Geelong All Holden Day highlight – HD cab chassis 4x4

Presented by the Geelong FX-HZ Holden Car Club, the Geelong All Holden Day made a very welcome return in 2025.

The first Geelong All Holden Day since 2019 showed the hunger for an all-Holden show in the birthplace of Ford Australia. More than 450 cars attended, coming from the local region, Melbourne, rural Victoria and even interstate.

In addition to unrestored originals and authentic restorations, there were plenty of custom and one-off Holdens, none of which were more unique than this HD 4x4 ute.

Born from the owner’s love of HD Holdens (he owns seven, including a tarmac rally car), this intriguing HD-based off-roader started out as a standard ute but now sits on a 1978 Toyota HiLux chassis. An initial plan to drop the ute body directly onto the HiLux frame had to be abandoned when the wheelbases didn’t line up (the HiLux wheelbase was longer by about 5 inches), hence the conversion to a cab chassis.

After removing the ute’s rear end, a coachbuilder fabricated the new section behind the cabin, with lower floors, deeper footwells and more space behind the seats to suit the owner’s preference.

New side steps were fabricated to line up with the HD body, while removing the HD’s front stone guard allowed a HiLux-specific front bumper to be fitted under the HD bumper. To suit the HD’s additional cabin length, the donor HiLux’s aluminium dropside tray was shortened by approximately 30cm.

For the conversion to meet ADRs and receive engineer approval, several HD-specific parts had to be replaced with items from a similar period to the ’78 HiLux. These included a collapsible steering column from a UC Torana, and a mix of C1978 HiLux and Torana parts for the door mechanisms. Leather bucket seats from an early ’80s Saab add a touch of exotica to the cabin, with power steering and air conditioning fitted, too.

The patina finish was a deliberate touch, as were the bonnet spears made from FE Holden side trims.

Under the bonnet, there’s a Holden V8, matched to an FJ40 LandCruiser four-speed gearbox and HiLux transfer case. The front diff is Toyota with manual locking hubs, and the rear is a Borg Warner unit out of a Ford that the owner says will be replaced when serious off-roading begins.

While Holden never offered a factory-built four-wheel drive until the VY Commodore Adventra (the HJ-HZ ‘Overlander’ was a factory-approved aftermarket conversion), this creation shows what might have been if a One Tonner with a 4x4 option had debuted on the HD platform, rather the HQ.

For JUST CARS’ report from the 2025 Geelong All Holden Day, click HERE.