About the Holden FX

The Holden 48-215, also known unofficially as the Holden FX is a mid-size, six-cylinder sedan which was produced by the Australian automaker, General Motors–Holden's Ltd between November 1948 and October 1953. The design was originally penned in the United States by Chevrolet after World War II, but was rejected because it was deemed too small for the U.S. market. Instead the design became the basis of the 48-215 model. Development of the 48-215 began in 1944. Three prototypes were built by hand in 1946 by American and Australian engineers at the General Motors workshop in Detroit. After months of durability and performance tests in America, these prototypes were shipped to Australia. The sole surviving prototype, Holden Prototype Car No. 1, is part of the National Museum of Australia collection. The Holden was released for sale to the public in 1948 at Port Melbourne, Victoria, by the then Australian Prime Minister, Ben Chifley. The car was marketed simply as the “Holden”, without a model name.

The 50-2106 Coupe Utility, based on the 48-215 sedan, was released in January 1951 and in July 1953 the Holden Business Sedan, essentially a taxi version of the 48-215, was added to the range. The 48-215 model made way for the updated Holden FJ in 1953, which would later became an iconic Australian car.

About the Holden FJ

The Holden FJ series is a range of motor vehicles which was produced in Australia by General Motors-Holden’s from 1953 to 1957. The FJ was the second model of an "all Australian car" manufactured by Holden and was based upon the established 48-215 series, commonly referred to as the “FX”. The sedan, in Standard, Business and Special trim levels,[3] and a coupe utility were announced in October 1953 and were followed by a Panel van derivative in December of that year.[4] In 1954, Holden's first exports began with sales of the FJ in New Zealand.[5]
Holden FJ Special that has been owned by the one family since new.

The FJ, of monocoque construction, broadly followed the silhouette of its predecessor, but featured a bolder horizontal styled front grille, along with comfort and decoration upgrades in a new sedan model named the 'Holden Special'.

Originally specified as 60 bhp (45 kW) achieved at 3,800 rpm, the claimed maximum power output from the six cylinder engine was increased to 65 bhp (48 kW) achieved at 4,000 rpm.

In 1955 the car underwent a mild interior facelift for the Holden Special sedan, along with a variation in paint and trim options. The FJ series was progressively replaced by models from the Holden FE series from July 1956 to May 1957 with a total of 169,969 examples produced.

About the Holden FE

The Holden FE series was a range of motor vehicles produced by General Motors–Holden's in Australia from 1956 to 1958.

Introduced in July 1956 to replace the Holden FJ series, the FE range initially consisted of the Holden Standard Sedan, Holden Business Sedan and Holden Special Sedan, the names designating different levels of equipment and interior trim. The existing FJ series Holden Utility and Holden Panel Van models continued alongside the new sedans, with the FE Utility replacing its FJ counterpart in February 1957. Two station wagon models, the Holden Standard Station Sedan and the Holden Special Station Sedan were released in March 1957, marking the first time that Holden had included a wagon in its range since the marque was introduced in 1948. The FE Panel Van replaced its FJ predecessor in May 1957 bringing the new range up to its full complement of seven models.

The FE series was built on a longer wheelbase than the FJ and featured totally different styling, the FJ having used a body shape carried over from the original Holden 48-215 series introduced in 1948. A single piece windscreen was now fitted and other improvements included a 12 volt electrical system (replacing the previous 6 volt system), improved steering, a front stabiliser bar and wider wheel rims. All models used a 2262 cc in-line six cylinder engine, coupled with a 3 speed manual gearbox. Engine improvements over the FJ included the use of bigger valves and the lifting of the compression ratio to 6.8:1, which increased the power output from 45 kW to 53 kW.

After a production run of 155,161 vehicles the entire FE range was replaced by the Holden FC series in July 1958.