My first car was an FB wagon which was sitting neglected out the front of a guy's house. I knocked on the door and asked him how much ne wanted for it. He said "If you take it away today you can have it." I ran home and grabbed my little brother and we ran back and pushed it home barefoot over gravel about 1.5 kilometres. I was 14 and my brother was 11.
My mother came home one time with a brand new EK Specal, it was black with a red and grey interior. I can still remember the smell of that new car which she bought from Fair Deal Holden in Parramatta. Rego was CKH563, never forgot it.
@@Scorp308 Are you sure? The FB and EK Holdens were produced in 1960, a few years after the 1955-57 Chevy cars. So I would think that it was Holdens that resembled the American Chevy.
I regret that I'm not *from* Australia, so I don't get to see these cars. But from what I've read and seen pics, Holden of Australia, was a branch of General Motors. The same way as Vauxhall is (or was) General Motors of Britain, Isuzu was of Japan.
I Definitely prefer the FB over the EK because of the sach down the side and the colour combinations were really good. The EJ was definitely an update body wise but still had the archaic 138 grey 🙄
*"Asleep at the wheel"* would be putting it mildly. It's any wonder that Holden lasted as long as it has. Hell! It's a wonder the entire Australian motor industry has lasted as long as it has.
Our family had an FB sedan - pink with the white accent trim. So many fond memories of that car and family times until it was written off - hit a tree that had fallen across the Grafton - Casino road in north NSW.
I love this channel. So the FB/EK were overweight, so Holden introduced the EJ with an extra twenty pounds and the same good old grey. I saw an EJ wagon filled to the max with family and luggage towing a wooden caravan at a caravan park in Benalla Victoria in about 1970/71. Even at the age of 7 I thought it looked underpowered as it sagged under the weight. Luckily my family were in a 144 ci Falcon XP wagon, also packed with pack rack from windscreen to back. Battle of the titans. But that 144 took us to Queensland and back and all parts in between. By 1973 my Dad decided to get a new car and we went for an HQ sedan with...yep..a 173. Now at 118 hp, we were in teh big league. Actually, proud we had those little engines and didn't succumb to 'muscle car' but at the time, I felt kinda...oh.. Anyway, a lot of those cars from Europe had tiny capacity engines too.
@@jamesmcgowen1769 Yeh - I had a MkII series II Zephyr that had vac wipers - bloody terrible under any decent acceleration - the wipers that is - car went OK.
My father had an EK hydramatic station wagon. He boiled it towing a caravan up the Clyde Mountain between Batemans Bay and Canberra. The hydramatic was two speed.
The Hydramatic was actually a four ratio transmission with a "fluid coupling" rather than the usual torque converter, but you could be forgiven for thinking it was two speed ; slow and slower, type.
@@allansunderland6944 This has me mystified. I've just watched another YT video that featured radio adverts placed by GM-H when the EK came out. They clearly say the auto was three speed. But I had an auto EK in my younger days and it was definitely two-speed. I worked on it. One thing that confuses people today is that in the USA, GM used the term "Hydramatic" to refer to a specific auto box that was 4-speed. This was designed for much larger engines than the little 138 engine used by GM-H. Holdens got a different transmission, a variant of the US 2-speed Powerglide, designed for smaller engines - it was NOT the US Hydramatic - but GM-H branded it Hydramatic, knowing that the man in the family chose the car back then, and many knew about the US Hydramatic. When moving off from standing in an auto EK, the engine revving was very noticeable as it struggled to get the car moving, the torque convertor (yes, a torque convertor) helping by allowing the engine to turn much faster than the gearing alone allowed. The auto box made the car seem very gutless. Perhaps a 3-speed box was used later in the production run, but I very much doubt it. The next couple of models got the Powerglide too. Perhaps some initial production run EK's got a 3-speed, but that mystifies me.
Australia never had the guts or the balls or the loyalty to develop its own auto brand, so otherts called the shots for us and now its all dead. Young men buy Subaru's now. Its over
8:13 "GMH, would never again have the luxury of being so complacent." (speaking of 1963 and the Red engine's introduction.) Actually, I think some would argue that the 1970s/80s was also a period when GMH fell behind. The HJ, HX weren't much chop and they persisted with the push-rod six red engine (all be it with a colour change) into the 80s.
Holden had over 50% market share with one model range at its peak. They could afford to be complacent for a while, in that sense. As mentioned, the Valiant and especially the Falcon made the Holden look very outdated.
Then Holden picked up the ball with the much more modern looking EJ and then the EH with the new red engines. Then they went back to sleep with the ugly roly-poly HD (which quickly became an acronym for Hastily Devised). They tried, with limited success with the HR (which, much to Holden’s dismay, became known as Hastily Revised). Their next big inspiration was the HK Monaro.
1:44 your credibility is blown out the window. When you refer to the Holden 48-215, DO NOT EVER put the letters FX after it! The car's designation, 48-215 was just that and no more! the FIRST Holden to have a two-letter designation was the model that followed the 48-215, that being the FJ model.
@@peterbarber7613 People may have called it "FX" but the model was NEVER officially so. It got its designation from the year it was first built, the 48 coming from 1948 and the 215 from the engine mass in cubic inches. Thus, 48-215.
My first car was an FB wagon which was sitting neglected out the front of a guy's house. I knocked on the door and asked him how much ne wanted for it. He said "If you take it away today you can have it." I ran home and grabbed my little brother and we ran back and pushed it home barefoot over gravel about 1.5 kilometres. I was 14 and my brother was 11.
Great story 👍
My mother came home one time with a brand new EK Specal, it was black with a red and grey interior. I can still remember the smell of that new car which she bought from Fair Deal Holden in Parramatta. Rego was CKH563, never forgot it.
G'day guys. Nice looking cars. Between the two Holdens, from some angles, they seem to resemble our American 1956 Chevys.
No, your American Chevy's resemble our Holdens.
@@Scorp308 Are you sure? The FB and EK Holdens were produced in 1960, a few years after the 1955-57 Chevy cars. So I would think that it was Holdens that resembled the American Chevy.
@@jasoncarpp7742 Yes, I'm sure. It's how we Australians do things.
@@jasoncarpp7742 you're right mate, they are General motors cars
I regret that I'm not *from* Australia, so I don't get to see these cars. But from what I've read and seen pics, Holden of Australia, was a branch of General Motors. The same way as Vauxhall is (or was) General Motors of Britain, Isuzu was of Japan.
I Definitely prefer the FB over the EK because of the sach down the side and the colour combinations were really good.
The EJ was definitely an update body wise but still had the archaic 138 grey 🙄
*"Asleep at the wheel"* would be putting it mildly. It's any wonder that Holden lasted as long as it has. Hell! It's a wonder the entire Australian motor industry has lasted as long as it has.
Our family had an FB sedan - pink with the white accent trim. So many fond memories of that car and family times until it was written off - hit a tree that had fallen across the Grafton - Casino road in north NSW.
I love this channel. So the FB/EK were overweight, so Holden introduced the EJ with an extra twenty pounds and the same good old grey. I saw an EJ wagon filled to the max with family and luggage towing a wooden caravan at a caravan park in Benalla Victoria in about 1970/71. Even at the age of 7 I thought it looked underpowered as it sagged under the weight. Luckily my family were in a 144 ci Falcon XP wagon, also packed with pack rack from windscreen to back. Battle of the titans. But that 144 took us to Queensland and back and all parts in between. By 1973 my Dad decided to get a new car and we went for an HQ sedan with...yep..a 173. Now at 118 hp, we were in teh big league. Actually, proud we had those little engines and didn't succumb to 'muscle car' but at the time, I felt kinda...oh.. Anyway, a lot of those cars from Europe had tiny capacity engines too.
It's incredible, given the FB and EK's lack of performance that they were able to take part in any competition.
You forgot to mention that the EK was also the first Holden to have electric wipers!
Or the first Holden not to have vacuum wipers.
farnthboy the EK was the first Holden you could drive uphill in the rain without stress lol
@@jamesmcgowen1769 Yeh - I had a MkII series II Zephyr that had vac wipers - bloody terrible under any decent acceleration - the wipers that is - car went OK.
I’ve been thinking to go to the museum. After watching this I’m going to go this week
My father had an EK hydramatic station wagon. He boiled it towing a caravan up the Clyde Mountain between Batemans Bay and Canberra. The hydramatic was two speed.
The Hydramatic was actually a four ratio transmission with a "fluid coupling" rather than the usual torque converter, but you could be forgiven for thinking it was two speed ; slow and slower, type.
@@allansunderland6944 This has me mystified. I've just watched another YT video that featured radio adverts placed by GM-H when the EK came out. They clearly say the auto was three speed.
But I had an auto EK in my younger days and it was definitely two-speed. I worked on it.
One thing that confuses people today is that in the USA, GM used the term "Hydramatic" to refer to a specific auto box that was 4-speed. This was designed for much larger engines than the little 138 engine used by GM-H. Holdens got a different transmission, a variant of the US 2-speed Powerglide, designed for smaller engines - it was NOT the US Hydramatic - but GM-H branded it Hydramatic, knowing that the man in the family chose the car back then, and many knew about the US Hydramatic.
When moving off from standing in an auto EK, the engine revving was very noticeable as it struggled to get the car moving, the torque convertor (yes, a torque convertor) helping by allowing the engine to turn much faster than the gearing alone allowed. The auto box made the car seem very gutless.
Perhaps a 3-speed box was used later in the production run, but I very much doubt it. The next couple of models got the Powerglide too. Perhaps some initial production run EK's got a 3-speed, but that mystifies me.
Great series...fantastic presentation...truely Australian...thanks.
Australia never had the guts or the balls or the loyalty to develop its own auto brand, so otherts called the shots for us and now its all dead. Young men buy Subaru's now. Its over
8:13 "GMH, would never again have the luxury of being so complacent." (speaking of 1963 and the Red engine's introduction.) Actually, I think some would argue that the 1970s/80s was also a period when GMH fell behind. The HJ, HX weren't much chop and they persisted with the push-rod six red engine (all be it with a colour change) into the 80s.
Using holdens coding system the FB was intended to be released in 1959
Glad I bought mine when I did, a couple more years where it was and it would be rusted into the dirt.
i had the EK wish i still had it cheers
Still the nicest holden for sure
Inherited the ek.... .this car was SLOW.........Reliable and heavy......needed a v8
I want and old Holden but I'd have to rich now.
Could these guys be any more negative about the fb ek
Holden had over 50% market share with one model range at its peak. They could afford to be complacent for a while, in that sense. As mentioned, the Valiant and especially the Falcon made the Holden look very outdated.
Then Holden picked up the ball with the much more modern looking EJ and then the EH with the new red engines. Then they went back to sleep with the ugly roly-poly HD (which quickly became an acronym for Hastily Devised). They tried, with limited success with the HR (which, much to Holden’s dismay, became known as Hastily Revised). Their next big inspiration was the HK Monaro.
1:44 your credibility is blown out the window. When you refer to the Holden 48-215, DO NOT EVER put the letters FX after it! The car's designation, 48-215 was just that and no more! the FIRST Holden to have a two-letter designation was the model that followed the 48-215, that being the FJ model.
Neil Forbes.sorry to tell you it was bought out as the 48-215 but was renamed after the designers
@@peterbarber7613 Sorry, no. It was designated the 48-215 and held that designation until superseded by the FJ Holden in 1950.
@@neilforbes416 sorry I was wrong its the unofficial name
@Neil Forbes i believe the 48-215 was "later" called the FX by repco.
@@peterbarber7613 People may have called it "FX" but the model was NEVER officially so. It got its designation from the year it was first built, the 48 coming from 1948 and the 215 from the engine mass in cubic inches. Thus, 48-215.