I spotted this trusty old Holden ute in Clayfield, on Brisbane’s north side. Sepia tone this photo a bit and it could be a snapshot from several decades ago, although what you won’t notice in this picture is the modern lighting on the house.
That old ute, though, is bone-stock and rusting a little bit around the rocker panels. The houses in Clayfield are mostly old Queenslanders, wooden houses with plenty of cross-ventilation and wraparound patios, or more simply-styled houses like this one. They were designed and built for our hot climate, and remain sought after. This old Holden ute was tailor-made for our country, too, with its simple construction and reliable engines. It’s nice to see both vintage house and vintage ute still standing.
If it weren’t for the modern cars, like the Toyota Land Cruiser behind the EH Holden ute, the picture would look almost as vintage as the ute itself.
At first glance, especially from the side (a pillar forward), it looks like a Rambler from the early 1960’s.
I wish someone would make a modern UTE for the UniTEd States. I mean, really, we have SUVs, CUVs, IUDs, and every other three letter type of automobile, why not bring back the El Camino and Ranchero. Oh yeah, I forgot, the three letter vehicle that killed the desire: the Chevrolet SSR.
I had a ’71 El Camino back in the day. It wasn’t great for hauling building materials but it would transport several good sized ice chests and that’s all we needed for fun at the beach.
Pontiac almost did before the division was axed during the 08 carcopalypse.
You won’t notice it on the Ute so much but on the sedan the roof A and C pillars are heavily influenced by GM American designs of the early 60s. Compare an EJ/EH sedan’s pillars to a ’62 Cadillac. Peas from a pod.
Yep very ’61-’62 U.S. GM vibe in the “a” pillar. I can also see Rambler on side veiw and a little bit of Valiant in the front. P.S. Didn’t you get bumped in “The Third Man”? LOL!
Clearly you’ve never heard his ’50s radio series…
I have, But O.W., in narration at the start of every radio episodes, points out that he in fact was killed in the film, and the radio stories are a prequel to the movie. (Advanced concept for the time) As a radio noir/film noir fan, I like the film and radio show equally!
Jim ;
Never forget the ever popular PIA Vehicles =8-) .
That Ute looks sweet but Americans are too…. stubborn ? dumb ? who knows ? to buy Utes .
-Nate
FintailJim,
The U.S. doesn’t have many 2 door cars on sale anymore so the car/truck builders don’t have many potential platforms to pick from. That, and the fact that most truck buyers today (seem to?) want “supercabs” and/or crew cabs does not bode well for an El Camino-type car.
While I like the idea of a UTE-type vehicle, I can’t think of a single car, off the top of my head, I would base it on.
MINI built EVERY bodystyle the original Mini came in….and more, but wasn’t there a Mini pickup? Or am I thinking Morris Minor pickup truck? Now that BMW has started selling a minivan-type “car”, maybe they will come up with a small E C with a ridiculous amount of horsepower, a la the X6.
There was a Mini pickup indeed …
The Aussies didn’t have many 2 door cars, ever. This and almost all other Holden and Falcon utes used 4-door sedan front doors.
It was the XA-XC (’72-78) Falcon utes and panel vans used the 2 door hardtop doors, with different glass.
True that, Howard. I live and work in Texas (suburban/urban parts of Houston) and the big 4-door ‘super trucks’ out-number almost everything else on the road. You can’t tell me all those people are ranchers and farmers. 🙂 Heck, a lot of them work in the same office complex I do with its 30-story skyscrapers. There is a special place in the parking garage for these land barges but you’d better get there early – it fills up fast.
Yukons, Expeditions, Sequoias, and (of course) Escalades seem to be the next most popular form of transportation for a single individual to drive to work. I’m sure many of these vehicles see more appropriate duty on weekends. At least, I hope they do.
I just sold a 23-year-old Jeep Comanche pickup. It was the right size for my personal use but its age-related maintenance needs were more than I was willing to contend with. I use my 4-door sedan for work related travel. It’s modern and has the conveniences useful for a long commute or travel around the Great State of Texas: Bluetooth, satellite radio, navigation etc. and will hold 4 adults in adequate comfort.
Still, I could use a UTE around the neighborhood. I believe MINI did have a ‘truck’ at one time though I don’t know if it was ever sold in the US. There was also the Subaru Brat and Plymouth 024 (both too small) and the Volkswagen ‘Caddy’ (Rabbit pickup) that could be had with a Diesel engine even. Those all had a cab that was a bit too ‘cosy’ for this Texan. Even the Comanche was a bit snug for the long-of-leg.
I looked at the Colorado/Canyon twins but they are too big on the outside and just as expensive as a Silverado or Sierra pickup.
Many old geezers in the area bought and still have the last iteration of the El Camino (I’m a proto-geezer; I turn 55 next month). Most kept their vehicles in great shape as old men are want to do. Perhaps one of them is ready to give up the keys and I can snag a nice weekend ‘errand car.’
There do seem to be a lot of well-kept final-gen El Caminos, though it helps that they were in production for 10+ years. (’78 to either ’87 or ’88.)
Make sure you get one with the 305. Though the 4.3 V6 was offered in later years (I think) and might not be a bad choice.
In Florida, this would be a Cracker House, built the same way for the same reasons-but set a little higher for when the rains come, which is often. Set near to a great big live oak tree for picnics. And it would look just fine with a Chevy Advanced Design or a Ford F-100 parked in front.
In many parts of Queensland they’re set higher for underfloor ventilation. My brother-in-law has such a house, high enough to walk under in parts. The underfloor area is often used for car parking these days.
Houses on high blocks also lift you above the Mosquitos to a point. Around my neck of the woods it means you can build on near vertical blocks of land- my place is up one step from ground level at the back,and about 2 metres above ground level at the front.
I need a ute like that out front, not my worn out HiLux!
Love it! I’m seeing a lot of the Valiant, Falcon and Chevy II rolled up into a Ute package. They powered by little 6s?
64/65 Valiant front clip and Ford Cortina elements in the side profile is what I’m seeing.
Yep, the 100hp 149 in this case. Doubt a ute owner would have sprung for the 179-inch upgrade.
I had a neighbour with one of these. Plenty of rust in the sills, doors and side panels, all bogged over and covered with a cheap respray. But it still ran.
The one in the picture’s in great condition, especially for subtropical Queensland!
Great old cars the sills/rocker panels are fine it has the usual rust in the lower front mudguard my EH sedan ate 3 RF guards in the 60s due to rust and one due to a tree later in life, the paint finish on these car was very hit and miss powered by either a 149 cube or 179 cube red six 3 speed tree shift hydramatic available with the 179 only, the auto was only a 3 speed the four speed hydramatic was fitted to the previous model with grey six and only 75hp, first gear was deleted for the 115hp red engine my sedan had the hydramatic I replaced it with the late THM180 traumatic less slushy,.
Not quite right there Bryce, Holden didn’t get a 4 speed auto until the VL Commodore of 1986. 149 engine was available with manual and auto, 179 auto only up to Feb 1964 unless it was an S4 model.
EK & EJ had a 4 speed hydramatic if you have and read the EJ factory manual with the EH supplement it explains the changes made to the EJ to produce the EH the alterations to the automatic are detailed in it, 1st gear was deleted for the EH it was deemed no longer needed, Auto was an option on 179 engines only, 149 was manual only.
S4 wasnt available with auto as far as I knew that was mostly an inch deeper fuel tank and sintered brake linings and the higher nickel content HP engine block, built to race at Bathurst the S4s were brakeless within 4 laps from the start the race was won by a GT Cortina mostly because it had stopping power with front disc brakes.
Have a read of this: http://holdenpaedia.oldholden.com/Hydramatics
Seems to have some Vauxhall Victor 101 (FC series) style in it to me.
Great opening shot!
The model after, the HD, really had some 101 style going on – see pic. But for some reason the 101 was priced almost on a par with the Holden here, so it hardly sold any. Maybe GMH thought the Vauxhall name could command an upmarket premium – but Australia didn’t work like that in those days. Plus they had a terrible name for rust.
That was the last Vauxhall we got here, except for the Torana, which was a sort of Vauxhall-by-stealth. Of course, Bryce’s kin across the Tasman got Vauxhalls a lot longer.
The VX490 was a best seller in the FB Victor range in Aussie GMH didnt build the Velox/Cresta range past the 63 PB model which they built untill 67 they didnt want to take sales away from their local Holden range, which was well down on comfort features and performance from the bigger Vauxhalls, Ford did the same thing to the UK Zodiac/Zephyr range simply refusing to assemble them to keep sales focussed on the Falcon which was not as good either.
GMH has taken to rebadging Vauxhalls in recent years all those Astras and Vectras are Vauxhalls not Opels they are RHD built not converted.
Once the Commodore goes, Holden’s just another imported car.
Yeah the new Holdens were in Queenstown NZ for cold weather fun recently all Vauxhall isignias rebadged, the Aussie journos tried to spin them as Australian but that sort of bullshit doesnt work here.