1964 Holden EH Premier
Words: Mike Ryan
Photos: David Jenkins
For a lucky few, the chance to attain the car of their dreams is possible while still young. For the rest of us, it takes a little longer, as mortgages, kids and life’s demands limit the finances available. But for some of us, changing tastes and new interests means it takes a LOT longer to circle back to those cars we fell in love with in our youth.
The 1964 Holden EH Premier featured belongs to Peter Stonebridge and is a car of the type he fell in love with as a kid. After restoring his first car as a 16-year-old, Peter was able to buy a second-hand EH Special when he was 18, but his budget back then didn't stretch to a Premier: “I always wanted a Premier, but could never afford one.”
In his 20s, Peter found he was drawn to new shapes and new styles, specifically LC and LJ Toranas. He’s owned five over the years, including the very same XU-1 that Bill Brown rolled at Mount Panorama in the 1972 Hardie-Ferodo 500.
Fast forward to the 1980s and Peter was drawn to the HDT VK Commodore, but if you thought he was wedded to Holden, there was a Valiant Charger R/T in the garage at one point, too.
Peter next turned his eye to classic Holdens, utilising what were now decades of experience as a professional panel beater and spray painter to build an FJ Holden sedan with a V6 engine and interior out of a late-model Commodore. A full custom EH ute – with a hot 202 six and five-speed manual - was the next big affair, completed in 2006, then featured with JUST CARS in 2021. Along with its driveline changes, that ute had been upgraded to Premier spec inside, but it still wasn’t the Premier sedan Peter remembered so fondly, so about a decade ago, he decided it was time to return to that first love.
“As I got older, I thought, ‘Gee, it’d be good to get a Premier’, so I did!” Peter laughs.
Rust and Roebuck
A brief fling with an FC Special sedan, in rare Teal Blue over Cambridge Blue, couldn’t distract Peter from his first love, so he started looking in earnest for a good EH Premier in 2017.
With 256,959 EH Holdens built, one would think a good Premier would be relatively easy to find. Not so, mainly because Premiers accounted for a fraction of that total, maybe as little as 10 per cent. Time and attrition have cut those numbers down, with some of the finest examples now jealously guarded by collectors. All that meant Peter’s quest wasn’t an easy one.
As a professional panel beater and spray painter, Peter wasn’t afraid of a project, so rough examples were considered. There was a limit to that, though, with one he looked at being too rusty to be a serious contender.
Late in 2017, Peter saw the EH Premier he’d buy; a genuine 1964 example that was being offered through longtime JUST CARS advertisers, Prestige Motor Gallery in Carss Park, NSW. With a Roebuck Pearl body and Atherton Ivory roof, the Premier was running a 186ci six with an XU-1 cam, Yella Terra head and X2-style twin carb induction. The factory HydraMatic auto had been replaced with a Holden Tri-Matic, with the front end upgraded to HR Holden spec with disc brakes.
All these deviations from stock may have turned off some buyers, but the X2 drivetrain, Tri-Matic and disc brakes ticked all the boxes Peter was looking for: “I wasn’t going to change any of that, because that’s where the EH was lacking when new – especially the braking system.”
To clarify, the ‘Red Motor’ that debuted with the EH offered up to 50 per cent more power than the ‘Grey Motor’ used in every Holden from the 48-215 to the EJ, but braking wasn’t upgraded to match, with the EH still using meagre 9-inch drums front and rear.
While Peter liked what was under the bonnet, the rest of the car needed work. He says the paint wasn’t great, and some rust was evident, but with almost six decades’ experience restoring and customising cars at this point, these were easy hurdles to clear. As such, a deal was done and Peter had the car in his possession before the end of 2017.
New Year, New Project, New Colour
Starting the rebuild on New Year’s Day, 2018, Peter disassembled the car and stripped the body back to bare metal. Confirming his initial inspection, this revealed the sills and floors – the usual rust spots – were solid.
“I had to put a door skin on the left hand front door, and there was a little bit of rust in the front guards, but nothing much,” Peter recalls.
For the repaint, Peter said there was no way he was going to go with the “shocking” Roebuck Pearl the car had been wearing, choosing instead Fowlers Ivory. A period-correct EH colour, Fowlers Ivory has been described as brighter and less of a creamy white than Atherton Ivory that had been available on the EJ Holden.
“White EHs always look good to me,” Peter says, “So I decided to do the whole car in Fowlers Ivory.”
With so many surviving Premiers wearing two-tone paint - metallic lowers with a white roof - Peter’s decision to go with single-tone Fowlers Ivory is an unusual choice. It’s not unprecedented, though, as Premiers were available this way when new, with some restos and projects done in single colours, too.
Applying his decades of experience in panel prep and painting, Peter painstakingly resprayed the entire car himself, using a modern PPG acrylic equivalent of Fowlers Ivory.
All the exterior chrome was replated, from the bumpers to the mirrors and door handles, with the distinctive gold Premier badging refreshed, too. The die cast bar above the grille that carries the Holden identification and is unique to the EH was sent to a specialist to have the pitting removed and came back good as new.
Finishing off the exterior, a tint-band laminated windscreen was fitted for safety.
186 out . . . and 186 in.
For the drivetrain, Peter had an HP179 engine available to replace of the hot 186 the Premier was fitted with as bought, but in getting that engine rebuilt, Peter was told that oversized 179 pistons are no longer available. As such, increasing the bore to 186 during the rebuild resulted in the same capacity as the engine he’d removed.
Unlike the 202 in his EH ute project, Peter kept the 186 (nee 179) internals stock, but used the previous engine’s X2-spec twin Stromberg carbies, headers and air cleaner. For reliability, a Commodore electronic distributor was added, with a switchable fan added for the stock radiator: “I can put it on in heavy traffic, or any time I notice it’s getting hot.”
As he likes his cars tidy - inside, outside and underneath - the bare metal repaint also gave Peter an opportunity to completely refresh what had been a messy engine bay before slotting in the fresh 186.
Sharper Steering, Smoother Shifting
A notable addition to the engine bay is a steering box brace kit that addresses a known problem in Holdens of this period. Securing the steering box to the firewall, this brace reduces slop in the steering and goes some way to make up for the lack of power steering.
The Tri-Matic transmission, which Peter describes as a far superior, smoother automatic to the HydraMatic, was checked over and found to be in good usable condition. For the diff, Peter chose the factory 3.36:1 ratio over the 3.55:1 that was available on some EHs, including the 'S4' with its improved braking package, hotter 179 engine and strengthened manual transmission. GM-H had prepared these S4s, all based on EH Specials, to counter the Cortina GT500s at Bathurst in 1964.
Suspension remains stock, but lowered by an inch, while the braking is authentic to HR (front) and EH (rear) specs of the time.
For wheels, Peter replaced Dragway Draglites that were on the Premier when purchased with polished 14-inch Dragway 5-spoke alloys he’d originally bought for his EH ute.
The Factory Look
As purchased, the interior of this Premier had been trimmed in a mix of grey cloth and red velour that gave off a very 1980s vibe. Like the outside of the car, this was in decent condition, but not to Peter’s taste. A free-standing tachometer, aftermarket steering wheel and some other gimcrackery in the cabin didn’t meet with approval, either, so all of it was removed. Peter did, however, retain the auxiliary gauge pod on the dash. This was very similar to the set-up he had on his EH ute, but with vacuum, amp, engine temp and oil pressure gauges.
Repainting the dash, Peter applied Fowlers Ivory to the lower section, with matte grey and black on the upper sections to reduce glare. An authentic EH steering wheel was sourced, repainted in 2 pack white and fitted with the correct boss and chromed horn pad.
Red, Red, Red
EH Premiers originally came with leather upholstery, but Peter’s budget didn’t stretch to replicating that. However, a lucky find on eBay provided an acceptable compromise.
“A bloke had two sets of door trims for sale, for $550 and $800,” Peter explains. “I bid on the $550 set and won them.”
The seller, an auto trimmer, had recovered the doorcards himself and fitted the U-shaped bright metal moulds that are unique to the EH Premier and very hard to find. In talking to the seller, Peter learned he had rolls of vinyl trim that replicated the Waldorf Red leather available on EH Premiers when new. This vinyl reproduction material had apparently been offered as a limited-edition some time back, so Peter bought enough to have the front and rear seats reupholstered, as well as a centre console he’d fabricated to sit between the front seats. A trimmer mate that Peter’s tapped for past projects was given the job and completed it to a high standard.
New carpets and headlining are in the factory style, as is the rear venetian, while removing the speakers in the rear parcel shelf and a high-mount stoplight keeps the theme going. There is a modern Pioneer Bluetooth stereo fitted, but it’s hidden in the glovebox, with speakers subtly slung under the dash.
Peter also added new front seat belts, while the rubber boot mat is complete and untorn – a rare thing, apparently.
Less than 5,000 – more than 65,000
On club plates (Peter’s a member of the Illawarra Early Holden Club) and on the road before the end of 2018, rebuilding this EH Premier in the style that Peter fell in love with as a youngster took eleven months. He adds that this project was far less taxing than his previous builds, mainly because the starting point was so complete, as well as having most of the improvements and extras he was looking for.
Since its completion seven years ago, this Premier’s covered less than 5,000km, mainly on club cruises and to a handful of car shows. But now, with the Premier being used less frequently, Peter has decided to put it on the market (see breakout), asking for $65K.
“It drives beautiful,” Peter says. “It’s reliable and a nice-looking car. And because all the work’s been done, it’s a car you shouldn’t have to spend any money on.”
Given the popularity of EH Premiers, both when new and today, we’re sure there’s someone who sees this car as a way to reconnect with their first automotive love, just like Peter did.
FOR SALE
Fully rebuilt, this EH Premier’s non-factory 186 engine, three-speed auto and disc front brakes are all improvements on the factory spec, with a cooling fan and steering box brace also added.
Aside from the Dragway rims, the exterior retains a factory look, as does the interior, with a modern Bluetooth stereo subtly incorporated and new seat belts fitted.
With less than 5,000km covered since completion, this EH Premier is being offered with an asking price of $65,000 ono. See more HERE
