EJ & EH Holden - From Grey to Red

The EJ and EH were a watershed design for Holden. Sleek, streamlined and less fussy than previous models, both looked great from any angle - and importantly had little resemblence to anything from the GM parent in the USA. The EJ was the first model to offer the "Premier" - an upmarket version fitted with loop-pile carpet, leather trim and fancy trim. Truly Australian then, but the big news came with the EH model and the introduction of the "Red" motor. Offering more power and torque with little reduction in fuel efficiency, these reliable work-horses became incredibly popular overnight - and would go on to power future generations of Holdens up to and including the early Commodores.
Our thanks of course to Neil Joiner from the Trafalgar Holden Museum.
Please subscribe to our KZbin channel, and visit our site:
www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au
Trafalgar Holden Museum:
www.trafalgarholdenmuseum.com.au/
EJ Holden Review:
www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au...
EJ Holden Specifications:
www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au...
EJ Holden Brochure:
www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au...
EJ Holden Premier Brochure:
www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au...
Holden Grey Motor:
www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au...
EH Holden Review:
www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au...
EH Holden Specifications:
www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au...
EH Holden Brochure:
www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au...
Holden Red Motor:
www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au...
Holden History:
www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au...
Car Shows and Events:
www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au...
Buy and Sell your Car of Parts for FREE:
www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au...
Support us on Patreon:
/ uniquecars
Unique Cars and Parts - an absolutely free service since 2001

[@paulpedersen295]

A couple of comments. The low compression (LC) was only available on the 149. All government EHs in the NT were low compression 149. The 179 initially was not available on the Special. It became an option later Bumper over riders were an option on the EH. There was no synchro on 1st gear. My father picked up our brand new EH station wagon, 179, three on the tree, in Adelaide, picked me up from boarding school for the holidays and we ran it in by driving it home west of Alice Springs. Our options were a dust deflector over the back window and a deluxe chrome water bag carrier attached to the front bumper bar. We also had 8ply crossply tyres fitted for the back tracks which were our roads, and which screamed on every bitumen corner, later changed to Olympic radial tyres, to be one of the first fitted in Alice Springs. Oldies said they would not last in the bush, but we never had any trouble. But the EH was a great car, economical and reliable and quite roomy in station wagon configuration.

[@tripsadelica]

Both gents were wrong about the gearbox. The three on the tree design of that time only had synchro on second and third, not first gear. Pain in the bum unless you were good at double clutching.

[@ronstux4428]

Can confirm from bitter experience.

[@aurtherbrunt241]

Correct.

[@tedburnard841]

For memory, synchro on first became standard during the HR model run. There was a mid model upgrade that included the synchro and also disc brakes were optional and the X2 was renamed 186S. An HR Premier was available in very limited numbers with the 186S and an Opel sourced four speed floor shift manual.

[@rods6405]

@@tedburnard841 synchro on first on the 3 speed (on the tree design) became available when the HG was released! but was available on the Opel sourced four speed in the HR in 1967!

[@tedburnard841]

@RODS nope, synchro on the three on the tree came with the HR upgrade in 1967, at the same time Holden was trying to boost sales by advocating the two car family and encouraging more women to drive. I still remember the 1967 TV ad that depicted a woman selecting first gear on a three on the tree manual HR and proudly proclaiming “Syncho!”. The main news about the HG when it was released in 1970 was the ditching of the two speed Powerglide auto in favour of the new Australian developed Tri-matic auto. The HG was also notable as it was the first time Holden had done a second facelift of a model series.

[@dannymiller7880]

I noticed he said the HD was an ugly duckling,, definitely not in my opinion the HD premier in the meridian green ,was probably one of the nicest looking Holdens ever made

[@ronstux4428]

Maybe, but if I recall, it was fairly poorly received by the public. I remember in school, we used to talk a lot about the pedestrian slashers on the front. I seem to remember the HR was more popular. I also remember thinking what a dumb move to go from the EH's 3 speed auto (actually a sort of 4 speed that used different intermediate gears when shifting up or down) to the 2 speed Powerglide, in the same year that Ford saw the light with the Falcon and introduced the Ford-O-matic 3S auto. My Dad worked his whole working life at GMH in Fisherman's Bend, so I was a big fan and student of things Holden.

[@dannymiller7880]

@@ronstux4428 yes HR was much more popular,but in early production the HD premier was the fastest selling Holden ever earlier on in it's production

[@timdingleakajacksparrow2748]

HD stands for Holden’s Disappointment 🤔👍⁉️⁉️

[@jimcrawford5039]

they were top-heavy. I drove a few when I worked in car yards.

[@gogogeedus]

I had a crazy Pom I worked with telling me he worked at Holden in London, he was talking about Vauxhall but the only shared model between England and au was the Astra and it is actually an Opel, every body wants to make out they had something to do with Holden but the truth is Holdens are Aussie cars designed for Australia, maybe the little HB torana was a Vauxhall but the LJ was not seen anywhere else and was nothing like the HB. the last Holdens designed here were the VE and VFs and they are the envy of all other car companies although they could have been better but not much. they did brand VE commodores and Monaros as Vauxhalls but they were Aussie cars re-badged.

[@lindsaymcpherson4744]

Its the EJ i rkn, been looking for one that's not totally shagged ,! for me the prettiest holden ever made !!!/

[@mebeasensei]

I like the EJ more than the EH nowadays. I love the low slung lines, tail fins and lights…and I don’t mind the grey motor either!

[@Jo_Wardy]

Yeah EJ is a Nicer Car overall. I know people hate on the EJ and Love the EH because it has the red motor.

[@MrOlgrumpy]

My first car was a used EJ,Standard,three on the tree crash first,rubber mats, vinyl trim,no demister/heater,but it was reliable, though the unboosted drum brakes were just what you expected at the time.

[@jandostal7343]

All synchromesh 3 speed gearbox was not until HT came out. HK had the crunch boxes well as the EH

[@bigal6369]

One correction on this. The EH three on the tree being syncro, that was only true for the second and third gears, at least on the 63 models which mine was. You basically had to come to a complete stop top put it back into first. Might have been a straight cut gear but not sure about that. The 149 was a great engine. Not fast by any measure, although I did beat a TE Gemini. Later on I swapped in an 186 with yella-terra head and the fun continued. Best car ever, even with drum brakes all round.

[@mattmcfarland9154]

The holden grey 131s and 138s from fb to ej were based on the buick straight 8 and stovebolt chevy six and the holden red motor was based on the bedford truck motor and the red motor had a bigger brother over in the usa used in many chevy trucks and cars and its almost identicle and the most obvious diffetences is the holden red has an external oil pump and chevy six has an intetnal one and later in some toranas and early commodores you had that dreaded backfire 4 wich also came in the ami assembled 1978 to 83 toyota coronas, a 173 with 2 cylinders lopped off the back of the block. I remember when gmh officially announced that they werent making any more straight sixes anymore in febuary 1986 and they couldnt get the old pushrod six to run economically on ulp, thats why they used the nissan 3 liter rb30 six as a stopgap while gmh were redeveloping the buick v6 that appeared in the vn commodore in august 88.

[@garymarquett7989]

That's how the Valiant 6 started... life in a truck

[@pistolpeds]

The biggest downfall of ej eh was the slow changing "sludge o matic" transmission (although very reliable). The other thing with the grey engine was the five main bearing crankshaft where the cast caps would snap if you gave it too much hp. Even if you put thick mild steel caps in you could still snap the bolts or pull them clean out of the block or maybe snap the crank. All the same, we loved that old 2 litre 132-138. It's a shame the oils weren't as good as today. They also had no oil filter.

[@malcolmmathers2690]

i was still driveing a ej wagon till 2007 i had it for years it went around the clock in my ownership time i travelled up down east coast aus mt isa all through central qld..only once did it fail me not bad i rekin

[@thommo6331]

149 had low & high compression available. 179 was high compression only

[@beagle7622]

I forgot about that. I was very young but remember something about thar using Standard Petrol,

[@thommo6331]

@@beagle7622 149 low compression was designed to run on “standard” petrol but would run fine on super

[@pistolpeds]

@Thommo. Very true. Although if you put the 149 head on the 179 you could get even higher compression because the 149 had a small volume head chamber. You then put either a higher lift cam or bigger valves to take advantage of the higher compression. The 149 had smaller valves.

[@mebeasensei]

EJ is the nicer car in '22

[@747fa]

This would have been a great video for the old Holden cars if they could've got the people talking to SPEAK UP!

[@louie2row633]

Top Tip : If your deep in conversation about a certain feature of the car, it would be beneficial to us viewers if you could film the topic of conversation so we could know WTF you're talking about.

[@UniqueCarsandParts]

Thanks for the "Top Tip", Louie

[@peterhatch1583]

Did you know a H.R dic brake front end fits E.H did it in 75

[@Rob-fc9wg]

That very well known.

[@rp8339]

imo the EJ rear light assembly crapped all over its successor in the EH. that's all i wanted to say.

[@UniqueCarsandParts]

I have just interviewed the owner of a top-notch EJ Premier and made sure to talk about the rear lights and I took lots of photos - it should be posted in a couple of weeks time.

[@mickcarson8504]

Which Trafalgar would that be? I'd like to pay a visit, as I am the oldest Holden fan.

[@tripsadelica]

In Gippsland, Victoria about an hour and forty minutes from Melbourne on the freeway.

[@mickcarson8504]

@@tripsadelica Thanks. When the lockdown is over, I'll pay a visit. I passed there many times on the way to Omeo, including when I used to water ski in Hazelwood pondage. That water is bad.

[@UniqueCarsandParts]

Hey Mick, allow at least half a day to do it justice.

[@gary1705]

They forgot to mention the addition of the all new motor driven windscreen wipers as compared to the FB models vacuum wipers..🤷‍♂️

[@Rob-fc9wg]

Vacuum wipers*

[@brucestorey3400]

LIked the topic and vehicles. But I have never seen the EH as such a big deal. As the guest said, when asked what else - other than the motor - was improved on the EH over the EJ. Answer: Nothing. No options for synchro on first gear, disc brakes or engine enhancement (as per X2 in the HD).

[@StephenSteve32861]

If you showed the rear would have been better.

[@danieljames626]

7:58 he shuts up to listen at least, but won't hand over the mic so no one else can hear.

[@garymarquett7989]

The EH is the Aussie version of the 57 Chev

[@Rob-fc9wg]

No.

[@garymarquett7989]

@@Rob-fc9wg No what?

[@Rob-fc9wg]

@@garymarquett7989 The FB / EK would be the Oz version of the 57 chev.

[@garymarquett7989]

@@Rob-fc9wg yeah in looks the FB and Chevy look the same but I was pointing more towards the popularity of the EH and 257,000 made in 63-64

[@Rob-fc9wg]

@@garymarquett7989 Onya mate, got ya. Gotta love old Holdens.

[@steveriddell1937]

It's a shame amateurs try and restore them in one sense but extremely hard to find one that has not destroyed with bad inexperienced then fog them for ridiculous prices as a restoration

[@Eric-kn4yn]

Red motor a big big improvement to grey motor but holden kept it too long until 1985

[@danieljames626]

0:57 "Australian flavour" completely designed in The States

[@mickcarson8504]

No, it was not designed in the States. This is a genuinely vehicle designed here in Fishermens Bend, Port Melbourne. and were assembled in various places, Dandenong, Elizabeth Adelaide) and New Zealand. None of these designs were seen in the States except the few they exported there. The only cars that were already designed in the States and then stamped and assembled here were the 61-62 Ford Falcon and the Valiant came later as a fully imported R and S Series. Then Chrysler opened a production plant at Tonsley Park, producing the AP5, AP6, VC, VE etc. The AP5 design may have been a new model Valiant in Australia but in the States the design was already 2 years old. What you thought it was a new design, it wasn't. In the States the AP5 was actually a Plymouth and a sub designs like the fast back '63 Barracuda and the convertible '65 Dodge Dart. By '68 the long body Dart was simply named Valiant. The FE, FC FB, EJ Holden, together with EH, HD, HR and the larger early Holden, e.g. Kinswood, Monaro were all made here and were truly Australian cars. I really loved the FC and FB, their livery and two tone colours were really attractive. So, during production, some early cars were also exported to other countries because they not only were beautiful vehicles but also very reliable and economical. I lost count on how many Holdens we have owned and driven, including the magnificent '68 Monaro 350 V8 and not excluding other cars we owned. We had imported a 68 Mustang, we did the left to right conversion too. Uncle brought an Iso Grifo from Italy even though he already had this fantastic Ford Falcon GTHO Phase 3 Super Duper Roo and the mighty Charger E49 (actually we also had an E38). We were a connected family of mechanics in the 60s, my dad, my uncle were ex Army mechanics, older cousins joined in later years. Our large workshop was in Montague, just where the Westgate Fwy now flows and not far where Alan Coffey Motors used to be.

[@gogogeedus]

@@mickcarson8504 Good on ya Mick, these AHs are trying to steal our thunder!

[@mickcarson8504]

@@gogogeedus But the AHs, as you call them, are today's Australians who seem to know f*** all about my generation and the cars we had, the companies we worked for. The 60s-70s were my years right into the late 90s as a professional mechanic/engineer running our large workshop where many dealerships came to us for race modification, special panel beating works and exhaust performances. We had everything, until the Road Transport Authority came knocking on our door in 82 and told us we are to move out as the land was to be used for the future extension of Westgate Freeway. The workshop was moved to Oakleigh, near Warrigal Rd, and then in '98 we sold it. I continued for Brentmore Leyland for another 8 years in Cheltenham and that was the end of my career as the new shit boxes where difficult to repair and parts and replacement were as costly as the profits being made. New cars were 80% disposable, that's why it's cheaper to buy a new car than repairing an older on. As an example: in my days, if you had a minor accident involving a dent, or a cracked sealed headlight lamp, or a punched-in grille, it was much cheaper to replace any on these example than replacing parts on today's shit boxes that cost an arm or leg. Another example: If your Holden of those days (60-70s) had a stone crack on the indicator lense, two screws off and the lenses are replaced, $4,95. Nowadays. If the entire headlight get hit by a large stone from a truck that had just left the quarry; or if you have a minor prank and the headlight is damaged, you can't repair it yourself, but have to take it to a panel beater to replace the entire headlight, and that is not cheap, try $400-500 plus. Yet, the sheep had never been aware that they'd be slugged thousands in parts. That's why cars started to get cheap but parts were very expensive to buy. The example above shows how simplified Holden cars were but after the end of 2005, they too were a pain in the neck to fix.

[@gogogeedus]

@@mickcarson8504 I agree,car companies have got greedy making parts that are not serviceable, its a shame but what do you do about it. reminds of when all cars had round headlights and only one type of globe was available :)

[@tripsadelica]

@@mickcarson8504 Mate, I admire your pluck but I hate to tell you that the EJ/H series were, in fact, designed in Detroit (exterior only...underpinnings were Australian designed) because the Australian proposal was so butt-ugly that GM US sent in its team to fix the design. There are many cues in the EJ/H that can be seen in contemporary Chevies of the time.

[@bodgiesteve8849]

full marks for effort, but i hate it, when the presenters dont have a clue.( pretty basic cars for the time) the curator is ok, but get someone who has an interest in the subject to do the interview the EJ was styled in the USA, EH was a local facelift.

[@UniqueCarsandParts]

Thanks for watching though, Bodgie!