Upper Middle Petrol Head:

Every so often, a bloke finds himself in the right place at the right time, as was the case when UMPH and GlamRock happened upon this very original, very tidy VB Commodore just out of Hobart's CBD.  UMPH had just finished taking a few iPhone snaps when its owner approached and asked if they'd like to hear it fire up.   Naturally, the boys were keen to take up the offer and also ask a few questions.  So, with the glorious burble of its 308 cu (5.0 litre) V8 as a backing-track, this is what they learned: It was delivered new by southern Tasmanian Holden dealers Motors Pty Ltd and spent the first four years of its life as the company car of a senior Purity (now Woolworth's) supermarket employee, before its current owner bought it.  He drove it for about twenty years, then mothballed it for ten or so while he drove something "more economical."  It's only just been re-registered. Unlike most SLEs (then top of the line, preceding the  Cal...

Telling some Holdens apart is an arcane skill that's beyond UMPH.  What's the difference between an FB and an EK, for instance, or an EJ or EH ute or van?  (Please see www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7165367970551834236#editor/target=post;postID=4212372442506037272;onPublishedMenu=posts;onClosedMenu=posts;postNum=5;src=postname  .)   The same can be said of the HT and HG ranges ; the cosmetic differences are subtle and hard for a non-expert to decypher.  However, this immaculate Kingswood appears to be an HG or at least features the grill from one.  There are almost certainly clues in the styling of the tail lights, too, but nothing that means anything to UMPH.  (Please feel free to leave a comment if you know what those clues might be.)     An Aussie built 253 or, in new money, a 4.2 litre V8. U M P H ( uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au .) All iPhone images.

If, in the early 70s, UMPH's mum was doing the school run in a Morrie of similar vintage to the one shown below, it would be much like getting around in a circa 2000 Corolla or Pulsar today, wouldn't it?  That's probably fair but it does seem a bit odd ; the idea that the then family hack has become a collectible classic has the disconcerting effect of making UMPH feel a tiny bit old, too. Competing feelings of nostalgia and impending old-age aside, this black example is a great looking car.  UMPH is confident (hopes, anyway!) that the owner wouldn't be offended if he ventured to say that it was in largely un-restored condition, by which he means to be complimentary about the way it's been maintained.   It looks very original and complete, right down to its cheese-cutter cross-plies. U M P H ( uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au .) All iPhone images.

Aussies are mad for their Ford Falcons.  Depending on which tribe you belong to, they're either Australia's greatest ever car or - and UMPH will try to be a bit delicate here - not worth, well ... , umm ... urinating on, as some more fanatical Holden owners would have it. The particular car shown in the following photographs isn't actually an Australian product at all.  The fact that it's a lefty is the first clue, the second being its lack of roof, both features pointing to it being a US import. Familiar Falcon face. Built for cruisin'. Expansive cockpit. Room for six. Nice detail:  A Falcon symbol incorporated into the rear seat. Back to the Futura! U M P H ( uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au .) PS:  Holden owners wouldn't really urinate on a Ford, especially one as cool as this! PPS: Sincere apologies for that last caption. All iPhone images. 

UMPH saw this very original late 60s / early 70s Ford Fairlane in Argyle Street, North Hobart, and was immediately impressed by its elegance and condition. Fairlanes were, in effect, stretched Falcons, this particular model apparently being the contemporary of an XW or XY or thereabouts, although it's likely that as a separate product line, they would've had a series designation of their own.   If anyone can shed some light on the series codes assigned to Fairlanes, feel free to leave a comment. It's probably a fair call to say that a Fairlane was to a Falcon what a Holden Statesman was to a more humble Kingswood. Twin-headlights helped distinguish the Fairlane from its smaller sibling, the Falcon.  A much bigger boot and vertically deeper rear tail-lights further differentiated Fairlanes and Falcons. The resemblance to Falcons is most obvious from the windscreen through to the C pillar. No plastic here. Fairlane , by Ford. ...

Apart from some minor rust, this brick-like Fiat 125 looks to be in pretty good nick.  That's not bad for a car that was manufactured somewhere between 1967 and 1972.  According to UMPH's mate GlamRock, who had a 125 S  in the mid- to late-80s, they were a very plush ride, featuring many refinements that were way ahead of their time.  His was fully carpeted, had velour seats - the driver's being multi-adjustable - a parcel shelf, prismatic rear-view mirror, hand-throttle (which could be used as rudimentary  cruise-control), fully-lined and illuminated boot, and further lighting in the engine bay.   It also had Cromodora alloy wheels.   He did, however, say that the car's low-beam was dismal. They got along quite nicely, too, being fitted with the same 1600 twin-cam used in Fiat's sporty 124.  The engine in GlamRock's was coupled to a five-speed 'box with a disc brake rear end - the sorts of refinements that weren't to be se...

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 th...