This is a 1968 Holden HK Premier station wagon, a vehicle that was a mainstay of Australian families from the 1960s well into the 1970s and beyond.
This particular HK Premier now benefits from a significant raft of upgrades including a rebuilt 5.8 liter Chevrolet V8 with a Holley carburetor, long-tube headers, and a performance exhaust. The exterior has been kept looking original, making it a sleeper in every sense of the word, and it’s doubtless shocked a few challengers at red lights over the years.
Fast Facts – An Upgraded 1968 Holden HK Premier
- This is a 1968 Holden HK Premier station wagon, a staple of Australian family life in the 1960s and 70s, that has been significantly upgraded while maintaining its original exterior – making it a true sleeper.
- The Holden HK series, launched in 1968, introduced a larger, more luxurious option for Australian consumers, including models like the sporting Monaro GT and various trim levels to suit different buyer preferences.
- Upgrades to this HK Premier include a 5.8 liter Chevrolet V8 engine, a Powerglide automatic transmission, a Truetrac differential, upgraded suspension and brakes, making it far quicker than original and modernized under its classic exterior.
- Additional features include staggered steel wheels, a classic vintage sunshade, and a vintage push-button radio add to its charm. Currently, it’s available for sale through Collecting Cars in Melbourne, Australia.
The Holden HK Series
The Holden HK series made its debut in 1968 as the replacement for the outgoing Holden HR series of vehicles. The HK model family was a little larger and heavier than its predecessor, it was also more spacious and a little more luxurious in order to cater to the Australian consumer’s ever increasing desire for locally made vehicles to match the best coming out of the United States, Britain, and Europe.
The Holden HK series was only on sale for a little over a year, but it was a best-seller for Holden with almost 200,000 produced. The model family offered more space and luxury than many Australians were used to, and it set the tone for many of the Holdens to follow. Image courtesy of Holden GM.The Holden HK model range consisted of four-door sedans and four-door station wagons, as well as the two-door Monaro GT/sports car that had been developed as a locally-designed answer to the likes of the Ford Mustang.
When ordering your HK Holden from the dealership you would be presented with a range of options and four trim levels including the Belmont, Kingswood, Premier, and Brougham. Economically-minded buyers would opt for one of the straight-six engines, starting with the 2.6 liter, with the 3.0 liter offering a little more power.
For the more sporting driver there were two V8 engine options, including a 5.0 liter and a 5.4 liter V8. Transmissions options included a 3- or 4-speed manual, or a 2-speed “Powerglide” automatic.
The HK would remain in production from 1968 into 1969 and its would be the best-selling Australian car of the time, with almost 200,000 produced in total – solid numbers given the much smaller size of the Australian market compared to the United States or Europe.
The Holden HK Sleeper Shown Here
The vehicle you see here is a 1968 Holden HK station wagon that now benefits from a series of major upgrades designed to make it far quicker than it ever could have been from the factory.
From the factory the largest engine you could get in an Holden HK was a 5.4 liter V8. This one has been fitted with a significantly re-worked 5.8 liter Chevrolet V8 and a slew of other performance upgrades to make it far quicker than it would have been new.The rebuild of this car was undertaken very carefully to ensure that the external patina was left intact. This adds to the effect of the car looking old, and frankly, looking slow – unless you know what’s under the hood.
Looking at the car from the underside (see the image below) you can see how much work has gone into it. The original engine has been swapped out with a 5.8 liter Chevrolet V8 with a Holley carburetor, long-tube headers, and a performance exhaust.
Power is sent back through a stall converter and a rebuilt two-speed Powerglide automatic transmission to a rebuilt Eaton Truetrac differential (a limited-slip differential).
The vehicle also has rebuilt suspension including new rear leaf springs, upgraded brakes with new Holden WB front calipers, upgraded wiring, new brake lines, new fuel lines, and a broad range of other work.
Inside the car you’ll find seating for five, a push-button radio, an aftermarket tachometer, and an aft-mounted subwoofer. The car is finished in Inca Gold over a black vinyl-trimmed cabin, and it has classic wood-effect inlays.
The exterior of the car still has all of its patina in place, but one look under the vehicle or in the engine bay and you can see just how much work has gone into it.It rides on staggered width steel wheels fitted with modern rubber and chrome hub caps. It’s also fitted with a roof rack, grilles over the headlights, a front sunshade, and it’s showing 8,610 miles on the odometer.
The car is now bring offered for sale by Collecting Cars out of Melbourne, Australia. You can visit the listing here if you’d like to read more about it or register to bid.
Images courtesy of Collecting Cars
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