Rodder's Day 2008 - Tucson/Pictures

[HOTRODPAINT]

If you look at the photo of the front of the T-bucket and
touring car, side by side...you can see the front of the Ute.

[johnboy]

Oh yeah! So ya can......
The back end of that ute is most certainly Holden, unmistakable, but that grille is Chevrolet......
No question of that either.
So is it a Holden back end moulded into a Chev car, or Chev grille moulded into a Holden ute?
Looking at the over-all lines I'd go for Holden back end and Chevy car body.
The FJ/FX front gaurds don't come so far back into the doors as the Chevy ones do.
Interesting.......
Thanks for that.

[HOTRODPAINT]

Would the Chevy grill fit a Holden? I thought the Holden was a GM product too. I also thought of an Olds grill, but I'm not sure of the differences.

[johnboy]

Would the Chevy grill fit a Holden? I thought the Holden was a GM product too. I also thought of an Olds grill, but I'm not sure of the differences.

Yep, Holden is G M. But the FJ and FX front guards finish at the A post.
Roughly '48 to about '54 for the FX and FJ, Chevrolets from around the same era, that is late 40's, the guards finished in the middle of the front doors, as those ones do.
The window in the back of the cab shouts "Holden!" at me too......but from there on forward........nah.

[HOTRODPAINT]

I'll assume that "guards" is your term for fenders. If that is true, then it looks like the door portion of the "guards" is a bolt-on. Maybe they opted to use an american front body, with the door parts added???

[johnboy]

I had a crack at replying to you yesterday, but the stupid pooter wouldn't let me....just kept telling me "Web-site unavailable"........we're on dial-up, and speeds are sssslllllooooowwww.......30.6Kbps.
Do a search on CHR for "Holden", it should show the "Efijy" car that was posted here a few years back, that'll give you an idea of what an FJ Holden looked like.

[HOTRODPAINT]

I remember those drawings! Beautiful.

[johnboy]

Yep, she's a bobby dazzler alright, but do you see what I mean about the gua......Oops!, sorry, fenders not continuing into the door?
Whereas the Chev fenders did.

[HOTRODPAINT]

I saw that. There looks to be a seam around the fender portion, like it's a bolt-on. That way they would not have made a different door for each.

Were the "Utes" marketed anywhere else, besides Australia or New Zealand?

[johnboy]

Not as far as I'm aware.......but then, what would I know?

I'm not really "into" Holdens, I'm pretty sure some of the passenger cars made it into the States in various guises, as did some of the Ausbloodytralian Fords.......badged as Taurus and Tempest.

[Timberline]

Great pictures.

The Buick is absolutely beautiful !!

[johnboy]

Not as far as I'm aware.......but then, what would I know?

I'm not really "into" Holdens, I'm pretty sure some of the passenger cars made it into the States in various guises, as did some of the Ausbloodytralian Fords.......badged as Taurus and Tempest.

Problem solved!!
I was at a boozy party last night, held to celebrate the end of the Drag Racing season. As was to be expected, there were many Petrol-heads of varying ages and persuasions there.
So......I posed the question of the Chevrolet cab with the Holden tray.
Yep, they were built alright, they're a Fisher bodied Chevrolet, built by G.M. in Ausbloodytralia just after WW II, for the American market, with a widened FX Holden ute body on the back end.
Nobody was too sure how many were built, but the general concensus was less then 2,000.
So there ya go!
(Stands, bowing modestly, waving his hat, to thunderous applause.)

[kiwirodder]

Not quite right Johnboy they were built for the local market in australia by G.M holden Australia The cab and chassis came from USA and the backs were made locally they were bigger than the holden body's,

[HOTRODPAINT]

Thanks guys.

I am sure that many others are also curious about these car/trucks. They are probably unknown to casual enthusiaists here, but the internet is making the world a smaller place.

Our Chevy El Caminos, GMC Sprint, and Ford Rancheros have always been highly prized, and if the utes had been marketed here, I'm sure they would have been, also.

[johnboy]

Not quite right Johnboy they were built for the local market in australia by G.M holden Australia The cab and chassis came from USA and the backs were made locally they were bigger than the holden body's,

Good on ya Ray, O font of all knowledge, it's just as well someone knows what they're talking about, I would've put everyone crook!