Yeah pretty much stuffed my mums 6cyl EL auto from towing a commodore accross black spur. It was a big climb and coming down using engine braking while brakes faded really bad.
Aussie cars are crap haha.
My VS SS has an auto cooler and is shift kitted etc and it seems pretty good. Also has bigger VT brakes which helps.
As far as auto's go you can't beat an old Turbo 350 or Turbo 400. They're so tough but also suck the power out of the engine.