Holden Legend - Paul Wakeling Motors: Classic Restos - Series 46

Fletch is doing the rounds of Holden legends - Dealers who have been at the forefront of selling, servicing, and providing parts for 'Australia's Own Car'. 

This week it's the Paul Wakeling Holden Dealership in Campbelltown NSW, a business that started in Canberra in 1985 before moving to Campbelltown. Dealer principal Paul Wakeling and his son Scott reflect on the family dealership's history, their relationship with Holden and their customers over the years, and particularly the strong community involvement in the business. Holden's theme of 'Australia's Own Car' provided a strong emotional connection with Australians at the time. 

Two highlights, during his time as a Holden dealer, were the Holden Commodore launch and the introduction of Radial Tuned Suspension (RTS). Paul recalls they sold 25 cars on the opening night, after the Commodore's launch, and that RTS made driving the car so much better, it left Ford for dead and took Ford a long time to recover. 

While Holden no longer sells a range of vehicles, Paul reassured Holden owners that Paul Wakeling Holden would continue to provide service and parts to the community. 

Talking about Holdens, Fletch chats with Steve about his immaculately restored 1962 EJ Holden. Destined to be used for parts, Steve recalls finding the car that had been in a shed for the last 25 years and taking on the full restoration task. 

Everything is original, even some of the GM accessories. It's also finished in one of the original pastel colours the model offered back then. While the original grey engine has undergone a recondition to keep it in running order.

Steve says, "I just love old cars, the smell of them and their styling. They bring back great memories of school dropoffs and holiday trips". Steve's eight-year-old Grandson, Hayden, is an impressive young lad who has all the motoring enthusiast's attributes just like his grandfather. He loves old cars and working on the EJ with his pop. It is great to see another generation keen to preserve the cars of another era and says of the EJ Holden, "they don't make them like this any more".