Holden’s post-war launch of a locally-built car in the form of the 48-215 marked a massive shift for the local auto industry. It and its FJ successor proved to be a major commercial success.
In a history of the early cars, Dr John Wright notes the gestation went back to the 1930s: “Englishman Laurence J. (‘Larry’) Hartnett took over as managing director of the new company, General Motors-Holden’s in 1934. From early on, Hartnett was keen to build the entire car in Australia. His bosses at GM, under the entrepreneurial genius Alfred P. Sloan, Jr, were on the same page, even though Sloan took quite a dislike to the cocky Englishman.”
This car retains the original 2.2lt inline six with three-speed manual transmission.
The seller says the car is in pristine original condition.
Located near Fremantle in WA, it’s on the market for $70,000.