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 :)

[QUOTE=Strubaru;733281]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]

That's an understatement! I persevered with mine for years. Even did an engine swap to the later model EFI unleaded 2.0L.
It still sucked haha

Awesome pick up
Great classic holden.... and good to see it's being restored back to original condition and and then driven

Can we stop talking about Camiras!

Still have nightmares about my one ... Absolute piece of #%£!

my breif experience learning to drive in one was enough to put me off for life, everytime i see an sti 6spd shifter with the ring you pull up for reverse i have a little chuckle..... camira spec

so how far did you get with the datto project? is it a complete basket case? might be keen myself or i've got a mate who's probably keen, i know he's been looking at 1000's recently

Your the lucky custodian of a real piece of Australian history there. Good on you for wanting to keep it original, that's where the history and the interest is I think. Don't reckon too many one owner EKs have been sold in the past few years.

Look after it mate you have a real gem.

Looks awesome Matt. Awesome pickup!

[QUOTE=axle;733287]Your the lucky custodian of a real piece of Australian history there. Good on you for wanting to keep it original, that's where the history and the interest is I think. Don't reckon too many one owner EKs have been sold in the past few years.

Look after it mate you have a real gem.[/QUOTE]

Thanks mate. There's far to many of these old icons being tubbed and chopped for my liking.
[QUOTE=GTB Liberty;733285]Can we stop talking about Camiras!

Still have nightmares about my one ... Absolute piece of #%£![/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Strubaru;733286]my breif experience learning to drive in one was enough to put me off for life, everytime i see an sti 6spd shifter with the ring you pull up for reverse i have a little chuckle..... camira spec[/QUOTE]

Jester used to have one too. Maybe we could all go to a support group together.

[QUOTE=Strubaru;733286]so how far did you get with the datto project? is it a complete basket case? might be keen myself or i've got a mate who's probably keen, i know he's been looking at 1000's recently[/QUOTE]
Unfortunately, not very.
I've been collecting parts and panels (including a stripped chasis and body for cutting parts from), but never had the time to actually give it the love it needs.
It's a complete, running, caged car. A perfect base for someone with the desire to do something with it. Feel free to sort a time out to have a look and make an offer mate.

I have a mate who might be interested in the Dato as well. I'll contact him and let you know.

Nice pick up mate, love how well kept the interior looks

I wouldn't touch a thing. Leave as is and enjoy as it came off the line.
IMO period aged paint is better than something that will never be quite the same as the genuine article.

[QUOTE=Avalanche;733293]Nice pick up mate, love how well kept the interior looks[/QUOTE]

The interior and motor got a bit of once over in 1983.
Pat dropped it off to a mate of his to do it on the side in his spare time... he picked the car back up again 7yrs later in 1990.

By this time, his wife had passed away.
He could never bring himself to sell it, so since 1990 it has sat in his drive (with a cover over it), with a refreshed motor, brand new brakes, re-tarred underside, and the interior retrimmed.

Like these old guys do, he's kept every receipt relating to the car.
He's paid 20k on rego and insurance since the car was last driven. :eek:

Great car mate.
My missus had one years ago but now she has an 04 wrx and a 99 foz.
Still have some windows for the EK. Front and back if your ever in need. Might have some dash bits too and a headlight from memory.
Have fun with your car Matt. Might see you on some chrome bumper cruises.
Think there's one on Sunday.
I'll be the one in the version 6. Lol.

[QUOTE=ausyve;733298]Great car mate.
My missus had one years ago but now she has an 04 wrx and a 99 foz.
Still have some windows for the EK. Front and back if your ever in need. Might have some dash bits too and a headlight from memory.
Have fun with your car Matt. Might see you on some chrome bumper cruises.
Think there's one on Sunday.
I'll be the one in the version 6. Lol.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the offer mate. I'll be in touch if I'm in need of anything.

Unfortunately not. I'm in QLD at the moment, and wont be back for another 10 days or so.

yeah i'm keen to come check out the 1600 when you're back in town matt :D shoot me a pm when you're back in WA :)

[QUOTE=Strubaru;733320]yeah i'm keen to come check out the 1600 when you're back in town matt :D shoot me a pm when you're back in WA :)[/QUOTE]

No worries at all.
Looking like the 1st - 9th Feb at this stage. I'll keep you posted.

Congrats on owning a piece of history. Love the old classics, they will never die off and are appreciated by more and more car enthusiasts everyday.
The interior looks great and makes the car stand out. A really good restoration on this and it will be good for years and hopefully it will be kept in the family through out generations.

[QUOTE=Bob;733296]I wouldn't touch a thing. Leave as is and enjoy as it came off the line.
IMO period aged paint is better than something that will never be quite the same as the genuine article.[/QUOTE]

Agreed. It looks great just the way it is.
Passivate any surface rust & keep the original paint.

[QUOTE=AWDmoke;733345]Agreed. It looks great just the way it is.
Passivate any surface rust & keep the original paint.[/QUOTE]

I've only seen the car for a total of about 3hrs.
When I get home in a few days I'll reasses.

IF (and that's a big if) I do do a full respray, finish wise it will be a close to original looking as possible. Definitely no candy on this one.

First update.
I've sorted a heater. There were a number of heater options available from factory, and quite a few popular aftermarket options around at the time too.
The car was originally bought in Jan 1962. A heater was the last thing on his mind.
Anyway, here it is.
It's a cast box, with a fan and a core. The flaps on the front are doors. They open and close to control airflow and direction

[img]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y286/blacky61/FB-EK%20Website%20photos/photo-64.jpg[/img]

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And a radio.
It's what they call a picnic radio. It slides into the cradle, which is mounted into the dash.
When it's in the cradle, it operates off the car's battery, however, you can slide it out and run it on its internal battery and take it with you on a picnic, or to the footy etc.
Aftermarket options like this were very popular back in the day, especially given the price of the factory option.

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the 1st anti-theft cradle system? :D love it

my mate picked up a barn find datto 1000 on the weekend, these oldies seem to be coming out of the woodwork :D

Ah, some 60s bling!
It is amazing what some people still have in their sheds.

awesome. Look forward to seeing the project progress.
Half the fun is finding all the really old and rare parts to complete/restore the project.

who needs mp3...... we want am radio :)

Lovin the radio. Bonus it has all the states on the face plate. Nothing worse than finding the radio then having to find your states face plate to match.

Room at my place for a 1600 i think ...