History
My first (and only) car is a 1971 Holden HG Belmont panel van.
It spent its first two years carting road signs around for the City of Belmont (no kidding).
I bought it from Shacks Holden in Fremantle in November 1973 (just after my 17th birthday).
It had 36,000 miles on the odometer then. Over the past 43 years we’ve travelled ten times that together.
The van was, and still is, my ideal vehicle. I was a full time, professional musician for many years and even now I still “dabble” a little every now and then. I’ve always carried around drum kits, PA and all sorts of band equipment – If you stack it right, you can fit in an incredible amount of gear.
When I wasn’t working – The 1970’s was the golden age of the Drive in Movies. I have fond memories of warm summer nights with friends – Our cars and vans parked up at the “Drives”. Not doing anything special, just enjoying the movies and a night out. It’s sad to think that with the demise of the Drive Ins, the younger generations will never get to appreciate this simple pleasure.
My wife and I fitted a Station Wagon interior in 1981, when the kids started to get too big for rolling around in the back. This gave us the option of extra seating when required, or a full length cargo area for bigger loads. A pair of HG Monaro bucket seats and console finished the job nicely.
After this conversion and for the next 11 years, I spent very little time or money on my van – Apart from basic service and running costs.
Time took its toll on the old girl and she was starting to look pretty weather worn and shabby. In 1992, I splashed out for a professional “ground up” rebuild, finished off with a superb 2 Pack paint job and new Dragway wheels.
The motor has been reconditioned twice. The 161ci is now out to 173ci. It runs twin Stromberg carbies on a Cain manifold, with extractors and electronic ignition. Even with a Trimatic gearbox and sipping 98 ron, it is still quite cheap to run.
To this day, on a still, balmy evening – I like to open the rear hatch of my van and go cruising down the highway – Any highway. It’s the same car. It’s the same sound. It’s that same feeling.
It’s just like I’m 17 all over again.
