1974 Holden HQ Belmont ute - today's tempter

By: Guy Allen, Unique Cars magazine

Date: 13.06.2017

Basic and tough workhorse

Basic Belmont ute could be a great project car.

Increasingly, we're seeing utes of this generation either treasured with huge dollars spent on them, or allowed to rust into the ground under a tree in a distant paddock.

So to find one that is more or less as it was in the showroom is a rare surprise.

This one claims long-term ownership - 17 years - and the seller says the performance and body are okay. There's a roadworthy offered in the deal.

At $6000, you're not risking a fortune and it would be a toss-up whether you kept it original or went for an upgrade perhaps with a V8 and auto.

At the moment it seems to be running the basic mehanical driveline for the time - a 202ci (3.3lt) red motor with three-on-the-tree manual.

Holden sold well over 400,000 HQs, though a lot of them - probably the vast majority - are no longer with us.

Nevertheless they're a popular classic/resto/restomod project and there is a wealth of knowledge out there on how to set them up.

You can find this NSW example here.