| Author | Message | ||
     Patrick Ryan Grand Master Username: patrick_r Post Number: 2229 Registered: 04-2016 |
Gents, As per The beautiful Edsel that Ross is working on, here is another 1959 model. I purchased this around the same time as the Toyota Corona. Yes I do love a green car. Very similar colours inside and out to the Edsel. Holden FC Special.   This is a one owner car, bought by a newly wedded couple in1959, it was the only car they ever owned. I can’t say I’ve ever seen that before.       This car is still all 100% original. Except: Spark plug leads Battery Recorded radiator and a horrible shiny new cap Clutch and brake master cylinders 4 tyres (dated 1980] Still all original factory fitted: Keys Paint (a slight repair made to the boot (trunk) area in the 70’s) Interior Glass Floor rubbers (seperate front & raar] Boot (trunk] rubber Spare wheel and tyre One of the most original and complete cars I’ve ever seen. Silly little things I was excited about were the battery cables (brade type negative cable) and the throttle spring and many other things have never been tampered with or replaced over 61 years.   | ||
| ross kowalski Prolific User Username: cdfpw Post Number: 1370 Registered: 11-2015 |
Patrick R, Wow, That is just as nice as the Corona. Are you keeping that one? | ||
| Patrick Ryan Grand Master Username: patrick_r Post Number: 2231 Registered: 04-2016 |
Hi Ross. Yes I’ve been looking for an original car like this for ever. Like the Corona, this came to me by word of mouth. Amazing original car. She even has a small gouge in the passenger door the old chap did in the 80’s. (Please see first pic) He never fixed it, so I will just leave it as well. He drove it to work every day at the local steel mill, and they used it for family vacations every year. The old chap wrote in a small book with a lead pencil from day one all petrol put into the car and when, and every oil change the car had. These early Holdens never had oil filters so required an oil change every 1000 miles. The car has 166,000 miles on the clock. His hand written records are amazing. His son who I bought the car from has amazing stories about this car right from his earliest childhood memories. What amazed me is that the rear of the car, and the rims is actually a very light shade of green. I thought the car was green and cream. I’ve always wanted one of these models as it is my earliest childhood memory of my dads car. Except his was this colour.  My list for this car is like yours. Tyres Full grease Engine oil Front engine or timing case seal Coolant Transmission oil Diff oil Diff pinion seal Apart from that, I will just leave it as is. Easiest resto ever It has never been out of rego since 1959, so it will get regularly driven | ||
| ross kowalski Prolific User Username: cdfpw Post Number: 1371 Registered: 11-2015 |
Patrick R, I assume you will continue to add to the book which would only be fitting. This may or may not surprise you, but I think you should put a roof rack on it. Also, when the get together is in Sydney I expect a ride! | ||
| Patrick Ryan Grand Master Username: patrick_r Post Number: 2232 Registered: 04-2016 |
OMG, I laughed out loud when I read that. My wife looked at me strange. I’d love to put a roof rack, and one of your custom big gulp cup holders as well. Those humpy shape roofs need a good roof rack  | ||
| Graham Phillips Frequent User Username: playtime Post Number: 250 Registered: 03-2019 |
G'day everyone,..... The best thing you can use to clean the engine bay with is cream cleanser. Just use the generic brand stuff, it will bring the paintwork out like new again. In fact you can clean just about everything in there with it. Finding a great car with that sort of history NEEDS to be SAVED. Just say'n........ Graham. | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 3664 Registered: 04-2003 |
Ross and Patrick, Don't forget the surfboards and Esky to go on the roof rack - essential items in the 1960's before "sin bins" [panel vans] dominated the scene. | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 3665 Registered: 04-2003 |
Vladimir has asked me to post the following two comments on his behalf - my apologies for the delay as medical matters have intervened in the past week and today is my first opportunity to start catching up: "Post 1: Patrick, lovely photo of possibly my favorite looking Holden. I have driven one and been in a very bad accident in one in Sydney as a kiddy maybe in 1967. A Chrysler Royale cut in front of us failing to give way and was T-Boned by the FC Holden. No seat belts then and thus my forehead met the steel dashboard at 35 mph giving me a lump that Herman Munster would have been jealous of. Fortunately the dashboard was not dented but the car was a write off. The FC grey side plate 6 cylinder was possibly the most foul engine Detroit ever produced. The engines leaked oil with new gaskets .The fiber timing gear stripped. Three speed manual on column, no synchro on first. I blew many of these gearboxes to bits and repaired too many to remember. Later as 15 year old apprentice another apprentice killed himself in one evidently drunk and at high speed, thus dead at 17 and was considered a legend by all. Such was the mindset of those times. Driving one was ....horrid compared to a Rolls Royce Silver Spirit or 76 Cadillac. Pure Art Deco Dashboard with snazzy steering wheel. Posterior sweat in tidal waves was certain with vinyl seats and rubber mats on floors with no carpet available was all true Aussie stuff. The interiors had an unforgettable stink. I would buy one for $5000 but it would be most rusty and good ones lurk for $25000 and up. Russian equivalent was Gaz Volga. A pretty car was the Holden FC. Very easy to fix, indeed they has all the simplicity of a garden shovel. Given the trash produced today the prices of these Holden FC will never come down. Post 2: Ross....and I quote verbatim " Wow. That is just as nice as the Corona" The words from the late great Hunter S. Thompson entered my mind "we shall gnaw on their skulls and March on a road of bones" and instantly I spat out my teeth at the speed of light striking PussNasty in the head. Whilst the FC Holden was as un - Cadillac as a DKW is was not a subterranean bottom feeder as was the Corona. Then in an instant I knew Ross that Tom Hanks was there at your farm with a large jar of Vegemite and together you two were overdosing on a hideous mixture of Vegemite and Cranberries on burnt toast. Ross I will bet you a double Racheal Welsh with a Barbarella Jane Fonda to Debra Harry that if you were to see in real live an FC Holden parked next to a Corona you would retract your utterance forthwith. That aside Ross I have decided to use the Silver Shadow door handle you kindly sent to me years ago as the outside door handle for main entrance door of my Stone Mansion at my Country Lair. Depressing the knob will instantly engage a sound system which will play the Soviet National Anthem but loud. Ross when the Coronavirus is over fly down here and buy an FC Holden, then ship it Stateside then head directly to GM Detroit Headquarters, put the car into full right lock, rev engine to just before valve bounce and drop the clutch viciously...this will render burnout mode and after 30 smoking donuts and security is called the President of GM will give you a large check for PR services rendered (send me half). We know you need to buy one so check out on web Just Cars, cars.com.au and gumtree or just google FC Holden for sale Australia. You know you have to do it Ross because it's essential. Possibly some were made LHD but you have a better chance of seeing a Camargue in USA than an FC Holden. Driving it to Nicole Kidmans joint would cause a jealous Keith Urban to sulk in his Pagani..." | ||
| Patrick Ryan Grand Master Username: patrick_r Post Number: 2233 Registered: 04-2016 |
Those were the days David | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 3670 Registered: 04-2003 |
Yes - however being a poor high school student in Gloucester on the NSW Mid-North Coast, too young to get my licence and with a meagre bank account, I had to make do with a home-made tin canoe that I towed behind my push bike on a home made trailer with steel wheels from an old hand-pushed lawn mower salvaged from the local tip to the Gloucester and Barrington Rivers to shoot the rapids. The noise from the steel wheels and the rattle of the recycled dog chain in the bottom of the canoe used to tie it to trees on the river banks would literally "wake the dead" each time I left town!! I was poor but my mates and I had a great time making our own fun.....  | ||
| Patrick Ryan Grand Master Username: patrick_r Post Number: 2234 Registered: 04-2016 |
Thanks for posting Vlad’s posts David. Never a dull moment reading his posts, love em! He is spot on in all aspects of the Holden, and Vlad, the smell inside this fully original car, seems to have amplified, thus reminding me more of childhood sweating my arse off in dad’s FC in the middle of summer and I’m sure it was pushing 110deg F in that back seat ——- sigh | ||
| Patrick Ryan Grand Master Username: patrick_r Post Number: 2235 Registered: 04-2016 |
Vlad, When I get the Corona back on the ground, I will get a pic of them side by side so Ross can enjoy the pair. Currently it is almost finished, and looks like this. I took this pic from my drinking chair. (Drinking chair; where I sit contemplating what do I do to this car next)  | ||
| ross kowalski Prolific User Username: cdfpw Post Number: 1373 Registered: 11-2015 |
Vlad, To true on the fiber timing gear. For just a small reduction in cabin noise, you too can enter the catastrophic engine failure lottery. I would put the RR handle on your fridge. The door has the same heft and note as an RR door. If you close your eyes it would be like having a RR Silver Shadow in your kitchen. In practice with a real car it would be a lot more like having a RR Silver Shadow in you basement. Also with reference to the lead poisoned bard, I think I will have to replace my WWHSTD bumper sticker with WWVKD one. | ||
| ross kowalski Prolific User Username: cdfpw Post Number: 1374 Registered: 11-2015 |
Vlad, I also would just have the car shipped to the states, but I suspect that taking to to GM would result in the guys from the malibu development office looking out and wondering why some hooligan was trying to break traction in a morris oxford? It would be sad on several levels. | ||
| ross kowalski Prolific User Username: cdfpw Post Number: 1375 Registered: 11-2015 |
Patrick, Here's en entry in the Peking Paris  elegant. | ||
| Patrick Ryan Grand Master Username: patrick_r Post Number: 2237 Registered: 04-2016 |
Great pic Ross. I can’t find any decent pics of an FC sedan with an old fashioned roof rack, but this model they called the Station Sedan is pretty cool.  | ||
| Patrick Ryan Grand Master Username: patrick_r Post Number: 2238 Registered: 04-2016 |
Graham, Thanks for your suggestion regarding engine bay cleaning, and I will give that a try on the Corona, however I intend to leave the Holden just as is. It’s never been cleaned under the bonnet in its life, and the patina (read dirt ) is pretty acceptable. When car shows are allowed again, I will take it to a few “coffee & cars” and just let people see it for what is is, warts and all. | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 3672 Registered: 04-2003 |
Patrick, The rack on the station wagon but smaller is exactly what I remember on the "surfie cars" in the late 1960's. Obviously, a longer rack was made for the wagons to carry the extras for family camping holidays. | ||
| Patrick Ryan Grand Master Username: patrick_r Post Number: 2240 Registered: 04-2016 |
That rack looks like it could hold a whole lot more than those FC gutters might be able to handle David. | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 3673 Registered: 04-2003 |
Yes - however one heavy braking stop would teach the driver a valuable lesson about the importance of not overloading the rack!!!!! The Holden drum brakes of this era were marginal rather than adequate. The FC era was one where most families camped in tents rather than towing caravans and this type of rack was ideal for carrying the canvas tent, poles and ropes. A 4 berth 12/14 feet caravan was the epitome of luxury in the late 1950's................... Our family 1954 FJ Holden was fitted with an after-market "camping body conversion" that allowed the front seat back to be removed and fitted between the front and rear squabs to make a rather uncomfortable bed. My parents had full-length "comfort" while my sister and I "top and tailed" on what room was left. We never went anywhere without Dad's trusty Primus kerosene stove, frying pan and kettle for cooking. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primus_stove . | ||
| Patrick Ryan Grand Master Username: patrick_r Post Number: 2241 Registered: 04-2016 |
We didn’t camp at all when I was young David, we drove to caravan parks, so we travelled fairly lightly. Dad had a set of standard 2 pole type roof racks on the FC, then the HD just for timber etc. Great read on the kerosene stove, I’ve only ever used a gas type Primus. | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 3674 Registered: 04-2003 |
Patrick, I still have one of the original design Primus stoves I picked up at a garage sale up here in the country. Haven't fired it up but will have to overhaul the pressure pump as the leather washers would have disintegrated by now. They generate a huge amount of heat in operation especially when the tank is pumped to full pressure. | ||
| Omar M. Shams Prolific User Username: omar Post Number: 1988 Registered: 04-2009 |
Dear Patrick, You have 2 beautiful cars there mate. Holdens were very rare in my part of the world. However my neighbour had one that he used as a taxi in the mid 60s. His Holden was an EH/EJ which we got plenty of miles on and then replaced with an HD. We never really knew these cars and there was no cult associated with them. The Corona on the other hand...... everyone had one... or at least sat in one as a taxi or a friend's car. | ||
| Patrick Ryan Grand Master Username: patrick_r Post Number: 2242 Registered: 04-2016 |
Thank you Omar. You are very lucky you got to experience a Holden in your part of the world mate. Very simple cars, very easy to work on, and with just some regular basic maintenance seem to go for ever. The EH is one of the highest selling, and most popular Holdens ever. The HD wasn’t so popular here, and again suffered from some terrible rust issues. After the FC, my dads next car was an EH wagon, and after that he had a HD sedan. It’s funny you got to experience all my childhood cars mate Rust was their biggest issue here. Dirt roads which were all very common here all across the country back in the 50’s and 60’s that turned to mud with rain were these cars worst enemies. The UK & America have salt that destroy cars, we have mud. These cars until about the mid 60’s did not have inner guards so this mud impacted and built up sometimes to the point of having over 20-30kg (44-66lb) of mud right into the extremities of the guards (wings) which would just rust everything they were mounted to. The worst part was the engine sub frame that attached to the body, and the firewall and body itself. Weird places to rust, all up very high, but this is where the mud is thrown then just impacted over the years. Some restorers have said they have found damp mud in these places even after years of sitting in a shed for years.    Then the liquid mud under high pressure from spinning wheels, gets forced into everywhere, especially structural sill and frames like this. So that is why these older Holdens are fairly rare these days.  My FC has one spot of high rust, which the owners son told me appeared in the late 60’s. He said it has never grown since then, to the pic I took below when I bought the car. But as it had never driven on a dirt or mud road in its life, I think is very lucky to not have more.  | ||
| ross kowalski Prolific User Username: cdfpw Post Number: 1377 Registered: 11-2015 |
Patrick, There's always more than you see, but if that's the worst of it no problem. That car you show for the typical rust is in pretty dire condition. | ||
| Patrick Ryan Grand Master Username: patrick_r Post Number: 2245 Registered: 04-2016 |
Yes mate, pretty ordinary. I didn’t post any pics of that cars lower extremities as I was just wanting to show the high unusual rust. The floors were almost non existent ant the bottom of each pillar was like it had laid on a beach for 30 years. Yet the fellow is rebuilding her. This is what he did with that front headlight area. Note, he has the other side to do also.    | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 3676 Registered: 04-2003 |
I have just realised the FC Holden and the later HD Holden share a common feature that escaped notice when the FC "ruled" the market but achieved notoriety when the HD was released. Anyone recognise what it is????? No prize will be awarded other than recognition of "car nut" status!! | ||
| Peter Maclaren Experienced User Username: ludo Post Number: 53 Registered: 04-2009 |
Could it be the headlight rim extending beyond the bumper? My wife ,at the time, kept shortening my HD. | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 3677 Registered: 04-2003 |
Peter, Yes - the well-named "kidney scoops" at the front of the HD mudguards were responsible for a significant number of pedestrian injuries after this model was released. Pedestrians soon learnt to avoid potentially dangerous risk-taking on pedestrian crossings and traffic lights as the Holden brakes were never exactly "first in their class" for efficiency. For some reason, the FC pointed headlight trim never attracted any attention or comment as far as I remember. Perhaps the drivers of this era were more considerate towards pedestrians. You now qualify for the dubious distinction of "car nut" status   . . | ||
| Patrick Ryan Grand Master Username: patrick_r Post Number: 2246 Registered: 04-2016 |
Wow, I knew about the HD David, but never noticed this on the FC. | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 3681 Registered: 04-2003 |
Patrick, I only picked this up when I looked at one of your photos and noticed the tip of the headlight trim protruded further than the front bumper bar. I was in the same position as you; knowing about the HD "liver scoops" but never being aware of the FC equivalent "spear point". . | ||
| Patrick Ryan Grand Master Username: patrick_r Post Number: 2247 Registered: 04-2016 |
Makes me cringe David  |
