kingswoods

[Pis-ton broke]

i had a hj kingswood, it was a good honest and solid car. It started and ran great. But one thing, the tri matic was a joke, we used to call the box the tri hard.

[mik]

monaro sedans went to hx at least, i was working at watson holden back in those days, but that`s about all i remember of the holden models.

[gtxb67]

Originally Posted by mik

monaro sedans went to hx at least, i was working at watson holden back in those days, but that`s about all i remember of the holden models.

correct, the hz was just called a gts, not monaro

[SSD-85]

Originally Posted by westoftown

you'll never be late in a 308

Must have a 302 powered tow truck then...


Seriously though, the only one I could appreciate is the HX/HZ. Nice enough effort by the red boys. Then they threw it all away with the commode.

[Angeldust]

well i bought a HX 308 4spd 4dr sedan and proceeded to gut it by transferring the engine and gearbox into my UC Torana. Hehe... I had the torrie for nearly six years as a 308 (right up until 2000).

[hawkgirl]

Originally Posted by Pis-ton broke

But one thing, the tri matic was a joke, we used to call the box the tri hard.

there's a reason even holden owners call them "trau matics"

the OH comes from a holden family. His pride & joy is his HZ ute. Has a premier front end, midnight blue. Currently without motor as he has just changed the valve seats etc so it will run on straight 98 premium fuel without valvemeaster. Figured he would get it all done while getting the repairs done from a leaking head gasket. A mildly worked 308 V8 (i think) - I have a pic of the "new" motor somewhere.

For some reason it has a different diff than usual, a drag diff? - the gearbox goes Bang! on a regular basis - my most vivid memory is driving home from windsor to penrith at midnight in reverse, because there were no forward gears.....

[GreenMachine]

Had an HQ (202, webers, 5 speed) and an HG (186, trimatic, rust) many years ago. Love them - The HQ is a much nicer shape than the XA. I'll probably have to duck for cover after saying that!

[2011G6E]

Originally Posted by hawkgirl

there's a reason even holden owners call them "trau matics"

Yes...yes indeed. The one in our WB Kingswood ute is out of a VH Commodore, and has a shift kit fitted. I've drained the oil and changed it, and it didn't look bad at all, so I'm hoping the former owners knew what they were doing.

But if not and it goes bang in the future, sitting in the corner of my shed is a spare Celica five speed greabox...

[Ryan]

Originally Posted by buickman

The HQ models had 4 door GTS's.

I owed a HT 308 GTS poweglide 2nd owner a rust bucket and not the greatest car to drive but now very collectable. The old HQ Kingswod ute I once owned was not a bad car to drive. A couple of old pics of my old car . I was on P plates now that a while ago.

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My great grandad owned a HK with a similar colour scheme/stripe package except his was a 253.

Anyway I'm not really a fan of Kingswoods HQ and beyond. Anything before that though.

[imugli]

A couple of years ago I was given a 2 owner HQ 202. Currently ists in the garage awaiting rebirth. Will probably be a few years yet, but looking forward to getting stuck into it.

[macman]

When my parents moved us to Australia the first car they bought was an HQ Statesman. It had gearbox troubles and got jammed in 1st gear not an hour after the bought it so went back to the dealer. They lost $500 in less than an hour!!!

Second car they bought, not long after, was an HJ Belmont wagon. It was absolutely immaculate but it was a 179 with a 3 speed column manual. It was white with a light khaki roof and sills, buckskin vinyl bench seats front and rear and vinyl floors. License plate was XZN 472 - I still remember that car vividly and my Mum used to drive it all the time to and from the shops etc with me and/or my sisters in the back.

It was spotless inside and out, completely rust free BUT it had an absolutely terrible vibration at 70k's. It was so bad I remember we used to have to cover our ears as kids in the back as it would just vibrate and resonate through the whole car.

Dad replaced the engine with a 202, the gearbox was rebuilt but then replaced with a trimatic, he replaced the front suspension and brakes from drums to discs and replaced the diff and had the prop shaft balanced and it STILL had this vibration which he could never get to the bottom of.

I have a photo of it at home, might scan it up.

Regardless, I still thought it was a great car (though my Dad wouldn't)!!! I would love an HQ Premier wagon one day, ideally with a 253 V8.

[buickman]

Originally Posted by Ryan

My great grandad owned a HK with a similar colour scheme/stripe package except his was a 253.

Anyway I'm not really a fan of Kingswoods HQ and beyond. Anything before that though.

I'm not that into Holdens myself nowdays but the HK's came with the V8 Chev mtrs 307cu(5ltr) and the GTS had the 327cu . So it might have had the 253cu fitted later as the HT was the 1st Holden with the Aussie 253cu & 308cu mts fitted
I remember looking at a blue 1969 HT Monaro that had a 307cu Chev but ended up buying the 1970 308cu Aussie mtr HT GTS for under $2,500 with the oil filled through the timming case in 1977. I cannot believe how much these car have increased in value though .

[pottery beige]

had a few kingys.. they rock..

nothing wrong with tri matics.. built and maintained properly they are a sweet box....

[Bushbasher]

I loved my HQ Kingswoods, had a couple of them in the past and couldn't kill them with a stick. My favourite was a 253 4 spd I put together from a wrecking yard shell and the drive train out of a Sandman Van that broke on me, it was a ripper. I've had HJ & HX kingswoods, sedans and utes, even a HT Prem with a 308, that was a nice car, but I always came back to the HQs'. If I could find a factory 253 4spd tomorrow that was in a drivable condition and not cancer ridden, I'd snap it up in a heartbeat.


Bushbasher