HK Holden

A Brief History of the HK Holden

[The New HK Holden]

This page is dedicated to the history of the HK Holden. The HK was released after the HR, and represented a total redesign of the family car.

The new Holdens were larger, were the first to offer a V8 engine option, and came with two new body styles.

As well as the sedan, station wagon, utility and panel van, the first Holden 2 door coupe, the Monaro, was introduced in the HK range. Also, a new luxury model, the Brougham, was introduced. The Brougham was basically a Premier body, with extended rear quarters.

The V8 engine offered in the HK range was the 307 ci Chev motor. It was an option in all models, and standard in the Brougham. The Monaro came in two models, the Monaro and the Monaro GTS. The GTS included such sports option as gills in the front guards, air scoops in the bonnet, racing stripes and special hubcaps.

I have included a number of specifications, some brief history and some original advertising literature from the time the cars were released.

Engines -
The HK was offered with a choice of six cylinder or V8 engines, with displacements from 161 ci to 327 ci.

These were:

161 Cubic Inch low compression - developing 95 h.p.
186 Cubic Inch high compression - developing 100 h.p.
307 Cubic Inch V8 high compression - developing 115 h.p.

The engines themselves were of oversquare design and had a seven bearing crankshaft. They also were the first Holden to use hydraulic valve lifters, and external oil pump and oil filter for easier servicing. These motors became known as "Red" motors due to the fact that the were, obviously, red.

The Hk introduced two new body stles to the Holden range. The Brougham, a long whelbase luxury vehicle, and the Monaro, a two door coupe. Belmont - The basic car, with no additional trimming or fittings. The body of this model was painted in a single colour. These were sometimes purchased as Taxis or rental vehicles.

Kingswood - The most popular model, with stainless steel trims along the side, Kingswood badging, two tone vinyl interiors, as well as a better choice of exterior colours with a white roof.

Premier - This was the luxury model, with innovations such as full leather interiors featuring bucket seats and a console with controls for the two speed fan heater. The Premier also featured metallic paint, a push button AM radio and arm rests on all four doors (sedan). A number of factory options were fitted at standard equipment, such as hand brake warning light, glove box light and luggage compartment light (sedan). The steering wheel, gear selector, heater switch and turn indictor switches, usually grey, were all colour coded white for an up-market appearance. The Premier came standard with the larger 179 Cubic Inch motor, and Hydramatic auto transmission. See the pictures below for more information.

Brougham - This was the luxury model, with innovations such as full leather interiors featuring bucket seats and a console with controls for the two speed fan heater. The Premier also featured metallic paint, a push button AM radio and arm rests on all four doors (sedan). A number of factory options were fitted at standard equipment, such as hand brake warning light, glove box light and luggage compartment light (sedan). The steering wheel, gear selector, heater switch and turn indictor switches, usually grey, were all colour coded white for an up-market appearance. The Premier came standard with the larger 179 Cubic Inch motor, and Hydramatic auto transmission. See the pictures below for more information.

Monaro - The most popular model, with stainless steel trims along the side, Kingswood badging, two tone vinyl interiors, as well as a better choice of exterior colours with a white roof. Utility - The EH was also offered as two commercial vehicles. The first of these is the Utility. The commercial vehicles were only offered in one level of trim, but options were able to be purchased from Holden dealers. The carrying capacity of both the Utility and Panel Van was half a ton. The utility was offered with the standard 149 cubic inch motor, or with the 179 as an option. In fact, due to its lighter weight than the passenger variants, the EH Ute with the 179 motor and standard 3 speed manual transmission was our first genuine Aussie produced 100 MPH vehicle! The Utility was also available with the Hydramatic transmission, but this was not a popular option when new. Due to the larger transmission tunnel in the floor to suit the automatic transmission, utilities with this option are now highly sought by EH enthusiasts, as it is not uncommon for EH owners to fit Holden and Chevy V8's. The larger tunnel allows Trimatic (Aussie) autos, as well as Powergilde and Turbo Hydro 350's to fit without modification. Also, a number of larger V8 sourced manual transmissions, as well as Japanese 4 and 5 speeds, will fit the automatic floor tunnel with no clearance problems.

Panel Van - The second commercial bodied EH offered was the Panel Van. You may know this style as the Sedan Delivery. The Panel Van had a higher roof line than the utility or passenger vehicles, which made it popular for carrying high loads. As with the utility, automatic versions were available, but are very rare to find now. Also, finding a "Windowless" bodied panel van, that is one which has the side panels intact, is particularly difficult. The Panel Van was also offered with the 149 cubic inch motor as standard, with an option of a 179. As you would imagine, these vehicles were used by tradesmen for most of their life, so finding one in good condition takes a fair amount of searching.

Additional information - New! Complete versions of the EH commercial and passenger sales brochures have now been added! Click on the links below to view them.

Go to EH Passenger sales brochure

Go to EH Commercial sales brochure

To get to the EH Holden advertisements, Nasco Accessory guide and magazine tests, click on the links below.

Go to HK advertisements

Go to Nasco Accessories

Go to HK Magazine test

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