Australia's Largest Private Holden Collection: Classic Restos - Series 53
Fletch returns to a collector he met a decade ago. Kevin is an avid Holden collector who had the paddocks of his 1500-acre rural property filled with around 100 Holden vehicles when Fletch last visited him. Back then, Kevin shared his plans to have them all under cover, and Fletch couldn't help but notice a rare HK Monaro with a 161-engine that piqued his interest. Despite not being one of the popular V8 HK models, it was in excellent condition and worthy of being part of Kevin's Holden collection.
Fast forward to 2023, and Fletch catches up with Kevin to see that his stable of Holden Cars has expanded to over 140 Holden vehicles, and as he alluded to 10 years earlier, he has delivered on his promise of having them undercover in several huge sheds. Kevin's passion for cars started at an early age with model cars, including several Holden models, that he loved then and still does today.
As Fletch approaches Shed 1, he spots a 1960 FB Holden Sedan sitting outside looking a little worse for wear. This is another vehicle Kevin has saved from the tip, and now is the prospect of a complete restoration, with 140 cars and a mountain of parts, Kevin believes he has everything he needs to restore the FB. A good floor plan and firewall are a great start.
Shed 1 contains a sea of Holdens, all makes and models, collected from NSW and Victoria and, as Kevin puts it, 'saved for annihilation'. There appear to be substantial numbers of FB Holden's, and Kevin admits he has a soft spot for FB's; that era's styling and colour scheme appeal to him.
Kevin's ambition is to restore all the vehicles he has collected over the next 50 years He believes that these cars have all played an important part in Australian life, serving countless Australian families, and each has a unique story. Kevin sees himself as merely a trustee of Australia's motoring heritage.
The next Australian classic is an EH Holden Premier Station Wagon in beautiful Portsea Blue with a White roof, a manual model, which is quite unusual. Of 253,000 EH Holdens built, only 70 were manual Premier models, making this rare. Kevin shows Fletch his Holden Bible called 'The Holden Black Book,' which details every Holden model car ever built, including colour and trim codes. It's invaluable in restoring a Holden and is a great collector's item.
Shed 2 houses a very special car - another EH Holden Wagon, this time in Jindabyne Mauve, which holds a special significance. This was Kevin's first car in 1975, and he did his L's and P's in it. The car still looks great, and Kevin says he has been fortunate enough never to trade in any of his cars, and it's a family trait he continues today.
There is one addition that might raise eyebrows - a 1951 W-Class Tram from Melbourne in the shed, and it looks just like it did back in 1951, with all the internal advertising of that era intact. Kevin explains that four manufacturers made these trams back then, and GMH was one of them, which explains why it's there.
