought it off one of my best mates, Anthony,” he says. “He had a red LC GTR Torana and his dad already had a Warwick Yellow HK Monaro, so they decided to let go of this car. They knew I wanted an original Silver Mink HK Monaro, so they called me first and I transferred him the money within the day.”

Some of us would have been tempted to rush in and strip the iconic coupe to its undies to start a build. Dino, however, left the car where it sat in a dusty corner of Anthony’s cabinet-making factory for over a decade while he planned what he was going to do. Given the finished results, you cannot blame the guy for taking his time.

Once Dino roused the first-gen Monaro from its slumber, it was off to MJM Fabtech for some important surgery. This included heavily liberated rear wheel tubs and notched rails out back to make space for beefy 325mm-wide rubber. The front was also opened up with a Rod-Tech independent front end so that a tar-burning ride height could be achieved.

At this point, the story takes a familiar, unfortunately sour, turn. The HK was delivered to a workshop where it sat and didn’t progress, which eventually led to Dino fronting up and dragging his beloved two-door home.

Thankfully, he found Pep Minutolo from Elite Street Cars in Adelaide. If there’s one fella who can turn out a beautifully finished, diamond-tough streeter in the City of Churches, it’s Pep. “Dino came to me two years ago wanting the car finished,” says Pep. “It’s a genuine, factory-tagged Silver Mink and Goya red trim car. When Dino brought it to me, he had three strict demands: it had to keep the factory colours; it had to have a flat bonnet; and originally it had to wear Center Line Auto Drag wheels. Thankfully I got him past the Center Line wheels.”

It might seem like building such a popular car as an HK GTS would be a simple task, but taking on a project that was started by a different shop can be fraught with trouble. “When the car turned up, it was a stripped, bare shell on a dolly,” laughs Pep. “I inherited a bunch of boxes of parts and had to work out what was there and what wasn’t.”

Further complicating the process was Dino’s firm deadline of September 2025. This was because he needed to use the completed car as transport on his wedding day – no pressure! “I’m a sucker for all that sort of sentimental stuff, so I said we’d make the wedding deadline happen,” says Pep.

Pep and his team got cracking, smoothing out the firewall and engine bay, including the bonnet skin, while some minor rust was cut out and other damage from years past erased. They then laid down the iconic Silver Mink hue in stunning PPG Vibrance.

The body didn’t require many cosmetic enhancements, but one area that definitely needed a tickle was the stock powerplant. Aussies may have been blown away by a factory-rated 250hp 327ci small-block back in 1968, but we aren’t so easily entertained anymore (thanks, Netflix).

Correcting the injustice of a lack of horsepower is a 422-cube small-block Chevy churning out a stout 709hp on the engine dyno. It packs a Scat 4340 steel stroker crank, Callies H-beam rods and forged CP slugs for a solid base that’s ready to make a ruckus.

A custom hydraulic-roller cam lopes with ferocity and puts the 23-degree Edelbrock Victor Jr cylinder heads to work, providing a clear path for the air and E85 mixture. It may be built with all the modern smarts, but this SBC is decidedly old-school, with a Quick Fuel 1050cfm four-barrel carburettor perched atop a Holley Strip Dominator single-plane intake, and an ICE Ignition dizzy and MSD 6AL getting the party started.

A 4500rpm TCE converter and fully manualised, reverse-pattern TH400 transmission handle the hurt, with a custom three-inch tailshaft sending it rearwards. Down the back is a fabricated nine-inch filled with a Strange centre, 35-spline axles, and billet pinion support.

“To make Dino’s wedding, I actually took the last few little parts off my Monaro to make the day,” laughs Pep. ”I trailered the car to Mildura for the wedding, and the first official drive was his wedding day.

“I was pretty pumped with how it turned out. It was a big day for Dino, being his wedding, but he seemed stoked to have the car there as he had all his family and lifelong friends there, so it meant a lot for him to have them there to see it.”

With a matching Silver Mink HK Premier in the build to complement the Monaro, this probably won’t be the last you’ll be hearing of Dino.

DINO LABBOZZETTA
1969 HOLDEN HK MONARO GTS

THANKS
Pep and the team at Elite Street Cars; MJM Fabtech; Matt at Quality Motor Trimming; Anthony for selling me the car; my friends and family for all their support through the build.