FE-FC Holden Discussion Forum

just picked up a 59 fc ute that i have been chasing for 8 years its been sitting in a shed has a 149 red in it tasman mags was originally a airforce car still has the  flag signals on the dash and is airforce green here are the numbers fc/2106-4131m  trim s4770 paint 2538030 if some one can tell me what they stand for that would be great the car is in fantastic nick no rust in floor or sill or sub very straight car will post pic soon
cheers rat

Great find - very rare car.  The only one I have on record.
Trim is Cordon Brown, Paint is actually called "Dark Blue Grey"
which is a weird name for paint.  S4 stands for Air Force Build specification.
Love to see a pic of the dash with the flag signals.
Can you find the chassis number?

Regards  Ken

yer paint is a blue green chassis fc 30094m and it has got brown trim

Had a feeling Ken might be interested in this. I'm also looking forward to some pictures  ;)

ok got the ute to run today had to drain all of the old fuel clean the fuel pump take out the plugs put a little  oil in put the plugs back in turned it over by hand a few times tipped some fuel in the carb hit the key and away it went not bad for a car that has sat for 8 years has no brakes so replaced the brake cylinder bleed the brakes so now it runs and stops put some trany fluid in throw the trade plate on and away she went took it for a1/2 hour drive did not miss a beat the old girl it drives great will post pics when i work out how

Gaz RaT Man,
                         Will it be at the fridge swap next sunday morning????  Ha sit got any rust?  drop by in the black truck and fill me in son............

                                                                 TAYZ

only bit of rust is in the drivers door and that it going to do it up as oldskool how much did you lower yours

Lots and its going lower in the rear end

Sounds like a very special ute you've got there!

I love modded cars, but you sure you want to hot up this one?

pics of the air force items in it would be cool

Cheers

Ed

I agree with Ed, RAT.

Ken has 3000 id plates on his data base and, until your car, no Air Force utes.

If you really want a modified ute send me a pm. It would be a shame to rod this one ;)

Cheers
John

ken the guy before me has aready put a 149 red with auto in and a set of tazmans on it all i am going to do is drop it a little and drive it if i can chase up the old motor out of it i will put it back to a stocky

ok guys what do you think the old girl would be worth might have to sell her instead of hotting it up which would be a bummer as it has the best body i have seen thats why i wanted her would be a easy resto but ken and ed have got me thinking ::)

I think I'd surprise a few here on the forum by saying "I agree" this one may be better left with the restoring type , Wanna sell it to me  ;D A good body is always a good start for channeling and chopping

nah, now that final objective has left the country you can steal its paint job.
I cant bring myself to say dont modify, but if you do modify, use 40's-50's war planes for inspiration with stuff like paint and upholstery, i would anyway.

Here are a few photos of the FC ute...
(http://users.bigpond.net.au/youngr55/FC_ute.JPG)
(http://users.bigpond.net.au/youngr55/FC_ute_back.JPG)
(http://users.bigpond.net.au/youngr55/FC_ute_dash.JPG)
(http://users.bigpond.net.au/youngr55/FC_ute_motor.JPG)

this thing needs to be restored..... 8)

I think that this is your ute, so your choice... But why not drive it as it is and enjoy. Changing engines and other bits won't mean that it can't be restored if you choose to do it down the track.

I have seen wwII planes rebuilt from scratch and then obtain an ID plate from a wreck somewhere else to be claimed as the real deal ??? ??? Not really sure how that works, but to have the real thing WOW.

Cheers
Jason.

Thats awesome ,I think you just need to drop it as low as possible exactly the way it is ,wicked

I agree with van6, yr choice.  Would look great lowered about 5 inches, wouldnt ride real flash but cant have the best of both worlds!!   i was wondering, just because the air force had it why does that make it so rare?  I suppose there arnt many around but would that make it any more expensive to buy?  My mate has a XP wagon yellow with white roof and numbers stamped above every wheel arch,(apparently an old airport vehicle, it even has it stamped on the id plate) sorted that out pretty quick, rubbed it back, took out the springs, threw out the old motor and auto!! anyhow RAT real nice old ute and hope to see it crusin about town at what choice you decide to go with, cheers

                                                           TAYZ

harko thats the no plate i have on the coop wikd1 now that sits low

Hey Tayz I'm in the Air Force and the guys here would love that ute... yellow sticker looks like signaling advice for when the Air traffic controllers loose radio contact with vehicles on the air field..
Looks like she's still in good nick. I wonder how much you would sell her for?

at this time i am going to drop the back down to make it level and thats it just drive the old rocket dont know what she would be worth to sell ::) as much as the next person wonts to pay but not at this stage having to much fun with her

Is it now for sale in this weeks Melbourne trading post???

no its not got it before it went in the trading post ;D

It's so super-rare not because it was owned by the Air Force so much as for the fact that it was a GMH factory built vehicle for the Air Force.  That's what the "S" trim code on the ID plate signifies (although it should be S2 for Air Force, not S4, which was PMG).

If you have a look at this page ($2), you can see a number of the factory-built vehicles, that were done for the big customers.  For some of these the "specialness" was just a particular colour not available to other customers, but for others (like the Army) there were features and fittings that appeared on no other vehicle, like painted hub-caps, log-book pocket in the kickboard and the like.  An original factory built army FJ ute even has a drip-rail over the front windscreen!

Hope that's some help.

cheers
RET

just had a look and it is s4 so what does that mean

S4 is the trim code for PMG (Post Office Red), but the paint number you have is different.  The air force trim code is S2 for a colour called "RAAF Blue Grey" with a BALM Paint number of 7026.  Yours is 8030, which might be a different colour entirely, or a different code for a paint with the same formula but different name.  The BALM paint code system is a bit of a dog's breakfast.

The photos you've posted certainly look like a colour that might be called RAAF Blue Grey.

The Guru might be able to shed more light on this...

cheers
RET

There is a conflict with some early information. Basically these vehicles are so rare that getting the right info is quite difficult  These are vehicles I have real data for.

S1 is army - deep bronze green 253-5296
S2 no car seen
S3 is dept of supply - smoky red 253-4434
S4 is RAAF - dark blue grey 253-8030
S5 no car seen
S6 no car seen
S7 is PMG - fawn 253-5651
S8 is PMG - post office red 253-7591 & 253-9751
S9 is dept of civil aviation - golden yellow 253-5140
S10 no car seen
S11 is yellow cabs - yellow cabs yellow 253-9775

There is also confusion where an S number also appears in the body number line which is different to the paint colour number.  I don't really understand this number yet

Ken

how can i find out what other airforce extras it would have . took the girl for a drive to geelong today and it went like a dream

 ;)hey rat,how about posting some pics of your other rides,ive heard they are pretty awesome,sorry to hijack this thread!!!............jamie ;)

Cool car Rat.
Thanks for sharing the pics and details.
Just goes to show, when you think you've seen all, something like this turns up.
Regards
Alex

Factory extras can be identified from any numbers on the ID plate alongside the RPO label (which stands for Regular Production Option).  These included all sorts of things: door pulls, fire extinguisher, oil filter, glazed tailgate (on van) - there's quite a list of things.

cheers
RET

what do you guys think should i put w/ walls on it or leave it like it is

Whitewalls and caps, yes.... ww's and Tasman's, NO!

Wide WWs and caps for a 50's look.
Narrow WWs and Tasmans for a 60's look.
Regards
Alex

ok guys had a think about it over the weekend and i am going to sell the ute if any one is interested pm me as its to good of a car to do what i had planed with it thought i would give you guys first go

Checked this ute out Sunday, great pick up I must say.  RAT what gearbox tunnel is in it to suit the trimatic?

                                                                TAYZ

just standard as it has a 149 red with them there are no mods just drops staight in same as a 149 grey in the early eh