Owning an EH Holden has been a priority of mine for as long as I can remember. I have come close on many occasions with either originals or hotties, but it was not until late 1999 that the timing and circumstances were right. I found the car in Meekatharra (approx 733 km NNE of Perth) of all places and after 5 months of discussion with the owner and a trip to Busselton (approx 250 km SSW of Perth) to inspect the car, I parted with some cash and drove it home.
The car had one visible sign of rust and the panels are very straight albeit with the use of some ½ door skins. Mobility is provided by 13 x 7 Dragway 5 spoke rims, shod with Yokohama 215/50 rubber at the front and 235/50 at the rear. Lowered front springs have the car sitting closer to the ground by 4 inches from when Mr Holden created it. I would really like to put some 15 or 16 inch Billet or Boyd's rims while maintaining the width, but boy, are we talking some big $$

The 179 has long been replaced with a 186 sports motor bored to 60 thou and tricked to be a mild performance motor. The ULP and air are mixed through triple SU carburettors and the nasty gases are transported clear via a custom 2" exhaust, that combined with the turbo muffler provides an agreeable sound to the ear.

The interior, including the boot, has been totally refurbished and in the process the original bench has been replaced by bucket seats from a Suzuki Sierra. The driver is kept informed with what is happening under the hood via VDO's Cockpit Royale white faced gauges and 'monster tacho' that are housed on the dash.

The car had a dark window tint that was suffering from age and a poor quality application. The tint even extended to the windscreen, which made driving the car literally a pain in the neck. This justified the removal of all tints and the clear look has definitely enhanced the appearance of the car. Removing the tint has uncovered watermarks and some over spray on the windows, which are proving rather difficult to remove. The original windscreen, which was suffering from 34 years of weather, has since been replaced.

The previous owner fitted an after market air conditioner (the car did live in Meekatharra), therefore adding extra holes in the firewall in addition to repositioning the alternator and battery to the passengers side of the engine bay. The AC has since been disconnected; the battery's been relocated to the boot and a new alternator together with a radiator has been added.

After a very interesting, if not scary drive up route 10 and highway 1, I decided that the priority was to work on fixing up the handling of the car. The guys at WA Suspension were enlisted to fix up the ride. First to go were the air shocks in the rear and the front shocks were thrown straight in the bin. The decision to spend a few extra dollars to put Konis all round has proved the correct one.

The arse end has since been 'stiffened' with reset springs and an extra leaf.
The car still had the original front end and I had been toying with the idea of going the HR route, but after some good advice and a few dollars I have retained the EH front end.

As a result of this decision the steering was next on the agenda. To say that it was sloppy was an understatement, (steering wheel had a ¼ turn of play) it was bordering on dangerous. Closer inspection discovered that some 'butcher' had spot-welded the pinion arm in a backyard attempt to permanently correct the problem. This was repaired and all bushes replaced with polyurethane ones. The old girl now drives like a dream and handles like a sports car, albeit a 38 year old one.

Having made the decision to have braking power of the early 1960's, it was obvious that these were next. The car had this habit of the brakes locking on after driving for a while. Some people have trouble stopping I had trouble moving! My mate Neil got the call to rectify the problem and now she stops when I want her to.
Next it was time to waste some money under the bonnet. Earls braided hoses were thrown on anything that didn't move.

Sound was added via an Alpine CD player and a complimentary speaker arrangement that included splits in the front. Sound quality is enhanced via a 5 channel amp (with all the fruit) while the spare wheel has been discarded and a 400 watt sub woofer now resides in that space.

Being a keen Melbourne supporter and designer of the supporters Club's W.A. custom licence plates, I dressed the car with 64MFC. I consider this the piece de resistance as not only was this the year the car was manufactured (December) and the year of my birth, but this was also the year that Melbourne won their last VFL / AFL premiership.

After driving the car for the first 5 months I had developed a patented technique of shifting from 2nd to 3rd with the inherited Aussie 4 speed gearbox. The occasional shift into no mans land after being in reverse and the fact that the box is leaking more oil than it should has dictated that it be replaced.

Some block in greasy overalls proposed that due to the low diff ratio (1:2.78), I should install an All Aussie one tonner gearbox. Apparently this will give me some grunt off the lights while still maintaining good highway cruising.
From a distance it looks as though the car has a decent paint job in acrylic metallic blue with ivory roof. The compliance plate indicates that the car rolled of the production line dressed in Dulon - Boonah Beige. The small number of receipts that came with the car suggests that the current paint job was done in late 1991. Unfortunately it looks like a backyard job and I have therefore decided to do a full exterior repaint and add some extras such as my NASCO external mirrors, paint protection plates, hood and fender ornaments.

Early 2002 saw the engine pulled out and all gaskets plus anything showing signs of age and wear being replaced. Whilst the engine was out it seemed like the ideal time to detail the engine bay by filling those unwanted AC holes and anything else and respraying it. The extractors got the once over with powder coating.