1956 FE Special at GMH

[Shayne]

I couldn't remember if this one has been posted before...



Courtesy of National Archives.

'Special Holden Sedan outside GMH Factory Melbourne 1956.' is the photo title.

Possibly a fairly early FE.  Driver is wearing a hard hat by the looks which implies she has driven it out of the factory.  I doubt this was here regular job considering her footwear.  FJs in background.  GMH numberplate- were these on issue in Victoria then, or would it have been a 'special issue'?

[Shayne]

[Shayne]

[mcl1959]

The GMH plates were issued during the FJ series but Holden executives all got GMH plates. Earl Daum had GMH 000.

Ken

[Shayne]

Thanks Ken,
Closer inspection reveals number plate isn't GMH anyway...

[Johns]

See how much nicer these cars sit on crossplies (forget the dynamic superiority of radials for the moment), they fill the wheel arches properly and are in proper proportion to the body height, showing the elegance of the design - no I'm not joking, these are pretty cars, they didn't sell so well just because they were made here and had a six cylinder engine. In fact the wheel height is almost precisely half the height of the body from the sill bottom to the highest part of the roof. This relationship is critical to how a car looks.

Even putting on 185/80 radials, as close as they are to the crossply diameter, doesn't look quite right. I can't understand why people put low profile tyres on the 13" rims, it destroys the balance, it actually makes the car look older and more ungainly. That's why a top chop works (within reason), it restores the wheel height to body height balance.

Hot rodders understand this, ever seen a highboy on low profile 13s? Mind you, I don't understand why people put huge wheels on early cars only to have two thirds of them up under the guards, either.

I expect everyone will agree with this

Cheers
John

[Ed]

I'll bite...

I think stock height and crossplies look LAME and you are overthinking this way too much John. 

Cheers

Ed

[DN2168]

Yes John the tyre diameter to body ratio is critical as seen here 



Actually I like the 13" wheels on FE's & FC's, but like you they don't suit a set of 17" wheels.

Dean.

[Johns]

They may look "lame" now Ed, but they have to be viewed in context, they were low cost family cars, they had 70 horsepower and they're 50+ years old.

I'm talking about the integrity of the original design, it generally takes a pretty good amateur to improve on the work of a professional. That is, of course, excluding the Ssangyong Stavic, which almost anyone could have done better

Cheers
John

[Ed]

They may look "lame" now Ed, but they have to be viewed in context, they were low cost family cars, they had 70 horsepower and they're 50+ years old.

I'm talking about the integrity of the original design, it generally takes a pretty good amateur to improve on the work of a professional. That is, of course, excluding the Ssangyong Stavic, which almost anyone could have done better

Cheers
John

True, the original design is a good one, and I reckon all of us here would agree.. it is after all a FE FC forum.

Improvements however are a totally different thing... it's all about design, lines and as you mentioned proportion... it's pretty subjective though, what one person likes is what another loathes...

Interestingly when I modded the lights on the wagon I made sure the headlight peak would sit in exactly the same spot as the standard chrome peak.. why??  the proportion was OK to begin with.

so... In theory if a late model wheel/tyre combo matches the original dimensions, the car should look OK.. however if you go overboard on the wheel to tyre proportion, it will look crap despite having the correct overall dimension.

so it's all a question of taste???

Cheers

Ed


Cheers

Ed

[FC427]

And a question of how big do you want your disc rotors ......FC427......

[pedro]

See how much nicer these cars sit on crossplies (forget the dynamic superiority of radials for the moment), they fill the wheel arches properly and are in proper proportion to the body height, showing the elegance of the design - no I'm not joking, these are pretty cars, they didn't sell so well just because they were made here and had a six cylinder engine. In fact the wheel height is almost precisely half the height of the body from the sill bottom to the highest part of the roof. This relationship is critical to how a car looks.

Even putting on 185/80 radials, as close as they are to the crossply diameter, doesn't look quite right. I can't understand why people put low profile tyres on the 13" rims, it destroys the balance, it actually makes the car look older and more ungainly. That's why a top chop works (within reason), it restores the wheel height to body height balance.

Easy to fix just run 14's with radials, takes the wheel size back to about standard and puts the gearing back where it should be.
                                  Pedro F4+

[mcl1959]

John, what gives you the impression they didn't sell well?  They were a runaway success finally achieving just over 50% of the market share before the credit squeeze of 1961. The 6 cylinder engine was seen as a big advantage over the 4 cylinder English cars on offer, whilst the V8 American cars were far too expensive for the average Joe.  The Zephyr was a real competitor but its higher price lost out in most sales.
And as far as its Australian heritage was concerned - people were more inclined to buy an Australian or a British car because they were proud of their country or (if they were of British extraction) their heritage.
Nowadays people don't care about these things and see Australian cars as inferior to European or even Japanese cars which is very sad. I would rather drive a Ford than a euro or Jap car - not because they are not good cars, but because I am proud of our manufacturing ability here in Australia and I will support it no matter what anybody says.

Ken

[RET]

Ken,

I think you've misinterpreted what John said.

No I'm not joking, these are pretty cars, they didn't sell so well just because they were made here and had a six cylinder engine.

i.e. it's not just because they were made here and had a six cylinder engine that they sold so well; they're also pretty cars.

cheers
RET

[leon]

I agree with John.
Regards.
Leon.