FE-FC Holden Discussion Forum

Loading up cars below deck on the Princess of Tasmania. circa 1959.
(http://naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/ShowImage.asp?B=11658219&T=P&S=1)
National archives pic.
Regards
Alex

Gee they've got the 48-215 working hard going up the ramp!!  I'm guessing that's an FC standard on the left of photo, but I wonder why it's got straps hanging off the over riders??

Peter

Also, I didn't realise FC's or FE's for that matter, had colour coded Headlight surrounds......cause they don't look chromed to me !
Mark

When first released, FC utes and panel-vans had painted head-light and tail-light rims, and even painted grilles.  According to the sales brochures, standard sedans and business sedans still had chrome items.  (Both my sales brochures are dated 4/58.)

They were pretty unpopular, and were often changed by dealers even before the cars were sold.  Eventually I think they were deleted entirely by GM-H.

FEs - the more elegant vehicle :-* - always had chrome headlights, tail-lights and grille.

cheers
RET

Thanks for the history lesson RET...it's always good to learn more about these cars.....funny though...painting head light surrounds and grilles in  body colour, would have been almost a head of it's time in those chrome filled days.

I guess it makes sense that the FE's had all chrome bits and pieces on them......they had nothing else going for them in the looks dept !

OOOOoooooh   AAAAaah  ....that will get me in trouble !

What do they say.......Sh*t before the Shovel.......oh somebody stop me, I'm gonna get kicked of the site at this rate !

Sorry people....just had to try and inject some humour, albeit a warped sense of humour !

I love any old Holden...FX, FJ, FC, FB, EK, EJ, EH and so on,..........Oops, there I go again !

Keep smiling

Mark

Why did they make the fe for longer period then the fc because they were in high demand and had to wait longer than the fc. So that should prove that the fe was more popular.
WAYNE

Just ignoring all that rubbish about the FE having nothing going for it in the looks department, here's a pic from the FC ute and van sales brochure that shows the painted grille and head-lights.

There's also a good photo IIRC in the book "Australia's Own" that shows the same thing.

cheers
RET

Actually Wayne, you're not helping.

FE sold 155,161 units in 21 months (7400/mth)
FC sold 171,924 units in 19 months (9000/mth)

However, for the first two months FEs were only manufactured at one of the three factories, whilst the other two assembled them and manufactured FJ utes and vans.  So if you take that into consideration the per month number of FEs is more like 7900.  But even that ignores the fact that FE utes and van weren't made until Feb '57, and it was utes and vans we were talking about, wasn't it? ::)

In any case, (http://www.theregister.co.uk/media/352.gif) you like grey cars so your opinion is suspect to begin with :P

We might as well have the grey-is-not-a-colour flame war at the same time as the FE-versus-FC one...  This thread has been well and truly hijacked anyway.

cheers
RET

Gee RET..I don't know about hi-jacked.....it was you that planted the seed, with your "FE's - the more elegant vehicle " speel.

You opened the gate my friend...I just walked through it.

Thanks for having a sense of humour...it's Friday afterall !


Cheers

Mark

Hi All.
There is an FC ute down here that has the painted headlight surrounds & the painted grille. The only things chromed are the bumpers.
It was a council vehicle in the Brighton municipality for 3 years, then the current owner purchased it. He still drives it on a weekly basis to get his shopping. Did I mention he is 89 years old?
It looks great.
Rob J

OK I'm willing to bite on this one. It is Friday after all and the weekend is nearly here.
Here is my unbiased (OK biased) look at FE and FC.

The FE was the Finest Example whilst the FC was a Fair Copy !

The highlights of the FE are the mini headlights used as indicators which are a styling triumph.
The interior uses the pressed panel in the upper door frame to continue into a very stylish door trim. This just doesn't work on the FC and looks wrong.  The FE seats have by far the better pattern with a wonderfully creative 2 tone effect. The FC has a fairly plain colour on the bottom with a black top.  GMH tried to tart it up a little later with embossing but it never improved much.

What about the full circle horn ring - the FC ring looks like it is broken.
Don't even start with which car has the better bonnet emblem.  FC tried to fix this with the grille badge, but you had to pay extra for what was standard on the FE.
Boot badge - FE strongly identified with "HOLDEN" and "SPECIAL" across the boot - Gone on FC
What about the script in the front guard stripe - once again gone on FC. Same goes for the front number plate surround.
I'll conceed the FC had some nice American styling with the chrome stripes and fins, but all this pales into submission when weighed up against the finest automobile ever made by GMH ;D ;D ;D ;D

Ken

and not even painting them grey or corsair tan could spoil them. ;D and whoever heard of an fc with a detroit flash? ;D ;D


denis

Hear,Hear, Ken & Denis. Here's to the Finest Ever Holden made! They strap the cars down on the ships to stop them moving around on the trip.
Colin

HMMMM notice how it's always the 'FE" boys that jump all over these FE v's FC debates........must be due to an inferiority complex.

As this thread started out on a boat, wouldn't you say we've experienced a mutiny, or perhaps it's been taken over by PIRATES!!
(http://www.jollyroger.com/jpg/folder/flagwavea.gif)
Regards
Alex

nice pic anyway alex     keep digging them up!!
 incidently    i have a painted grill hanging in the shed...they dont suffer from pitting ,so come up very well when chromed
              cheers   trev

Great pictures shame about the waffle about the FE. Anyone with any taste at all will know that the FC is a vastly superior vehicle and i agree that all you here from the asteemed FE owners is how great they are, us Quality FC owners dont need to talk about it we already know the answer as did 50% of the Australian motoring public.
Brett

     Well I am disgusted at the way in which this thread has been HI-JACKED.
    It was not that long ago that My-self & a couple of other where getting a rap across the knuckles from Ret, and the rest of you with your anonymous names voting that we should stop this HI- Jacking of threads.
    Now tell me what has the FE- FC debate got to do with the original post.
    Since that lovely poll I have been very careful as to what I have posted and when. So has EMU and we hardly ever hear from Kiwi any more.
    Now I come on-line and read this. It would seem it's ok for you all when it suits you's. Did you's note vote that it was not a site for Humour or Hi-Jacking?.
    Please Make up your minds, As I like visiting this forum But I would like to know what rule's apply to who. Along with who decides what HI-JACKING is Compared to HUMOUR. To me these double standards need to be Addressed. If you are going to set rule's then abide by them, If you are going to complain about others Dont give other cause to complain about you for doing the same thing.


One pissed Sarge.

Whoa there Mark.

I thought the net result of that whole fracas a couple of weeks ago was that
banter was OK - like everything, in moderation.  I don't believe this thread
runs contrary to that, and not just because I've participated in it.

If you re-read the thread, nearly every post has advanced the discussion in some way by introducing or arguing something relevant.  It may have drifted from the original topic, but that frequently happens.

There is a crucial distinction regarding hijacking that needs to be taken into consideration here.  Generally speaking, "hijacking" is a problem when someone starts a thread with a legitimate question (or a For Sale item), and the on-topic responses are lost amongst the off-topic ones.  

However given that this thread is just a posting of a picture for people to appreciate, it stands alone and requires no analysis or response.  The original poster was not seeking feed-back, information or help.  So the purpose of the original post in the thread is not devalued by the subsequent discussion.  In other words, once you've looked at the picture, whether you choose to follow the drifting discussion from then on is up to you.  This is in contrast to posts in the Technical or For Sale areas, where there is a serious purpose requiring feed-back, and trying to follow that feed-back is complicated by off-topic discussion.

And just to get further off-topic, the FE versus FC thing is a completely partisan and on the whole, meaningless debate.  However, it is all good fun, and given that this is the FE-FC Holden discussion forum, it is a topic that has and can be expected to come up frequently.  It has been my experience that good natured rivalry between owners of one model and owners of the other is healthy for a club, and this forum is very much a club.  (When the schism is between the stockie owners and the hottie owners, then you've got trouble brewing...)

I make no apology for my initial 'always the more elegant vehicle' shot, nor
any of my subsequent responses.  Mixed in amongst the banter were relevant facts and opinions, that hopefully are of interest.  Similarly, Ken pointed out key cosmetic differences between the models, that was useful information, along with his preferences, which you can take or leave, just as you can mine.

If Alex feels his thread has been hijacked, he's quite at liberty to say so.  He's usually pretty forthright in his opinions.

cheers
RET

Ret
    May-be i did throw off a bit hard. It just seems to me that a topic should be what the original post was about. Is this not what all the fuss was about not so long ago. May-be I am just getting petty in my old age. Alex does post a lot of great photos. So lets just get back to that shall we. Perhaps you could even remove my last dummy spit as it was a bit over the top. I just dont like being spanked for something that other seem to do and have it excepted. :) Either way it's a great photo and as for all this fuss over which is better FE - FC who care. If you own a FE then Thats just fine. If you own a FC just keep looking for a FE.

Sarge

Mark,

Like I said before, there were more FCs produced than FEs.  We're outnumbered, and we've got to stick together ;D  Can't have these late-model owners dividing and conquering...

cheers
RET

Hi
I would like to agree with RET that it is in good fun jocking about which is the better car evey body has there own opinion on which car is the better.and we do not intend to offend anybody.It is the same as when we joke about the gray colour cars.
WAYNE

He's my 5 cents worth.
Buy the First Experimental car then get yourself a Fine Classic.

Everyone knows that the series two is the better car
                        Cheers Rusty

Here we go again, is primer a colour?

As to FE verus FC well only the later owners know the true answer as we can always remove the refinements of the FC and then drive an FE. ;)

John M

Hey Sarge.
Good to see you took a chill pill. FWIW, I was only kidding about the Highjack comment. I don't mind seeing all this activity around a simple pic. It means more people will see the amount of posts and come look to see what the fuss is about......they will then get to see the pic.
As for FE v's FC, I'm not in a position to have too strong an opinion, afterall, my FC has some FE parts, along with......Toyota.....Valiant.....Chief kitchen stove......

Regards
Alex

Ah the Vulcan Chef Stove there was a model worth droolling over 8)
John M

I think that the banter over models is healthy thing in a club sense. I know that the first vic meeting i ever attended it came up then and has been a frequent topic of disscussion on many different forums since including this one. But on reflection i think we would all admit that the FE FC Holden model range are some of the finest produced by the general and we should all be congratulated for perpetuating such a great model.
Brett

WHOHAR Brett
                       Dont tell me you drive a EH lol  ;D. Now there was one fine Holden. It must have something to do with the E,    FE EH EK all very popular model Holdens. :) ;) :D ;D

Regards
Mark