Holden HD-HR history

After the resounding success of the EH, Holden had a big job on its hands to come up with a suitable replacement. Instead of building on the EH’s record sales, Holden managed to drop the ball and — according to folklore — HD stands for Hastily Designed while HR stands for Hastily Revised.

First published in the August 2007 issue of Street Machine

Nearly 20,000 Holdens were exported to a variety of markets in 1965

The HD was in fact named after GMH managing director David Hegland (surname first), which is appropriate as the HD was the first Holden since the FJ to be designed in the US — the EH was an American job but that simply built upon the Aussie-designed EJ.

Released in February 1965, the big problem with the HD was its styling. Wider and longer than the EH, many of the design elements were quite contemporary. These included curved side glass, concave rear window, wrap-around tail-lights and some highly sculpted body panels. Nevertheless the HD was widely panned for its styling, particularly for its infamous ‘kidney-crusher’ front guards and the fact that the wider HD body still sat on the narrow EH track.

The car’s handling was also judged to be inferior to the EH: not only was the HD heavier than its predecessor but the motor had been pushed forward to help create a smaller transmission tunnel that would be less intrusive on interior space.

On the plus side, the HD’s interior was more functional than any previous Holden, with a deeper boot, flatter floor and improved seating position. The car’s mechanicals were likewise significantly improved. The 149 and 179 engines were carried over from the EH, but the slow-shifting Hydramatic auto was replaced with the robust two-speed Powerglide.

Not sure if it’s an HD or an HR from the front? The HR’s circular indicators in the grille are the easy give-away. Note also that the HOLDEN lettering used on the HD’s bonnet was dropped — some HRs had a script-style badge on the grille

Holden also developed its first performance engine, the 179 X2. With a hotter cam, twin Bendix-Stromberg carbs, water-heated inlet manifold and headers, this donk produced 140hp.

Self-adjusting drum brakes were also introduced and a new ball-joint front end was released in July 1965, not only giving the car a wider track but facilitating the fitment of optional disc brakes!

X2 blocks were painted a brighter shade of red than standard 179s — appropriately called Rocket Red — while rocker covers, fans and oil caps were painted silver instead of black. The X2 was rated at 140hp thanks to a hotter cam, twin Bendix-Stromberg carbs (similar in size to the 149 carb), water-heated inlet manifold and cast-iron headers. Note that the jam-tin type brake and clutch reservoirs were replaced by clear plastic items

The HD started well — its sales rate actually outstripped the EH and made May 1965 a new sales record month for Holden. Sales soon slowed, however, with both a general market downturn and increasing public dislike of the HD’s appearance taking effect. A total of 178,927 HDs were produced in the nearly 15 months it was in production — not a disaster by any means — but Holden certainly lost the momentum it had built up with the EH, especially important in the face of ever-improving competition from the Falcon and the Valiant.

The HR replaced the HD in February 1966 and was much more pleasing to most eyes, with the sharp front and rear guards banished forever. The HR also sat half an inch closer to the ground than the HD and had a wider rear windscreen.

The 149 and 179 were replaced by the 161 and 186 red motors. Holden offered an LSD rear end, as well as a four-speed Opel gearbox as an $85 option. The 186 initially came with an X2 option but that was superseded by the 186S in June 1967, which used a single twin-barrel WW Stromberg carb. The 186S was rated at 145hp but was said to be more driveable than the 186 X2.

The public responded to the changes and the HR came close to matching the EH’s production total, with 252,352 units produced in the nearly 22 months the car was on sale.

DAN BOWEN
1965 HD X2 SPECIAL

From the front, the HD is readily recognisable from its sharp front guards that protrude forward of the headlights. Like the EH, the indicators are positioned under the bumper

Dan’s X2 was purchased from an elderly couple who’d become too old to drive by 2000. Dan undertook a five-year restoration job, with Peter Gill performing most of the hard yards. Dan was keen to keep the car as close to standard as possible and the only non-factory items are the velour trim (nicer than vinyl in summer!) and a hot rod-style peep mirror. He also added Premier dress wheel trims and horn ring.

Among the HD’s distinctive styling cues are the concave rear window and wrap-around tail-lights

“I wasn’t particularly looking for an HD but I’d come back from overseas and didn’t have much money. I saw the HD advertised for $800 and that was that,” says Dan. “I like the fact that it is a bit of an ugly duckling. You could never call it beautiful but it has a style of its own.”

While Dan’s car is very neat, it’s not quite a by-the-numbers restoration — little details like the battery and Ryco fuel filter will jar with the trainspotters.

Dan’s HD is close to stock but runs velour trim instead of vinyl. Steering wheels and columns were painted the same colour as the trim, though on commercials these were painted black and some Premiers came with white tillers, gear levers and indicator knobs. The X2 engine option also brought with it some neat badging and a set of proper gauges in place of the usual warning lights

Dan found his highly sought-after NASCO Air Chief Picnic Radio on eBay for $50!

JOHN STEWARD
1966 HR PREMIER

John’s HR is a low-mileage car, showing 65,000 miles on the clock on the day of our shoot. Like Colin’s ute (below), the Premier is totally unrestored and it won Best Original at the HD-HR Nationals in 2005. Being a Prem, John’s car came with a 186 as standard, and bucket seats. Options include the Powerglide trans, heater console and disc brakes. John’s HR has a few nice pieces of dress-up gear, including a sun visor and bonnet spear.

From the rear, the HR is easily identifiable by its vertical tail-light cluster. The rear screen is also wider, as the pillars were moved out to line up with the edge of the rear guards

The HR saw a number of small improvements in safety, including reversing lights, front seatbelts, windscreen washers, padded interior sun visors and shatterproof rear view mirrors. Premiers also scored woodgrain trim on the dash fascia, door trims and horn bar — pretty flash!

Holden bored out the 179 to 3.625in to produce the 186, while the 149’s bore was increased to 3.375in to create the 161. All models except the Premier came with a high compression version of the 161 as standard — the 186 and a low-comp 161 were optional. It is also worth noting that from mid-1967 all engines were fitted with cast nodular crankshafts, having previously been made from forged steel

COLIN CUNNINGHAM
1967 HR UTE

Colin’s HR ute clicked over 18,000 miles on the day of this shoot and is in amazingly good and totally unrestored condition. It still runs with its original tyres, clutch, brake shoes and tonneau cover!

“I bought it from the original owner,” says Colin. “It was pretty basic — the 186 is the only option on the whole car — no heater, no radio, not even a cigarette lighter.”

Colin has three more HR utes in his collection, as well as an EH ute. The car came runner-up in the Unrestored Original category at the 2007 HD-HR Nationals

MORE Holden FE – FC history

MORE Holden FB-EK history

MORE Holden EJ-EH history