Galah performance

The oldest Holden to ever contest the Bathurst classic was this humble FB model. This unlikely racecar gave a pair of racing mad lads a boy’s own adventure – and a special place in Holden’s storied Great Race history. Fifty-five years on, they told their story to AMC. Images: McCumisky Collection; Paul Cross

Story: Luke West

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Seven Holdens lined up on the grid for the first Great Race at Bathurst. Eight, if you count perennial Panorama pilgrim Bob Holden in his Peugeot 404!

Of the seven machines wearing Holden badges in the 1963 Armstrong 500, six were the brand new EH S4. These were the much-hyped limited-run ‘New Holden Sports Cars’ that doubled as the General’s first homologation race special. The ‘hot Holdens’ were sleek, modern and expected to challenge for line honours, especially the crack Scuderia Veloce-entered example driven by Brian Muir and Spencer Martin, drivers who would soon become stars.

In sharp contrast to the half-dozen EH S4s was the other Holden car in the big race, one that was then already three models old. While the svelte EH was the latest word in Aussie automotive design at the time, the somewhat frumpy-looking FB of 1960 had already been superseded by the EK, which in turn was replaced by the EJ, that gave way to the EH...