Conservators at the National Museum had smiles from ear to ear yesterday when the first Holden car sold in Australia drove off without a hitch for its first public test drive after extensive restorations.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The 48-215, later known as the FX model, was delivered to the managing director of BHP, Essington Lewis, in Melbourne on February 24, 1949, the day before the Holden was released for sale to the public.
When the car, made in 1948, arrived in the museum's collection in 2004 it had not been driven for years.
After an extensive internal investigation and maintenance program, the car was again brought to life.
Conservator Ainslie Greiner said his team had been restoring the car for the past six months.
''The work has been fairly extensive ... on the engine, the gear box, driveline and brake system ...'' he said.
''We're one of the few museums and institutions in Australia that actually have some of our technology items functioning.''
The grey car, with red leather interior and no seatbelts, was sold for about ?500 in 1949, which was about two years' salary for the average worker.
Senior curator at the museum Daniel Oakman said a sense of national pride was associated with the Holden car.
''It captured people's imagination and a sense about what they could achieve in this country from a manufacturing point of view and also socially - the way people's lives were going to change with access to this car,'' he said.
The museum purchased the prized Holden Prototype No1 for about $750,000.
Mr Oakman didn't know the value of the FX model, but said ''you can't put a value on its historical significance''.
Mr Oakman has been researching the car's history and said the car's original owner, Mr Lewis, was a key figure in Australia's industrial history.
''He played a critical role in developing steel production in Australia and changing the manufacturing industry, which actually allowed cars like this to be produced in Australia,'' he said.
Mr Greiner said it was the first car that was designed specifically for Australian conditions. It had ''wonderful'' suspension and enabled families to drive on dirt roads.
It was also ''very powerful'' and could easily reach speeds of 80 miles per hour (130km/h).
The FX model was completely different to modern incarnations.
''A modern car is controlled by computer systems, whereas this is simple engineering,'' Mr Greiner said.
The car will be on display at the National Museum's Mitchell Store open day on Sunday.