FE-FC Holden Discussion Forum

Hi all,

Is there any such thing as an FC 3 door "wagonette"? If there is, Shannons allegedly have one in their Melbourne auction next Monday.

regards

John ???

yes there is such thing.

i dont know if a wagonette is the same as a vanette, but they are real!

they retain the look of a van, but the have a passenger side rear door. do a search on this forum and im sure somethign will come up

This is the one advertised
(http://www.autotrader.com.au/Photos/5712283.jpg)

G'day,

So do they have 2 doors on the left side and 1 on the right? Does anyone know anything about this 1?

Thanks Leigh

yep thats right, it has 2 passenger doors and one drivers door

i believe the passenger rear door is the same as a wagon door? but i may be wrong....

Does the drivers side look like a wagon or a van without that door? Is there still windows on the drivers side at the rear?

Generally, they have a sliding window on the driver's side and wagon rear glass both sides.  They are rare, but still a few of them around.  They started life as panel vans, and were coach-built with a single rear door fitted, most often by Baileys of Melbourne, although there may have been others.  A common use for these seems to have been for site ambulances (ie RAAF bases) or small country towns.

This thread ($2) has a pic and more info, and there's another one shown in this thread ($2), which also has a pic taken from the other side:

(http://tinyurl.com/922by)

cheers
RET

Thanks RET.

Another day - more knowledge!

John   :D

There are also 2 door versions with a split front seat that tips forward on the passenger side.

Having owned 3 of them now (1 FE and 2 FC's) I have done a bit of research on them and briefly is as follows;
According to Baileys original advertising, there were 3 levels although variations on the levels could be ordered according to each customers needs.
Level 1.  wagon side windows and special sliding rear side windows added.   Features such as rear headlining, folding front seats, split front seats and trimmed rears were common.

Level 2. As above with the wagon rear seat added with trim beside the rear seat.  Features as in 1 were also available.

Level 3. The "Estate" car which had features of 1 & 2 as well as the 3rd door, which was a wagon door.  Headlining and rear trim nearly always supplied but other features included 2 tone exterior paint including spats with 2 tone paint on the spats and behind the spats as well.
My FE had a sunvisor as well.

Not many GMH parts were used for the vehicle though.  In my FE the headling was stuck on trim board & screwed to the roor rails, the 3rd door trim was screwed to the door, the rear seat trim was all handmade including the folding seat mechanisms & locks, the 3rd door retaining spring was welded to the pillar, the door hinges were added to the pillar by cutting a hole in the inside and then inserting a block for the bolts to thread into. A cover plate was then screwed over the hole.  The rubber retaining channels were not there, once again bits of metal were screwed to the body to retain the door rubber.  The rear compartment was trimmed in that old 1950's rubber linoleum rather than the correct trim.

I used to get a lot of people telling me how this was right & that wasn't right but the car was restored absolutely faithfully to the original way that it was built.

Why you ask were they built?   The finished 3 door van was still cheaper than a wagon.  FACT!

Ken


Not many GMH parts were used to complete the vehicle

Sold for $2600 (+$500 auction fee)

Started at $2000 with three bidders raising at $100.
Did not recognise the purchaser although hard to tell from the back of his head!

Very busy at Shannons, around 500+ people.

Trevor_B