Skip to main content

Readers’ Photos # 104: FC Holden Ute

 

I've said it before and it's very, very likely that I'll say it again:  Holden's model-naming conventions are as illogical A-F!  As best as I can tell, this is an FC (four vertical and three horizontal grille bars and rectangular front indicators, built into a chrome strip above the bumper).  The FC replaced the FE (five vertical grille bars, five that are horizontal and simple round front indicators, sitting on unadorned sheet metal) in 1958.  I'd have thought that C, coming before E, would denote an earlier car but, no, not in Holden's bizarre interpretation of the alphabet.

Had logic prevailed, the next car in the series would have surely been an FD (?).  No!  Not on your Nelly; it became the FB!  And, to compound such silliness, the FB was replaced by the EK!  Didn't Holden's Model Naming Department know that E comes before F!?  I feel sorry for people born before the introduction of Sesame Street!  I really, really do.    


Of course, none of this detracts from the excellence of today's car, photographed in the Australian Capital Territory.  It is absolutely delightful and a credit to its owner.  But Holden's naming conventions still f*ck with my head!










U M P H

(uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.)

Photos by the Canberra Correspondent.









Comments

  1. Oh, poor Alastair. I see that you are trying to use logic and reason-ability. It may seem strange but is actually logical, after a fashion. I can only comment up to the H series of models (HD onwards) , but, if you were to write on a top line the letters A through to K, and underneath each letter the numbers 0 through to 1. Then, taking for granted the millenia 1900 as a starting point, using the numbers you will see the correspondning letters written above them as the model designation. Neale

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

EJ or EH Holden? (Up-dated December, 2022)

EJ or the later EH? Several years ago, I posed the question:  Can somebody please explain the difference between an EJ and an EH Holden ute or van?  The response at the time wasn't overwhelming, so I did a bit of Googling and ferreting through my photos and came up with my own rough guide to EJ and EH identification.  Sedans and wagons are easy to tell apart ;  the EH's vertical rectangular tail lights are a dead give-away.  However, the workhorse versions of both models share the rear-end treatment of the earlier EJ, making it harder to identify one from the other.    No super obvious hints here. Or here ...  . It turns out that the main clues are in the placement of the front   H O L D E N   lettering and GMH lion emblems, the style of the radiator grille and the width of the vents in front of the windscreen, with all EJs - sedans, wagons, utes and vans - having one combination and the EH line-up having their own . So what exactly are those diffe

Vick Auto Prima Fiat X1/9 Brakes: An Owner’s Assessment

At the end of 2022, I fitted a set of Vick Autosport Prima front brakes to my mildly worked 1.5 litre Series 1 Fiat X1/9 . I was fortunate, having picked them up at a very, very reasonable price, brand new but surplus to the needs of a fellow X1/9 Australia member who had imported them from the US. The kit included: New single pot callipers , new vented rotors (standard X1/9 front rotors are smaller, non-vented items), DOT approved stainless steel brake hoses, and all the necessary mounting hardware. They are a value proposition, being particularly well priced compared to other manufacturers’ packages - even at RRP - with everyone I’ve spoken to saying they’re made to a high standard, too. Here's a link to a piece that I wrote about them at that time, including some costings: https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2022/11/the-x19-gets-prima-brake-upgrade.html . Initial Assessment: I was a little underwhelmed by the brakes' performance, finding that although they had a tiny

Random # 301: Nanna-Spec KE36 Corolla

  Once upon a time - six or seven years ago, actually - there was a lovely pale yellow GC Galant station wagon getting around Hobart.  It was totally nanna-spec; its paint was umarked, the chrome work and hubcaps were immaculate, and its very original interior was pristine. Then someone stuck feathers in its dashboard.  Next, the windows were adorned with Tibetan prayer flags.  And a hubcap went missing.  And the the rear bumper was pushed in, mangling the bodywork behind it.  And a mudguard got dented.  And rust set in.   I fear for this sweet, innocent KE36 Corolla.  Somebody please save it before it's too late.  Nanna needs you to do it. U M P H (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.) Photos by GlamRock.