Page 17 - Beep Beep February 2024

AUSTRALIAN CAR MECHANIC | www.mechanics-mag.com.au
“The original owner had a stroke and couldn’t put the clutch in anymore,” Warren explained. “He’d used it with a trailer on the back and with roof bars, and by the time I got it, it needed some TLC. The motor was well worn, but it just needed a re-bore, new rings and bearings.”
While leaving the bore job to professionals, Warren put the engine back together himself before tackling the gearbox. He gifted it new bearings, new universal joints and new synchro rings, but was pleased to see the diff remained fine. Robust old things these Holdens.
“Parts are quite easy to get hold of, Rare Spares has plenty,” Warren explained. “Little things like synchro rings are hard to come by, but the EJ-EH Holden Club has people with workshops full of parts, so I can pick up a fair bit.”
The ’Special’ features actually include stainless steel trim along the sides, two-tone vinyl interiors and the white roof. You had to move into the Premier to score goodies like leather, a two-speed fan heater and rather fancy push button AM radio.
The dashboard in this wagon is original, its chromework and rather optimistic 120mph speedo sparkling in the sunshine after a thorough clean-up job by Warren. Simple chrome knobs to the left of the steering column covers your lighter (integral back in the Sixties), wipers and choke for the three-speed manual gearbox. It’s a column shift with no synchro on first.
There was a good dose of rust in the wagon’s panels, which must be regulaly monitored. It had spent most of its life in inland Queensland, but now must endure the salty moist air of its current coastal home. Warren had new metal parts cut in rather than bogging it up to ensure the job was done properly. The finish, as you can see in the images, has made the expenditure worthwhile.
The suspension and drum brakes are as original fitment, and Warren said the EH’s anchors are more of a concern than being able to keep up with traffic. “It’s very hard to pull up quickly,” he said. “It’s not sophisticated brake- wise. You must check they’re working okay quite regularly, as if you don’t use the car the brakes will stick.”
As for general maintenance, as Warren said earlier, these are relatively very simple cars to work on. “You just adjust the points, put new plugs in, just tune it,” he explained. “It prefers being
used, so I drive it pretty regularly to the surf spots.”
The car made a very important trip to Toowoomba when its original purchaser passed away. “I drove at the front of his funeral parade in this car, as it was the vehicle everyone knew him for,” Warren said. “His wife and daughter, who had learnt to drive in it, were in the EH with me.”
Now firmly a part of his own family, Warren said he still loves working on his classic wagon, and it remains a popular sight in prized Noosa parking positions when the surf’s pumping.
Exactly sixty years ago these EH Holdens were the fastest selling Australian car ever. It took the fight to the recently- launched Ford Falcon, and we bought over 250,000 EHs in its 18-months on sale, before it made way for the new HD. Parked up beside Noosa’s shoreline, Warren’s well used, much loved and beautifully restored example is a quintessential slice of Australian history. We (sadly) really don’t make them like we used to.
Iain Curry featured the Holden and Warren in the November/December edition of ACM and has given his permission to feature in Beep Beep.
For which many thanks – Editor !!
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