A passionate Holden custodian

Phill is the owner of this incredible original SS HQ. He considers himself one of the luckiest guys around. He loves his classic Holdens & nothing makes him happier than a Sunday drive with the old AM radio buzzing in the background & the quiet sound of his SS’s 253 engine humming along, as they cruise back country Victoria roads.

A lifelong journey with Holdens started way back in the early ‘70s for Phill. “When we were kids, our next door neighbour had a HQ sedan, our family car was a Ford XB wagon, but for me I love the neighbour's HQ hands down”, the smile on Phill’s face beamed happiness as he recalled those fond memories. He also describes how the family would always take off on “European picnics'' - which was a Sunday drive to a nice location & a picnic with the family. These were much simpler times, when on a Sunday all the shops were closed & the Sunday leisure drive was at its peak.

Phill has owned over 20 different classic Holdens & he still has a few in his garage, but he feels there is something very special about the SS HQ. Even his daughter loves it. “I think it’s because the HQ SS is a link back to my past, whenever I drive it, it's like stepping back in time 50 years, it's a very nostalgic experience. I love the experience & the pleasure it gives me driving this car”. Phill’s passion is so evident as he conveyed his message. I could really feel in his words what it meant to him to own this wonderful machine.

Let's get technical - not physical

In case you missed the memo, the Holden HQ SS was released a little later than the rest of the HQ series - August 1972. The SS appeared to be no more than a Belmont (entry level) dressed up with a few cosmetic changes. But it proved to be so much more than that. The GTS - steering wheel, wheels & guards, those striking 3M decals, the Houndstooth seat inserts, 4 speed manual & the handsome 253 Holden V8. Even the colours Holden chose for the SS was pure ‘70s classic inspired - Lettuce Alone, Infa Red & Ultra Violet.

The initial run of 1,600 SS HQ’s sold like hot cakes, it caught Holden off guard & they rushed another 1,200 through production as quickly as they could. It’s been reported the SS were so hard to get, you really didn’t get a choice of colour – you couldn’t go to your dealer and say I want a red one, because the dealer got what he got." 

Reading Norm Darwin’s Monaro Magic book, he states the 3M stickers on the SS were a real nightmare for the Holden production plants. They were really finicky & hard to manage. Somewhere in the short production Holden changed the 3M decal stickers to painted out panels. Research has suggested that it often came down to the worker. If the worker on the production line was capable of applying the 3M decal it was applied, but if the worker couldn’t master the art of decal application, the sections were masked up & painted black.

A 3 year journey to happiness

I asked Phill what was the spark which ignited his desire to own an SS HQ. “I blame my cooky neighbour. He planted the seed at a very young age, I remember we would peer over the fence to see his HQ sitting there in his driveway. That memory is so vivid & the emotions of seeing that car & thinking it was so amazing. You have to remember, even in the ‘70 owning your own car was still such a proud feeling” Phill affectionately recalls.

Phill now owns many classic Holdens, but the HQ was always on his list. So when the day came & he was ready to purchase a HQ, he wondered which one. “I always go for the battlers & the SS was exactly that, at its heart a Belmont, & everyone preferred a Monaro over the SS, so I decided the SS was the one”.

I'm always curious to discover the journey each owner had to embark on to find their next dream car. “3 years it took to find my SS, but I'm pretty fussy with my cars & I wanted a good one”.  Phill calmly said. Then one day out of the blue, Phill receives a call from a gentleman who saw his wanted add on a HQ SS form Phill was on.  The voice down the line said his friend was selling an immaculate SS & Phill should see it before he changes his mind. He must of  said all the right things, because before he knew it, Phill was at the bank asking for the owner's bank details & he was coming to buy the car with his cheque. “The owner was very sceptical & didn't actually believe me, but I said I'm coming around with my cheque, we’ll do a little dance, & if you’re happy & I'm happy, I’ll drive the car home”. Needless to say, by 4pm later that day, Phil was driving the HQ SS home.

A passionate Holden custodian

Phill is the owner of this incredible original SS HQ. He considers himself one of the luckiest guys around. He loves his classic Holdens & nothing makes him happier than a Sunday drive with the old AM radio buzzing in the background & the quiet sound of his SS’s 253 engine humming along, as they cruise back country Victoria roads.

A lifelong journey with Holdens started way back in the early ‘70s for Phill. “When we were kids, our next door neighbour had a HQ sedan, our family car was a Ford XB wagon, but for me I love the neighbour's HQ hands down”, the smile on Phill’s face beamed happiness as he recalled those fond memories. He also describes how the family would always take off on “European picnics'' - which was a Sunday drive to a nice location & a picnic with the family. These were much simpler times, when on a Sunday all the shops were closed & the Sunday leisure drive was at its peak.

Phill has owned over 20 different classic Holdens & he still has a few in his garage, but he feels there is something very special about the SS HQ. Even his daughter loves it. “I think it’s because the HQ SS is a link back to my past, whenever I drive it, it's like stepping back in time 50 years, it's a very nostalgic experience. I love the experience & the pleasure it gives me driving this car”. Phill’s passion is so evident as he conveyed his message. I could really feel in his words what it meant to him to own this wonderful machine.

Let's get technical - not physical

In case you missed the memo, the Holden HQ SS was released a little later than the rest of the HQ series - August 1972. The SS appeared to be no more than a Belmont (entry level) dressed up with a few cosmetic changes. But it proved to be so much more than that. The GTS - steering wheel, wheels & guards, those striking 3M decals, the Houndstooth seat inserts, 4 speed manual & the handsome 253 Holden V8. Even the colours Holden chose for the SS was pure ‘70s classic inspired - Lettuce Alone, Infa Red & Ultra Violet.

The initial run of 1,600 SS HQ’s sold like hot cakes, it caught Holden off guard & they rushed another 1,200 through production as quickly as they could. It’s been reported the SS were so hard to get, you really didn’t get a choice of colour – you couldn’t go to your dealer and say I want a red one, because the dealer got what he got." 

Reading Norm Darwin’s Monaro Magic book, he states the 3M stickers on the SS were a real nightmare for the Holden production plants. They were really finicky & hard to manage. Somewhere in the short production Holden changed the 3M decal stickers to painted out panels. Research has suggested that it often came down to the worker. If the worker on the production line was capable of applying the 3M decal it was applied, but if the worker couldn’t master the art of decal application, the sections were masked up & painted black.

A 3 year journey to happiness

I asked Phill what was the spark which ignited his desire to own an SS HQ. “I blame my cooky neighbour. He planted the seed at a very young age, I remember we would peer over the fence to see his HQ sitting there in his driveway. That memory is so vivid & the emotions of seeing that car & thinking it was so amazing. You have to remember, even in the ‘70 owning your own car was still such a proud feeling” Phill affectionately recalls.

Phill now owns many classic Holdens, but the HQ was always on his list. So when the day came & he was ready to purchase a HQ, he wondered which one. “I always go for the battlers & the SS was exactly that, at its heart a Belmont, & everyone preferred a Monaro over the SS, so I decided the SS was the one”.

I'm always curious to discover the journey each owner had to embark on to find their next dream car. “3 years it took to find my SS, but I'm pretty fussy with my cars & I wanted a good one”.  Phill calmly said. Then one day out of the blue, Phill receives a call from a gentleman who saw his wanted add on a HQ SS form Phill was on.  The voice down the line said his friend was selling an immaculate SS & Phill should see it before he changes his mind. He must of  said all the right things, because before he knew it, Phill was at the bank asking for the owner's bank details & he was coming to buy the car with his cheque. “The owner was very sceptical & didn't actually believe me, but I said I'm coming around with my cheque, we’ll do a little dance, & if you’re happy & I'm happy, I’ll drive the car home”. Needless to say, by 4pm later that day, Phil was driving the HQ SS home.

A passionate Holden custodian

Phill is the owner of this incredible original SS HQ. He considers himself one of the luckiest guys around. He loves his classic Holdens & nothing makes him happier than a Sunday drive with the old AM radio buzzing in the background & the quiet sound of his SS’s 253 engine humming along, as they cruise back country Victoria roads.

A lifelong journey with Holdens started way back in the early ‘70s for Phill. “When we were kids, our next door neighbour had a HQ sedan, our family car was a Ford XB wagon, but for me I love the neighbour's HQ hands down”, the smile on Phill’s face beamed happiness as he recalled those fond memories. He also describes how the family would always take off on “European picnics'' - which was a Sunday drive to a nice location & a picnic with the family. These were much simpler times, when on a Sunday all the shops were closed & the Sunday leisure drive was at its peak.

Phill has owned over 20 different classic Holdens & he still has a few in his garage, but he feels there is something very special about the SS HQ. Even his daughter loves it. “I think it’s because the HQ SS is a link back to my past, whenever I drive it, it's like stepping back in time 50 years, it's a very nostalgic experience. I love the experience & the pleasure it gives me driving this car”. Phill’s passion is so evident as he conveyed his message. I could really feel in his words what it meant to him to own this wonderful machine.

Let's get technical - not physical

In case you missed the memo, the Holden HQ SS was released a little later than the rest of the HQ series - August 1972. The SS appeared to be no more than a Belmont (entry level) dressed up with a few cosmetic changes. But it proved to be so much more than that. The GTS - steering wheel, wheels & guards, those striking 3M decals, the Houndstooth seat inserts, 4 speed manual & the handsome 253 Holden V8. Even the colours Holden chose for the SS was pure ‘70s classic inspired - Lettuce Alone, Infa Red & Ultra Violet.

The initial run of 1,600 SS HQ’s sold like hot cakes, it caught Holden off guard & they rushed another 1,200 through production as quickly as they could. It’s been reported the SS were so hard to get, you really didn’t get a choice of colour – you couldn’t go to your dealer and say I want a red one, because the dealer got what he got." 

Reading Norm Darwin’s Monaro Magic book, he states the 3M stickers on the SS were a real nightmare for the Holden production plants. They were really finicky & hard to manage. Somewhere in the short production Holden changed the 3M decal stickers to painted out panels. Research has suggested that it often came down to the worker. If the worker on the production line was capable of applying the 3M decal it was applied, but if the worker couldn’t master the art of decal application, the sections were masked up & painted black.

A 3 year journey to happiness

I asked Phill what was the spark which ignited his desire to own an SS HQ. “I blame my cooky neighbour. He planted the seed at a very young age, I remember we would peer over the fence to see his HQ sitting there in his driveway. That memory is so vivid & the emotions of seeing that car & thinking it was so amazing. You have to remember, even in the ‘70 owning your own car was still such a proud feeling” Phill affectionately recalls.

Phill now owns many classic Holdens, but the HQ was always on his list. So when the day came & he was ready to purchase a HQ, he wondered which one. “I always go for the battlers & the SS was exactly that, at its heart a Belmont, & everyone preferred a Monaro over the SS, so I decided the SS was the one”.

I'm always curious to discover the journey each owner had to embark on to find their next dream car. “3 years it took to find my SS, but I'm pretty fussy with my cars & I wanted a good one”.  Phill calmly said. Then one day out of the blue, Phill receives a call from a gentleman who saw his wanted add on a HQ SS form Phill was on.  The voice down the line said his friend was selling an immaculate SS & Phill should see it before he changes his mind. He must of  said all the right things, because before he knew it, Phill was at the bank asking for the owner's bank details & he was coming to buy the car with his cheque. “The owner was very sceptical & didn't actually believe me, but I said I'm coming around with my cheque, we’ll do a little dance, & if you’re happy & I'm happy, I’ll drive the car home”. Needless to say, by 4pm later that day, Phil was driving the HQ SS home.

The pleasure of SS ownership

With all that history & nostalgia in his pocket, I wondered if the SS was a good driving experience for Phill. Often we get overwhelmed with the emotions & the reality doesn't quite work out. But in Phill’s case, it seemed the SS is a dream car to own & drive. “It's like a pair of old slippers, comforting & reliable. Because it's so original it runs perfectly. You won’t get a land speed record, but you’ll get there with a big smile. On hot days it runs cool & cold days, it has the heater to stay warm, power steering, she's not an aggressive sounding car, the 253s are relatively quiet”, Phil happily informs me.

Phill tells a wonderful story of one particular outing in the SS. One day as he was out cruising, unbeknown to him, a gentleman going the opposite way spotted the HQ SS, as quickly as he could the driver took the next exit then broke a few speed limits to catch Phill,  just in time to see him pull up to his destination. He jumps out of his car & is beside himself as he tells Phill he’s convinced the SS is his old car which was stolen in the ‘80s. “He was one letter off on the number plate from his car, so it must have come from the same Holden Dealership, Prestons Motors. Talking to the guy I could tell how much he loved his old SS & if it wasn't pinched, he’d still have it to this day. He was really blown away by the car & he got very emotional” explained Phill. I could see that experience still resonates in Phill & he was glad the opportunity arose for the other guy to rekindle his fond memories with the SS..

As my time drew to a close interviewing Phill, I asked him to sum up his experience with the HQ SS. “It's a car that attracts positive interactions, as people share their experiences of an SS or similar classic Holden. Even as we cruise around on a Sunday drive, its thumbs up, waving & tooting in admiration, its loads of fun to see people's reaction & the shared love for the old battler SS HQ”.

Big thanks to Phill & the HQ SS community for preserving these wonderful slices of our automotive history. Keep an eye out for our next HQ Holden 50th Anniversary special article, it's Wayne & his immaculate Statesman De Ville, more details soon.