FLASH LION

THE CULMINATION OF A LIFETIME DREAM, MICHELLE HARRISON'S NASCO-HEAVY EJ HOLDEN BRINGS BACK PLENTY OF MEMORIES AND IS READY TO MAKE SOME NEW ONES

- WORDS DAVE CAREY * PHOTOS CORSA LUMINA

For nearly every series of Holden strongly revered by the masses, there seems to be another, closely related sibling that is less so.

They don't get as quite as collected by the collectors, nor as hopped up by those who hanker for horsepower. Some follow their more popular brethren; for example, the EK Holden that replaced the FB. It was arguably a better car but lacked the chrome and flair of its near-identical predecessor. Not even the later Commodore was immune, with the well-loved and hugely popular VN-series overshadowing the VP that came after, again perhaps for reasons of style.

For a time in the 1960s, it was the first series that fizzled - a relative term when every Holden sold like a surgically enhanced hotcake. The HD-series, with its blade-like front quarters - lifted straight from GM's Solaris concept car - was often chided as being 'Horribly Designed, which it wasn't, while the much-loved HR-series was, in accordance with the lore, 'Hastily Rectified', which it also wasn't.

The EJ Holden also falls into this category, despite dragging Holden's styling cues kicking and screaming out of the chic but upright jet age. The EJ lost the prominent fins of the FB-EK and merged the headlights into the grille; something the futuristic Falcon showcased from 1960. But like the early Falcon, the vestiges of the jet age were there, especially in the sculpted rear quarters upon which, in the EJ's case, sits the hint of a tail fin. Arguably more prominent if they housed the taillights, Holden's chief stylist Alf Payze elected to plonk them low on the EJ's bum, with a chrome side strip drooping down to meet them.