It's easy to see with his significant experience around classic cars, that Darren would go on to own 4 of his own, including this true survivor - EH Special Holden. I wanted to understand what was the spark that led Darren on his 2 year journey to acquiring the magnificent Holden. “My other cars are all 2 seaters & performance orientated. I wanted something I could throw the family in & just cruise around. The wagon was a car that I always liked when I was growing up & as my boys will soon be getting their driver's licence, it was the perfect classic for them to start learning on & who knows it might be the seed that sparks their desire to own a classic some day.” Darren said.

Right from the beginning of his EH journey, Darren knew exactly what he wanted & set his sights on that goal. It had to be a wagon from the early 60’s, automatic & either a Holden or a Valiant. Most importantly it had to be a car that had a good life. Why a good life? Because buying a classic car that's been through many hands & had a hard life is a recipe for excruciating work to get things right again. Often, these cars have been repaired just to get the car back on the road with whatever parts are available & not necessarily the correct parts. Which means parts don't fit correctly & the car doesn't drive or handle that well either. This of course can all be fixed, but it's costly in time & money.

Darren was very patient in his search, finally nearly 2 years later this EH Special wagon popped up on an online auction site. Although the EH was in Brisbane & Darren was in Sydney, he began his due diligence on the Holden. Darren recalls “I could tell by the photos online the EH looked like a really good survivor. It had a lovely patina, the original 179 engine & the interior looked fantastic. But I still wanted to get eyes on it, unfortunately we were in COVID lockdown & I wasn't able to fly up to inspect the car. So I did the next best thing, I got a friend who lived near Brisbane to inspect the car for me. He took heaps of photos & we did a video call, walking over every inch of the Holden. What struck me was how original the car appeared. Another big plus was the original owners folder, which had lots of documentation including the owners manual showing the first owner & where the EH was originally sold from. The serviced book indicating the EH wagon had been serviced at every required 2,000 mile interval.  All this made it clear this EH wagon was the ‘60s classic I've been searching for.”

A few agonising weeks later, auction day had arrived & Darren was feeling both tremendously excited & very nervous, he cautiously explains “I think it's really important to have a game plan when buying cars at auction. After you have done all your research & you know what the market is doing in relation to that particular car, as far as what they are generally selling for, set a realistic budget. I like to wait until the very last minute before bidding & I also bid in uneven numbers, say instead of $20,000, I’d bid $20,125. The idea is most people bid in thousands or hundreds, so by bidding in uneven numbers you stand a better chance of outbidding them.” Which was certainly the case for Darren, when the hammer fell at the auction & the call was “SOLD”, Darren jumped for joy as the EH Wagon was his.

It's funny, they say be careful what you wish for. Once the auction was over & the excitement wore off, Darren suddenly thought, “OMG! What have I done.” I think this is a very common occurrence for many people bidding at auction. So you can imagine how Darren’s emotions were working overtime as he & son Chris waited patiently one winter's morning for the transport truck to arrive with their classic Holden. Slowly the enclosed carrier’s rear gate opened to reveal the Aqua Turquoise EH Holden wagon. Soon enough Darren was breathing easy & rejoicing in his new classic, quite relieved he explained “Standing there with Chris I had a bit of trepidation started to creep in, but once we saw the EH wagon in the flesh, we realised it was better than what we expected. Jumping in the car for the first time, starting her up & driving it into the garage, was amazing & so exciting. But to also share that experience with my son was really special. It's such a rewarding feeling to set yourself a goal of finding a classic, then to patiently wait for so long & the fruits of your labour result in this classic survivor, it's just awesome”.

The EH was released in August 1963 replacing the EJ series and was the first Holden to incorporate the new "Red" motor, which came in 2 variants, 149 & 179 ci. The 149 engine was first sold attached to a three-speed manual gearbox. The 179 ci engine was initially sold with the "Hydramatic". A total of 256,959 EH Holdens were produced with 9 different variants, ranging from - Standard Sedan, Special Sedan, S4 Special Sedan, Standard Station Sedan, Special Station Sedan, Premier Sedan, Premier Station Sedan, Utility & Panel Van.

‍

The first EH with a 179 engine and a manual gearbox was called the "S4". Purpose built for the inaugural ‘500’ held at Mount Panorama in 1963. The EH S4 did not win but finished a very respectable second, beaten only by a works-entered Ford Cortina GT. In order to go racing the EH S4 was homologated with a minimum of 100 were required to be built & sold. All were fitted with an up-graded manual gearbox with hardened gears, 12 gallon fuel tank,  up-graded clutch, metal lined brake shoes and a larger tailshaft. 

It's easy to see with his significant experience around classic cars, that Darren would go on to own 4 of his own, including this true survivor - EH Special Holden. I wanted to understand what was the spark that led Darren on his 2 year journey to acquiring the magnificent Holden. “My other cars are all 2 seaters & performance orientated. I wanted something I could throw the family in & just cruise around. The wagon was a car that I always liked when I was growing up & as my boys will soon be getting their driver's licence, it was the perfect classic for them to start learning on & who knows it might be the seed that sparks their desire to own a classic some day.” Darren said.

Right from the beginning of his EH journey, Darren knew exactly what he wanted & set his sights on that goal. It had to be a wagon from the early 60’s, automatic & either a Holden or a Valiant. Most importantly it had to be a car that had a good life. Why a good life? Because buying a classic car that's been through many hands & had a hard life is a recipe for excruciating work to get things right again. Often, these cars have been repaired just to get the car back on the road with whatever parts are available & not necessarily the correct parts. Which means parts don't fit correctly & the car doesn't drive or handle that well either. This of course can all be fixed, but it's costly in time & money.

Darren was very patient in his search, finally nearly 2 years later this EH Special wagon popped up on an online auction site. Although the EH was in Brisbane & Darren was in Sydney, he began his due diligence on the Holden. Darren recalls “I could tell by the photos online the EH looked like a really good survivor. It had a lovely patina, the original 179 engine & the interior looked fantastic. But I still wanted to get eyes on it, unfortunately we were in COVID lockdown & I wasn't able to fly up to inspect the car. So I did the next best thing, I got a friend who lived near Brisbane to inspect the car for me. He took heaps of photos & we did a video call, walking over every inch of the Holden. What struck me was how original the car appeared. Another big plus was the original owners folder, which had lots of documentation including the owners manual showing the first owner & where the EH was originally sold from. The serviced book indicating the EH wagon had been serviced at every required 2,000 mile interval.  All this made it clear this EH wagon was the ‘60s classic I've been searching for.”

A few agonising weeks later, auction day had arrived & Darren was feeling both tremendously excited & very nervous, he cautiously explains “I think it's really important to have a game plan when buying cars at auction. After you have done all your research & you know what the market is doing in relation to that particular car, as far as what they are generally selling for, set a realistic budget. I like to wait until the very last minute before bidding & I also bid in uneven numbers, say instead of $20,000, I’d bid $20,125. The idea is most people bid in thousands or hundreds, so by bidding in uneven numbers you stand a better chance of outbidding them.” Which was certainly the case for Darren, when the hammer fell at the auction & the call was “SOLD”, Darren jumped for joy as the EH Wagon was his.

It's funny, they say be careful what you wish for. Once the auction was over & the excitement wore off, Darren suddenly thought, “OMG! What have I done.” I think this is a very common occurrence for many people bidding at auction. So you can imagine how Darren’s emotions were working overtime as he & son Chris waited patiently one winter's morning for the transport truck to arrive with their classic Holden. Slowly the enclosed carrier’s rear gate opened to reveal the Aqua Turquoise EH Holden wagon. Soon enough Darren was breathing easy & rejoicing in his new classic, quite relieved he explained “Standing there with Chris I had a bit of trepidation started to creep in, but once we saw the EH wagon in the flesh, we realised it was better than what we expected. Jumping in the car for the first time, starting her up & driving it into the garage, was amazing & so exciting. But to also share that experience with my son was really special. It's such a rewarding feeling to set yourself a goal of finding a classic, then to patiently wait for so long & the fruits of your labour result in this classic survivor, it's just awesome”.

The EH was released in August 1963 replacing the EJ series and was the first Holden to incorporate the new "Red" motor, which came in 2 variants, 149 & 179 ci. The 149 engine was first sold attached to a three-speed manual gearbox. The 179 ci engine was initially sold with the "Hydramatic". A total of 256,959 EH Holdens were produced with 9 different variants, ranging from - Standard Sedan, Special Sedan, S4 Special Sedan, Standard Station Sedan, Special Station Sedan, Premier Sedan, Premier Station Sedan, Utility & Panel Van.

‍

The first EH with a 179 engine and a manual gearbox was called the "S4". Purpose built for the inaugural ‘500’ held at Mount Panorama in 1963. The EH S4 did not win but finished a very respectable second, beaten only by a works-entered Ford Cortina GT. In order to go racing the EH S4 was homologated with a minimum of 100 were required to be built & sold. All were fitted with an up-graded manual gearbox with hardened gears, 12 gallon fuel tank,  up-graded clutch, metal lined brake shoes and a larger tailshaft. 

It's easy to see with his significant experience around classic cars, that Darren would go on to own 4 of his own, including this true survivor - EH Special Holden. I wanted to understand what was the spark that led Darren on his 2 year journey to acquiring the magnificent Holden. “My other cars are all 2 seaters & performance orientated. I wanted something I could throw the family in & just cruise around. The wagon was a car that I always liked when I was growing up & as my boys will soon be getting their driver's licence, it was the perfect classic for them to start learning on & who knows it might be the seed that sparks their desire to own a classic some day.” Darren said.

Right from the beginning of his EH journey, Darren knew exactly what he wanted & set his sights on that goal. It had to be a wagon from the early 60’s, automatic & either a Holden or a Valiant. Most importantly it had to be a car that had a good life. Why a good life? Because buying a classic car that's been through many hands & had a hard life is a recipe for excruciating work to get things right again. Often, these cars have been repaired just to get the car back on the road with whatever parts are available & not necessarily the correct parts. Which means parts don't fit correctly & the car doesn't drive or handle that well either. This of course can all be fixed, but it's costly in time & money.

Darren was very patient in his search, finally nearly 2 years later this EH Special wagon popped up on an online auction site. Although the EH was in Brisbane & Darren was in Sydney, he began his due diligence on the Holden. Darren recalls “I could tell by the photos online the EH looked like a really good survivor. It had a lovely patina, the original 179 engine & the interior looked fantastic. But I still wanted to get eyes on it, unfortunately we were in COVID lockdown & I wasn't able to fly up to inspect the car. So I did the next best thing, I got a friend who lived near Brisbane to inspect the car for me. He took heaps of photos & we did a video call, walking over every inch of the Holden. What struck me was how original the car appeared. Another big plus was the original owners folder, which had lots of documentation including the owners manual showing the first owner & where the EH was originally sold from. The serviced book indicating the EH wagon had been serviced at every required 2,000 mile interval.  All this made it clear this EH wagon was the ‘60s classic I've been searching for.”

A few agonising weeks later, auction day had arrived & Darren was feeling both tremendously excited & very nervous, he cautiously explains “I think it's really important to have a game plan when buying cars at auction. After you have done all your research & you know what the market is doing in relation to that particular car, as far as what they are generally selling for, set a realistic budget. I like to wait until the very last minute before bidding & I also bid in uneven numbers, say instead of $20,000, I’d bid $20,125. The idea is most people bid in thousands or hundreds, so by bidding in uneven numbers you stand a better chance of outbidding them.” Which was certainly the case for Darren, when the hammer fell at the auction & the call was “SOLD”, Darren jumped for joy as the EH Wagon was his.

It's funny, they say be careful what you wish for. Once the auction was over & the excitement wore off, Darren suddenly thought, “OMG! What have I done.” I think this is a very common occurrence for many people bidding at auction. So you can imagine how Darren’s emotions were working overtime as he & son Chris waited patiently one winter's morning for the transport truck to arrive with their classic Holden. Slowly the enclosed carrier’s rear gate opened to reveal the Aqua Turquoise EH Holden wagon. Soon enough Darren was breathing easy & rejoicing in his new classic, quite relieved he explained “Standing there with Chris I had a bit of trepidation started to creep in, but once we saw the EH wagon in the flesh, we realised it was better than what we expected. Jumping in the car for the first time, starting her up & driving it into the garage, was amazing & so exciting. But to also share that experience with my son was really special. It's such a rewarding feeling to set yourself a goal of finding a classic, then to patiently wait for so long & the fruits of your labour result in this classic survivor, it's just awesome”.

The EH was released in August 1963 replacing the EJ series and was the first Holden to incorporate the new "Red" motor, which came in 2 variants, 149 & 179 ci. The 149 engine was first sold attached to a three-speed manual gearbox. The 179 ci engine was initially sold with the "Hydramatic". A total of 256,959 EH Holdens were produced with 9 different variants, ranging from - Standard Sedan, Special Sedan, S4 Special Sedan, Standard Station Sedan, Special Station Sedan, Premier Sedan, Premier Station Sedan, Utility & Panel Van.

‍

The first EH with a 179 engine and a manual gearbox was called the "S4". Purpose built for the inaugural ‘500’ held at Mount Panorama in 1963. The EH S4 did not win but finished a very respectable second, beaten only by a works-entered Ford Cortina GT. In order to go racing the EH S4 was homologated with a minimum of 100 were required to be built & sold. All were fitted with an up-graded manual gearbox with hardened gears, 12 gallon fuel tank,  up-graded clutch, metal lined brake shoes and a larger tailshaft. 

It's been a few weeks since the purchase & the dust has settled, I was keen to hear if Darren had the chance to get the car out during the Sydney COVID lockdown. “Yes we have used it for some essential food shopping & a few lunch runs. The boys & I loved it, we had huge smiles on their faces the whole way. It's a real time warp, when you sit inside, the smell, the feeling of the vinyl seats, the big steering wheel, it's a visceral ‘60s nostalgic driving experience. The EH wagon is a very compliant, smooth cruiser, it's such an easy car to drive. Mechanically, someone has spent quite a bit of money on it before I took ownership. With new coil springs, shocks, brakes & bushes, there's no sloppiness. I'm very impressed with the car. I really love driving my EH with the window down & elbow hanging out just cruising around. 

I asked Darren what it means to own such an original survivor car. “Because it is so original & a bit of a time capsule, it definitely makes it that much more special to own. I really don't want to do much to the wagon, but there are a few things I need to tidy up & I’ve started to do so. It's so fascinating to think a lot of these parts have never been taken off the EH or pulled apart. I almost feel the presence of the people who built these cars on the GMH factory line in 1963, as they would have been the last ones to handle these parts. I feel it's a very special car & I'm very proud to be its current custodian.”

Reflecting on Darren's story, I could tell this EH Special wagon was so much more than another car to his collection. The link back to his dad & the joy he felt as a kid around the  family's new Holden, is a very nostalgic & warm experience. Darren now has the ability to similarly share the joys of this EH Holden with his boys, well it's almost like life has come full circle for Darren. Happy driving.