Frank De Montis - HG Sedan

Frank De Montis - 1971 Holden HG Kingswood - Updated 9 July 2009

My name is Frank. I live Canberra and I work for the Federal Government. I recently purchased a 1971 Holden HG Kingswood. I was looking for a classic car, and I was interested in Holden models such as the HD, HR, HK, HG, and HZ. I found the HG online. I really wanted a wagon, but after many months of searching, I still could not find the right one within my price range. Mostly, I had found cars in need of serious TLC, leaking engines, pervasive rust, faulty transmissions, in addition to over-the-top modifications which kept me from sealing the deal. I am a fan of cars in original condition. In addition to being an attractive car, the HG was described as having a just reconditioned 186L red engine and no rust, and the contact person was Ron, an old work colleague here in Canberra.  It turned out the person selling the car was Ron’s father, Jim, an 86 year old Dutch living near Wollongong. After negotiating my initial offer, agreement was reached on the price, and we travelled to Wollongong on a bright Saturday morning to check out the car and a day at the beach. In fact, the old girl is in good nick. Jim owned and garaged the car for the last 31 years, and had a particular liking for fish oil. It did not take me too long to confirm that I would take the car, and off we went for a swim. Taking the car back home, however, proved to be more difficult than I had initially thought. You see, because of his age Jim cancelled his driving licence two years earlier, and he thought that it would be only natural to also cancel the car’s registration, returning car plates and the old registration papers. I said “well, I’ll get a day permit from the RTA, just like in Canberra, and drive the car back.” It was then that I learned that to have a day permit in NSW, you still need to take the car for a mechanic inspection and get a slip (green?), and in addition, you also need another slip (can’t remember the colour – blue?) for insurance cover. A bit difficult to organise for an unregistered car in another state. The temptation to drive the car back without registration was strong. Hiring a ute plus car trailer was not possible (the load’s weight must not exceed the towing vehicle’s weight, the petrol station attendant said), so in the end I organised for a car transport company to do the job. The Kingswood was delivered to my driveway five days later. I will spare you the intricacies of trying to get a day permit in the ACT for a car from another state without plates and registration papers, but after all that, with a new set of tyres, she flew through the rego inspection. This is a great car which I am thoroughly enjoying, a bit stiff around corners but it has a lot of character and is fun to drive, although it is taking me some time to get used to the bench seat.. Soon the mags will come off and will be replaced by four original rims and hub caps. I would also like to put an original Holden De Luxe Eleven radio back in the car. Other Holden models I would like to own one day are the EK, FC and FE. Cars I previously owned include Fiat, Renault, Mini Cooper, Valiant, Datsun (several), BMW and Honda. I have also owned several motorbikes (past member of the ACT Veteran and Vintage Motorcycle Club). My favourite remains my old Honda 750 Four. Always happy to talk about classic cars and restorations at the next Club meeting!