Station sedan engine bay colours are the same as sedan and all other models to my knowledge.  In 1956 the FE started out with body colour firewall and semi gloss black skirts.  Some time in 1957 (maybe around the time the chassis number shifted from the battery side to the drivers side), the factory changed to painting the firewall and skirts all body colour.  So the colour of your car depends on the year of your car - if you let me know the ID plate details and chassis number of your car, I will be able to tell you exactly when your car was made.

Ken

You can use any hump really, but the best one to use is a EK auto.  It fits like factory for a really professional looking job.
You will have to use the M20 shifter as the linkages do different things to what the column linkages do.

Ken

Coolaride,  here are your answers
Thornton Industries (Autolux brand)- 192 Annerley Rd Dutton Park QLD
FE - Detroit
FC - Crestline & Florida

Tilli Products - established in Adelaide, but the catalogue I have is from the Vic agent at 400 Victoria St North Melbourne Victoria
FE - Detroit, Victoria Single line & Victoria Twin line
FC - Styletone, Custom Flash, Crestline & Florida.
FC Standard - Dart Look & Styletone Capri

I have catalogues for both these companies showing pictures of all the cars and have managed to photograph all variants except Styletone Capri which I have never seen.

Interestingly the Styletone in original form includes a Nasco ornamental jewel as part of the kit.  I have only seen one car with the jewel in the spot where the catalogue indicates & I have a photo of this car as well.

Tilli also made weather shields, mesh sunvisors, spats, heaters & demisters, mudflaps, wagon dust deflectors, wheel trims, white walls & venetians.

Hope this helps - contact me if you want copies of some of the data.     ken@vic.fefcholden.com.au

Regards   Ken

A further comment to Richards is that I have a mudguard as well with no blinker holes AND no holes for the guard stripe either.  So this guard cannot be off a standard model FE.  I think as GMH went into the 60's still making new guards for FE & FC as spare parts, they decided to eliminate all holes so they could be ordered as one part and then fitted to either an FE or an FC as required.  The guard I have was fitted to a ute, but there is some indication that it was a not the original guard on the car.   If your guard has the guard stripe holes - it is as Richard suggests, if not - then it is probably a replacement mudguard from the 60's

Ken

Howie,  one thing you may need to look out for is the reason why the shifter was moved in the first place.  It is possible that the shift tube inside the column is broken - common FC fault and reasonably easy to fix.  But it would be very confusing trying to get your gears to work after putting all the bits back and wondering why it wont work.

Ken

Denis,  M20 is the way to go since the shifter is remote to the box, this allows you to lengthen the arms to wherever you want to put the shifter.  Hump mods will be required


Ken

Digger, change over is not really neccessary. Usually the cost of resending the change over is more than what it is worth.
I will have these available at Ballarat swap.
Regards  Ken

Tony, your car sounds very interesting if it has carpets both front and rear - possibly done as a special from the factory for one reason or another.
Possibly a managers car ordered as a special down the assembly line.
Does the description of the carpet line up with what you have in your car?

Ken

Tony,  the EJ parts book section 15.286 "MAT ASSEMBLY, CARPET-Front floor" covers both rubber mats and carpets for models up to EJ. for FE & FC the part number is 7409577 for felt backed rubber mat and 7409578 for plain rubber mat.
However go back to the FE (1956) parts book and you find that only FE 215 & 217 were fitted with the felt backed rubber mat and there were 4 coloured rubber mats for FE 225 front. (red, blue 2 greens) No front carpets are listed for FE.
Section 15.306 lists both carpets and a mat for the rear floor, FE 217 has a rubber mat and FE 215 & 225 has 4 different coloured rear carpets (red, blue 2 greens) - these were Westminster design and quite distinctive - looks a bit like corduroy.
Move forward to the 1957 FE parts book which includes the wagons, vans & utes and now the rear mat has been included as a part which indicates that they became available some time in 1957 before the wagon, van & ute introduction.
Also the colour range is increased to 8 (red, blue, turq, 2 greens, brown, grey & black).
Interestingly the rear carpet does not have a close off time which indicates that it was possibly available if specified when ordering from the factory right through until the FC.

Denis,  the answer to your question depends on you.
Firstly - build the car you want to drive, not what you think other people think you should drive.
Second what are your financial reserves like ?
rebuilding the grey will cost up to a k to do.  This is fine if you want to continue to drive essentially a stock car.  The red would be a cheaper option if you bolt it up to the grey using the original front end - although I would recommend you use a d/b front end from a HR.  If you plan to fit a 4 speed or auto, then things will start to get costly and the grey will be the cheaper option.
Third what are your long term plans for the car ?  A red motor bolted up to the original grey box can always be undone later as no body mods need to be done to the car. The original radiator can be used for the red as long as it is in good nick.
Resale value in the future is not really affected if you go either way, The really big money is only gotten for extreme examples of both stock or modified cars.

Hope this helps    Ken

I have been involved in a number of shows as a judge and you are correct in assuming that the judges are not really well versed in what is a correct part or not.  This is left to scrutineering to decide or in the case of very close points between 2 cars - some "experts" may be called upon.
Essentially judges look for cleanliness, quality and detail.
Judges have to put aside the fact that they may like blue cars better than red cars, or modifieds rather than stockies in order to get an unbiased perception.  They must also learn to ignore fancy displays, fences, mirrors and other smoke signals which are set up by the owner to impress the viewing public.  These make no impression on a good judge.
If you want to score well, have quality work done, ignore no detail when reassembling and above all when the car is presented, make sure that EVERYTHING is clean.  All I have to see is some oil marks on an engine, or dirt in the carpets and points are deducted.

Hope this helps      Ken

I used a product called "Nitto Seal" purchased from a GMH dealer in Victoria.  This is the same compound as they fitted in the 50's and 60's only in a new tin with a new name.  Also perfect for covering the trim clips which protrude into the engine bay from the cabin to get that original "factory" look.

hope this helps    Ken

I assume the face of the radio u have fits into the panel space below the speaker grille,  does the radio have a black plastic face with a small "air chief" badge at the top? If so it is genuine FE.  If it has a chrome face with either HMV or Astor words it is aftermarket to suit FE and FC

Regards  Ken

Guys,   sorry to disapoint, but the 1956 FE special and standard models both had carpet in the rear seat area, as did the FX & FJ. The carpet was superceded in 1957 by rubber mats.

Digger,  I have 2 speed wiper motors to suit FE to EK, they are based on a EK single speed wiper motor which has been stripped and rebuilt electrically.   Price is $65 plus freight.
email me at ken@vic.fefcholden.org.au

Regards     Ken

Jason,  There were approximately 4900 FE vans made, so the one you have details of is quite a late one.  I have details of 12 vans still on the road as well as knowing of at least 8 more which I don't have data on.  The earliest one I have is no 81 registered 12/6/57, the latest is no 4784 registered in April 1958.

Regards     Ken

Glenn,  do you have a workshop manual ?  The installation of the headlining is described in detail including the manufacture of special tools needed for the job.  I have made the tools as described and found that they work fine.  If you don't have a manual, I can get one for you.

Ken