Holden's 10 that got away

General Motors will celebrate 60 years of producing Holden cars in November but the reality is the first Australian-built 48-215 (FX) Holden rolled off the assembly line in April 1948.

In secret, Holden ran off 10 cars at Fishermens Bend that April to clear the line in readiness for full production in November.

Full production at that time was 112 cars in a month.

When the big day came, on November 29, 1200 men and women, including Prime Minister Ben Chifley, stood around an ivory FX.

The car appeared from behind silver curtains to the sounds of a 10-piece orchestra and was greeted with enthusiastic applause.

This was the first production-run Holden, Australia's own six-cylinder, successful mass produced car.

Holden's story goes back to James Alexander Holden, then 17, who arrived in South Australia from Staffordshire, England, in 1852.

In 1856 he started a shop in King William St, Adelaide, as a leather worker and saddle maker.

By 1885 the company was repairing and eventually building horse-drawn carriages and coaches a common beginning for many car companies.

In 1924, GM took an interest in Holden and struck a contract for the company to build vehicle bodies, for GM only.

When World War II started to wind down in 1943, along with GM Holden's military contracts, Holden revived a plan for an Aussie car.

Engineers started designing Project 2000 and in 1944 the first prototype was completed using Willys mechanicals. Later that year, GM Corporation approved the project.

In 1945 design work started on the Australian project in the US, and Project 2000 continued, becoming Project 2200.

The following year Holden engineers were sent to Detroit with their ideas, styling models and drawings and they linked with their US counterparts.

They produced three handmade working prototypes, virtually identical to the car intended for production and in late 1946 the cars were shipped to Fishermens Bend, accompanied by the Aussie design team and 22 American technicians.

These Detroit-built cars were tested extensively on Australia's rough dirt roads outside Melbourne and, as a result, modifications were made to the steering and suspension.

No doubt our roads then, as now, were inferior to America's flat track tarmacs.

Then Holden would take on the best of British the Austin A40 which was Australia's best selling car in 1948.

This Aussie icon was powered by a 2.15-litre six, the much revered and reliable 'grey motor' boasting a whole 45kW of power, with a three-on-the-tree manual gear shifter.

It weighed less than a ton and could do 129km/h and return 48km to the gallon.

The price was $1466.

There were 120,402 FXs built and perhaps the most visual FX in Australia is the pink FX which could be found in the Gold Coast, it is half buried on the first floor of an ancient wrecking yard office facing the Pacific Highway at Reedy Creek.

Each day thousands of vehicles pass the Gold Coast Auto Wreckers yard, owned by Will Smith.

Smith said he got the car from Olivia's Malt Shop at Surfers Paradise where it was on display and where staff on roller-skates served patrons.

Gold Coast historian Alex McRobbie recalled the shop being just south of Surfers Paradise on the beach side of the Gold Coast Highway.