FE-FC Holden Discussion Forum

After countless hours searching Ebay and other places for FC parts, it has dawned on me that prices for FC parts are considerably higher than any other make of Holden.

For example:

- A mint Horn button for FC $300 ish, but FJ $50 ish
- Scratch Plates for FC $250 ish, but FX-J or later $50 ish
- Quarter vent windows for FC, $200 ish, others $50 ish.

Usually the older a car is, the harder it is to find good parts, hence more expensive...but FX / FJ parts are generally cheaper than FE/FC ( except the elaborate grilles ).

If it's a later car, say a EK, EJ, HR and so on, still cheaper ?

Fair enough, there are those ultra collectable items like HK-T Monaro Steering WHeels and Wheel Trims, but everday items such as horn buttons, scratch plates, windows ect ect, are seemingly so much for for FE/C's

Of course FE/C's are the greatest car of all time ( lol ), but why this phenomenon ???

Mark

Apart from the obvious that the fe and fc are the best of the best  ;) I think that its a baby boomer thing where most people who remember them are now of an age that the kids have left home,and its time to relive theyre younger days,like fj was at its peak ten years or so ago and the prices reflected this, it now seems that its the turn of the fe and fc.
Cheers
Deano.

The horn buttons are so expensive compared to FJ ones because good fj ones are easy to come by, fe fc ones are usually rooted hence the reason people are bidding $300+. got me stumped though, parts have rocketed in the last 12 or so months  :o

'Cos FE's look like Vanguards?! ;) :P

Mate, I can't agree more. I'm 25 but anyone older who comes near my car (and its only in primer) tells me all about when they had one when they were a kid.
My in laws are as keen as mustard to go for a cruise.
And its a great talking point, I have people drop in as they come home to have a look, (i'm in a new estate) and have had the garbage truck and numerous concrete trucks and contractors pull up.

Mark I think your a bit out of date in regards to your $300 ish for a mint horn button because I wanted to bid on one today on ebay and it went for what I think is a new record  :'(  $405.00 puts me right out of the picture  :( :( :(

Cheers Mick

Mick....your kidding me.......I saw that button on Ebay and was only at $260 odd with just 2 hours remaining.  I was going to bid on it myself as a short term investment, but just don't have $260 to spare.

I like the theories being bounced around here......and most make perfect sense, what's a shame though, is that whether it's the bab boomers, the FC's turn after the FJ, or whatever, but the cars themselves aren;t really seeling for that much....just the parts !

In another thread they talk about the value of XU1's Monaros ect hitting some pretty heady prices, and although they are of racing or muscle car heritage, the car with overpriced parts ( the FE / C ) still lingres around the bottom of the pile when it comes to car values.

This brings me to the conclusion, that it's nothing to to with baby boomers or the turn of the FE/C, but rather FE/C owners are more passionate and more dedicated than any other EARLY model ( non - heritage ) car.

It''s simple really.....if us FE/C owners STOPPED paying such ridiculous prices for parts, then the prices would have to come down.   But whilst we continue paying over $400 for a horn button, then prices will continue to rise.

Just wish the market value of our cars increased as quick as the parts have !

:D

Mark

At the risk of starting WWIII, you must be joking- the FE was a design classic from the start, the FC was merely a solution to a problem that didn't exist ;).
On a more serious note, let's hope we don't see more restorable cars chopped up by people seeking to make a quick buck on the parts market! :'(

Hi All
"whyare FCs so sort after"
We had an FC because that was all we could aford in the late 60s. But we WERE young....Then...!!!
So we have good memories from those days.So as a "baby Boomer"...(hate that term)...we can relive some of the good times. Now at the other end of the scale we could never aford a EH in those days so hence the reason we now have both a FC & a EH.
Thats our reason for having a FC..but ...I am very suprised how many young FE/FC owners there out there.   Now how good is it that Fes & Fcs have a long term future as there are a lot of classic cars out there with a very uncertain future.
Bye all
Oh! I think this forum has helped towards the interest in Fes & Fcs.......Don't we all agree...

gidday all

i reckon rabbitoh makes a very valid point. i just wonder how many people who are more interesrted in making a quick quid than they are in preserving our favorite model are monitoring sites like ebay etc and seeing the disproportionate [sorry about the big word ::)] relationship between the cars as a whole vs as parts and might be considering purchasing then wrecking otherwise perfectly restorable examples.

A vexing question and one to which i dont have an answer but none the less worth keeping an eye on.

Just my two cents worth.


denis

Morning all.

Some insightful stuff here.

Firstly though, on the FE vs FC thing. My perfect car would have an FE front and interior with FC exterior trim and colour schemes  ;D

Bruce (FC Driver) makes an interesting observation about the interest in these cars from young people. Its somewhat of a follow on from the point Steamman made earlier about the influence on everything the swell of the baby boomers has. You can see it in prices being paid for muscle cars at present (as has been observed elsewhere on the forum)

The FE/FC thing is a bit harder. I think there are a number of forces at play here.

Firstly - and lets not underestimate this - they do look good. There is a balance in the design that is inherently good. They are of the 50s, without being a parody of it (like a 59 Caddy or 58 Olds). They smile, they are friendly cars. A number of the colour schemes, particularly on FCs, are fantastic.

(I would argue they are one of the best looking of all Holdens. The FX is plain, the FJ is old but cute, a great makeover. The FB and EK didn't translate 50s America styling successfully and dynamically they had, by then, fallen behind. The EJ, EHs (HQ?) are the other great looking Holdens. The EJ is, in my view the more interesting of the two.It was modern, much lower than before, reflected the new Bill Mitchell influence over GM design, but it was more flamboyant, the rear treatment, with that hint of 58 Chev, is much less stodgy than the EH. For most people however the EH will always be the one, good looks, great new engine and the same lousy brakes! These also had the best dash ever put in a Holden.HD - wild- I love it, pity the track is so narrow. HR okay, HK, HT , HG undistinguished, HQ - brilliant, the 68 Chev you always wanted. HJ, HX HZ yuck)

Secondly, they are part of us as Australians, we oldies owned or drove them and for youngies their parents and grandparents owned them. We all grew up with them. There are an astonishing number of them still in original family hands. Also, perhaps in a sense, they are a reflection of how we see ourselves. They are simple, honest and robust, they reflect the dignity of the "common man", which is part of our psyche.

Thirdly, there were a lot made, so a lot remain.

Fourthly, they are easy to fix and maintain and mechanical parts, at least, are cheap and plentiful

Finally, the forum. I think is a major factor fanning the latent interest in them. It makes it all accessable and the interest creates demand and the supply of the things referred to is limited, so up go prices.

I guess the solution is to progressively get Rares to make this stuff for us ;D

Cheers
John

John makes some great points there.

The comments about there being a lot of them made and that everyone had one back in the day are crucial, I think.  Let's not forget that in 1959, Holden (and by extension the only vehicle they were then making - the FC) had 50.2% market share.  Stop and think about that for a moment.  For every purchase of a vehicle of any other make (Ford, Chev, Austin, Vauxhall, Morris, Studebaker or whatever), there was an FC Holden bought.  It boggles the mind.

Prior to the FE, Holden couldn't produce enough cars to keep up with demand.  Then during the FB/EK and EJ period, Ford and Chrysler got into local production, and all of a sudden it was a different game, and the market changed.

But 1956-59 was a golden age for Holden.  As John said, the cars were incredibly well designed, modern and attractive (a giant leap forward from the early 40s design of the 48/FJ), better suited to Australian conditions than anything else on the market, and economical, both in terms of purchase price and running costs.

So - almost literally - everyone had one.  And for many people in our movement, their family had a new one when they were a kid, and they had an old one when they first learned to drive, along the lines of Bruce's earlier comments.

cheers
RET

RET....interesting to read about Holden having 50% of the market share back in the day.

I guess it's something us young ones would find hard to appreciate.

Back in the day, ( say 1958 ), Holden had a line up of just one model....the FC !    Today Holden has a line up of 21 models to choose from.  Of course each model has it's variants ( ute, wagon ect ), just as they did back in 58.

Just imagine if todays youth went to buy a car, and were told by Holden..."Sure young fella, come this way...we have THE 2006 Vectra "   THAT's IT !!!!!

Half the problem with today is we are spoilt for choice, therefore, we don't grow attached to our cars as we did back in 58.   If we get bored with our cars, we just change it for something different......but in the 50's there was only 1 model to choose from so you hung onto it, as your only other option was to buy a completely different make.

Imagine that today.........I really love my holden, but I can;t afford the fuel ( like it was in the late 50's ), I need to buy a cheaper running car......BUT...can;t buy a Holden, I'll have to buy a KIA.      These days you tend to stick with your beloved Make but just change the model...say Commodore to a Barina to a Rodeo ect.

So our love and affinity to HOLDEN is and will always be as strong as ever, but there's no longer that love affair with a particular Model.

Also, without dragging this reply on for too long....I must say, there isn;t one old holden that doesn;t look the goods when hotted up.    EVERY model of Holden looks a treat when fitted with mags, lowered, ect ect....can;t sy that about any model of Morris or Studebaker ect ect.

 

interesting topic. I,m early fiftyish first car green fe standard older bro also green fe but special mates cars maroon fc special real sweet paint job another one stinking hot fc ran 16s at calder also another had a three door why did we have fe fcs cause thats all we could afford I think I paid 100 for mine and still had to cut rust out of it
regards mal

I don't know too much about the prices for fe and fc's but i have owned an eh ute for the last 13 years, the middle seven of which in parts and i find the ebayers pay stupid amounts for eh parts. ej parts, the exclusive ones i found to be heaps cheaper. just compare red motor performance parts to grey motor ones. radios for the eh i couldn't justify, clocks, well we all have the same prob.
you will have to forgive my technophobia but i haven't yet worked out all of the neat ways to reply to other posts.  ::), can't even make smilies work. oooh yes i can.

the baby boomer comment, i have the pleasure of maintaining a convertible morris minor which i think everyone born before 1963 (apparently the official baby boomer cut off) says oh a morry i had one just like that, but it had a hard roof, yet i can get complete straight morry 2 and 4 door cars for free. most of them with better bodies and paint.

the horn buttons, my goodness, I'll be puttying up with a dodgy one.

paying too much on ebay, get out to the wreckers, lazy is expensive. advertise on this site.... lots of ways to avoid this.

oops i'm raving send and go back to reading.

stu.

oh yeah. i would like to post some pictures of my present and former rides, some cool, some funny, all old. i've never bought a car that was younger than me, made after 1969. i read that you guys are filling up the internet (how can this be possible)? so if i have to wait i will.

stu.