For nearly every series of Holden strongly revered by the masses, there seems to be another, closely related sibling that is less so. They don’t get as quite as collected by the collectors, nor as hopped up by those who hanker for horsepower.
Some follow their more popular brethren; for example, the EK Holden that replaced the FB. It was arguably a better car but lacked the chrome and flair of its near-identical predecessor. Not even the later Commodore was immune, with the well-loved and hugely popular VN-series overshadowing the VP that came after, again perhaps for reasons of style.
For a time in the 1960s, it was the first series that fizzled – a relative term when every Holden sold like a surgically enhanced hotcake. The HD-series, with its blade-like front quarters – lifted straight from GM’s Solaris concept car – was often chided as being ‘Horribly Designed’, which it wasn’t, while the much-loved HR-series was, in accordance with the lore, ‘Hastily Rectified’, which it also wasn’t.
The EJ Holden also falls into this category, despite dragging Holden’s styling cues kicking and screaming out of the chic but upright jet age. The EJ lost the prominent fins of the FB-EK and merged the headlights into the grille; something the futuristic Falcon showcased from 1960. But like the early Falcon, the vestiges of the jet age were there, especially in the sculpted rear quarters upon which, in the EJ’s case, sits the hint of a tail fin. Arguably more prominent if they housed the tail-lights, Holden’s chief stylist Alf Payze elected to plonk them low on the EJ’s bum, with a chrome side strip drooping down to meet them.
This gave the rear profile a shape not unlike the 1958 Chevrolet which was a slight problem; the 1958 was a one-year-only model – update of the ‘Tri-Five’ series – which immediately replaced with the longer, lower 1959 range. In fact, all of GM’s range was replaced for 1959, bringing about sweeping changes that, although still including fins to some degree, brought an entirely new design language to GM products for the 1960s.
GM’s VP of design, Bill Mitchell, did not love the EJ-series and even prior to the series release, relinquished Holden of much design input for the EH facelift, along with the HD-HR and HK-series that followed. That’s not to say the EJ was overtly antiquated; the curved A-pillars would appear on the Chevrolet range only from 1961, dropping the now-revered, but then-maligned vertical A-pillars of the FB-EK that were the bane of the long-of-leg and knock-of-kneed.
The EJ’s wrap-around rear screen was also a feature of the 1961 GM range, with various Chevs, Buicks and Oldsmobiles all sporting some form of pontoon-style roof over a heavily curved rear window. Ultimately though, this styling trend did not stick, replaced with a stout, squared off profile that exuded strength and formality; replicated swiftly on the EH-series that is so similar, yet so different to the delicately styled EJ.
The staunch rear window line, strong rear hips, and upright tail of the EH-series was a shape the Aussies loved, but that wasn’t the only thing leaving the EJ Holdens in the second-hand cheapies yard. The EJ carried over Holden’s reliable but ageing ‘grey’ motor, still rocking the 138 cubes introduced with the FB series two years earlier, but dating back to the 48/215 of 1948, at least in 132ci form. The ‘red’ engine that replaced it offered an extra 25hp with the 149ci base-spec, and 40hp more using the optional 179, and immediately became a darling of the hop-up crowd.
Meet the owner
Of course, Michelle Harrison, the owner of this beautiful EJ Special before you, doesn’t care about window lines and vestigial fins and grey motors; all she cares about is the family lineage that brought her to buying her lightly restored EJ Special.
“My dad, Bill, worked for Glenelg Taxis and drove a nice Fairlane 500 for work, but both he and Mum had EJ Holdens as their everyday cars when I was younger,” she begins.
“We’d go sliding across the back seat when they went around the corners and stuff. They were both conscientious drivers, but there wasn’t much else to hang on to back there,” says Michelle, as she gestures to the Holden’s ‘Jesus’ bars.
“And in the summer, it was the opposite; it was just the sticky, hot vinyl seat that held you in place. I remember it burning the backs of my legs,” Michelle reminisces.
“Fond memories,” she adds, without irony. “Mum’s was the same colour as this one, but all-white with a green interior, I’m pretty sure.”
Of course, neither Mum’s family fun bus nor Dad’s work hack was anywhere near as specced-up as Michelle’s EJ Special, which is absolutely stuffed with period NASCO accessories.
With Bill advancing in age, the nostalgia bug hit Michelle pretty hard, but one look around her suburban shed reveals her days are now more awash with blue and red.
“My husband Shayne is Ford through and through,” she admits as we stand amongst a flock of Falcons, checking off XP, AU and BA models.
“I said from the time we met that I wanted an EJ. He tried to convince me to get an XM or something, but I wasn’t having it. It’s always been my dream to get an EJ Holden.”
The car Michelle purchased had only two owners before her, and was sold new by Sundell Motors, 821-843 Pacific Highway, Chatswood to Mr Alan Alfred Hamilton, of Allan Street, strangely enough.
A quick check of Google Maps shows the former dealership is now a high-rise, with Sundell’s premises having been bulldozed in 1987 to make way for the 21-storey Zenith Centre, currently home to Dell Technologies’ Australian and NZ headquarters.
A glance over the original paperwork – supplied with the car – shows a price of £1070 ‘as equipped’, less £50 deposit, at a time when Wheels magazine listed the Holden Special with a retail price of £1110.
Given the car was ordered November 17, 1962, bang in the guts of the EJ’s mere 13-month production run, there had to be a reason why the car was so cheap when new, and it took a phone call to the second owner, Russell, to work out why.
“I bought the car from the original owners in Bexley North back in the early 1990s,” he says. “Although it was a deceased estate, I learned it was an ex-demo car that a plumber bought for his wife to haul the kids around in, which explains the lower-than-retail price. He worked out of an FC ute, and she got the EJ. It came up in the Sydney EJ-EH club newsletter for just $1500 with all books and documentation.”
Russell noticed it had been specced-up pretty well, perhaps on account of it being a demo driver for a while, including the Premier hood ornament, sun visor and radio, albeit a different one to what it has now.
“It was an all-white, Atherton Ivory Holden Special when I got it, but I’m a bit of a collector and have grabbed quite a few NASCO pieces in my time, so fitted a few bits I had,” Russell says.
“Plus, I really love the aftermarket flash kits from back then, so after I’d owned the car for a few years, I fitted a kit by Tilli Products of Adelaide. Once I’d found all the bits, anyway,” Russell adds.
Although he’d found the SA-manufactured aftermarket adornment on a car in a wrecking yard in southern Sydney, it was missing a moulding for some time. Collector is as collector does, however, and once complete, it was fitted to the EJ, with the inside of the flash sprayed in contrasting Penola Rose, with the roof done to match.
The car has also seen paint down the entire left-hand side, bonnet and bottom of the right-hand guard, but almost everything else remains original, include the door trims. The seats, however, have been redone. “They were good enough to sell off in another car, but because I was going to keep this one, I wanted to make it mint,” Russell explains. “When I went to pick up the seat trims from Winner Products, I mentioned I was fitting a Tilli moulding to the car, and they told me that was them; Winner started out as Tilli!”
Russell also added the scratch plates, passenger mirror, wheel trim rings, handbrake warning light and the highly coveted picnic radio. “I lowered it as well, but only about an inch. I like to call it ‘brochure height’,” he laughs, citing the long, low and sleek look Holden’s advertising agencies creatively applied to their marketing illustrations.
“I was devastated that I had to sell it, but it was a situation of circumstance,” he says. “I’m so glad Michelle’s got it; she loves it like a child.”
While in Russell’s care, the car spent some time at Gilbert’s Motor Museum in Strathalbyn, before being purchased and placed on the market by Pete’s Classic Autos. It was from here that Michelle, with the help of Bill and the reluctant approval of Ford-loving Shayne, became custodian of the low-mileage, EJ Holden Special from Sundell Motors.
Opening the door, there’s nothing quite like the smell of an old Holden, and even closing it again has its own distinctive thunk. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Michelle gushes. “It just sounds so good; even that noise brings back so many memories for me.”
It’s clear from her enthusiasm that, much to Shayne’s chagrin, and conversely Bill’s approval, that an XM Falcon was never going to cut it; Michelle is EJ all the way.
** The author thanks the members of the EJ and EH Holden Australia Facebook group, especially Benjamin Gall and Russell Cooper and also the research and works of David Burrell.