As soon as you clap eyes on Greg and Jenny Jones’s 1961 EK Holden Station Sedan, you’ll find yourself thinking about all the professional work and big bills that were no doubt required to create such a quality machine. But in truth, other than the interior trim, Greg built this whole thing himself with his own two hands in his home shed!

First published in the January 2025 issue of Street Machine

The 69-year-old has built around 30 toughies in his time, and this EK is his latest. “I’ve done quite a lot of hot rods and a few old Holdens like our HT and EH,” Greg says. “On the EK, I did the fabrication, wiring, panel work, paint, fitting the driveline – all of it. I had the LS rebuilt, and Adrian Morgan from Kool Trim did the interior – which he did to perfection – but besides that, I did the rest.”

It’s a bloody impressive feat, and the EK already has silverware to show for it. Unveiled at the Adelaide Auto Expo late last year, the stunning Holden came home with the Top Interior, Top Undercarriage and Top Wagon/Van awards. “I had a look around at what events were coming up roughly when I thought it’d be finished, and that one matched up,” Greg says.

The project kicked off when Greg was engaging in that dangerous pastime of browsing Facebook Marketplace. “It was a half-started project, but to my surprise, my wife Jenny liked the shape, so we got it in 2018,” he says. “I started the build properly in 2021, finishing up just in time for the Adelaide show.”

Though the bodylines of the EK remain largely unchanged, underneath the skin is a very different story. “I like all my cars modified, and they all have to be lowered; it’s a must for me,” says Greg. “So, I built a full chassis for it to suit the Rod-Tech rack-and-pinion front end and the triangulated four-link.”

The wheel tubs also copped a renovation to suit the wheels at full rest on the airbags, and Greg also made a whole new firewall and floor for the EK. “The 6L80E is a big ’box, so I had to add a decent hump for that,” he says.

Thanks to Greg’s apparent phobia of high-riding vehicles, ShockWave airbags live under all four corners, allowing the EK’s sills to become well acquainted with the ground in combination with the custom chassis. Greg hid the compressor behind the rear quarter panels in the boot.

While the outside is still mostly as Holden intended in the early 60s, Greg couldn’t help himself and finessed it to his liking. “I moved the fuel filler to behind the left-hand tail-light and deleted the quarter windows from the front doors,” he says. “I also squared off the bottom door corners that are usually rounded, and extended the back edge of the front doors about 10-15mm to close up a factory gap they have between the front and rear doors.”

The inside is just as delectable as the exterior, and the only major part of the car Greg outsourced. “Adrian Morgan from Kool Trim did it for us; he’s done five of our cars, including the EK,” he says. “He was about to give up doing cars, and we had to wait six months for him to do it, but my wife was prepared to wait.”

Adrian did the design, with Greg making the centre console from aluminium and choosing the Mazda CX-9 stools. “I always use Mazda seats where I can, as I always find them comfy, and I wanted something electric for both sides,” he continues. “Adrian moulded another pair into the rear seat, which was a fair effort; he said foam was everywhere!”

As for the donk, it’s a simple but effective 6.0-litre L98 nicked from a VE Commodore. Greg had it rebuilt by the lads at Davey Street Head Shed in Morwell. A Crow Cams 613 bumpstick and valvetrain mods were the only changes from standard, as Greg wasn’t chasing power. “I don’t really see the point. It’s built as a cruiser, and I’m tipping this thing weighs in at around 1400kg,” he says. “So, that’ll be plenty to get it moving, plus you can’t beat an LS for value for money.” It runs a standard ECU with a flash-tune, and at the time of writing, it’s yet to be dynoed.

Arguably, the most impressive part of this build isn’t just that Greg did it all himself, it’s that he did so while keeping the thing compliant and ready to receive full engineering in the state of Victoria. “I always do it with my cars, and my wife wants all the Is dotted and the Ts crossed with this stuff,” he says. As we write this, he EK is about to undergo a final torsion test on the chassis, and then it’ll be ready to hit the road. “I don’t think I’ll do many shows – we build these to drive them, so that’s exactly what we’ll do!” says Greg.

GREG & JENNY JONES
1961 EK HOLDEN SPECIAL STATION SEDAN

THANKS
Adrian Morgan at Kool Trim for designing and trimming the interior to perfection.