FEATURE – 1972 Holden HQ Premier sedan

Special, but not that Special

When GM-H debuted the Premier on the EJ series in 1962, it was the most elite Holden you could buy. That status by 1971, when the Statesman became the new “elite” Holden.

However, while not as big or plushly-appointed as a Statesman, the Premier was still a pretty high-spec vehicle, right? That’s the perception, but the reality is a bit different.

When it debuted in July, 1971, a stock, non-optioned HQ Premier was much closer to the lower-grade Kingswood than a Statesman in terms of spec and appointments.

Externally, the Premier featured the distinctive quad headlight nose cone, a slightly different grille, ribbed rocker panel mouldings, wheel trim rings and a boot applique strip.

Inside, you got carpets (when the Kingswood still ran with rubber mats), a bench front seat, faux walnut dash trim, glovebox and boot lamps, plus full-length armrests with ashtrays.

Mechanically, the 202 six, matched to a 3-speed column shift manual was standard.

And that was it. Everything else – even things like a radio and power steering - was an extra-cost option.

The perception that all Premiers had buckets seats, vinyl roofs, metallic paint, V8s, floor-shift trannys and power everything is a misconception, largely fueled by the majority of surviving examples that carry most of these features.

It’s a misconception that Tom Gribbin, the owner of the car featured, has encountered more than a few times since he purchased this car almost 18 months ago.

“I’ve never had a car that I’ve been harassed so much in,” Tom says. “You can’t go anywhere without people talking to you about it. And while it’s lovely when people have something nice to say,

the downside comes with people telling you your car’s not what it is.”

Of course, a lot of that all comes down to the aforementioned misconception that all Premiers from this era look a particular way. Even this writer had his doubts when first spotting Tom’s car at the Australia Day Car Show at Yarra Glen (Victoria) this year.

It certainly doesn’t fit the template when it comes to most people’s perception of a Premier, but this car is absolutely the real deal. And it comes with a few surprises, too, so let’s turn those perceptions into misconceptions, hmmmm?

Rare Combination

A look at the VIN plate on this car is enough to put the knockers in their place, as it confirms this was a V8-engined Premier sedan that rolled out of GM-H’s Dandenong factory in Salamanca Red paint. That paint alone, along with the lack of a vinyl roof, has been the basis for more than a few slaps from armchair experts and keyboard warriors.

“From the factory, it’s rare to have a Premier in this red,” Tom explains, adding that he’s never seen another one.

JUST CARS’ own research backs that up. Salamanca Red was seen on plenty of Monaros, Toranas, and even a few Kingswoods through the HQ (1971-74) era, but rarely on a Premier. However, that paint code is irrefutable – this car definitely wore Salamanca Red when new.

In terms of its as-delivered spec, the original owner obviously had a very specific idea of what he wanted. Matched up to the factory-fitted 253 V8 was GM-H’s own Tri-matic 3-speed auto, but with a column shift, instead of floor shift.

Power steering, power windows and a power antenna were all ticked on the order form, while the V8 automatically got you disc front brakes, too, but it’s inside where things get interesting.

A factory radio and rear speaker to suit isn’t all that unusual for a Premier, nor is the front bench seat, but that seat’s trim certainly is.

The ‘10U’ trim code on Tom’s car is one JUST CARS hasn’t encountered before. The ‘10’ equals black vinyl, and while ‘U’ is unusual, most indicators point to it being Raydo cloth, which given the fact this Premier was built in September, 1972, throws up a distinct possibility.

Now, those who know their Holdens will know that the HQ SS came out in September, 1972, and it featured seats trimmed in either black vinyl and Raydo cloth or black vinyl and Houndstooth cloth.

So, given that timeframe, it’s easy to imagine the original owner saw an SS when ordering his Premier at the dealership and liked what he saw – enough for the seat trims and a few other features off the SS to be included on his order, too, like a GTS steering wheel, GTS dash fascia and GTS instrumentation.

While there’s a possibility that the dash and wheel were later additions, their condition as purchased, along with a few other indicators, point to them being original, which makes this Premier a rare beast indeed.

Tom believes this rare combination is down to the original owner wanting a luxury GTS, and since such a thing wasn’t available then (at least in 4-door form), he ticked enough option boxes to get the next best thing.

There’s also a possibility this car was fitted with GTS alloys when new, too, as these rims were on the car when Tom purchased in back in October, 2015.

Red. . . and Rusty

This writer confesses a soft spot for the HQ as one of the best-looking cars ever produced by GM-H. Tom feels the same way.

“As a kid in Wantirna, a red HQ was not often seen, but when I saw one, I always loved them. With its shape and stuff like the tail lights in the rear bumper, you just couldn’t beat it!”

When a mate of Tom’s spotted this Premier, the stars seemed in alignment: “A friend rang me and says there’s this beautiful old HQ Prem up at the shops,” Tom recalls.

“I said ‘Mate, don’t go home until you put a note in the car saying I want to talk to him!’ He said ‘I don’t have any paper’ and I said ‘Mate, I’m telling you now, if you don’t do it, I’m not going to be happy. PLEASE do it.’!”

Luckily, Tom’s mate did as he was told and the owner got in touch the next day.

While he didn’t have the car on the market at the time, the owner needed the money, so less than two weeks after that initial contact, a deal was done and the car was in Tom’s possession.

“My father in law drioe me down there and went ‘You’ve bought THAT?’ I think he was in a bit of shock!” Tom laughs.

As bought, the car was complete, but far from good. Fortunately, most of the worst areas on the body were obvious: “It was pretty much highlighted where there was rust,” Tom explains. “You could see where they’d chipped the rust away, put a bit of bog in, they spray painted it. The left sill even had two spots repaired using old bronzing wire. That gives you an idea of when these things started rusting.”

The car remained unchanged for several months after purchase, mainly because a house renovation was eating up Tom’s time, but also because he was in two minds about where to take the project.

“I wanted a tough streeter, but once I found out how honest and original the car was, I thought it’d be silly to change it after it had survived more than 43 years without being modified.

“I started stripping the paint to see what I was in for. But what was planned as a quick re-spray ended up as a full rebuild!”

Rust had got into all the usual areas, like the bottom of the front guards and rear quarters, while the rear doglegs and sills were so bad, they virtually needed total replacement. Tom’s anti-bog, so all the repairs on the car were done in metal, using fabrication and welding skills he learnt in his first job at Donnellan’s. Before you say ‘Weren’t they just tyre blokes?’, remember what we said earlier about perception and misconception?

Keepin’ it Real

With his commitment to now bring this HQ Prem back as close as possible to its factory spec, Tom had a clear path for the project, but that tossed up a few problems, like finding replacement parts.

“Rare Spares were great for things like badges, bolts, screws, trim clips and the like, but you can’t just pick up a GTS dash fascia for a column auto HQ.”

Tom’s mate Jimmy came to the rescue here, finding an NOS fascia to replace the badly worn and damaged original. Jimmy also helped with sourcing front doors, which were a particular bugbear with the project.

“I couldn’t, for the life of me, find doors that weren’t cut with speaker holes or rusted past being repaired,” Tom explains. “I think I had something like 14 doors at one stage!”

Jim eventually found a good front left door, while Tom ended up making one good right door from a couple of donors. Hubcaps piled up in Tom’s garage, too, as purchased plenty to make a good set.

In early 2017, months after he started and with proceedings interrupted by a house move, Tom had completed all the panel repair and was ready to have it painted.

Of course, it had to be in Salamanca Red, with the work trusted to Tropic Motors in Scoresby. Once repainted, all new glass from VEH Glass in Campbellfield was fitted, with new rubbers and badges, as well as a new rear bumper, but Tom painstakingly refurbished all the stainless steel door and window trims himself.

“It was scary!” Tom says. “Thinking about doing it again makes me want to cry!”

He can laugh about it now, but the trims alone took Tom a good two months’ work, spending hours at a time hammering out dents, then filing smooth with gradually finer files, then sanding the same way with progressively finer grit paper, followed by cutting, buffing and polishing.

Ready to Roll

While the body absolutely needed attention, the mechanicals were good, which Tom put down to diligent maintenance by the previous owners. Aside from a new fuel pump, plugs and plug leads, the engine’s needed nothing. The dual exhaust system was on the car when bought, and has been fitted with a set of more open mufflers that give a nice grumble when cruising.

By this stage, you’re probably thinking this Prem sits a little lower than it should, and you’d be right: “I know it’s not factory, but I like ‘em really low,” Tom laughs. “If I could have it even lower, I would!”

The front suspension now consists of short-stroke shock absorbers with lowered springs, and Torana Superlow springs in the back to get it level. All up, it now sits about two inches lower than stock, but still rides well. However, the new owner (see breakout) can easily reverse these changes.

Inside, the Premier is largely untouched. Aside from the replacement GTS fascia, and converting the speedo to C1972 mph gauge (from an mph/kph speedo fitted when purchased), Tom’s only other additions have been inertia reel front seat belts, a hidden modern sound system and an all-new headliner.

A slate grey headliner was in the car when purchased, but after consulting with Holden guru Warren Smith, Tom was told a flax (cream) item was correct for his car. Sure enough, stripping out the old headlining revealed a piece of the original flax item wedged in the roof.

A modern Clarion Bluetooth head unit resides in the glovebox, with new speakers (twin 4-inch up front and 6-inch two-ways in the rear) hidden under the factory grilles.

Being a specialty electrician by trade, Tom found the tired electric motors for the power windows were easy to fix, as well as a few other minor glitches in the wiring, but finding good replacement armrests has resulted in a series of frustrating dead ends.

“I’m continually looking for them and I bought another set last week, but they weren’t right.”

Ready to Go

After approximately 16 months of work, the Premier was completed midway through 2017, and while a few glitches (like those hard-to-find armrests and some other interior trim) remain, they haven’t stopped Tom from getting the car out and enjoying it on local cruises, racking up about 500 miles from then to now.

As mentioned at the top of this article, a car like this draws attention and comments – good and bad. And while Tom concedes the negative comments cut deep, the majority of feedback has been positive.

“It’s just beautiful to see an 80-year-old man say; ‘The memories [your car] just brought back for me are magnificent’.”

With a little over six months to reflect on what he’s achieved with this project, Tom’s pretty happy, especially given he did so much himself. It’s also the first manifestation of a new direction for the confirmed revhead after years of building and running modified cars; everything from an R32 Skyline GTR to a 5.0 VS Commodore ute.

“It’s the first car I’ve done from top to bottom myself. I know, from what’s out there, that it’s a really, really good car. And I know that it’s a really, really rare car, too.

“I could get any HQ and paint it red, but I’ll never get a factory red Premier with the original engine and all the options like this one . . . that’s hard to find.”

So, if you had a particular perception of what a HQ Premier should be before reading this article, hopefully Tom’s example has given you an improved perception, as well as a new appreciation of just how good a HQ Premier can be.

Tom extended his thanks to his wife, Leah and his kids, Maya and Shae, plus father-in-law Garry Yule for their support.

Thanks also to Howie Philpott who spotted the car, Jimmy for his invaluable assistance with parts, and Willy from Tropic Motors for the paint job.

Tom also sends a special shout out to Mark and Paul Donnellan, the blokes who took a punt on him when he was fresh out of school and taught him the mechanical and welding skills he’s applied to his own projects, as well as the management skills that have enabled to him to grow his own business enough to fund projects like this in the first place.

Thanks to Motor Book World for selected research material used in this article. Motor Book World 243 Canterbury Rd, Canterbury. Ph: (03) 9830 2644. www.motorbookworld.com.au

FOR SALE

As proud as he is of the work he’s done on this car and as much as he’s enjoyed owning and driving it, mortgage pressures and new priorities means it’s time for Tom to offer it to a new custodian.

The rarity – and rare combination of features – on this Premier hold enough appeal as is, but then you’ve also got things like the original engine and trans for the purists.

While all the metal work and rust repair is done, concours contenders would need to address the interior and some detailing.

With the easy power of the 253 and just enough rumble from the dual exhausts to turn heads, this car makes for a great weekend cruiser or club runner.

Currently on Victorian club registration (not transferable), Tom can supply the original full rego plates to a new Victorian owner, as well as photos showing all the full-metal panel repair work done.

Asking price is $45,000 ono - you can view the ad here.