fbekholden.com

Hi everyone my name is Nigel me and my son have recently become custodians of my father's almost fully restored EK Ute.
My father bought this new in 1961 and used as a farm Ute until 1976 it was then shedded until my father retired and he has spent the last seven years restoring it. Unfortunately my father has had to go in to a retirement village and we have become custodians of Ute. I have posted some photo's below.
There are still a few jobs to be done:- indicators,seatbelts and tracking down that elusive rear "Holden" badge

Nigel,

What a jewel. Welcome to the forum.

Rob

What a ripper Nigel. With the restoration, the car can stay in the family for another 60 years before your grandkids do another resto .
How long before it’s back on the road?
Keep us posted when you do those little jobs.

Cheers,

John

Wow Nigel. Specially for a farm ute, she looks in outstanding condition. My project farm ute suffered such crude modifications as 186 and roof mounted spottie.

I’m curious as to a couple of things. Has your dad had to do much body and rust work on her I wonder. How she lost her boot badge is the other thing I wonder. I managed to find one for mine recently on gumtree so they do come up.

Good luck with finishing her off. I hope your dad gets to appreciate her. Look forward to following your progress.
Cheers
Clay


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Grey Utes with red trim are cool

Cheers,
Harv

Awesome Ute Nigel - I think we are going to have to have a new forum just for grey utes Harv - we are taking over - insert evil laugh here LOL

At least you will be able to fit in with modern traffic not having indictors

SWEEEEET! - I have always loved utes - seeing Nigels and Harvs(Graces) and a couple other perla's the past few months has got me so excited to drive the old girl again.

I really do hope Nigel gets to take his dad for a ride - sounds like he really loved the old girl.

SunnyTim wrote: Fri Oct 26, 2018 7:07 pm

FJWALLY wrote:Awesome Ute Nigel - I think we are going to have to have a new forum just for grey utes Harv - we are taking over - insert evil laugh here LOL

Yes we are finally bringing our Montana Grey EK ute home next month....

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Nigel I have a set of seatbelts from Neil Stamp custom Belts that I no longer need I would sell cheap to the right person - they are ones that the spring pack mounts to the parcel shelf - I have since moved mine to the B pilar while doing the resto but depends what your intent is - let me know if interested - no stress if not.

FJWALLY wrote: Fri Oct 26, 2018 6:41 pm Awesome Ute Nigel - I think we are going to have to have a new forum just for grey utes Harv - we are taking over - insert evil laugh here LOL

Now there's a thought

Hey Nigel,
That is a very tidy ute you have there. Do you have any of the original sales documents to go with it? How many miles has it covered? Hope you get the opportunity to take your Dad & son for a spin (3 generations) up front on the bench seat will make for some great memories and pics. I'll drop you a PM as I can help you with one of those elusive tailgate badges!

Look forward to seeing some more pics.

Regards
Stephen

Welcome to the forum Nigel , your ute is a credit to you all , one owner vehicles are VERY thin on the ground these days , great to see she is staying in the family and I also hope your dad gets to enjoy his ute for a long time to come . There is a bloke on the forum who makes reproduction tailgate badges out of resin which can be chrome plated, they look identical to the real thing - PM me if you want his details mate

Thanks very much for your kinds words and making us feel welcomed. I am a little overwhelmed.

59wagon wrote: Fri Oct 26, 2018 5:17 pm What a ripper Nigel. With the restoration, the car can stay in the family for another 60 years before your grandkids do another resto .
How long before it’s back on the road?
Keep us posted when you do those little jobs.

Cheers,

John

Thanks John. I am hoping that it will stay in the family. Hopefully it won't be to much longer before it is back on the road.

Errol62 wrote: Fri Oct 26, 2018 6:18 pm Wow Nigel. Specially for a farm ute, she looks in outstanding condition. My project farm ute suffered such crude modifications as 186 and roof mounted spottie.

I’m curious as to a couple of things. Has your dad had to do much body and rust work on her I wonder. How she lost her boot badge is the other thing I wonder. I managed to find one for mine recently on gumtree so they do come up.

Good luck with finishing her off. I hope your dad gets to appreciate her. Look forward to following your progress.
Cheers
Clay

There was only minor rust and small dents. My father looked after her very well. He specifically asked for the dents to be left in the tray to "leave some character" (well that's his story ) Half the tailgate badge was lost at some stage during farm use. The other half was removed during resto and subsequently lost

Harv wrote: Fri Oct 26, 2018 6:30 pm Grey Utes with red trim are cool

Cheers,
Harv

FJWALLY wrote: Fri Oct 26, 2018 6:41 pm Awesome Ute Nigel - I think we are going to have to have a new forum just for grey utes Harv - we are taking over - insert evil laugh here LOL

It may not have shown clearly in the photos, but she is white. I hope she is still cool

gpi wrote: Fri Oct 26, 2018 6:46 pm At least you will be able to fit in with modern traffic not having indictors

FJWALLY wrote: Fri Oct 26, 2018 8:31 pm Nigel I have a set of seatbelts from Neil Stamp custom Belts that I no longer need I would sell cheap to the right person - they are ones that the spring pack mounts to the parcel shelf - I have since moved mine to the B pilar while doing the resto but depends what your intent is - let me know if interested - no stress if not.

Thanks very much for your offer. I'm not really sure what my intent is (I am a complete novice/newb) Are you able to discuss the pros/cons of each options. Thanks.

In the Shed wrote: Fri Oct 26, 2018 10:46 pm Hey Nigel,
That is a very tidy ute you have there. Do you have any of the original sales documents to go with it? How many miles has it covered? Hope you get the opportunity to take your Dad & son for a spin (3 generations) up front on the bench seat will make for some great memories and pics. I'll drop you a PM as I can help you with one of those elusive tailgate badges!

Look forward to seeing some more pics.

Regards
Stephen

Thanks Stephen. I do have some of the original documentation including a complete services history that my Dad completed. (BTW did you really have to change the oil every 1000 miles?) I have posted a pic below. It has done 102367 miles (see pic). We have already had the opportunity for the 3 generation ride. I will post more on this later as it is very special and probably deserves its own post when I can get all the pictures/video together. I have read your PM and will be passing this onto my son. He has taken this on as a school project (he's in grade 6) and is very keen.

Blacky wrote: Fri Oct 26, 2018 10:52 pm Welcome to the forum Nigel , your ute is a credit to you all , one owner vehicles are VERY thin on the ground these days , great to see she is staying in the family and I also hope your dad gets to enjoy his ute for a long time to come . There is a bloke on the forum who makes reproduction tailgate badges out of resin which can be chrome plated, they look identical to the real thing - PM me if you want his details mate

The credit is entirely with my Dad I'm afraid. He looked after it when it was in use (when he could have easily let it fall into disrepair), stored it carefully, and then spent countless hours on it. I only helped occasionally when I visited with things he need 2 people for which wasn't very often (He lives in Wagga, I live in Melbourne). Stephen has been in contact about the badge.

I have a heap more questions which I will post when I get the time.

Thanks everyone
Nigel and Lock

Seatbelts - I'm probably not the most knowledgeable here but my understanding is this.
The easiest to fit and what I did at first was the spring pack mounted on the flat panel behind the seat - quite simple to drill a hole and bolt it through as you have access to under the parcel shelf from the tub - if your steel is solid the use of a proper backing plate is all you need - another hole into the rear firewall behind the seat for the bottom mount and one at same height behind the seat for the clip end - need do a little adjustment to the seat to be able to get the clip end through as the top and bottom seat are sewn together in the lining material - easy enough to do - my kit also has the centre sash belt which is fine for kids but a struggle for three adults as I'm sure you are aware by now.

What I have now done is to move the spring pack to the floor behind the seat and a runner up above the seat over right shoulder in in drivers seat so it's a bit easier to reach and a bit more comfortable angle - not hard to do but you need to drill holes and weld a plate in behind the B Pilar internals for bracing - rest is the same so two advantages in my mind - one a cleaner look as you cant see the spring pack on parcel shelf and two a bit better comfort.

FJWALLY wrote: Sat Oct 27, 2018 12:40 pm Seatbelts - I'm probably not the most knowledgeable here but my understanding is this.
The easiest to fit and what I did at first was the spring pack mounted on the flat panel behind the seat - quite simple to drill a hole and bolt it through as you have access to under the parcel shelf from the tub - if your steel is solid the use of a proper backing plate is all you need - another hole into the rear firewall behind the seat for the bottom mount and one at same height behind the seat for the clip end - need do a little adjustment to the seat to be able to get the clip end through as the top and bottom seat are sewn together in the lining material - easy enough to do - my kit also has the centre sash belt which is fine for kids but a struggle for three adults as I'm sure you are aware by now.

What I have now done is to move the spring pack to the floor behind the seat and a runner up above the seat over right shoulder in in drivers seat so it's a bit easier to reach and a bit more comfortable angle - not hard to do but you need to drill holes and weld a plate in behind the B Pilar internals for bracing - rest is the same so two advantages in my mind - one a cleaner look as you cant see the spring pack on parcel shelf and two a bit better comfort.

Utes are a lot easier to mount the seatbelts in to the B-pillar than sedans/wagons. The ute B-pillars have large factory holes (pressings) that make it possible to slide in a reinforcing plate, complete with captive nut. These plates are available off the shelf from Hemco. Use two pop-rivets to hold the plate in place - no welding. The only drama is that there is a piece of trim that covers the B-pillar (the trim is part of the hood lining). Easy to do if the hoodlining is out, though if the hoodlining is in place the B-pillar part can be gently unpeeled, the plates fitted then the trim reglued.
Cheers,
Harv (who cannot weld)