Original 1956 FE Holden Special Sedan

[sgallus]

Hi All,
I am not a usual member of the Forum but I thought some of you may be interested. I am from Pickles Auctions in Sunshine and we have an FE going up for public auction on Tuesday 20th Jan at 2pm. I dont know any history but seems to be in fairly original condition, we have tried to get it running but it needs a new fuel pump and the Brakes and Clutch need work. If you require any further details, please feel free to email me at stewart.gallus@pickles.com.au or check out the website link. http://www.pickles.com.au/cars/vehicle/C1957-Holden-FE-Special-Sedan-6-Seats/itemid-1-980002580/lotid-980006666

Body: FE - 225-17115M
Trim: 166-718
Paint: 253-7455

Cheers

[Glenn 'Stinky' Stankevicius]

Thanks Stewart, I just popped it in the right section for you.

[ridgey_didge]

A single colour car in Cuban Beige - nice.

How common is that paint scheme Ken?  Rabbitoh's wagon is this I think - are there any others?

David

[sgallus]

Apologies Guys, the more homework I do the more info I find....According to the Eng # L509579, it is a Oct 1958 build

[ridgey_didge]

Then it can't be the original engine, because by Oct 58 it would be an FC, which it clearly isn't.  My understanding is that the record keepers suggest that Cuban Beige was used mostly on the 58 build cars, but October is way too late.  When Ken gets on line he may be able to confirm it as likely to be a 58 build with a replacement engine.

Cheers,
David

[zulu]

The engine # in our FE 229 (same colours as your sedan David) is L442782 & if you run all the numbers through the ID Plate grinder ours was built April 1958

What is your engine # David? The car to be auctioned engine # is L509579, so thats  :P
66,797 cars? after ours & ours was the 51,282nd FE assembled in Sydney

Gary, ain't numbers fun !

[RET]

From the photos you can ascertain that it definitely isn't a 1956 vehicle. The chassis number will definitively tell you, but they can be hard to find. It will either be in tiny numbers above the battery, or 3/4" digits on the flat section of the skirt on the driver's side. (If the latter you can't miss it.)

The first digit is the year the car was made: 6=1956, 7=57, 8=58.

If you can find it, can you post it?

cheers
RET

[crashbox]

g'day ,

has anyone seen this car in the flesh??? if so wots it like? looks like a great car to restore :)

mr crashbox ;)

[mcl1959]

The chassis number is 8-47524 M which by my program makes it 1st week of March 1958

I have records of the following
4 x 225
2 x 2104
8 x 2106
2 x 215
2 x 219
2 x 229

Of the above that I have chassis numbers for, they are all 1958 build, so this would indicate the colour as probably only offered in 1958

Ken

[mcl1959]

Brett f has seen the car and says that it is pretty well rust free from what he could see but a lot of the usual grime and crud underneath making thorough inspection difficult without a hoist.

Ken

[ridgey_didge]

Mine does not have the original engine in it and I have no record of what the number was, but its a 58 car tho from the chassis #.

David

[Rabbitoh]

A single colour car in Cuban Beige - nice.

How common is that paint scheme Ken?  Rabbitoh's wagon is this I think - are there any others?

David

That car is the fair dinkum, long lost brother to my wagon- If only I had the room to store it :'(

[Rabbitoh]

anyone know how much it went for?

[Johns]

$5,250 I think, plus buyers premium of around $300.

Cheers
John

[graham_fuller]

Did you buy it John?
Just kidding.
Cheers,
Graham

[leon]

 G Day Graham.
I recently heard Alfio has bought another  FE?
Regards.
Leon.

[ridgey_didge]

Ken,

The brown/beige sedan with Qld reg on ebay at the moment says it is a 1956 car.  It's plate number is FE225 13887 A.  Does this number match with it being a 56 build?  If so, then it differs from what you have in records for these colours that you detail earlier in this topic.

It also has a brown dash rather than the black for 58 cars.  The back window has a black surround.

What do you reckon?

David

[RET]

Having been resprayed/restored, it's not conclusive, but the photos show none of the usual 56 model indicators.

However, it is interesting that the coil is mounted on the firewall. The early FEs were the first to have the coil mounted on the sideplate, but the bracket wasn't really strong enough, and it was not uncommon for them to break. Later cars have a stiffer bracket.

He does say that it's not the original engine, and the # is not reported. Could be 48 or FJ, which doesn't have the bracket on the sideplate in the first place.

[Johns]

Its very hard to tell, however its looks as though it might have a chrome column bracket and there is no rear window mold, which could indicate it had the narrow one. What is telling is that the vinyl on the armrest is the cream colour rather than the more durable darker colour the 57s and later have. It looks to have Lucas electrics as well.

The number plates look to be original and are either late 56 or very early 57. On balance, I'd say it is probably a late 56 build, assembled either late 56 or very early 57

Cheers
John