One for the old boys.
 

Thought I'd post up the latest addition to my driveway.
It's something completely different, but I know there's a few folk on here that appreciate this sort of thing.

Little bit of history:
My family (father and grandfather) have always been car nuts, more specifically, holden nuts. As such I have been tinkering with, modifying, driving and repairing cars for as long as I can remember. I think it's safe to say it's hereditary.

My love for classic Holdens first started when dad came home from work one day (when I was 16) and mentioned that a bloke he worked with was looking at getting rid of his EK, and suggested that it might be suitable for my first car. I loved the sound of this! Unfortunately, the deal never eventuated, and I ended up with an '83 JD Camira instead haha
I've been on the hunt ever since.

Fast forward 13 yrs. I finally bought one :)
The Mrs took some convincing, but one look at it, and she couldn't say no. I was stoked.
It comes with conditions though... it's been suggested that I should consider parting with my '71 datto 1600 project. Fair's fair I guess...

Anyway, it's a one owner Castile Green/snowcrest white 1961 Holden Special.

The original owner bought it brand new for his wife in Jan 1962. He drove an FJ, and she drove the EK.

[img]http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/6705/driveway.jpg[/img]
Unfortunately his wife got dementia, and was unable to drive for a long time before she passed away.

While his wife was unwell, Pat (the previous owner) decided to do a little bit of restoration/fixer-up-ing, ready for the day she was well enough to drive again.
Unfortunately, that day never came.

It could do with a paint job, and a very small amount of surface rust repair work to return her to her former glory, but all things considered, it's in amazing condition. I'll give it a bit of a cut and polish first, to see if I cant get a little bit of shine out of the old lead based acrylic.

I only have the carsales pictures at the moment, as I'm away for work for a few weeks.
I'll keep this thread up to date with progress, and more pictures when I get home.

The plan is to keep it stock. Any modifications/upgrades that I do will be NASCO or at least period aftermarket. No 350 chev here.
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Cheers,

Matt

Got nothing but admiration here.

My Grandfather owned one then a HK and eventually a couple of later model Commonwhores. So I have a soft spot for Holdens. :D

Look forward to seeing it.

Awesome Matt, good luck with the restoration.

Nice one Matt!! Are you going to build off the current condition of it or pull it down?

A mate has a EH ute he restored, not 100% original but flavoured for the time period. Great car to drive through an older suburb in, get thumbs up from a few grandads :D

Love it matt. Come pick me up. :)

Thanks for the comments guys.
I bought it the day before I came back to work. I'm itching to get back home to even just sit in it :)

[QUOTE=Terry.Wrist;733273]Nice one Matt!! Are you going to build off the current condition of it or pull it down?

A mate has a EH ute he restored, not 100% original but flavoured for the time period. Great car to drive through an older suburb in, get thumbs up from a few grandads :D[/QUOTE]

The underside - rails, floor pans, subframe, tunnel etc are completely rust free, so at this stage it doesn't look like I'll need to strip it back too far :)

Awesome! Great to see an old car like this getting the TLC it deserves.

[QUOTE=mattmy99;733275]The underside - rails, floor pans, subframe, tunnel etc are completely rust free, so at this stage it doesn't look like I'll need to strip it back too far :)[/QUOTE]

Sweet pick up!

nice matt, love the old Ek, its like a little aussie 57 chev :D

i learned to drive in my dads camira, bloody hideous things LOL

[QUOTE=DAN682;733277]Awesome! Great to see an old car like this getting the TLC it deserves.[/QUOTE]

My thoughts exactly, Dan.
The original (and only other) owner is 85 now. He's owned the car for 52yrs.
Lets just say more than 1 tear was shed when I handed over the cash.
I've asked him to put a price on the FJ too. I'd love to keep the two old girls together :)