EK Holden ute true blue toiler rolls on

As a youngster, Mark George could be found with a spanner in his hand, watching his father pulling apart cars, marvelling at the process and always ready to help. His allegiance was mapped out in front of him from the start.

His grandfather loved Holdens, his father adopted the passion and it's no surprise he also fell in love with the Aussie marque.

So when he came across a 1961 EK Holden ute 20 years ago, he offered the owner $2000, even though he says it should've gone to a scrap heap in the condition it was in.

And while the owner wasn't interested in selling it, the offer must have swayed him.

Before long, George had his very own ute, something he had always desired.

Making it even more attractive to him was the fact it was born in the same year he was.

It may have been worse for wear, but 10 years later, with a mechanical mind and a friend helping out, George got to work restoring his classic.

After cutting out the rust, restoring panels and spending $4000 on the make-over, George's utility was ready to impress on the road.

“I just love old Holdens. I've got another one but this is the pride and joy,” he says.

Now as he hits the streets, everyone else can't seem to take their eyes off it.

“Everyone stares at it 'cause they've never seen one,” he says. “I took it to the mechanic to have it tuned and the young mechanic there had never seen one. He didn't know what it was.”

The 1969 registration label on the front also attracts attention from fans when George attends car shows. And while he tries to take the EK out once a week, it's main purpose is for car shows.

George says the old Holden utilities are rare, and the EK model in particular.

At a recent Holden show George and his ute attended, there were only three utilities out of the 230 cars on display. It attracted plenty of attention.

“It's a beautiful car to drive, a bit heavy on the arms with no power steering, but a nice car to drive,” he says. “It even still has the original engine, which has never been touched.”

And powering the Holden beauty is the 46-year-old 2.3-litre, six-cylinder engine.

It also has the original three-speed gearbox, which George enjoys, going back to the days of changing gears on the steering column rather than the floor, which is how he learnt to drive.

It might be slower than modern-day cars, but George says he doesn't have too much trouble with keeping up with traffic. “It cruises on about 65miles an hour (105km/h),” George says.

And as a fairly basic car, George had to make some adjustments for modern conditions.

“It was a standard, there was nothing in it,” he explains. “It didn't even have blinkers, I had to put blinkers in to get it registered.”

George says it was also in pre-seatbelt years, but as that's the way it left the factory, it's still able to be driven on the road today without them.

The EK model was the first Holden to feature the three-speed Hydramatic automatic gearbox, but this didn't stretch to the utility, which was only available with a manual transmission.

The ute originally sold for about pound stg. 1100, the equivalent of $2200 today.

George is happy with the way his EK now appears and says there's not much left to do as it's now about 95per cent complete.

While he has the original wheels, he's dressed it up with some mag wheels, but says that's about as far as he'll go with modifications.

He's not completely protective of the car, using it if there's something needing to be picked up.

But he's cautious of maintaining its pristine condition, “protecting the back as much as you can so you don't scratch it.”

Today the car would sell for about $12,000, but it's sticking with George for a while longer.

And the love of cars that George inherited won't stop at him. He's already passed it on to both his son and daughter, helped on by the four Holdens in his driveway including a 1966 HR Premier X2.

“My boy is only 11, he can't wait to get in it,” he says. “He loves the trips to Bathurst.”

“Even my 18-year-old daughter knows how to pull a car apart. She was always there when I first started the cars, always there to help me.”

Snapshot

1961 EK Holden Utility

Price when new: pound stg. 1106 or $2212

Value now: about $10,000 to $12,000 in top condition; about $6000 for an average model

Verdict: Holden ute history spans 50 years and the EK shows that classic early styling