Not really a French car question but does anyone know the answer or where to look for the answer to the question : what was the best selling car by make and model in Australia in 1964 ?
Best selling car make and model 1964 ?
- Thread starter dayofthejackal
- Start date
Have to be the EH in it's many body styles?
See
bestsellingcarsblog.com
Australia 1960-1968: Ford unveils Falcon to challenge Holden
1960 Holden and Ford Falcon After allowing Holden to be the only ‘true’ Australian car for 12 long years, Ford launched the Falcon in November 1960 and proposed an Australian-built alte…
bestsellingcarsblog.com
EH all the way a 179 with a 3 speed column shift, bench seats, the whole family of 6 were comfortable for the long road trips.
A quick Google search shows these details. Take it as you may. As said, a quick search.
The link at the bottom of the image has more detals.
The second link, which you may have to watch via Youtube, shows an image of all Wheels C.O.Y.
Wheels Car of The Year images
The link at the bottom of the image has more detals.
The second link, which you may have to watch via Youtube, shows an image of all Wheels C.O.Y.
Wheels Car of The Year images
Last edited:
As per Seasink's attachment, the EH outsold its nearest rival by 3 to 1.
Interestingly if you go back a few years, the biggest selling car In Australia from 1948 to 1950 was the Austin A40. The 48-215 (FX) Holden didn't unsurp the Austin from the top spot, until 1951.
Interestingly if you go back a few years, the biggest selling car In Australia from 1948 to 1950 was the Austin A40. The 48-215 (FX) Holden didn't unsurp the Austin from the top spot, until 1951.
My father bought a new Austin A40 in 1951 because it had the shortest wait time of any car he could afford.
Roger
Roger
EH death trap! Had one after my Cooper S got nicked. EH handles like a shopping trolley and brakes like a kids billy cart. Glad when it too got nicked.
Never figured out why it was such a sales success
Never figured out why it was such a sales success
EH had the Big Block 179 so much more go than the 149EH death trap! Had one after my Cooper S got nicked. EH handles like a shopping trolley and brakes like a kids billy cart. Glad when it too got nicked.
Never figured out why it was such a sales success
I think some of you are being a little harsh on the poor old EH.
The 179 S4 EH "specials" entered in the 1963 Armstrong 500 were only mildly modified compared to a stock EH.
Same 115 bhp 179, same 3 on the tree, no synchro on 1st gear transmission, slightly lower diff ratio, same drum brakes but with a booster, slightly bigger fuel tank, standard width wheels, standard springs. Hardly a GTHO.
Power? The Valiants had 30 more bhp, the V8 Studebakers, which were the fastest cars down Conrod Straight, had nearly 100 bhp more.
Holden had no real race history, and the brand new EH was a significantly changed vehicle from the previous EJ.
Yet one came 2nd outright, one lap behind a works backed GT Cortina, a model of car with an extensive factory backed race history worldwide.
The 2nd place Holden had been hit up the clacker late in the race, and had a lengthy pit stop for repairs, without that it would most likely have won the race.
There were cars in the race with 4W disc brakes that ran 10 laps behind the drum brake Holden.
No the EH wasn't the best at anything, but it was good enough at everything to make a very competitive, production race car at the time.
It's competition history in Appendix J, where significant modifications were permitted, was quite formidable.
I've driven several EH Holdens over the years, from stocko 149s, to ones with Chev V8s fitted, and everything in between.
None of them were particularly horrible to drive, but some certainly felt "much more together" than others.
Having said that, all of them were a minimum of 18 years old when I drove them, and a lot can happen to a car over that amount of time.
The 179 S4 EH "specials" entered in the 1963 Armstrong 500 were only mildly modified compared to a stock EH.
Same 115 bhp 179, same 3 on the tree, no synchro on 1st gear transmission, slightly lower diff ratio, same drum brakes but with a booster, slightly bigger fuel tank, standard width wheels, standard springs. Hardly a GTHO.
Power? The Valiants had 30 more bhp, the V8 Studebakers, which were the fastest cars down Conrod Straight, had nearly 100 bhp more.
Holden had no real race history, and the brand new EH was a significantly changed vehicle from the previous EJ.
Yet one came 2nd outright, one lap behind a works backed GT Cortina, a model of car with an extensive factory backed race history worldwide.
The 2nd place Holden had been hit up the clacker late in the race, and had a lengthy pit stop for repairs, without that it would most likely have won the race.
There were cars in the race with 4W disc brakes that ran 10 laps behind the drum brake Holden.
No the EH wasn't the best at anything, but it was good enough at everything to make a very competitive, production race car at the time.
It's competition history in Appendix J, where significant modifications were permitted, was quite formidable.
I've driven several EH Holdens over the years, from stocko 149s, to ones with Chev V8s fitted, and everything in between.
None of them were particularly horrible to drive, but some certainly felt "much more together" than others.
Having said that, all of them were a minimum of 18 years old when I drove them, and a lot can happen to a car over that amount of time.
' ... a significantly changed vehicle from the previous EJ ...' - what was there ( other than the Red ) ? i thought they looked better.
grandfather's is fondly remembered - as opposed to the other patriarch's HR.
grandfather's is fondly remembered - as opposed to the other patriarch's HR.
My favourite EH was my cousin's in Sydney, standard 179 but with a turbo and 5 speed Celica gearbox, firm springs and shocks and drove really well not sure what he did to the steering as had no wiggle to keep it straight, it was going to be our transport to Expo 88 before the turbo oil seal gave up before the long drive, the spare EH Special in the other
garage was not road worthy so Greyhound was the only option left. But boy the EHs were solid and reliable in their standard spec.
Mums Morris 1100 was fun to throw around but not a family car as limited space and storage
garage was not road worthy so Greyhound was the only option left. But boy the EHs were solid and reliable in their standard spec. Mums Morris 1100 was fun to throw around but not a family car as limited space and storage
Morris 1100 probably had more room inside than the EH, they were very spacious little cars. Tiny boot, though.
Their advertising in the USA (it was sold as the Austin America) claimed it had more rear seat legroom than a Lincoln Continental.
Their advertising in the USA (it was sold as the Austin America) claimed it had more rear seat legroom than a Lincoln Continental.
Last edited:
Possibly the Austin version was larger, all 4 kids could not fit in the back seat of the Morris (landcrab) 1100, but parents up the front could turn around and be in reach to throttle any child not behaving
... Wasn't possible in the EH, we just had to sit back and we were out of reach 
The USA model, the Austin America, was just a Morris 1100 with the 1275 engine and bucket seats up front. (Only Australian Morris 1100s had bench seats up front, all other countries had front buckets.)
Don't confuse it with an Austin 1800, they were bigger again inside.
Don't confuse it with an Austin 1800, they were bigger again inside.
There were a multitude of changes between the EJ/EH, more than any of the other Holden "pairs" to that time: FX/FJ, FE/FC, and FB/EK.
Besides the new engines' obvious benefits, the red motors also had a much improved engine and trans mounting system which meant the front and rear crossmembers were different to the EJ. The Hydramatic had revised shifting, the clutch was bigger on the 149 and bigger again on the 179. The 179 manual gearbox had a larger bolt pattern onto the bellhousing (than the 149, which was the same as the EJ) for greater strength, the 179 also had an improved extension housing bush for the tailshaft yoke. 179s had a larger diameter tailshaft than EJ and 149 EHs. All EHs had a revised rear UJ design that went from the saddle style cups on the EJ to the sturdier U bolt style on the EH. Along with the change in the pinion flange (to accommodate the new uni) the pinion itself went to a finer spline, and the EH had two available diff ratios 3.36 or 3.55, the EJs all had 3.89.
The steering box ratio went from 14 to 1 on the EJ to 16.3 to 1 on the EH, power steering was also available for the first time on the EH.
Commercial EHs went to wider front drums, power boosted brakes were available for the first time. S4s had stronger brake springs. There were numerous small changes, resistor style ignition coil on the EH with a different engine loom with a resistor wire built in, first model Holden with an optional alternator, two speed electric wipers as standard, longer wiper blades, 120 mph speedo (vs 100 mph), recesses in the glove box lid for cups on the EH, handbrake warning light, toughened zone windscreen, etc etc etc.
The EHs' red motors took all the "glory" at the time (and probably rightly so) which meant the plethora of other changes made tended to get overlooked.
thank you, much appreciated ... not all off the top of your head, i hope - was it?
The Fiat 1800/2300 was more expensive but it was on another level.
4 pot Girling brakes and went around corners.
Mind you it took Holden many years to build a decent car.
Most, but not all, I played with old Holdens a fair bit when I was a young tacker.
My oldest brother had an EJ for his 2nd car, that we converted to a 186 red motor, all syncro 3 speed, and a higher ratio diff center.
We learnt a lot about the.differences between EJs and EHs when we did that.