The New Year has arrived and this is an ideal time to remind everyone of the events being organised for 2012:

Sunday 22 January | Breakfast
9.00 am.  Breakfast by the beach.  Venue:  Glenelg Surf Life Saving Club.
(Parking is available at surrounding parking stations for $2.70 per/hr or for those interested, the FB-EK Car Club are running their All Holden Day on Wigley Reserve.  Cars can be parked from 8.30 am.  $10 per car.  Cars need to be left on reserve till mid-afternoon.)

Sunday 26 February | Annual Picnic
11 am.  Venue:  Club Rooms.  ”Show and Shine”, boot sale, raffles and a BBQ (supplied by the Club).  Guest speakers from FHMC.  Bring a sweet to share for afternoon tea.

TBA | Tech Talk and Demonstration
Venue:  Max and Betty Freeman’s residence. 

Sunday 29 April | McLaren Vintage Festival
At McLaren Vale.  Picnic lunch at winery.

Saturday 26 & Sunday 27 May | Short Weekend
Further details to be advised.

Sunday 19 June | President’s Run
Further details to be provided closer to the date.

TBA | Presentation by Don Loffler
PowerPoint presentation – Part 2.  BBQ lunch at Club Rooms.

Further events for the remainder of the year are being organised, so stay tuned to find out more.  All members are welcome and we look forward to seeing you!

The history behind the award … 

Dean Qualmann first joined the club in July 1977.  He was family orientated with wife, Kathy, and children, Michael and Beverley. Throughout the 21 years Dean was actively involved in the club and he held many of the committee positions as well as many positions that were not formally recognised until recently. There would never be a car run in which you didn’t see his chocolate brown Holden Ute and an ice cream in his hand. He was a larger than life character, big white beard, quick witted and extremely passionate for the club.  Another large passion in Dean’s life was his love for Austin7 cars.  He had several and was also a member of their club.  Their clubrooms were the location for our club meetings for many years.

Dean owned two yellow FJ Holden’s, which were raced at RollyPark and Virginia.  One has been restored and was on show at Loxton for the Nationals several years ago.  He owned many Earlies and FJ’s although his pride was the brown Early Ute and although Dean was the number one gearbox man, his own maintenance on this vehicle was sadly lacking.  Despite this, it was a marvel how it stayed on the road and the vast trips it covered without any problems. An interesting note is that Dean was a founding member of the Riverview Vintage Speedway Classic that is still held today at Murray Bridge Speedway. 

Dean acted as a “welcome person” for new members as well as visitors to the club.  He held other club positions such as President, Minute Secretary, Secretary, Vice President, Club Publicist, Librarian, Public Officer and Photo Album.  When Dean was on the executive committee, he would hold committee meetings for the executive committee the week before so that complex matters could be dealt with effectively at club meetings.  Dean also served on the social committee and was the “spares” person for whom you could see if your car needed something.  He stored the “spare parts” for the club at his residence, drove to all swap meets to collect more on behalf of the club as well as dispensed spares and technical advice to members whenever they needed any help.  He held “workshop” days to help members working on their cars.

The club meant the world to Dean who felt that it was important socially for people with the same interest to socialise.  He promoted the club as being family orientated and served as Club Father Christmas to all the club members’ children at Christmas Picnics.  He certainly had the big white beard for the job!  

Dean was the man who kept the club afloat when it would have been too easy to amalgamate with another club when the times got tough.  Dean felt strongly that the club should have a visible identity and played an integral part in the design and colours of the club uniform.  The T-shirt and jumper combination helped not only bond club members, but at events, the club couldn’t be missed!. He loved his Holden’s (Earlies and FJ’s) and the Grey Motor.  In early days, these Holdens were just another car until passions were lit in the mid 1980’s.  Dean was instrumental in encouraging the club to purchase a $50 raffle ticket for the chance to win a concourse early model holden.  Luck would have it, that the club held the winning ticket.  Dean and Kathy bussed to Queensland where the car was being held and drove it back to Adelaide.  “The Club Car” was stored at his residence for some time until later when it was sold.  This created a solid financial base for the club.  For years, Dean donated cans of soft drink at all of the club meetings and functions and financed the club magazine including the paper, printing and postage, until the club became financially assured.

Dean would often be a liaison officer between other car clubs and was involved in the creation of the first club rules and constitution.  Without any formal position on the committee, Dean often conducted Radio and Television interviews on Holden cars and promoted the 48-FJ Holden Club in his role as Club Publicist.

The Qualmann Award – On Dean’s passing in June 1998 from a long illness, members had wanted to acknowledge his long-term commitment to the club.  His family decided that in lieu of life membership for Dean, an annual award would be more meaningful and would keep his memory alive.  They wanted an award which encapsulated the outstanding effort a club member made throughout a year and the service they have provided to the club which is above and beyond normal duties.  Something, which reflected how, Dean felt about his beloved club.

Dean Qualmann and wife Kathy with their beloved brown Holden Ute.

 Just on 50 Holdens assembled on the pleasant lawned area behind the Centre, most of them being 48-215 and FJ sedans, along with a few 50-2106 and FJ utilities and one FJ panel van. The vehicles ranged from stock standard through to highly modified.

 Among the accompanying photographs are some of the interesting vehicles on display. From our club there was an immaculate Lithgow Cream FJ Special, which was making its first appearance since its ground-up restoration. There was also a pillar box red PMG (Post Master General’s Department, forerunner of Australia Post) FJ panel van, one of only three known to be authentically restored and road registered inAustralia. Incredibly, two of the three are in our club. The March 1949 48-215 is the second oldest Adelaide-assembled Holden on wheels. An outfit of a 48-215 sedan and a matching trailer, made from the back half of an FJ panel van, attracted much attention.

 The showstopper from the Southern Early’s Club was arguably the most amazing blackFJ Special streetmachine ever made. It has a radically widened and lowered body, which still retains all the essential characteristics of the FJ. A terrifyingly powerful engine sits beneath the bonnet, and the plush interior reminds one of business class in an aircraft.

From the General’s Club there was a multi-award winning two-door FJ coupé, painted in eye-catching metallic green, which demonstrated what can be done when someone with great expertise puts in hundreds of hours to achieve a modified sedan that looks truly professional. Also from that club was Dave Polklaser’s splendidly restored FJ Business sedan, painted authentically in the rarely produced colour of Shannon Green.

 The show-and-tell award for the day would have to go to a genuine, period-produced FJ disc brake, one of only a few known to survive from the heyday of FJ racing in the 1960s.

Attending events like this is what makes club membership so rewarding and enjoyable.

Early this year Ash was commissioned by GM Holden Ltd and the National Motor Museum to produce four short films to commemorate the 60^th anniversary of the Holden Ute. The series is titled Ute-opia and the films feature interviews with Holden ute enthusiasts of all ages and include the very first FX’s through to the current SS model.  Ash travelled around SA to record the interviews and also sourced footage and photographs from social media sites Facebook and YouTube. Some of the featured utes are daily drivers whilst others are fully customised with suspension airbags and on-board computers. The films are part of the Ute-opia exhibition which was on show at the National Motor Museum until the end of September before touring Australia wide.  The films can be viewed online at http://www.video.starkeyzone.net/ and Ash says 48-FJ members may be particularly interested in watching Early Days and In the family.

Shooting of the 48 – FJ film will start in late November and continue through December.  Ash received a good response on the night with ten members registering their interest in being a part of the new film.  If you’d like to be involved or just want to know more please phone Ash on 0417 814 521 or email ash@starkey.net.au.

Here’s a selection of production stills from Ute-opia.

The attractive beachside resort of Victor Harbor, about 100 km south ofAdelaide, knows how to put on a great show. They extend an open invitation to all to come to the town for a weekend of lively rock’n’roll music and dancing, with many opportunities for happy socialising and good dining.

This year, as usual, the centre of the town was closed to traffic, enabling large numbers of people to stroll along the streets, do some leisurely shopping and admire the stunning array of classic cars of the era filling almost every available parking spot normally used by the townspeople.

 A large dance square was set up at one corner of the expansive lawned plaza between two of the town’s main hotels, and next to it was a temporary stage occupied by live bands, whose music could be heard all over the town centre. Many of the dancers were seniors, who were able to forget their worries and relive their youth, as they rocked to the music they had loved decades earlier. The contentment and enjoyment on their faces said it all, but it was also a delight to see the joy on the faces of little children, whose parents were teaching them how to dance.

The fine, sunny spring weather drew maximum crowds to the town, and enabled people to relax and wander pleasurably around the displays of cars. Some sat in the sunshine, while others picnicked in the shade of the hugeNorfolk Islandpines on the edge of the plaza.

Eighteen of our Club’s families took their 48s and FJs to Victor for this year’s festival and, in view of our impressive participation at previous festivals, we were given royal treatment by this year’s organisers, who reserved a prominent spot for us to park our cars in an eye-catching line-up. Our cars attracted much attention and our Club won a trophy for the best club display of vehicles. In addition, Reece and Anita Hamilton won a trophy for their lovely 48-215 sedan.

 If you like rock’n’roll music and long for an enjoyable, relaxing weekend, this is a show not to be missed.

The passing of our dear friend Adrian has left a huge gap in the Club because he symbolised the very best of what we stand for – friendliness and enjoyment of each other’s company through the enjoyment of our early model Holdens.

Adrian and his wife, Heather, joined the Club in 1989 and soon became significant contributors to its life.  Adrian was at one time president and at another secretary, and in more recent times he was our delegate to the Australian Early Holden Federation, delegate to the Federation of Historic Motoring Clubs and a tireless member of our Social Club Committee.

Adrian was the driving force behind the outstanding success of two huge events – the 1998 celebration of Holden’s 50th anniversary at Port Adelaide and the 2004 FX-FJ Holden Nationals in Loxton, but perhaps more significant to us were the countless outings, trips and long weekends that he and Heather helped to organise, with meticulous attention to detail.  We will long remember how he revelled in visits to bakeries which he ensured were a feature of each itinerary.

Many of us owe Adrian a large debt of gratitude for the hours he spent helping us with our cars and teaching us much about them.  A more giving person you couldn’t imagine.  He never tired of urging us get involved, to think of each other, and never to criticise each other’s cars, but rather to help each other whenever we could so that everyone could get the maximum enjoyment out of their vehicles.
 

The fact that the Club awarded Adrian life membership speaks volumes for this larger-than-life man whom we shall all sorely miss.

My history with the Holden car began after leaving school when I started work as an apprentice toolmaker at the University of Adelaide.  I rode my pushbike to work each day. My father said that I could purchase a car as long as I paid cash for it, so I decided to build one instead!  Three and half years later, the ‘T’-bucket Hot Rod was born – 1928 chev tourer body jag part, side valve V8.  It wasn’t always an easy thing to carry car parts to and from work on the handle bars of my bike, but the Hot Rod did happen, was completed and I still have it to this day.  Now I did have a bit of a problem as it used to attract a lot of attention.  With a girlfriend on board, between police and young lads, I decided to get something that was less conspicuous!  My father had an FJ Holden that he allowed me to drive now and then so I had a look around and found a 1954 FJ Holden for myself.   

 Cars Early Life:         I bought my Holden in 1965 for the cost of around £50 ($100) pre decimal currency.  It had been sprayed with a vacuum cleaner, never had its oil changed, the sump plug was stripped.  All I had to do was add oil and at least it didn’t attract the same attention as the Hot Rod!  That was its first makeover!  I then lowered it 3 inches, welded the bonnet and mudgards together and then cut round the bonnet about 4” (100mm) up from the welded joints so I could open the bonnet.  I then held the bonnet shut with a leather strap reaching over the top of the bonnet from one side to the other.  I then welded in some French tail lights.  All the guys were doing this sort of thing – lowered cares and hotted up motors.  Unfortunately, I was then back to attracting that unwanted attention.  When I drove Dads Holden it felt a lot better than mine so the rebuild back to standard started on my car!!!!

Second Makeover:     In 1966 asDuncans were clearing a lot of Holden parts (brand new!) I decided to reinstate the car to original, so I completely stripped the body, sand blasted it and then gradually re built the car with new parts including a new engine that came in its new wooden box.  I sprayed it in Duco paint two tone grey.  Once it was all done, the upholstery was next.  Finally by the end of 1967 it was completed and passed its test drive.  A very satisfying project was finished and took 2½ years.  During restoration, the price of parts included $10 rear guards, $15 for front ones.  I got a price on a fuel tank that was $45.  This was too much for me being just on an apprentice wage.  A week later I got it for $4 including fuel sender.  Now I could drive around with out attracting attention!

Third makeover :        After my service inVietnam (the lucky lotto!) I got married and my wife used the Holden as our family car.  I had bought a BSA Motor Bike (A65T Model Thunderbolt) that I used to get to the university for work on.  The FJ served us faultlessly till January 1978 when I decided to redo the paint, change it from Duco Paint to Dulon Paint.  I had allowed 3 months, however the car got a complete body rebuild and 3 months was extended to 18 months.  It was completed in June 1979.  The engine reached 100,000 miles so I pulled it out to recondition it, but because we needed a car, I bought an engine for $50, put it in and drove the car for another 60,000 miles until it decided to break a piston ring.  I had the original motor reconditioned but had not put it together.  I looked through my spare parts and found enough parts to fix my $50 engine so it’s still going at 80,000 miles.  The original motor is still waiting to be reassembled and put back in to the car.  I needed a starter motor and got one for $10 but I had to take the whole car it was in, so that became my spare parts stock!

The last 20 years:      Over the last two decades only minor things have been done to the car.  It was to get a makeover when I retired but so far it is still waiting.  The car has done many holiday trips and off road travelling to our outback destinations and is still serving me well.  We did purchase a Toyota FJ40 in 1988 Landcruiser to pull our caravan that we had access to.  Everybody knows that the Holden is only good for one crash stop in 24hours!  The FJ has now done 300,000miles and the speedo is on its 4^th time round.

Life in the Car Club:       My Holden would jump out of top gear under load so driving with a left hand or arm resting on the gear lever was not the best so I stripped the gear box for a rebuild.  It needed a first gear and the trail lead to Dean Qualmann who sold me the part and introduced me to the Holden Club.  We joined the club in March 1983 and joined the first holiday weekend the club had in May of that year.  It was to Quorn and theFlindersRanges.  We found ourselves tour guides as no one else had knowledge of the area.  That started a list of positions that I then went on to hold within the club over the years to come.  Positions such as; President, Vice President, Treasurer, Public Officer, Spare Part and Technical Advisor, Newletter Editor, Photo Albums, Club Historian, Social Committee and Uniforms, May Long Weekend Tour Director and Tea and Food Person at club meetings.  I have enjoyed all aspects of club membership, as have my family. It was a great honour that in 2001, I was granted the honour of Life Membership.  This club has been a big part of my family’s life since we started back in 1983, all thanks to my gearbox.

Club Holidays:          We have attended 18 out of the 20 holidays run by the club from 1983 till 2003.  They were sacred and only missed in extreme circumstances.  We now attend when we can.  Club runs were monthly, then bi-monthly then 4 times a year.  At that time, we only had a few members and sometimes only 2 cars would attend. 

My History:   My family, includes my wife and three daughters all drove my Holden.  My three daughters were all taught to drive in the FJ because, at the time, it was our only car.  As mentioned earlier, I still have my Hot Rod.  I was one of the 7 founding members of the SA Rod and Custom Club in May 1965.  Now that I have retired, time is not my own anymore but I do like to get away every now and again in the Caravan that we have also rebuilt!!!

“God put me on this earth to accomplish a certain number of things.  Right now I am so far behind, I don’t think my number will ever come up!”