55 Geoff's FJ Holden

          The Magazine Feature Story #17

 https://classiccarsworldwide.com.au

GEOFF ROURKE,1955 FJ SEDAN, ‘32 CHEVY ROADSTER HOT ROD

“THE AUSTRALIAN CLASSIC CAR SCENE IS IN GOOD SHAPE”.   

 GEOFF ROURKE 1955 TALKS ABOUT HIS CLASSIC CARS – 

 FJ HOLDEN SEDAN & ’32 CHEVY ROADSTER HOT ROD

Melbourne based retired ex- builder Geoff Rourke (67 years old, widowed with one son) has had a long-standing interest in cars from a very early age. He says, “first it was vintage cars and then when I was about 10 years old I would watch the drag racing at Calder on television and became hooked on classics and hot rods.”

Geoff’s first normal car was a Holden panel van and his current daily ride is an FX one ton ute which is an ex-work vehicle.

Classic cars

“My first classic car was an FJ Sedan and I now also own an FX one ton ute (to be covered in a later issue) and a ’32 Chevy Roadster Hot Rod” says Geoff. “I have loved FX and FJ’s since I was young, and I used to sit in the original FX shaker drag car at the hot rod show.”

1955 Blue FJ Special Holden Sedan – Drives better than new!

“The FJ was built in Australia by Holden in 1955. I bought it in 1985 off a chap in St. Albans who originally bought it to restore himself. When he completely dismantled it he realised he was over his head and decided to sell it as parts. When I saw it I realised it was rust free and being young and foolish I offered to buy it all.”

The Build

 “The first restoration took three months” says Geoff. “It was basically stock on cross ply tyres and then modified over the next 38 years. As far as how much I have spent, it’s too much to remember but probably $30K to $40K. The motor cost nearly four times the purchase price!”

Modifications of the FJ include a Repco mark 3 AC, a hot grey motor with twin carbys, cam, extractors and big valve ported head converted for unleaded petrol. It is balanced and blueprinted and has a stock gearbox and diff, FE front hubs and rear axles with ET Gasser mag wheels.

Geoff did everything himself on the original build and says “I replaced two damaged pistons and rings with the engine in the car in a very small single car garage. I did all the body work and paint work. The only thing I had done by someone else was the interior. After using the car for a few months, the stitching split on the seats. The work was done by David Burke at Knox Trimmers (now Knox Carpets).”

“When I built the motor, I was contracted to GMH and had just rebuilt the engine explosion booths to allow testing of the blue six cylinder being converted to unleaded. I had the inside scoop on how to convert them. Unfortunately, GMH decided it was uneconomical to convert the engine when the Japanese yen and the Australian dollar came close and decided to go with the Nissan 6. All the head work was carried out by John Bennett on the agreement that I blueprinted the short motor and carbys and documented it all for Eddy Ford at Restored Cars in Newstead, Victoria as there was a scare campaign on to remove all old cars from Australian roads. John Bennett is a brilliant Australian engineer who founded Head Mod Engineering. He developed the Brazil ethanol programme and worked for the BMW rally team. He lectures in France and Brazil, did research and development for Repco and developed the ecotrans cooling system to solve cooling issues in cars with overheating problems.”

Geoff goes on to explain that the next major works came about when he had finished restoring another of his cars, an FX one ton ute.  “Kelvin Waddington asked me to renovate his panel shop in Castlemaine and an agreement was reached to repaint the FJ if I stripped it and had it sandblasted. This was over 20 years ago and not much has changed since then.”

’Solving The Air Conditioning Problem

Geoff had a unique solution for this and says “the air conditioning came about when my son was borne, and my wife would not take him in a hot FJ when she herself had a Commodore. I purchased an old Repco Mark 3 under dash air conditioning system from an old Valiant at a swap meet and approached local aur conditioning shops to fit it only to be told it was impossible. I therefore made all the brackets from plywood and then did a trial fit. Once I was satisfied, I made them in steel, installed it all and had it gassed, much to the amazement of the air conditioning people. That was 32 years ago and it is still going strong!”

“The FJ is a great car and drives better than new” says Geoff. 

32 Chevrolet Roadster

Geoff bought the roadster during Covid 19 as a runner from Queensland. It had been built to compete in the New South Wales mud run but needed a lot of work. “It had stock steel Ford rims, mud tyres, no roof and a sick engine and transmission” he says.

Another big restoration job

Geoff stripped and realigned the front end and rear and changed the springs to get a decent ride for the road. He also raised the car two inches to get the look he was after. Geoff further explains the amount of work conducted to get the roadster on the road.

“I built a new motor and trimatic using all the old speed parts I had in stock. Yella Terra Head, twin carbys extractors and the 60, though over short motor, from my FX one ton ute. I installed working gauges and gear shift, a new steering wheel and altered the thermo fan to be sender operated. I also fitted new mud guards, an original height windscreen and wiper and made a frame for the roof which I had trimmed by Mickz Motor Trimming in Packenham. I also fitted new taillights and chrome spreader bars front and rear, lowered the seat mounts and repaired and retrimmed the seat”

“The body is all steel but was very rough painted matt black with flames. The flames grew on me, so I repaired the body around them. I then repainted the body and guards satin black and had the flames outlined and pinstriping done by Julz in Packenham. I have done lots of small things and am always changing bits and pieces to suit my whims.”

Car clubs and shows

Geoff likes to read Cruzin and Australian Street Rodding magazines and he visits over 30 car shows a year. He is a member of the Early Model Holden and Melbourne Old School Cruisers car clubs. He says “I like to attend car cruises, coffee mornings and charity events. I met Glen Higgenson (Mr. Excited) years ago at Croydon’s men’s shed cars and coffee when he first purchased his Chevy. I also like to support him as he does a fantastic job for all of us in the old car fraternity.”

The future

Geoff concludes by saying “I have just completed the hot rod and my next project is a full restoration on the FX ute. I believe the Australian classic car scene is in good shape at the moment and it keeps growing no matter what type or make of car takes your fancy.”

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