Values rise for the original Holdens

Holden began production of the FX (which was known at the time as the 48-215) in 1948, with 163 existing in total and only 112 of those released to dealers as demonstrator models.

An FX didn't reach a private buyer until January 1949 and they were then produced right up to 1953 when the FJ took over.

Of the models released to dealers in 1948, perhaps only nine still exist.

Holden collector, Phil Munday, recently snapped up his own little piece of history.

The owner of a smash repair shop in Melbourne bought one of the remaining 1948 FX models last Christmas.

It is the oldest continually registered FX model and Munday says it's also the second oldest Holden production car in Australia, with Holden owning the oldest.

And it now joins his collection of about

40 models, all Holdens except one lonely Ford, a classic Mustang muscle car.

“From a very young age, maybe as young as nine, we use to wreck these cars in the backyard,” he says. “It became a passion when I was 13, the rest is history.”

Munday says while there are probably about nine models remaining, he's only aware of the whereabouts of three desirable '48s.

He has one, Holden has the number six model made and fellow Holden fan Charlie McCarron has the number 46.

Others are believed to be either in pieces or undriveable, sitting in workshops.

Canowindra resident McCarron has owned his FX since 1970 when he paid about $800 for it. While it may not seem much, McCarron says it was still quite a lot of money for the time. But not as much as they're worth now.

Neither owners were willing to put a price on their cars, claiming they are worth whatever someone will pay for them.

Some have been known to go for $60,000, but they would be later models. And with few originals, the price tag is likely to rise.

Both Munday and McCarron are hoping to see it reach close to the $1 million mark in the next 10 years or so, especially with muscle cars recently attracting huge bids.

But 74-year-old McCarron already wants to let go of his prized possession. As with Munday, McCarron is a collector. He owns about 45 cars, some of which he has on display in his car yard, Canowindra Motors.

“What I want to do is sell the whole business and about 44 cars altogether,” he says.

But with such a connection to his cars and his shop, McCarron says he would like the majority to be sold together, including his FX which has done only 21,000 miles (33,800km) during its nearly 60 years on the road.

After becoming a Holden dealer in 1959, McCarron began looking for the oldest Holden car he could find.

He had been inspired by a trip to the Ford Museum in Michigan, where he saw the first and last T-model Fords displayed in glass cases. He decided to do the same.

He has owned this FX ever since and says it's in original condition having only had a new paint job in the 47 years he's owned it. Munday's model is also in original condition.

The FX was built almost entirely in Australia, although it was adapted from an American design. It featured a 2.15-litre,

in-line six-cylinder engine.

Munday says many Holden fans are often shocked to see the classic at car shows.

“A lot of people who look at this car think `That's another FX Holden', they don't realise it's a 1948-built car,” he says.

“People who have a bit of understanding of these cars look and say, `I've never seen another 1948 FX Holden'. There are less than 10 of them around.”

And Munday and McCarron say although they love their cars, they rarely drive them.

“It's certainly a driveable car, but it's too much of a special car to drive it all the time. If it was ever written off or stolen you could never replace it,” Munday says.

Fast facts

1948 FX Holden (48-215)

Price when new: around pound stg. 733 ($1466)

Price now: more than $60,000

Verdict: Holden's first production model harks back to the beginnings of the company and the automotive industry in Australia. With only a handful of these originals remaining, they are a very special model.