Leighs 1959 Holden FC Special Project

I've always had a liking for FE and FC Holdens, probably because my first car was an FE and I just love the style. I prefer the FC to FE Holden as the FC Special, with all its added chrome and stainless trim, has a lot more "bling" than the FE. It appeals to me as the "Series II" of that model I guess. Over the years, I've built an FE and two FC projects, this sedan being my second, and have recently started on a third FC. The first FC was a nice red and white wagon that I sold to finance a divorce settlement. The new project is another wagon with colour yet to be decided. Between the FC projects, I've also built two FBs for myself, an HG for my eldest son and an HR for my youngest son.

I acquired this FC from "Jack", its original owner, late in 2002. After making all the necessary repairs to get it back in roadworthy condition, and fitting Commodore buckets to replace the buggered front bench seat, I drove it for a while as a stock, original car. In June 2004 I took it off the road for a complete rebuild. While everything was there, the car was in need of a lot of work (Jack gave up his pride and joy because he'd had a few too many minor dings in it and was losing confidence in his driving ability). By November, I had stripped the FC down to a bare shell so I could gain an understanding of just what lay ahead of me. All the rust problems common to this model were then attended to and modifications to the chassis and body sections were made to accommodate a V8. The original grey motor was still a strong engine, so I gave that to a mate who used it in his daily-driver FC. Work then stopped due to other commitments and the project gathered dust in the shed for a couple of years.

In 2006, I launched back into the fun. In the "downtime" I had still been collecting parts, like the front guards, two floor pans, a sill, three doors, boot lid and the bottoms of the rear quarters. The left front guard proved the most difficult to come across at the time and after purchasing eight of them over a period of about 12 months, I eventually made one from two, as I was determined to have it rust free. The fuel tank opening in the boot floor was enlarged and a good friend of mine fabricated a very nice stainless fuel tank which greatly increased the capacity. For the V8 powerplant, something I'd planned for this project from the beginning, I chose the Holden 253 over a small block Chev as I much prefer the sound of the Holden. Besides, I already had one sitting in the shed! This had been left over from an unfulfilled idea to put it in my previous FC wagon.

When building any car project, modifications over standard specification always present some head-scratching moments, and time was extended with each of the many mods needed. The biggest problem I encountered on the build was getting the V8's headers to fit between the chassis rails and around the steering shaft. Normal practice in instances like this is to cut big holes in the guard skirts, but I didn't want to go down that route, as I think the finished result is too ugly. As the Holden V8 is much wider than a Chev small block, it makes the fit all the more difficult. Another big hold up was the headers themselves. I had them custom made, but they were really poorly manufactured and impossibly difficult to remove or replace once in the car. After spending almost seven hours dismantling them, I found the quality of the welding so bad that I returned them for rectification. After getting them back from the "exhaust specialists", the condition was still poor, so poor in fact that I had all the welds redone - again! - but I chose a competent welder this time to ensure they were sealed. Radiator fitment also took up a fair amount of time, but that was mostly down to searching for a standard radiator to fit the space without too much modification.

By November 2007, over a year later, the mechanical side of the project was sorted, so everything I'd assembled for the test fit-up was removed to prepare the body for painting. The FC went off to the painters in December and was back home by early January 2008. Other commitments took over soon after and delayed the project for another six months or so, but by August I was back on track. It was then a matter of assembling all the dash pieces, tinted windows, the newly upholstered Commodore seats, new carpets, Pioneer stereo, custom console (fabricated from a UC Torana) and the many other bits and pieces.

The car was finally engineered, registered and back on the road by April 2009. As soon as it was completed, I wasted no time taking it around to show Jack how it had turned out. As I had initially told Jack I was going to repaint it in the original single-tone white he liked, I was quite nervous about what he'd think of the purple-white treatment. He and his family were pleased to see it had been brought back to life in the colours I'd chosen, so that was a relief! I took Jack and his family for a drive in it and everyone commented how it no longer rattled or swayed, as well as how comfy the new seats were! One of the first club events I attended in my rejuvenated FC was the Victorian FE-FC Holden State Titles in April 2009, where I was quite pleased to come home with a trophy for second place in the modified category. The following Easter, I took the FC to Orange to participate in the 2010 FE-FC Holden Nationals and was blown away when I got to drive it around the historic Gnoo Blas race circuit. That thrill was overtaken when we went on to Bathurst and did two laps of Mount Panorama as well. At this year's 2011 FE-FC State Titles in May, I was chuffed once again to be awarded a Top Ten trophy.

I never intended to build a performance car or show pony, but a nice looking and reliable car with a nice sound, so I'm more than happy with the way this one has turned out. It's a great highway cruiser. I've really loved this FC, but now it's time for someone else to enjoy it. With my latest FC wagon and other projects in mind, I've put this FC up for sale, with an asking price of $32,500 ono. It's a great car: tight, solid, very reliable and eye-catching, too. It also has full Victorian rego. If you're interested in adding this mild custom FC Special to your garage, give me a call on 0404 177 752.